A ''concubinatus'' (Latin for "

concubinage Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubin ...

" – see also '' concubina'', "concubine", considered less pejorative than '' paelex'', and '' concubinus'', "man who lives with another with no legal marriage") was an institution of quasi-marriage between Roman citizens who for various reasons did not want to enter into a full marriage. The institution was often found in unbalanced couples, where one of the members belonged to a higher social class or where one of the two was freed and the other one was

freeborn "Freeborn" is a term associated with political agitator John Lilburne (1614–1657), a member of the Levellers, a 17th-century English political party. As a word, "freeborn" means born free, rather than in slavery or bondage or vassalage. Lilbu ...

. However, it differed from a ''

contubernium A ''contubernium'' was a quasi-marital relationship in ancient Rome between a free citizen and a slave or between two slaves. A slave involved in such relationship was called ''contubernalis''. The term describes a wide range of situations, from ...

'', where at least one of the partners was a slave.

In Roman law

What

legally Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

differentiated a concubinage from a marriage was a lack of ''affectio maritalis'' ("marital affection"), which was the desire of having a legal spouse, raise their rank, make them their equal, or the corresponding intent from the other party involved. A person registered in a ''concubinatus'' was not allowed to have a spouse at the same time. Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

' '' Leges Juliae'' gave the first legal recognition of concubinage, defining it as cohabitation without marital status. ''Concubinatus'' came to define many relationships and marriages considered unsuitable under Roman customs, such a senator's desire to marry a freedwoman, or his cohabitation with a former prostitute. A quasi-marital relationship involving a Roman citizen and a foreigner was not considered a concubinage but was rather equated to a marriage between non-Romans (''matrimonium juris gentium''), without legal consequences except those deriving from the ''

Jus gentium The '' ius gentium'' or ''jus gentium'' (Latin for "law of nations") is a concept of international law within the ancient Roman legal system and Western law traditions based on or influenced by it. The ''ius gentium'' is not a body of statute law ...

''. While any couple could live in a concubinage instead of entering into a marriage, they were compelled to give notice to the authorities. This type of cohabitation varied little from actual marriage, except that heirs from this union were not considered legitimate. Often this was the reason that men of high rank would live with a woman in concubinage after the death of their first wife; the claims of their children from the first marriage would not be challenged by their children from the later union.

''Concubina''

The title of concubine was not considered derogatory (as it may be considered today) in ancient Rome, and was often inscribed on tombstones. Concerning the difference between a concubine and a wife, the jurist

Julius Paulus Julius Paulus ( el, Ἰούλιος Παῦλος; fl. 2nd century and 3rd century AD), often simply referred to as Paul in English, was one of the most influential and distinguished Roman jurists. He was also a praetorian prefect under the Rom ...

wrote in his ''Opinions'' that "a concubine differs from a wife only in the regard in which she is held", meaning that a concubine was not considered a social equal to her patron, as his wife was. Concubines did receive much protection under the law, even though they could not legally share their patron's social stature. They largely relied upon their patrons to provide for them. Early Roman law sought to differentiate between the status of concubinage and legal marriage, as demonstrated in a law attributed to

Numa Pompilius Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political institutions are a ...

, the second king of Rome, circa 716–673 BCE: "A concubine shall not touch the altar of Juno. If she touches it, she shall sacrifice, with her hair unbound, a ewe lamb to Juno"; this fragment gives evidence that concubines existed early in the Roman monarchy, but also notes the banning of their involvement in the worship of Juno, the goddess of marriage. Later the jurist

Ulpian Ulpian (; la, Gnaeus Domitius Annius Ulpianus; c. 170223? 228?) was a Roman jurist born in Tyre. He was considered one of the great legal authorities of his time and was one of the five jurists upon whom decisions were to be based according to ...

wrote on the ''Lex Julia et Papia'', "Only those women with whom intercourse is not unlawful can be kept in concubinage without the fear of committing a crime". He also said that "anyone can keep a concubine of any age unless she is less than twelve years old".

''Concubinus''

A masculine of concubine, ''concubinus'', "man in a concubinage", "male-lover", was also regularly used in Latin, although it is attested less often than ''concubina''. See, for instance, Tac. A. 13, 21: "''Nunc per concubinum Atimetum et histrionem Paridem quasi scaenae fabulas componit.''" ("Now through her paramour, Atimetus, and the actor, Paris, she is, so to say, concocting a drama for the stage").

Polygamy

Despite traditional Roman aversion against

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

and the fact that according to the

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...

a man could not have a concubine while he had a wife, there are various notable occurrences of this, including the famous cases of the emperors

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

, and

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

wrote that Augustus "put Scribonia

is second wife In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject (grammar), subject of a sentence (linguistics), sentence to a subject complement, such as the word '' ...

away because she was too free in complaining about the influence of his concubine". Often, in return for payment, concubines would relay appeals to their emperor. This ''de facto'' polygamy – for Roman citizens could not legally marry or cohabit with a concubine while also having a legal wife – was "tolerated to the degree that it did not threaten the religious and legal integrity of the family".

References

Bibliography

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