Marriage in Rome was not a simple institution.
There were a variety of different types of marriage that all had varying degrees of recognition and legal impact; and the institution underwent drastic changes in both social and legal senses throughout the ages.
For a considerable period of Roman history, marriage was not so much a legal institution as it was a simply factual relationship recognized by society. In later times, the influence of Christian dogma and ethics moulded the gradual perception of marriage as a legal relationship with a strong religious character. Notwithstanding these changes, the institution of marriage always held a central place in community life as it was the foundation of the familia, the pivot of Roman society. Its cardinal importance is reflected in the famous definition offered by the jurist Modestinus that is recited at the beginning of the title on marriage in the Digest: “Marriage is the joining of a man and a woman in a general communion of life by virtue of the communication of divine and human law”.[170]The importance of the institution of marriage in Roman social and legal life is reflected in the legislative programme Emperor Augustus initiated in this regard. The laws Augustus introduced—the lexIulia de maritandis ordinibus (18 bc), the lex Papia Poppaea (9 bc) and the lex lulia de adulteriis (18 bc)—were mainly designed for reinforcing the existing social hierarchy by promoting marriage and the begetting of children as a means of combating the perceived decline of the family and the demographic decline that was especially evident among the upper classes. By means of these laws a number of prohibitions, imperative requirements, rewards and penalties were introduced in respect of married life. It was thus required that men between the age of 25 and 60 and women between the age of 20 and 50 should be married and have children.[171] Non-compliance with this requirement invoked various penalties, such as the partial or total loss of succession rights.[172]
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