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Tamás Nótári
Some Remarks on the Role of the Flamen Dialis in=
the
Marriage Ceremony
In
the handbooks of Roman law the flamen Dialis, probably the most anci=
ent
priest of the Roman religion is mentioned in the corpus dedicated to marital
law, namely in the description of the manus marriage effectuated by =
way
of confarreatio. The confarreatio was the ceremony reserved f=
or
the patricians, generating the manus, the husband’s power which
was celebrated in the presence of the pontifex maximus and the fl=
amen
Dialis, together with ten
witnesses.[1] It seems to be worth
scrutinizing why the presence and cooperation of the flamen Dialis w=
as
required at the confarreatio. In the present paper we try to find an
answer to this question from the structural analysis of the flamen
Dialis’s office.
The
flamen Dialis, Iuppiter’s priest is a specifically numinous
phenomenon of Roman religion.[2] A=
mong
the ancient grammarians, Varro derives the expression flamen from the
word filum,[3] but there is no
universally accepted communis opinio doctorum concerning the etymolo=
gy
of the word even in the modern literature of the subject.[4]
Similarly, the latest attempts at interpretation did not yield any solid and
satisfying results. (As further it will become evident – not so much =
from
linguistic but rather from structural considerations – the hypothesis
connecting the flamen to the brahman, proposed by Dumé=
zil,[5] s=
eems
the most plausible. Fortunately, the attribute Dialis does not prese=
nt
so much difficulty, undoubtedly it derives from Diespiter, i.e. the
archaic nominative of Iuppiter.[6] T=
he
descriptive treatment of the more general source material concerning the th=
ree flamines
maiores (Dialis, Martialis, Quirinalis) was carried out by Samte=
r,[7] a=
nd
Dumézil called attention to the importance of the ancient
Iuppiter–Mars–Quirinus
triad, on the basis of which the importance of the three flamens<=
/i>
can be explained, as well as to – besides various other aspects ̵=
1;
the results of this in Roman history.[8] O=
ur
most important antique source treating the flamen Dialis, the
prescriptions bestowing on him certain responsabilities, forbidding him var=
ious
activities, constituting certain taboos, is Noctes Atticae by Gelliu=
s.
In what follows, this locus will be the main object of scrutiny.
Before the minutious analysis of particular rules, it is perhaps useful to recapitulate Latte’s statement, according= to which most rules, taboos and prohibitions meant to defend the magical, numi= nous power posessed by the flamen Dialis.[9] T= he flamen Dialis was not allowed to ride a horse, to mount a horse (equo Di= alem flaminem vehi religio est).[10] = At first glance it would seem evident to consider this prohibition as placing under taboo the horse, the animal connected with death,[11] = as this animal was also forbidden to enter Diana’s Nemorensis grove, and= as it is well-known this cult preserved many archaic elements for later histor= ical periods as well.[12] However, this interpretation would have excluded for the flamen Dialis, strictly obliged to refrain from the chtonic sphere, the possibility of travelling o= n a horse-drawn coach in Rome = (ad id sacrarium flamines bigis curru arcuato vehi iussit),[13] = as the flamen Dialis was forbidden not only to touch but also to see the things declared taboo for him. Though there is considerable difference betw= een riding a horse and travelling in a coach, the presence of the horse is essential in both cases.[14] = It cannot be excluded that the prohibition of riding a horse may be interprete= d on the basis of Meyer’s finding, according to which although riding a ho= rse was a widely spread form of transport in ancient Rome, it was not held in v= ery high esteem.[15] On the contrary, trav= elling on a coach carried in itself a certain sacred element transcending the human sphere.[16] = The flamen Dialis is forbidden to see a mobilised army or to make an oath (item religio est classem procinctam extra pomerium id est exercitum armatum vide= re … item iurare Dialem fas numquam est).[17] = The first prescription is easily understandable, as the fighting army is in constant mortal danger, it is potentially in the power of Death, so its sig= ht is for the flamen Dialis a contangio enervans, a contact, diminishing his mana,[18] whereas in archaic law the oath contains certain elements of self-maledicti= on,[19] = thus carrying in itself the possibility of the decrease of the mana, the numinous force, which must be definitely avoided by the flamen Dialis.[20] Being tied or manacled is in some way characteristic of the slave, who is deprived of the right to dispose over his own life, thus being also a ma= na-diminishing factor. Therefore, the flamen Dialis is forbidden to wear any kind of knot or ring (item anulo uti nisi pervio cassoque fas non est ... nodum = in apice neque in cinctu neque in allia parte ullum habet)[21],= if a manacled person seeks refuge in his house, he should be untied (vinctu= m si aedes eius introierit, solvi necessum est et vincula per impluvium in tegul= as subduci atque inde foras in viam demitti)[22],= and if someone is being taken to be flogged and he imploringly puts his arms ar= ound the flamen’s legs, then it is forbidden to punish him on that = day (si quid as verberandum ducatur, si ad pedes eius supplex procubuerit, eo die verberari piaculum est)[23],= in this last case the convict’s bodily contact with the flamen Dialis= presumably played some role too.[24]<= o:p>
