Ancillae

''Ancillae'' (plural) (singular, ''ancilla'') were female house slaves in ancient Rome, as well as in Europe during the Middle Ages.Judith M. Bennett & Amy M. Froide,
Singlewomen in the European Past, 1250-1800
'

In medieval Europe, slavery was gradually replaced by serfdom, but a small number of female slaves were imported as household servants for the wealthy, most commonly in Italy, Spain and France.

Ancient Rome

''Ancilla'' was the common word for a female house slave in ancient Rome. The more general word for a female slave was ''serva''. An ''ancilla'' in an upper class household might serve like a lady's maid. ''Ancillae'' in this setting might be specialized in attending to the upkeep, storage, and readiness of the mistress's wardrobe or jewelry. For example, one inscription records an ''ancilla'' named Phoebe assigned ''ad speculum'', "to the mirror".

The Roman law of slavery pertained to both male and female slaves, and was specific to ''ancillae'' primarily in regard to socially gendered issues arising from motherhood and marriage. Since the status of slaves was defined by the lack of legal personhood, ''ancillae'' could not enter into forms of marriage recognized in Roman law; however, ''ancillae'' like other household slaves might form a heterosexual union ''( contubernium)'' that expressed an intention to marry if both partners were manumitted and obtained citizen rights. A master who wanted to marry an ''ancilla'' could free her for this purpose. A man of senatorial rank could not legally marry a freed woman but might enter into monogamous concubinage ''(concubinatus)'' with her.

In general, children of ''ancillae'' were born into slavery as '' vernae''.

Medieval Europe

As the Roman Empire became Christianized, enslaving Christians was banned but still permitted for non-Christians. Similarly, it was banned to make Muslims slaves in the Muslim world, but permitted to take non-Muslims as slaves. This created a slave trade in which slaves from the Muslim world were sold to Christian Europe, and slaves from Europe were sold to the Muslim Middle East.

The biggest source of ''ancillae'' for Italy and Spain was the Balkan slave trade and the Black Sea slave trade. The merchants of this slave trade were often Venetian: the Balkan slave trade was a part of the Venetian slave trade, and the Black Sea slave trade was particularly Venetian, partially Genoese.

The slaves normally converted to the Christianity or Islam of their respective masters after they had been bought, but were still kept in slavery. While it was legal for an ''ancilla'' to marry, she as well as her children were still slaves. Because this status caused legal confusion between the legal guardianship of a husband towards his wife and children, marrying an ''ancilla'' was not encouraged, which created a need for continuing slave import to uphold the recruitment of new ancillae, since there were few born into slavery.

Most medieval ''ancillae'' came from the Greek Orthodox Balkans, and although they were Christians, they were not recognized as such by the Catholic Church; hence taking them as slaves was considered legal.

Among the ancillae slaves where Maddalena, mother of Carlo de' Medici (1428–1492), who is noted to have been a Circassian slave bought in 1427 in Venice.Cleugh, J. (1990). The Medici: A Tale of Fifteen Generations. Storbritannien: Dorset Press. p93

The occurrence of enslaved ancillae disappeared in South Europe when the Balkan slave trade and the Black Sea slave trade to Europe stopped in the mid 15th-century.

See also

* House slave

References

*
* David Eltis, Keith R. Bradley, Stanley L. Engerman, Craig Perry, Paul Cartledge, David Richardson, Seymour Drescher:
The Cambridge World History of Slavery: Volume 2, AD 500-AD 1420
'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancillae
House slaves
Women's history
Medieval women
Slavery in Europe
Medieval slaves
Slavery in ancient Rome
Women in ancient Rome
Ancient Roman slaves and freedmen
Women slaves
Slavery in the Middle Ages