Matrona
As Matrona with one is a Roman citizen married woman in the society of the Roman Empire called.
Their place was mostly in the house, taking care of family and household. It was under the protection and tutelage of the master of the house ( pater familias ), either the father or the husband. She was not allowed to hold public office or develop political activities. The most striking exception as a group were the Vestal Virgins , who had religious status and special privileges.
From Matrona as a Roman wife, the colloquial term “matron” was derived as the name of an older woman who exuded sedate and dignity, later also derogatory for an older, plump woman. The majority of matronae was transferred to mother goddesses in the sense of “mothers, mistresses” as a name or title , for whom about a thousand inscriptions were found on holy stones in the Roman colonization area (see matron stones ).
See also
literature
- Helmut Schroff : Matrona 3. In: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XIV, 2, Stuttgart 1930, col. 2300-2305.
- Birgit Ingrid Scholz: Investigations into the costume of the Roman matrona. Böhlau, Cologne 1992, ISBN 3-412-01491-5 .
- Marieluise Deißmann-Merten : Matrona. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 7, Metzler, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-476-01477-0 , Sp. 1030 f.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Duden editorial team: Matron. In: Duden online . January 2013, accessed on November 13, 2013 : “Matron, the […] meanings: 1. elderly woman radiating sedate and dignity; 2. (pejorative) older, plump woman […] Origin: Latin matrona = married woman, to: mater “ .