The life of the flamen Dialis is pervaded by numerous other taboos too, which, although in a less concretely definable manner, are also meant to st= op the diminishing of the mana, the numinous force: so, for example, he= may not touch a goat, raw meat, ivy, or beans and he may not even utter these words, nor is he allowed to touch flour or batter made with leaven (capr= am et carnem inoctam et hederam et fabam neque tangere Diali mos est neque nominare ... farinam fermento imbutam adtingere ei fas non est)[25].= The goat, the beans, and the ivy is connected with the cult of the dead and as such,[26] = they must be avoided by the flamen Dialis as he cannot step on a place wh= ere somebody was burried, nor can he touch a deceased person (locum, in quo bustum est, numquam ingreditur mortuum numquam attingit)[27]. This does not contradict the fact that he is allowed to take part in funera= ls (funus tamen exsequi non est religio)[28],= as he does not get into contact with the deceased, thus he does not enter the chtonic sphere, on the contrary, he facilitates eternal departure from the world of the living. His refraining from raw meat, which is too closely rel= ated to the butchered animal is also understandable. The increasing, swelling ac= tion of the leaven in the batter permits association with the reluctance towards= a new, unknown force and probably tries to keep the flamen Dialis with= in the circumstances of the epoch in which only unleavened bread was known.[29] = The hair of the flamen Dialis can be cut only by a free person, his cut = hair and nails can only be interred under a certain, fruit-yielding tree (cap= illum Dialis nisi qui liber homo est, non detonset ... unguium Dialis et capilli subter felicem arbore terra operiuntur)[30]<= i> – the hair, according to antique views was the main container of life-force a= nd if it is touched or cut by an unworthy person, then a substantial energy decrease ensues by way of contagio enervans.[31] = The concept of arbor felix, the tree yielding edible fruit, and that of = arbor infelix, the barren tree or the tree yielding inedible fruit is also kn= own by archaic law, the citizen found guilty of perduellio being hanged = on the latter as they did not want to diminish or injure the life force or = numen of a fertile tree by bringing it into direct or indirect contact with a dead criminal.[32] It is not by chance t= hat the cut hair and nails of the flamen Dialis, which even in this state were carrying mana, had to be burried in the ground under an arbor felix thus enhancing its fertility.[33] = The hair had to be cut with a bronze instrument instead of one made of iron.[34] = This harmonizes with the prohibition to ride, clearly showing the formal conservativism of the Romans. It can thus be assumed that this prohibition originates from very ancient times, when tools made of iron – due to their modernity – were considered taboo in religious rituals.[35] Taking out fire from the house of the flamen Dialis was only allowed= for sacral purposes (ignem et flaminia, id est flaminis Dialis domo, nisi sa= crum efferi ius non est)[36], which was meant to defend the fire pervaded by numen burning in the house of the flamen Dialis against abusus. The priviliged position of = the flamen Dialis was emphasized by the prescription according to which in a compa= ny he could be preceded in the seating arrangement only by the rex s= acrorum (super flaminem Dialem in convivio nisi rex sacrificulus, haut quisquam alius accumbi)[37].= It is difficult to interpret the prescription according to which he must not w= alk under the vine-shoots hanging down (propagines e vitibus altius praetent= as non succedet)[38]. According to Pötscher’s explanation, this might be due to the fa= ct that the flamen Dialis always had to wear an apex on his head= [39] = and the shoots hanging too low could brush it down from his head.[40] Conversely, Kerényi in his interpretation refers to the Dionysian characteristic present in grapes which would have caused the decrease of the numinous force of the flamen Dialis [41]&= #8211; this explanation would be satisfactory if there had been knowledge of a rule prohibiting the flamen Dialis’s drinking wine.[42]<= o:p>
The prescriptions discussed so far were all mean=
t to
