Matrona vs. Mater Familias? Aulus Gellius DiscussesTerminology of Women, Noct. Att. 18.6.4-9

Mater Familias and Matrona: Defining Terms

Name: Aulus Gellius  Date: 125 – 180 CE Region:  Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Athenian Nights 18.6.4-9

In his book, Aulus Melissus states, “A matrona is a woman who gave birth once, but a mater familias [matriarch] is a woman who gave birth to many children, just like a pig who has given birth once is called a porcetra, and a pig that has given birth multiple times is called a scrofa. But heaven knows whether it is the author’s opinion on this terminology, or if he made it up himself. Pomponius has attested the specific usage of porcetra in his Atellania, but I can’t confirm in ancient testimonia what he says about matrons and matriarchs. It’s more likely to be true what better scholars state on this topic, that a woman is called a matrona who enters a marriage with a man, and continues to be a matron as long as she remains married to him, even before the arrival of children. She obtains the name of a mother before she becomes one, in the hope that soon she will be one. This is where we get the term matrimonium [matrimony]; but a woman is only called a mater familias when she is under the authority of her husband [maritus] or in the power of his family, because then she is not only married to him, but also now a member of his family and one of the beneficiaries of his will.”

 

Mater Familias and Matona: Defining Terms

Ex eo libro verba haec sunt: “‘Matrona’ est quae semel peperit, quae saepius, ‘mater familias’; sicuti sus quae semel peperit, ‘porcetra,’ quae saepius, ‘scrofa.’”

Utrum autem hoc de matrona ac de matrefamilias Melissus excogitaverit ipse et coniectaverit, an scriptum ab alio quo legerit, hariolis profecto est opus.  Nam de “porcetra” habet sane auctorem Pomponium in Atellania, quae hoc eodem vocabulo inscripta est; sed “matronam” non esse appellatam nisi quae semel peperit, neque “matrem familias” nisi quae saepius, nullis veterum scriptorum auctoritatibus confirmari potest. Enimvero illud impendio probabilius est, quod idonei vocum antiquarum enarratores tradiderunt, “matronam” dictam esse proprie quae in matrimonium cum viro convenisset, quoad in eo matrimonio maneret, etiamsi liberi nondum nati forent, dictamque ita esse a matris nomine, non adepto iam, sed cum spe et omine mox adipiscendi, unde ipsum quoque “matrimonium” dicitur, “matrem” autem “familias” appellatam esse eam solam quae in mariti manu mancipioque aut in eius in cuius maritus manu mancipioque esset, quoniam non in matrimonium tantum, sed in familiam quoque mariti et in sui heredis locum venisset.

Aulus Gellius [125 – 180 CE] lived during the 2nd century CE. His work, the Attic Nights, are a collection of anecdotes about literature, history, and grammar.  From internal evidence, we can deduce that he was in the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ social circle, having close friendships with Herodes Atticus and Fronto.