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Megullia Dotata

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Megullia, surnamed Dotata ('richly dowered'), was an ancient Roman noblewoman.

Life

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Megullia is one of the one hundred and six subjects of Giovanni Boccaccio’s On Famous Women (De mulieribus claris, 1362).[1] She is famous (as Boccaccio says) "more through the lavishness of her ancestors than through the worthiness of any of her own deeds. For at that time it seemed such a marvellous thing to give 50,000 bronze coins as dowry to one's husband..."[2] Boccaccio used manuscripts of Valerius Maximus as his source, but they "disagree widely about the amount of money in Megullia's dowry".[2]

Dotata

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At the beginning of the Roman republic dowries were small.[3]

See also

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Notes

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[4][5][6][7][8][9]

  1. ^ Boccaccio, Giovanni, Famous Women, translated by Virginia Brown (Cambridge and London, Harvard University Press, 2001) pp. 109-110 (ISBN 0-674-01130-9)
  2. ^ a b Boccaccio, Giovanni, Concerning Famous Women, translated by Guido A. Guarino (New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1963) pp. 117
  3. ^ Roman Dowry and the Devolution of Property in the Principate
  4. ^ Valerius Maximus — Liber IV
  5. ^ Memorable Deeds and Sayings: One Thousand Tales from Ancient Rome By Valerius Maximus translated by Henry J. Walker, P. 141, ISBN 0-87220-674-2
  6. ^ translation of Valerius Maximus' Liber IV
  7. ^ Titus Livy, History of Rome, Vol. 3 [10 AD], Book XXII
  8. ^ Adam, Alexander; Roman antiquities: or An account of the manners and customs of the Romans, p. 329; 1842 New York; New York public library 480576A
  9. ^ Adam, op. cit., p. 406

References

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  • Roman law and dotata: Roman Marriage: Iusti Coniuges from the Time of Cicero to the Time of Ulpian By Susan Treggiari, pp 96–104, 209–211, 326–342, 541; ISBN 0-19-814939-5
  • Daily Life in Ancient Rome: The People and the City at the Height of the Empire By Jerome Carcopino describes the dowry and dotata on pages 97 – 100
  • Valerius Maximus translated by Henry J. Walker Memorable Deeds and Sayings: One Thousand Tales from Ancient Rome ISBN 0-87220-674-2
  • Horace referred to the wealthy wife's enslavement of the husband as, dotata regit virum conjux - a dowered wife rules her husband (Od iii, 18).
  • The New Comedy of Greece and Rome By Richard L. Hunter, "dotata ('dowered wife') pp 91, 92, 166; ISBN 0-521-31652-9
  • Cicero writes of the importance of the dotata and Roman customs in ad Att. XIV.13, XV.20, Pro Caecina c4 & c25
  • Saint Jerome speaks of the large dowry (megullia dotata) in his Letters 9, 13, 54, 79.
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