|
Naming conventions for ancient Roman women differed from nomenclature for men, and practice changed dramatically from the Early Republic to the High Empire and then into late antiquity. Females were identified officially by the feminine of the family name ''(nomen gentile'', that is, the ''gens'' name), which might be further differentiated by the genitive form of the father's ''cognomen'', or for a married woman her husband's. Numerical adjectives might distinguish among sisters, such as ''Tertia'', "the Third" (compare Generational titles in English names). By the late Republic, women also adopted the feminine of their father's ''cognomen''. A woman kept her own family name after she married, though she might be identified in relation to her husband: the name Clodia Metelli, "Clodia () of Metellus," preserves the birth name ''Clodia'' (on the spelling of which see Clodius) and adds her husband's name to specify which Clodia. Children usually took the father's name. In the Imperial period, however, children might sometimes make their mother's family name part of theirs, or even adopt it instead.〔Beryl Rawson, "The Roman Family," in ''The Family in Ancient Rome: New Perspectives'' (Cornell University Press, 1986), p. 18.〕 ==Early to Middle Republic== Women in the early to mid-Republic were usually known by their family name ''(nomen)''. A woman from the ''gens Aemilia'' would be called Aemilia; from the ''gens Cornelia'', Cornelia; from the ''gens Sempronia'', Sempronia; and so on. If there were many daughters, a cognomen such as Tertia (''Third'') could indicate birth order, for example, Aemilia Tertia, the wife of Scipio Africanus. (She, however, is better known as Aemilia Paulla.) The comparative adjectives ''Maior'' and ''Minor'', meaning "the Elder" and "the Younger" when attached to a name, might distinguish between two sisters; for example, the daughters of Gaius Laelius Sapiens are known as Laelia Maior and Laelia Minor. Birth order is not the best or only predictor of a woman's perceived importance or prominence; Cornelia Africana most commonly refers to Cornelia Africana Minor, the younger daughter of Scipio Africanus, and not to her elder sister. Sons, by comparison, were distinguished by a ''praenomen'', the first or personal name of a Roman male's typical three names ''(tria nomina)''. The eldest son was most often given the same ''praenomen'' as his father, with others given the name of a grandfather or uncle.〔Lawrence Keppie, ''Understanding Roman Inscriptions'' (Routledge, 1991), p. 19.〕 This tradition casts doubt on the usage of numerical names: the masculine ''praenomina'' Quintus ("the Fifth"), Sextus ("the Sixth"), and Decimus ("the Tenth") were widely used without reference to birth order, because they were passed on. Thus the semi-legendary Claudia Quinta should have been the fifth daughter of her patrician father from the ''gens Claudia'', but it is doubtful that four older sisters existed: ''Quinta'' is probably an archaic feminine ''praenomen'' that later Latin authors treated as a ''cognomen''.〔T. P. Wiseman, ''Clio's Cosmetics'' (Bristol Phoenix Press, 2003, originally published 1979), p. 95.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Roman naming conventions for females」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|