"From a Master to his Slave"

[le Bouc]

Something I found fascinating and quite endearing while I was researching, as I'm a romantic at heart, is the Moregine Bracelet. Dated from around 79 AD, when Pompeii was buried under volcanic ash during the Roman empire, it is a solid gold bracelet weighing just over 1 pound in the form of a coiled snake inscribed with the words "dominus ancillae suae" which translates loosely to "from the master to his very own slave girl". This phrase has been further simplified and modernized to "from a master to his slave" (which I find much more adoring and quixotic). It would be worth $30,000 or £22,200 today. It was found on the arm of a woman who was formally buried after the tragedy, aged about 30 years old. Right or wrong, slaves wanted for amorous activity alone were typically much younger. I would like to believe this woman was highly desired and cared for by her master/owner and that there was a reciprocation of affection or love between them, yet Roman law prohibited them from marrying much less having children (the laws are very grey and confounding so I won't go into great detail other than to say there were exceptions and outright violations). Broadly, per the laws of the time should a Master or Mistress marry a slave, they would be condemned to become a slave themselves. Regardless of recognized union, any children would automatically be categorized as slaves, (I'm simplifying the ancient laws for practicality and brevity). All the legal and historical issues aside, I'd like to imagine the Dominate and slave having a genuine love and affection though they were prohibited from formally becoming husband and wife. Certainly the power dynamics involved play directly into Master and slave, Dominate and submissive roles typical of the time. What makes the intrigue unique concerning their relationship is the value of the bracelet she was allowed to have (I say 'allowed' as slaves did not have any semblance of ownership over any and all possessions to include clothing). The overt symbology would have been obvious to anyone seeing this slave wearing the bracelet that not only was she 'owned', but very much valued and loved by her Master. It hits the "forbidden" or "taboo" relationship of love and care in a time where slaves were seen as property, objects, and things, not people to be valued on par with citizens of status.
Anyone else curious to look up the bracelet will find a myriad of academic suppositions regarding the woman's status and relationship, but I like to imagine it as a loving and romantic relationship though forcibly and tragically constrained by societal law. The two wanting to be more but consigned to their roles by the times and society in which they lived.

Au Revoir,
Le Bouc