defend the flamen Dialis from the diminishing of the mana, the
numinous force, the following rules can be organised according to a complet=
ely
different aspect, namely on the basis of the aspect that flamen Dialis
cotidie feriatus est[43],
i. e. the flamen Dialis fulfills his cultic service every day. In
Kerényi’s wording: “Der zeitliche Ablauf seines Lebens
war der Kultakt.”[44]
According to Dumézil “le flamen historique se présen=
te
comme une victime qui n’est jamais immoléé.̶=
1;[45]
Pötscher defines even more trenchantly the role of the flamen Diali=
s,
a definition which served also as a starting point for the present analysis,
according to which: “Der Flamen Dialis darf Priester im engeren Si=
nne
des Wortes genannt werden, nicht so, wie man gelegentlich auch die Pontific=
es
Priester zu nennen pflegt. Er repräsentiert den Gott, er macht den Got=
t in
einer Form präsent.”[46]
One must bear this in mind when interpreting the rule that the flamen Di=
alis
is not allowed to stay outdoors without wearing the apex (sine ap=
ice
sub divo licitum non est)[47],
originally he even had to wear it in the house,[48]
which presumably refers back to the age when he was not allowed to stay in a
house, or under any roof at all. The constant wearing of the apex appears in
Roman legal thinking as a result of the fiction that the flamen Dialis <=
/i>permanently
lives outdoors.[49] It =
is
possibly the remanant of this stage when the ritual was not performed in the
church but in the open air in the sacred grove,[50]
that the legs of his bed had to be smeared with clay in order to assure dir=
ect
contact with the earth (pedes lecti, in quo cubat, luto tenui circumlitos
esse oportet)[51].
The significance of this prescription becomes evident when analysed together
with two further rules connected with the bed of the flamen Dialis: =
It
is prohibited that the flamen Dialis should not sleep in his own bed=
for
three consecutive days, no other person can sleep in his bed, and beside the
clay leg of the table there should be a pot with sacrificial milk loaf and
sacrificial honey grist scones (de eo lecto trinoctium continuum non dec=
ubat
neque in eo lecto cubare alium fas est ... apud eius lecti fulcrum capsulam
esse cum strue atque ferto oportet)[52].
Based on these, it can be conjectured that the bed of the flamen Dialis<=
/i>
is of certain cultic importance, constituting an integral element of his sa=
cral
function. Although Latte did not fail to observe the parallel that can be d=
rawn
between this phenomenon and the Dodonian cult of Zeus,[53]
its further-reaching conclusions can be found again in Pötscher.[54]
The basis of the Dodonian cult is the hieros gamos taking place betw=
een
Zeus Naios and Dione, the sacred communion of the Sky and the Earth which is
meant to ensure the fertility of the area surrounding Dodona – which =
in
this case can be interpreted as the Person–Bereicheinheit of D=
ione
– with the help of the rain falling on it, which in this case can be
interpreted as the Person–Bereicheinheit of Zeus,[55]
who fulfills here the function of the god of rain, or generally the god of
weather.[56] The
priests in the service of this cult, the hypophetai were not allowed=
to
wash their feet, and they were not allowed to sleep in bed all their life so
that their direct contact with the earth should never be broken (hypophe=
tai
aniptopodes khamaieynai)[57].
Thus several parallels can be pointed out between the elements of the two
cults: At the Greeks the hypophetai are the priests of Zeus Naios,
whereas the flamen Dialis is the priest of Iuppiter i.e. the priest =
of
the Roman equivalent of the same god, the hypophetai may not wash th=
eir
feet and they have to sleep on the ground all their life, the flamen Dia=
lis
sleeps in a bed whose legs are covered with clay so that the direct contact
with the earth should be assured, the priests of Zeus Naios continually sta=
y in
the sacred grove,[58]
the flamen Dialis fulfils unceasing divine service all his life, alw=
ays
wears the apex, thus being de iure always in the open air, an=
d he
cannot leave his bed which ensures constant contact with the earth for more
than three consecutive nights. In the Dodonian cult woman-priests (proma=
nties)
also take part,[59]
and the wife of the flamen Dialis, the flaminica Dialis plays
such an important role in his life that if she dies, the flamen Dialis=
i>
must also resign from his office (uxorem si amisit, flamonio decedit)[60]–
whereas the promanties serve as priestesses of Dione, the flamini=
ca
is present only as the feminine component of the same priestly function.[61]
Taking all these into account it can be safely stated that the fact that th=
e flamen
Dialis nearly every night=
of
his life sleeps in his bed with clay-covered legs which make its connection
with the earth tighter and near which there should be sacrificial milk-loaf
– as if enhancing its sanctity – can be counted as a cultic eve=
nt.
