a ceremony observed among the ancient Romans at the nuptials of those persons more particularly whose children were destined for the priesthood. Confarreatio was the most solemn of the three forms of marriage; but in later times this ceremony fell much into disuse; hence Cicero mentions but two, namely, coemptio and usuus. In the ceremony of confarreatio, according to Servius, the pontifex maximus, or flamen dialis, joined and contracted the man and woman, who went through the form of partaking of the same cake of salted bread, called far, or panis ferreus; whence the term confarreatio. Ulpian says that the ceremony consisted in the offering up of some pure wheaten bread, and rehearsing a certain formula, in presence of ten witnesses. Dionysius Halicarnassensis adds, that the man and woman partook of the same wheaten bread, and threw a part on the victim, which was a sheep. This form of marriage could only be dissolved by another equally solemn ceremony, called disfarreatio. The children sprung from this kind of marriage were styled patrimi and matrimi; and from these alone were chosen certain priests—as the flamen dialis and the vestal virgin. According to Festus, those were so called whose parents were both living; and if the father only was alive, they received the appellation of patriini or patriinas; or if the mother only, they were called matrini or matrinas.