Manus is a Latin word that literally means "hand" in our language. The term manus was used at the time of the Roman Empire, with the purpose of describing one of the powers exercised by the so-called paterfamilias or father of a family, who was that independent citizen, adjudged as “homo sui iuris”, this individual also possessed the control of wealth and capital, but also of the people who lived inside the house or who belonged to it, that is, it ranges from the wife, children, slaves to daughters-in-law. Manus made reference to the pact or agreement that stated that that woman or wife becomes one more member of the husband's family, thus submitting to all their domain or authority and detaching themselves from their original family.
This Manus power, which the paterfamilias enjoyed, derives from the time of the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, Justinian the Great who reigned from August 1, 527 until his death. the paterfamilias enjoyed this power after the marriage was verified by confarreatio, which was an old patrician marriage formula between Romans, especially for those couples whose successors were Vestal Virgins or Jupiter Flamites; it was also verified by usus and coempio.
The Roman marriage in terms of legal structure, what comprises the manus had a vital importance, since for the Romans the manus is the member that can refer externally to power, therefore the manus constitutes in a significant way, the power of the husband over his wife, without any inconvenience, or that with the passage of time the domain that she granted to the husband would become restricted.