The obligation of the flamen Dialis, who is present in his office
essentially as a husband – as he has to resign from the flamonium<=
/i>
if the flaminica dies – to sleep on the ground night after nig=
ht
should be interpreted as a hierogamic act with the Earth.[62]
The hierogamic view[63] need not necessarily be connected =
with a
concrete myth – this would indeed be surprising in the case of Roman
religion which is so short of mythical stories and so prone to historicizing
the common Indo-European mythic thesaurus[64]
– it suffices to transpose the image of the earth’s fertilisati=
on
with rain to the level of the cult.[65]
Much less is known about the prescriptions concerning the flaminica Dial=
is,
roughly the same rules applied to her as to the flamen Dialis (ea=
dem
ferme caeremoniae sunt flaminicae Dialis)[66],
the colour red predominated in her clothing which again cannot be accidenta=
l,
it rather becomes emphatic because it corresponds to the Roman wedding dres=
s, which
also accentuates the hierogamic concept and also the fact that the flamen
Dialis had important ritual duties at the most ancient and solemn form =
of
the Roman marriage ceremony, the confarreatio – naturally, the=
flamen
and flaminica also had to live in a marriage,[67]
bound according to this sacral ceremony of the highest order as their marri=
age
constituted an integral part of the flamen’s office.[68]
The
tabooistic prescriptions and prohibitions governing the flamen’s=
i>
life destined to stop the diminishing of the mana, the numinous forc=
e,
become intelligible in their structure if approached from this aspect of the
priesthood of the flamen Dialis, i.e. his cultic connection with the
Earth, symbolizing the Earth’s fertilisation by the Sky as well as fr=
om
other acts of his life meant to represent Iuppiter. His taking part in the =
confarreatio
marriage ceremony clearly fits into the line of these prescriptions, bringi=
ng
the ceremony closer to its purpose merely by his praesentia Iovialis=
. =
&nb=
sp;
[1] Földi A.–Hamza G.: A róm= ai jog története és institúciói. (History and Institutions of Roman Law.) Budapest 200510. 251. sq.= ; F. Benedek: Die conventio in manum und die Förmlichkeiten der Eheschließung im römischen Recht. PTE Dolg. Pécs 1978= . 3. sqq.; S. Treggiari: Roman Marriage. Iusti Coniuges From the Time = of Cicero to the Time of Ulpian. Oxford 1991. 21. sqq.; Nótári T.: Jog, vallás és retorika. Studia M= ureniana. (Law, religion and rhetoric. Studia Mureniana.) Szeged 2006. 101. sq= q.
[2] Cf. Nótári T.: Numen és numinozitás – a római tekintélyfogalom vallási aspektusai. (Numen ad Numinousity – The Religio= us Aspects of the Roman Concept of Authority) Aetas 2003. 3-4. 33. sqq.= (also in: Nótári T.: Iuridicophilologica. Budapest 200= 4. 141. sqq.)
[3] Varro ling. 5, 84. flamen quasi fil= amen
[4] A. Walde–J. B. Hofmann: Lateinisches etymologisches Wörterbuch I–II. Heidelberg 1938. I. 512; A. Ernout–A. Meillet: Dictionnaire étimologique de la langue latine. Paris 1959. 239.
[5] G. Dumézil: Flamen – Brahman.= Annales de Musée Guimet 51. Paris 1935.
[6] Walde–Hofmann op. cit. I. 347.= span>
[7] E. Samter: Flamines. RE VI. 1909. 2484= . sqq.
[8] G. Dumézil: Jupiter, Mars, Quirinus: essai sur la conception indo-européenne de la société = et sur les origines de Rome. Paris 1941; G. Dumézil: Sur quelques expressions sympoliques de la structure religiueuse tripartie à Rome= . Journal de Psychologie et Pathologique 45. 1951. 145. sqq.; G. Dumézil: Mythe et epopée. I. L’idéologie des trois functions dans les epopées des peuples indo-européens.<= /i> Paris 1968; G. Dumézil: Archaic Roman Religion. Chicago 1970.=
[9] K. Latte: Römische Religionsgeschicht= e. München 1967. 402.
