Manus (/ˈmeɪnəs/MAY-nəs;Latin:[ˈmanʊs]) was anAncient Roman type ofmarriage,[1] of which there were two forms:cum manu andsine manu.[2] In acum manu marriage, the wife was placed under the legal control of the husband.[1][2] In asine manu marriage, the wife remained under the legal control of her father.[3]
In bothcum manu andsine manu marriages, if both the husband and wife werealieni iuris (persons underpatria potestas; that is, under the power of their respectivepatres familias), the marriage could only take place with the approval of bothpatres familias.[3] Procedures for initiating and terminating marriage varied with the type of union.[3]
Initially,cum manu was the sole form of marriage, but eventually onlysine manu marriage was widely practiced.[4]
In acum manu union, the wife was released from the control of her father and became a member of her husband's family,[3] standing thereafter underpotestas of her husband or her father-in-law.[1][5] Legallyadopted by her husband,[1] she received the same entitlements as other children in the family over matters ofintestate succession[1] andinherited thereafter not from her father but from her husband.[3] However, the power he held over her was limited in comparison to that which he held over his own daughter;[1] he lacked for example, the legal right of life and death, andnoxal surrender orsale over her.[1] This change of status, known ascapitis diminutio minima,[6] conferred on the wife the title ofmaterfamilias.[6]
The wife in acum manu marriage held no proprietary capacity, meaning she could not own anyproperty.[1][3] Ownership of everything acquired prior tocum manu was transferred to her husband or hispaterfamilias, while existingliabilities were erased. However, during the time ofCicero, thedowry was recognized as distinguishable and therefore recoverable.[3]
Awidowed ordivorced woman becamesui iuris.[3] A widow of acum manu marriage could select her owntutor and draft awill.[7]
Cum manu was procured in one of three ways:confarreatio,coemptio andusus.[3]
The ritual ofconfarreatio, a kind ofsacrifice made toJupiter,[8] was available only topatricians.[3] During thisritual, thebride andgroom shared a bread made ofemmer (farreus) (hence, the termconfarreatio translates to "sharing of emmer bread"), a process that required the presence of tenwitnesses and therecital of ceremonialsacredverses.[8]
High priests ofJupiter,Mars, andQuirinus were required to be born fromconfarreatio unions.[8] Asconfarreatio fell from favor, it became increasingly difficult to find candidates for priesthood.[8][9] In order to revive the practice ofconfarreatio, it was amended such that the wife of aFlamen Dialis fell under the control of her husband only during rituals and was otherwise as autonomous as other women.[8]Cum manu was no longer acquired throughconfarreatio and became restricted topatricians pursuing priestly positions.[10]
The matrimonial process ofcoemptio, in essence anotional sale of the woman to the husband,[3][7] could be transacted at any point during the marriage.[10] The transaction was conducted by ascales-holder in the presence of at least fivewitnesses, all of whom were adult maleRoman citizens.[10]Coemptio could be contracted not only with a husband ("for the sake of marriage"), but also with an outsider ("for the sake of trust").[10] A wife who had becomecum manu through the process ofcoemptio was emancipated upon divorce.[6] By the 2nd century AD, a wife could compel her husband to emancipate her, a right not shared by her children.[10]Coemptio was presumably a rare practice even during the 2nd century BC.[7][why?]
Acum manu acquired byusus was simply thecohabitation of the husband and wife for the duration of a year,[3] after whichownership of the wife was transferred to her partner and she was considered taken by thedecree of yearly possession. This process required noceremonial practices.[11]
If the woman was not willing to come under theownership of her husband, she could avoidmanus by absenting herself for the total of three days and three nights before the end of each year.[8] A woman marriedcum manu throughusus was emancipated upon divorce.[6]
The law ofusus was eventually repealed, presumably because the practice had fallen out of use.[citation needed]
In asine manu union, the wife legally and ritually remained a member of her father's family, standing under the control of her father'spotestas.[3] Asine manu marriage did not change the legal status of the bride with respect to property rights.[3][12] In other words, thebride is not under control of the husband.[2] This form of marriage was not solemnized with ceremonial formalities, although it wascustomary for the bride to be escorted to her bridegroom's house, but rather involved a husband and wife living together with the intention of marriage underRoman law.[3] The children of this union were legally members of the husband'sagnatickin.[13] They held no legal connection with the mother'spaterfamilias and could not make claims on herintestate.[13]
It was only when the woman'spaterfamilias died that she becamesui iuris.[13] This union allowed the wife to become independent sooner thancum manu, under the assumption that the fathers are likely to have died before a husband. Primarily this served the natal family, allowing her property to stay in the father's possession.[14]
Various factors may have led to the extinction ofcum manu and the predominance ofsine manu during theRoman Republic. Women faced with the loss of property when entering acum manu marriage began to only consent tosine manu unions.[4]