did you know that boys in ancient Rome were considered mentally unbalanced between the ages of 15 and [Music] 25 hello I'm welcome to world history encyclopedia my name is Kelly and today's video is all about how marriage worked in ancient Rome and how different it could be for girls and boys don't forget the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up subscribing to our Channel and hitting that Bell icon for notifications so you don't miss out on any new uploads world history encyclopedia is a nonprofit organization and you can find us on patreon a brilliant site where you can support our work and receive exclusive benefits in return your support helps us create videos twice a week so make sure to check it out via the popup in the top corner of the screen or via the patreon link down below [Music] in ancient Rome whether in the period of the Republic between 509 and 27 bcee or the time of the Roman Empire dating from 27 BCE to its fall in 476 CE the father known as the Peter familias was the head of the family and had complete control over the lives of his children girls were brought up learning how to spin and weave care for a home and children and support a future husband boys were raised to follow in their Father's Footsteps in whatever his occupation was boys were considered adults at the age of 15 and girls were of marriageable age at 12 most men did not marry until around the age of 26 however because males were understood to be mentally unbalanced between the ages of 15 and 25 something I'm sure many women out there can relate to while girls were understood to be more mature at an ear ear age as a result many young girls were married to much older men marriage was understood as a social contract the father arranged the marriage of his son or daughter by taking counsel from his wife who would have traveled in Social Circles acquainting herself with the best prospects while he was tending to business as well as his father if he still lived or simply by recognizing a profitable match for his family women were often married to men to form alliances seal business contracts or end feuds romantic love though it is attested to in poetry literature and letters from ancient Rome rarely factored in Roman marriage there was no marriage ceremony in ancient Rome corresponding to the kinds of events that are observed today even the most expensive ancient Roman marriage ceremony would not be comparable to the most modest held in in the modern era three types of marriage in ancient Rome were recognized as legally binding the first is Comerio literally with spelt which was a common form of patrici or upper class marriage in which a spelt cake and bread were shared by the bride and groom to signify the beginning of domestic life together this ceremony was also known as a Manis hand marriage as it included the act of the Father of the Bride or the mother or some other matron placing her hand into that of the groom the second is cotio literally by purchase which was a plean or lower class marriage where the groom purchased the bride by various means either a land grant a sum of money or some other form of exchange then there was the usus literally experience or use which was a common law marriage recognized as legitimate because the couple had lived together in the same dwelling for a significant length of time little is known of the marriage ceremony of the lower classes the cotio and usus but the Comerio is well documented long before a bride and groom had ever seen each other usually their fathers had arranged their marriage and as they matured a date was set prior to the agreed upon date Omens were read and to honor the gods the House of the Bride to be was decorated with flowers if the Omens were good the ceremony could proceed if the Omens were not the wedding was postponed or called off entirely once the Omens were understood as encouraging the ceremony proceeded the bride and groom were introduced or formally introduced in a public room of the House of the Bride where guests would have already gathered early in the morning before sunrise in order for the wedding to be legally recognized ized there had to be at least 10 Witnesses present a member of the clergy was also present but did not officiate the purpose of the clergy was simply to Bear witness the ceremony took place just after Dawn to symbolize the new life of the couple as the ceremony began the father or mother of the bride or a matron such as an aunt would join the couple's hands and step back the bride would recite the traditional vow when when and where you are gas then and there I am Gaia as a promise of fidelity the groom though was not obliged to say anything in return the purpose of the vow was to signify the bride entering the house and family of the groom after the bride had said her vow the couple sat down before the witnesses and the priest offered up a spelt cake to Jupiter King of the gods or his wife Juno or both and handed it to the couple who shared in eating it after they were done the ceremony was concluded the reception which followed immediately after included various rituals of good luck for the new couple and a large Feast which included many jugs of wine after the couple had thanked their guests for their presents and Gifts the whole party would follow them out of the house and through the streets to their new home or that of the father of the groom as the bride walked with her husband she would drop one coin along her path to honor the spirit of the road for luck in the life she was now embarking on and hand two coins to her husband to honor him and the spirits of his house the couple as they walked would throw sweets and nuts to the crowd that followed them on either side as thank you gifts and the people then tossed them back as a sign of gratitude in being allowed to participate a ritual still observed today at weddings when people throw rice or bird seed at the bride and groom when the wedding ceremony is concluded the procession continued until it reached the couple's new home at which point the groom would lift the bride over the threshold and carry her in this ritual is interpreted as either a symbolic reenactment of the ancient practice of taking one's bride from another tribe and carrying her off against her will or simply as a consideration to prevent the woman from tripping over an unfamiliar threshold it has also been interpreted as symbolizing the removal of the Bride from her old life and the groom gently carrying her into her new one once inside their home the couple invited close friends and family to join them the husband offered his wife clean water and fire as the Essential Elements of Hearth and Home and the wife taking the fire kindled their first half together once this was done the couple and their guests continued to celebrate the wedding until the couple retired to their bedroom and the guests went home once married the man was the head of the household as his father had been and the wife was subordinate to him though she was regarded with great respect and he was supposed to listen to Her counsel though he was not obliged in any way to act on it the purpose of marriage was to produce children and the wife was expecting to conceive and bear a child at what was considered a respectable amount of time following the wedding ceremony if a wife were found to be Barren her husband was free to divorce her marriage in ancient Rome was supposed to be monogamous and the couple were expected to remain together until death though Affairs among the upper class were common for men marriage was understood as a social contract which helped ensure the stability of society as a whole and so divorce especially if the couple had children was discouraged but it did still happen a woman had no legal right to her children so if the couple divorced the children stayed with their father in addition to raising her children and tending house the wife also needed to make sure the spirits of her ancestors her husband's ancestors the spirits of the pantry and kitchen and half as well as other household Spirits were ack knowledged thanked and offered gifts in order to keep the home peaceful and harmonious the husband would tend to the family business and if of sufficient social status engage in the political life of the city the wife would tend to the house manage the slaves and servants and do what she could to advance her husband's career in time when their children reached the legal age of marriage they would arrange a match for their son or daughter and the entire process would begin again what do you think of the marriage practices of ancient Rome let us know in the comments below if you enjoyed this video make sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss out on our new videos every Tuesday and Friday this video was brought to you by world history encyclopedia for more great articles 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