political life of the tribe.

_General Social Customs_.--In the summer-time the clothing was very
light. The men came frequently to the Roman camp clad in a short
jacket and a mantle; the more wealthy ones {289} wore a woollen or
linen undergarment. But in the cold weather sheepskins and the pelts
of wild animals, as well as hose for the legs and shoes made of leather
for the feet, were worn. The mantle was fastened with a buckle, or
with a thorn and a belt. In the belt were carried shears and knives
for daily use. The women were not as a general thing dressed
differently from the men. After the contact with the Romans the
methods of dress changed, and there was a greater difference in the
garments worn by men and women.

Marriage was a prominent social institution among the tribes, as it
always is where the monogamic family prevails. There were doubtless
traces of the old custom, common to most races, of wife capture, a
custom which long continued as a mere fiction to some extent among the
peasantry of certain localities in Germany. In this survival the bride
makes feint to escape, and is chased and captured by the bridegroom.
Some modern authorities have tried to show that there is a survival of
this old custom of courtship, whereby the advances are supposed to be
made by the men. The engagement to be married meant a great deal more
in those days than at present. It was more than half of the marriage
ceremony. Just as among the Hebrews, the engagement was the real
marriage contract, and the latter ceremony only a form, so among the
Germans the same custom prevailed. After engagement, until marriage
they were called the Braeut and Braeutigam, but when wedded they ceased
to be thus entitled. The betrothal contained the essential bonds of
matrimony, and was far more important before the law than the later
ceremony. In modern usage the opposite custom prevails.

The woman was always under wardship; her father was her natural
guardian and made the marriage contract or the engagement. When a
woman married, she brought with her a dower, furnished by her parents.
This consisted of all house furnishings, clothes, and jewelry, and a
more substantial dower in lands, money, or live stock. On the morning
of the day after marriage the husband gave to the wife the
"Morgengabe," {290} which thereafter was her own property. It was the
wedding-present of the groom. This is but a survival of the time when
marriage