In a famous and much debated fragment, the late classical jurist Modestinus de­scribes Roman marriage as “the union of a male and a female in a complete life part­nership, the sharing of divine and human law” (D. 23.2.1

Nuptiae sunt coniunctio maris et feminae et consortium omnis vitae, divini et humani iuris communicatio). This august description, however, scarcely isolates Roman marriage as a distinct histori­cal phenomenon.

Marriage is usually considered the most fundamental building block of human societies, and it is certainly the most persistent. But its configuration, and in partic­ular its legal configuration, has varied extremely widely through the ages. Modesti­nus emphasizes above all the alliance between husband and wife, and their subse­quent companionship. But even a quick glance at Roman literary sources will suggest that close spousal interrelationships were only one part of the picture, and in some respects not even the most important part. In the Roman world, as in human societies generally, marriage as an institution was deeply saturated with nu­merous social meanings and uses, which potentially conflict with one another in particular circumstances. First, a wedding between two individuals often served to create a link between their families; and if one or both of the new spouses were in the power of patres familias, a fathers heavy presence is also often detectable in the immediate background of a marriage ceremony. Second, the arrangements leading to a marriage could have major property implications for the two families, since a bride usually required a dowry; and more generally the issue of a couples mainte­nance was important to their marriage’s ultimate success. Third, the two families, as well as the public at large, might take an active interest in the marriage at least to the extent that procreation, and hence the renewal of a population, was regarded as an intrinsic and important aspect of marriage.

As we shall see, these and other considerations influence not only Roman mar­riage as a social institution but also its structure within Roman law. In the end, mar­riage is one of Rome’s most interesting and distinctive institutions, quite unlike any­thing to be found in the modern world.

It is impossible now to write on this subject without acknowledging the influ­ence of Susan Treggiari’s monumental study, Roman Marriage, published in 1991. Treggiari seeks to integrate literary and legal sources within a detailed study of all aspects of the Roman institution. The focus in this chapter is different in that our primary interest is narrower: how legal sources describe and develop the institu­tion. But for a fuller picture, Treggiari’s book is very highly recommended.