La famille en terre Gauloise (IIe-Ve siecle)

Abstract

This article tries to assess the process of acculturation in Roman Gaul, the interactions between Gaulish traditions and the Roman model. Sources are scarce, but a tile bearing eleven lines written in Gaulish may provide an information since it enlightens the evolution of matrimonial traditions in the 2nd-century Gaul. It emphasizes the difficulties posed by the confrontation between the consensual approach to marriage, which organized an instantaneous marriage, and the customary representation of a marriage in different steps grounded on the agreement of the families. The presence of the tile in a temple may suggest that the priests were the artisans who coped with the transformation of the Roman law and acted for accommodating the norms. In the Late Empire, the establishment of tribal communities coming from Britain raised again the problem of adapting standards. A legislation of a special kind provides information. It is a compilation of exemplary sentences helping the military judges in charge of trials involving tribal soldiers. The problems that arose concerned family solidarity, which implied vengeance. It also shows the strengthening of a patriarchal structure, a capitalis being guarantor of his family before the Roman authorities.