Confarreatio

The confarreatio (Eng. also konfarreierte marriage) was one of the three ways a Manusehe was closed by the ancient Romans.

Farreus panis

The term is derived from the farreus panis that the Jupiter sacrificed the bride and groom farreus during the wedding ceremony. What is it exactly acted in the farreus panis is not entirely clear. Normally far refers to the cereal Emmer. Since Emmer but is not suitable because of the adhesive properties of bread- making, it is believed that it has traded at a bread or a cake from the Emmer closely related spelled or spelled.

According to the victims, the bride sat ( Christian authors say ) on the Mutunus Tutunus, a Steinphallos, which they symbolically deflowered.

Religious significance

The marriage took place in the presence of 10 witnesses and with the participation of the Pontifex Maximus and the Flamen Dialis. Since these are the two chief priests, it is assumed that the confarreatio members of the upper class was reserved. It was a particularly elaborate and solemn form of marriage, which was eventually probably only taken on the basis of their religious and political importance: Children Only from konfarreirten marriages were Flemings Dialis or vestal. For the chief priests, the flamines maiores the confarreatio was prescribed as a form of marriage.

If at any time the marriage was limited to those couples whose parents were already connected by confarreatio, so could the end of the Republic already no longer apply, since Caesar's parents are not married by confarreatio, he did so his marriage to Cornelia Cinnilla closed.

Diffareatio

The divorce of a marriage konfarreierten was also in a religious ceremony possible, the so-called Diffareatio. About the details of the process is not known. One of the Roman questions of Plutarch was, why did resign his office upon the death of the wife of the Flemish Dialis. He mentioned as one of the ways that it could be that certain rituals required the presence of a spouse. This would mean that the confarreatio was not only a marriage, but also a common consecration of the spouses to the priesthood in the oldest and most respected cults of Rome.

Casually mention Plutarch then, that the resolution of such a marriage was only made possible under Domitian, and that the priests the dissolution of the confarreatio conducted a series of " terrible, strange and unseemly " rites.

Swell

• Institutiones Gaius 1109-113
• Catullus Carmina 61