Concubinage existed, but not polygamy, as monogamy was strictly enforced at Rome. This was so closely guarded that a divorced man could not marry again unless the divorce was an effective one. Concubinage was usually between parties that could not enter into a legal marriage, and thus the concubine was usually a woman of low estate, often a freedwoman. The offspring were considered illegitimate and could not enter into the inheritance.
In the early times there were no divorces in Rome. It is claimed that there were no divorces during the first five hundred years from the founding of the city, the first divorce occurring about 231 B. C., when Spurius Carvilius Ruga put away his wife because she was barren. But divorces increased till in the last years of the republic and under the empire they became very frequent. "Seneca says, some women counted their years, not by consuls, but by their husbands; and Juvenal, that some divorced before the green bays of welcome had faded on the lintels, and they might have had eight husbands in five years; Tertullian, that women marry only in order to divorce; these exaggerations must have a foundation in truth.... Ovid and Pliny the younger had three wives; Cæsar and Antony four; Sulla and Pompey five; such cases must have been frequent."[187]
There were a number of causes for divorce, in the later days, the most common one being incompatibility of temper. In the divorce, the tablets of the contract were broken in the presence of seven witnesses, all adult Roman citizens. Repudiation was a less solemn act and took place quietly in the family. In the early times, when a woman was divorced she lost her dowry. In later times, a sixth was kept back for adultery and an eighth for other crimes. Then, still later, it came about that if the husband was divorced by the wife he lost the dowry, but if the wife divorced him without a cause the husband retained a sixth of the dowry for each child, but only up to three-sixths.
Dress.
The tunica was worn indoors, when the toga was thrown off, and also outdoors, when the toga was worn over it. In the later times in cold weather two or more tunics were worn. The tunica was a kind of woolen shirt, at first without sleeves, then with short sleeves reaching to the elbows, and in the time of the empire long sleeves were attached to it. It reached down to the calves and even to the ankles. It was often fastened to the waist by a girdle, which was used as a purse for holding money.
Another garment was the pænula, a kind of cloak made of thick wool and leather, and worn over the toga in traveling in bad weather. Another kind of cloak, worn over the toga or tunica, was the lacuna, which was made of lighter and more costly material and was worn for show as well as for use. To both pænula and lacuna could be added a hood (cucullus) for further protection from the weather.
The women in the early times wore the toga and the tunica the same as the men. The tunica continued to be worn but there arose as distinct apparel for women, the stola and the palla. The stola was an oblong garment worn over the tunica and extended to the feet. It was open at the top on either side for the arms to go through and fastened on both shoulders with clasps or brooches (fibulæ), which often were quite costly articles. A girdle was drawn around it at the waist and then it was pulled up and allowed to fall over the girdle till the girdle was covered by the folds and then the lower part of the stola was pulled down till it just touched the ground. At the bottom there was an ornamental border. Sometimes there were sleeves to it, which were open below and fastened together with gold or jeweled buttons or clasps. The stola was a special garment that was permitted to be worn only by married women of unblemished reputation. "The common courtesans were not allowed to appear in the stola, but were compelled to wear a sort of gown, resembling the habit of the opposite sex, and which was regarded as a mark of infamy."[188]
The palla was a kind of cloak worn out of doors over the stola. It was somewhat similar to the toga, as it was a square or oblong piece of cloth. Like the toga, too, it was thrown forward over the left shoulder and let fall to the feet, and then drawn over or under the right shoulder and pulled across the breast and thrown over the left arm or shoulder. When necessary to protect the head, the palla could be drawn up over it like the toga.
The prevalent material of Roman clothing was always woolen and up to the end of the republic the only materials used were wool and linen. Sheep-raising for wool was one of the very most important industries. Foreign wools, however, were imported, because the supply of native wool was not sufficient to meet the demand and also by importing foreign wool a variety of natural colors could be obtained, as brown, red, black, golden-brown, reddish, and grayish. Goats' wool was not often used for wearing apparel, usually only for coarse cloaks and overshoes. It was woven into rough and heavy cloths for tent-coverings, blankets, and the like, and goats' hair was used for making ropes and cables.
Linen was used for the under-garments of both men and women and for women's belts and girdles and also linen thread was made. In the later times the finer grades of linen for handkerchiefs, table-cloths, napkins, bedding, and suits were all imported. Cotton and cotton fabrics were introduced from the far East into Greece and thence into Rome. Silk began to be used by the women toward the end of the republic and by men under the empire.