Manus and Roman Marriage free essay sample

There were two types of  marriage  known to the law, one with  manus  and one without, whom he could punish, sell, or even kill as he saw fit. Divorce, in marriage with manus, was always possible at the instance of the husband In the early republic the family had formed a social, economic, and legal unity. The woman generally married into her husband’s family and came under his legal authority (or that of his father if he was still alive), and her dowry merged with the rest of the estate under the ownership of the husband. The husband managed the family’s affairs outside the house, while the wife was custodian within. Marriage was an arrangement for life; divorces were rare and granted only in cases of serious moral infractions, such as adultery or wine-tippling on the part of the wife. Manus  was the autocratic power of the husband over the wife, corresponding to  patria potestas  over the sons. We will write a custom essay sample on Manus and Roman Marriage or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Marriage without manus, by far the more common in all periods of Roman  history  except possibly the very earliest. The property  of the spouses remained distinct ither party was able to put an end to the relationship at will. Formed by beginning conjugal life with the intention of being married, normally by bringing the bride to the groom’s house. (Provided the parties were above the age of puberty and, had their father’s consent) The wife remained under her father’s  potestas  if he were still alive if he were dead, she continued to have the same guardian as before marriage. Both spouses had to be citizens, or if one was not, he or she must have  conubium  (the right, sometimes given to non-Romans, of contracting a Roman marriage). commonly called â€Å"free marriage,† no longer came into her husband’s power or property regime but remained in that of her father; upon her father’s death she became independent with rights to own and dispose of property. But she was not a member of the family of her husband and children and had no claim to inheritance from them, even though she lived with them in the same house. Because many women inherited part of their fathers’ estates, they could use their independent fortunes to exert influence on husbands, children, and people outside the house. In the same period divorce became far more common; moral infractions were no longer needed to justify divorce, which could be initiated by either side. Frequent divorce and remarriage went hand in hand with the separation of marital property. There is plausibility in the suggestion that these changes were brought on by a desire of the women’s fathers to avoid having their daughters’ portions of the larger family estates slip irrevocably into the hands of their husbands. Although the changes in law and practice were not motivated by any movement to emancipate women, the result was that propertied women of the late republic, always excluded from the public sphere of male citizens, came to enjoy a degree of freedom and social power unusual before the 20th century. Divorce  was permitted to the husband in early Rome only on specific grounds. Later, divorce was always possible at the instance of the husband in cases of marriage with  manus; in marriage without  manus, either party was free to put an end to the relationship. A formal letter was usually given to the spouse, but any manifestation of intention to end the relationship—made clear to the other party and accompanied by actual parting—was all that was legally necessary. The Christian emperors imposed penalties on those who divorced without good reason, including prohibitions on remarriage, but the power of the parties to end the marriage by their own act was not taken away. A form of marriage, was becoming prevalent. Under this form, the wife Ancient  Roman law  recognized three forms of marriage. Confarreatio  was marked by a highly solemnized ceremony involving numerous witnesses and animal sacrifice. It was usually reserved for patrician families. Coemptio, used by many plebeians, was effectively marriage by purchase, usus, the most informal variety, was marriage simply by mutualconsent  and evidence of extended cohabitation. Roman  law  generally placed the woman under the control of her husband and on the same footing as children. Under Roman law no slave could  contractmarriage with either another slave or a free person, but the union of male and female slaves was recognized for various purposes.