Marriage in ancient Rome

Roman marriages were not always out of love. They were agreements between families instead. The families usually choose the spouse by who could improve their financial status. Marriage in Rome was arranged for many reasons, such as dowries, money and kids. Many marriages ended in divorce. There were many rituals Romans has to follow when getting married and choosing what type of marriage they wanted. In Rome there were two types of marriages. The first type was manus or controlled. This type the women left her own family and entered her husbands family (Moulton 28). This is not the only type of marriage. The second type of marriage is free marriage. In free marriage, the married woman remains under her fathers care or free and in control of all her property (Moulton 28). Before women get married they must choose one of these marriages they want to enter. The age they got married sometimes was a concern. Moulton stated, “The minimum age of consent for girls was twelve. Some girls younger then twelve married to cement alliances between wealthy and upper-class families, but they did not legally become wives until they come of age.” (28). On the other hand it was different for boys. Boys could marry at age fourteen, but really didn’t before sixteen and seventeen (Moulton 28). The age didn’t really matter when it came to money and higher up families. Some things had to happen before the actual wedding took place. The bride had to get engaged. Engagement before the wedding was considered good manners, but wasn’t requires (Ancient Rome Weddings). Then the couple had to choose the date they would get married. In Ancient Rome “some care went into choosing the date of the wedding for there were days that were considered lucky and days that were considered unlucky” (Marriage in Ancient Rome). When the wedding day came around many things took place. One the wedding day the brides had to do many things. The bride parted her hair into six locks and tied with wool.