Womens position in household and family

1
Womens position in household and family

• domus paterfamilias male head of household
  with potestas
• materfamilias no potestas not even over her own
  children as a widow
• woman could not legally adopt since she had no
  potestas over an individual

2
As wives

• in manu place of a daughter in husbands
  houshold (in loco filiae)
• Was in potestas of her husband (but no power over
  life and death)
• sine manu marriage remained in power of father
  until death,
• Then sui iuris but need of tutor

3
wives and husbands

• Adultery, became criminal offence in Augustan
  period.
• Defined married woman who had sex with anyone
  other than husband
• A man committed adultery only if he had sex with
  a married woman.
• Husband could prosecute wife for adultery, wife
  could not! LF 124

4
Tutela guardianship

• tutela puberis ceased for boys at age 14 for
  girls at 12
• Replaced by tutela muleris lifelong
  (exceptions Vestal virgins
• Augustus legislation lex Julia (18 B.C) and lex
  Papia Poppaea (A.D.9) ius liberorum (freeborn
  women 3 children, freedwomen 4 children) or by
  imperial grant

5
Transactions requiring tutor

• alienation of Res mancipi the land, power of
  man and animal, as well as farming equipment
  needed to work the land
• Land and buildings in Italy, slaves, oxen,
  horses, mules, etc.,
• Consent for manus marriage, creation of dowry, a
  will

6
conclusions

• drastic legal inequalities between men and women
• add social norms!

7
Concubinage (concubinatus)

• Age at first marriage girls shortly after
  puberty (mid-late teens), virgins
• Males marriage mid-late 20s were encouraged to
  have sexual experiences before marriage
• Options slave girl (or boy) prostitutes
  concubine (concubina)
• Concubinage after mans marriage if he wants to
  prevent more heirs to his estate

8
concubinatus

• Concubinage steady monogamous relationship
• Concubine a free woman of lower social status
  than the partner
• Woman without conubium (the right to form legal
  marriage such as an infama
• Augustan legislation LF 126 128
• If woman has conubium, intention must be made
  clear (marriage or concubinatus)
• Respectable woman of equal social status with
  conubium could not be made a concubine

9
Informal unions

• Lower classes, mixed status groups, no conubium
• Did not normally call unions concubinage
• Used same terminology as legally married couples
  coniunx (wife) maritus (husband) informal
  marriages produced illegitimate children who took
  nomen of mother.
• Legitimacy not as important among lower classes
  as among propertied classes.