Legal Definitions - arrha sponsalitia

Arrha sponsalitia is a term originating from Roman law that refers to a payment or valuable item given by one person to another as a guarantee that they will fulfill their promise to marry. Essentially, it served as a form of security deposit for an engagement, intended to ensure the commitment of the person making the promise.

• Example 1 (Financial Guarantee):

  In ancient Rome, a wealthy merchant named Marcus promised to marry Julia. To demonstrate his serious intent and assure Julia's family that he would not back out of the engagement, he gave Julia's father a substantial sum of money. This money was understood to be forfeited if Marcus broke the engagement without a valid, legally recognized reason.

  This payment by Marcus to Julia's family functions as an arrha sponsalitia because it is a financial guarantee specifically made to ensure his promise to marry Julia is kept.

• Example 2 (Valuable Item as Guarantee):

  A young Roman soldier, Gaius, was deeply in love with Livia and promised to marry her upon his return from military service. As a token of his commitment and to reassure Livia's family during his long absence, he entrusted Livia's father with a valuable family heirloom – a unique signet ring – with the understanding that it would be returned only upon the marriage. If Gaius failed to marry Livia without good cause, the ring would remain with her family as compensation.

  The valuable signet ring serves as an arrha sponsalitia because it is a tangible asset given as a pledge to guarantee Gaius's future marriage to Livia, acting as a form of security for his promise.

• Example 3 (Forfeiture upon Breach):

  A Roman noble, Lucius, promised to marry Cornelia. As part of their engagement agreement, Lucius provided Cornelia's guardian with a significant amount of gold coins. Later, Lucius decided he no longer wished to marry Cornelia and broke off the engagement without any justifiable reason recognized by law. As a result, Cornelia's guardian retained the gold coins.

  The gold coins given by Lucius represent an arrha sponsalitia because they were a payment intended to secure his promise of marriage. Their forfeiture upon his unjustified breach of promise illustrates the guarantee aspect of this legal concept.