The
confarreatio was the ancient
patrician form of
marriage among the
Romans, especially necessary at the nuptials of those whose children were intended to be
vestal virgins or
flamines of Jupiter. The name originated in the bride and bridegroom sharing a cake of
spelt (
far or
panis farreus). It was limited to
patricians whose parents were also married with
confarreatio.
[1] The
wedding was an elaborate ceremony with the
Flamen Dialis and
Pontifex Maximus presiding, as well as ten witnesses present. The woman passed directly from the
manus of her
paterfamilias to that of her new husband.
Divorce for confarreatio marriages, diffarreatio, was a difficult process and therefore rare. Not much is known about how diffarreatio was carried out except that there was a special type of sacrifice that caused the dissolution of the relationship between the man and woman. She would then pass back into the manus of her paterfamilias.
Originally, the confarreatio was indissoluble, and this remained true of the marriage of the Flamen Dialis, who was required to marry by confarreatio. The other two major priests - the Flamen Martialis and the Flamen Quirinalis -- were also required to marry by confarreatio. All three major priests were required to marry virgins; however, if the Flamen Dialis's wife died, he was immediately required to resign. It is not clear if this was true of the other priests.
