CONTŬBERNĀLES

( σύσκηνοι ), signified originally men who served in the same army and lived in the same tent. The word is derived from taberna (afterwards tabernaculum ), which was the original name for a military tent, as it was made of boards ( tabulae ). Each tent was occupied by ten soldiers ( con tube rna les ), with a subordinate officer at their head, who was called decanus , and in later times caput contubernii . Young Romans of illustrious families used to accompany a distinguished general on his expeditions, or to his province, for the purpose of gaining under his superintendence a practical training in the art of war, or in the administration of public affairs, and were, like soldiers living in the same tent, called his con tube rna les . In a still wider sense, the name con tube rna les was applied to persons connected by ties of intimate friendship, and living under the same roof; and hence, when a freeman and a slave, or two slaves, who were not allowed to contract a legal marriage, lived together as husband and wife, they were called con tube rna les ; and their connection, as well as their place of residence, contubernium .