Student 2: High Merit
JUNE BRIDAL
SUPPLEMENT:
The ancient Roman
origins of our
wedding customs
By a Staff Reporter . . . .
The June bride – a concept associated with
weddings that have all the trimmings – has
been around as long as we can remember
and beyond. What is the story behind this
concept?
The month of June gets its name from Juno
- the Roman goddess connected with the
life and functions of women, such as
marriage and childbirth. (1) Juno was
believed to be present at a wedding to be
of assistance to the bride, hence Virgil
wrote in his description of what Dido
imagined was her marriage to Aeneas:
(3)Tellus et pronuba Iuno dant signum
Aeneid iv 166.
The pronuba at a Roman wedding was
always a respectable, married-only-once
woman who would have helped to dress
the bride, then at the ceremony placed the
bride’s hand into that of the bridegroom,
and finally accompanied the bride on a
procession to her new home, and even into
the bedroom, where she saw her safely
into the bed, before calling the new
bridegroom
(4)iam licet venias, marite/uxor in thalamo
tibi est. Catullus 61, 184. The modern
bridesmaid(s)/ maids of honour fulfil the
first of these tasks and usually the bride’s
father, the second. Of course the third
stage is nowadays very much more private,
with modern bride and groom making their
own way alone from the wedding
reception venue.
The process towards the organisation of a
modern wedding may have had a Roman
link if the couple met or placed any
significance on St Valentine’s day. Legend
has it that although the history of St
Valentine's Day is obscure, the origin of the
day stems from the ancient Roman festival
of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration held
annually on February 15.
C. 496, the pope of the day made this
pagan festival a Christian feast day,
declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine's
Day. However in 1969, the Catholic Church
revised its calendar, removing the feast day
of Saint Valentine as its historical origins
were questionable.
A marriage ceremony was not compulsory
in ancient Rome – all that was necessary to
legalize a marriage was for a couple to live
together for a year and have adfectio
maritalis – marital affection.
Roman families of aristocratic descent
wanted to maintain their power,
connections and wealth, and therefore felt
that marriage of their children was far too
important to be left to ‘falling in love’,
based on individual choice, as is usually the
case nowadays. (5) Accordingly many
ancient Roman marriages were arranged
for children, and betrothals/engagements
could be decided on between families
when a girl was as young as 7 years old,
although the prospective husband might
be considerably older. The actual marriage
would take place when the girl became
physically mature, which could be as young
as 14. In contrast a modern bride and
groom must be 18 years or older, unless
special permission is obtained, with the
consent of parents/guardians.
(2)A marriage contract, as mentioned by
Tacitus tabulas nuptiales Ann 11, 30 would
be drawn up prior to and signed at the
ancient wedding, held at the bride’s
parents’ house in the presence of ten
witnesses. The modern bride and groom
must sign the marriage register at their
wedding, although only two witnesses are
needed to witness their signature. The
couple (usually the bridegroom) must have
obtained a marriage licence from the
Registrar prior to their wedding. The
couple might also have chosen to sign a
pre-nuptial contract drawn up by a
solicitor, should there be need to define
ownership entitlements going beyond the
usual legal provisions of 50/50 ownership.
The language of the ancient Roman
wedding ceremony to be found in Catullus
Carmen 61 provides information on the
bride’s dress and role. We learn for
example that she wore flowers on her head
cinge tempora floribus/suave olentis
amarci ll. 6,7
Modern brides too spend much time on
choosing flowers- usually with the services
of a florist and also like their ancient
counterparts, they wear a white dress
tunica recta and a bridal veil. The ancient
veil flammeum was bright reddish-yellow,
as its name suggests, rather than the
modern white, and covered the bride from
head to foot. Catullus, again in Carmen 61,
speaking as if he were the pronuba, urged
a bride flammeum cape laetus, huc/ huc
veni, niveo gerens/luteum pede soccum
Official supervision of the ancient formal
wedding was made by two senior priests,
the Flamen Dialis and Pontifex Maximus
and similarly a modern wedding must have
a Marriage Celebrant, who may be a
Minister of Religion, or a Registrar. Both
ancient and modern brides receive a ring,
and wear it on the third finger of the left
hand. For the modern marriage to be
formalised, the bride and groom have to
declare “I (name), take you (name), to be
my legal wife (or husband)” much as a
Roman bride had to say ubi tu Gaius, ego
Gaia ‘Where you are Gaius, I am Gaia’.
An animal sacrifice will not usually take
place at a modern wedding as it did at the
ancient one, (but animals will usually have
been killed prior to the wedding ready for
the modern wedding breakfast).
As at the ancient Roman confarreatio, the
formal wedding with the wedding cake
made of spelt flour far, there will usually
be a wedding cake for the modern
occasion, for the couple to cut and share
with their guests.
Whereas the conclusion for the ancient
event would be a noisy procession from
the wedding venue (the bride’s parent’s
house) to the bride’s new home (at her
groom’s house) deductio in domum mariti,
guests at a modern wedding usually just
wave the couple goodbye on their journey
from the wedding venue with encouraging
cries and shouts.
Expectations of status and responsibilities
of the new wife understandably differ from
st
the time of ancient Rome to the 21
century, but some hopes remain the same.
It is natural for both husband and wife to
expect the other to care for them and be
true to them, and both to hope for a
marriage that will last for life.