Legal Definitions - conubium

Conubium is a term from ancient Roman law that refers to two key aspects of marriage:

• First, it signifies the legal capacity or right to marry according to Roman law. This meant that certain individuals, based on their citizenship, social status, or other legal standing, were permitted to enter into a valid Roman marriage (known as justae nuptiae).

• Second, it encompassed the collection of specific legal rights and privileges that were inherent in such a valid Roman marriage. These rights often included the legitimacy of children, the father's legal authority over his family (patria potestas), and certain inheritance or property rights.

In essence, if two individuals possessed conubium, they could form a legally recognized Roman marriage with all its associated benefits and obligations; if they lacked it, their union would not be considered a full Roman marriage, and their children might not inherit the same legal status.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of conubium:

• Imagine a Roman citizen man living in the city of Rome. He wishes to marry a woman who is also a Roman citizen. Because both individuals possess Roman citizenship, they have conubium, meaning they have the legal capacity to enter into a valid Roman marriage. Their union would be recognized under Roman law, and any children born from this marriage would automatically inherit Roman citizenship and be under the legal authority of the father (patria potestas), illustrating the full collection of rights associated with conubium.

• Consider a Roman soldier serving abroad during the early Roman Empire. At certain periods, Roman soldiers were legally prohibited from marrying while on active duty. If such a soldier formed a relationship with a local woman and had children, their union would lack conubium. This means it would not be recognized as a legal Roman marriage, and consequently, their children would not automatically gain Roman citizenship or be under the father's patria potestas, highlighting the absence of both the legal capacity and the associated marital rights.

• Picture a wealthy Roman merchant, a full citizen, who falls in love with a woman from a newly conquered territory who does not possess Roman citizenship. Under Roman law, these two individuals would typically lack conubium because of the woman's non-citizen status. Even if they lived together as husband and wife, their union would not be considered a legal Roman marriage (justae nuptiae). This would have significant implications, for example, regarding the legal status of any children they might have, who would not automatically inherit Roman citizenship from their father, demonstrating how the absence of conubium affected legal recognition and rights.