The Major Significances of Ancient Roman Weddings

The ideal Roman marriage is defined as such: “a monogamous union of a man and a woman, a total community of life, a partnership according to both human and divine laws” (Goran Lind, 32-33). In order for an ideal Roman wedding to be performed, several requirements were necessary. First and foremost, the bride had to be twelve at the youngest while the groom could be “at least fourteen” (A). Nevertheless, they could not be relatives (A). Another requirement besides the age was consent, which was displayed three times both before and during the ceremony. First, it was displayed publicly before the wedding celebration. An example of the first consent was “holding hands” (A). Another action which confirmed their assent to marriage was the giving of an engagement ring from the bridegroom to his bride (A). Although this action was merely decorum, it was often practiced as long as the man was able to afford the ring (A). This ring ,therefore, had great significance because it was “worn on the third finger of the left hand , as it is today, because the ancient Romans believed that a nerve ran from this finger directly to the heart” (A). It was not only symbolic of their love, but also of their true friendship (A). Consent was then shown a second time at the wedding ceremony, when the nuptials “ stood and held their hands before at least ten witnesses and a priest” (A). The third and final symbol of agreement between the groom and his bride was performed at the threshold of the groom’s house. From these three forms of consent, the complexity of the wedding ritual in Rome was manifest. Generally, there were wedding preparations, a ceremony and dinner, and the final procession of the bride (A). During these parts of a Roman wedding, there we...

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