[10] Gell. 10, 15, 3. Cf. Plin. nat.= 28, 146; Serv. in Verg. Aen. 8, 552.
[11] Cf. L. Malten: Das Pferd im Totengl= auben. Arch. Jb 29. 1914.
[12] Verg. Aen. 7, 774. sqq. At T= rivia Hippolytum secretis alma recondit sedibus et nymphae Egeriae nemorique rele= gat, solus ubi in silvis Italis ignobilis aevom exigeret versoque ubi nomine Vir= bius esset. Unde etiam templo Triviae lucisque sacratis cornipedes arcentur equi, quod litore currum et iuvenem monstris pavidi effudere marinis. W. Pötscher: Flamen Dialis. In: W. Pötscher: Hellas und Rom. Hildesheim 1988. 422.
[13] Liv. 1, 21, 4.
[14] Pötscher op. cit. 422.
[15] E. Meyer: Römischer Staat und Staatsg= edanke. Zürich-Stuttgart 1961. 42.
[16] A. Brelich: Il mito nella storia di Cecilio Metello. SMSR 15. 1939. 33. “L’ uso del carro, nell̵= 7; antichitá romana, rientra sempre e senza eccezione in una sfera sacr= ale, super-umana.”
[17] Gell. 10, 15, 4.
[18] H. Wagenvoort: Wesenszüge altröm= ischer Religion. ANRW 1972. I. 2. 371. sq.
[19] Cf. Liv. 1, 24, 8. Si prior defexit publico consilio dolo malo, tum tu ille Diespiter populum Romanum sic ferit= o ut ego hunc porcum hic hodie feriam; tantoque magis ferito quanto magis potes pollesque. 1, 32, 7. Inde Iovem testem facit: “Si iniuste impi= eque illos homines illasque res exposco, tum patriae compotem me nunquam siris esse.”
[20] Pötscher op. cit. 423.
[21] Gell. 10, 15, 6. 8.
[22] Gell. 10, 15, 8.
[23] Gell. 10, 15, 9.
[24] Wagenvoort op. cit. 1972. 372.<= /p>
[25] Gell. 10, 15, 12. 19.
[26] G. Wissowa: Religion und Kultus der Rö= ;mer. München 1912. 191.
[27] Gell. 10, 15, 24.
[28] Gell. 10, 15, 25.
[29] Pötscher op. cit. 425.
[30] Gell. 10, 15, 11. 15.
[31] Cf. H. Wagenvoort: Roman Dynamism. Studies in Roman Literature, Culture and Religion. Leiden 1956. 143.
[32] K. Latte: Religiöse Begriffe im frührömischen Recht. ZSS 67. 1950. 52.
[33] Pötscher op. cit. 427.
[34] Serv. in Verg. Aen. 1, 448.
[35] Latte op. cit. 1967. 203.
[36] Gell. 10, 15, 7.
[37] Gell. 10, 15, 21.
[38] Gell. 10, 15, 13.
[39] Gell. 10, 15, 17.
[40] Pötscher op. cit. 429.
[41] K. Kerényi: Antike Religion.
[42] Pötscher op. cit. 429.
[43] Gell. 10, 15, 16.
[44] Kerényi op. cit. 198.
[45] Dumézil op. cit. 1935. 44.
[46] Pötscher op. cit. 431.
[47] Gell. 10, 15, 17.
[48] Gell. 10, 15, 16.
[49] Latte. op. cit. 1967. 203.
[50] ibid. 203.
[51] Gell. 10, 15, 14.
[52] Gell. 10, 15, 14.
[53] Latte op. cit. 1967. 203.
[54] W. Pötscher: Zeus Naios und Dione in = Dodona. In: Walter Pötscher: Hellas und Rom. Hildesheim 1988. 173-208.<= /p>
[55] ibid. 181. sqq.
[56] Wissowa op. cit. 121.
[57] Hom. Il. 16, 235.
[58] Hom. Il. 16, 234. sq.
[59] Hdt. 2, 55.
[60] Gell. 10, 15, 22.
[61] Pötscher op. cit. 434. sqq.
[62] ibid. 436.
= [63] Cf. Hom. Il. 14, 312. sqq.= i>
[64] Latte op. cit. 1967. 7.
[65] Pötscher op. cit. 439.
[66] Gell. 10, 15, 26.
[67] Gai. inst. 1, 112.
[68] Cf. Ov. fast. 6, 232; Pöts= cher op. cit. 441.
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