Rihla #8

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Roman weddings/Marriages/divorces

Many roman marriages were arranged by the families. Also In order to get married both had to be adults, which meant early twenties for men and early teens for women. Also you could only marry one person at a time and they could not be closely related to you.

Consent to marry was shown by holding hands in public. In order to announce their agreement of marriage the couple would hold hands in public, at the ceremony, and in front of their new home.Also engagement rings were worn on the ring finger because Romans believed that a nerve ran from that finger directly to the heart.

The night before the wedding the bride had to give away her toys to family, give back her birth locket to her dad and try on her wedding dress. Then on the day of the wedding the brides mother had to dress her. The bride to be had to wear a belt which was the knot of hercules and only the husband could untie it.

The ceremony was a small gathering of the families where gifts and dowry were exchanged and and agreement was signed. Once the paper was done the newly weds sealed it with a kiss.

After the wedding ceremony and dinner the bride was walked in procession to her husband's house. This signified that the marriage was real. In the end the bride would throw her marriage torch to who ever wanted it. Similar to the bridal bouquet.

Divorce was easily done. Another agreement had to be done and signed. Women who were not found of adultery got back their full dowry and women who did commit adultery were only given half. Also women who were independent before marriage were given independence after the divorce.

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