Difference between revisions of "Patricians"

Revision as of 17:54, August 19, 2007

The Patricians were the highest class of citizens in early Rome, composed of wealthy landowners. Although the patricians were only 10% of society, they held all the power with their three hundred member senate. Eventually, in the later Empire the plebian lower class gained equality with the upper class and "Patrician" became a name for any court official.

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-:''This article is about the social and political class in ancient Rome. For other uses of the term, see [[patrician (disambiguation)]].''
+The Patricians were the highest class of citizens in early [[Rome]], composed of wealthy landowners.  Although the patricians were only 10% of society, they held all the power with their three hundred member senate.  Eventually, in the later Empire the [[plebian]] lower class gained equality with the upper class and "Patrician" became a name for any court official.
-<!-- LOWERED TAG (10May07): {{Cleanup|date=March 2007}} -->
-The term "'''patrician'''" originally referred to a group of [[elitism|elite]] families in [[ancient Rome]], including both their natural and adopted members. In the late Roman empire, the class was broadened to include high court officials.
-The word "patrician" is derived from the [[Latin language|Latin]] word ''patricius'' (plural ''patricii''), which comes from ''patrēs'', the plural of ''pater'' ("father"). ''Pater'' was the term applied to the original members of the [[Roman Senate]]. The word comes down in English as "patrician" from the [[Middle English]] ''patricion'', from the [[Old French]] ''patrician''. In modern English, the word ''patrician'' is generally used to denote a member of the upper class, often with connotations of inherited wealth, [[elitism]], and a sense of [[noblesse oblige]].
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-Patricians enjoyed special status as Roman citizens. They were better represented in the assemblies. The comitia centuriata, the main legislative body, was divided into 193 voting centuries. The first two classes (which contained largely the patricians) were divided into 98 centuries, a number which was enough to obtain a majority, despite the fact that they were fewer in number. That meant that if the patricians acted in concord, they could always determine the result of the voting of the peoples assembly. So, although it was not forbidden for plebeians to hold magistracies, the patricians dominated the political scene for centuries. Strangely, the founding father of the Roman Republic, Junius Brutus (ancestor of Julius Caesar's assassin) was a plebeian.
-In the beginning of the Republic all priesthoods were closed to non-patricians. There was a belief that the Patricians communicated better with the Roman gods, so they only could perform the sacred rites and take the auspices. This view had political consequences, since in the beginning of the year or before a military campaign, Roman magistrates used to consult the gods. Livy reports that the first admission of plebeians into a priestly college happened in 300 B.C. (Liv. X.7.9) when the college of Augurs raised their number from four to nine. After that, plebeians were accepted into the other religious colleges, and by the end of the republic, only minor priesthoods with little political importance like the Salii, the Flamens and the Rex Sacrorum were exlusivey filled by patricians.
-In the list of the names of the Romans who held magistracies (the Fasti), very few plebeian names appear before the 2nd century B.C. The turning point were two laws, the Licinian - Sextian law of 367 B.C. that ascertained the right of plebeians to hold the consulship, and the Genucian law of 342 B.C. that made it compulsory that one at least of the consuls be a plebeian.
-Patrician gentes that were ancient and their members were part of the founding legends of Rome, disappeared as Rome started becoming an empire and new (plebeian) families rose to prominence, like the Decii and the Sempronii. Families such as the Horatii, Lucretii, Verginii and Menenii seem to vanish after the 2nd century B.C. Others, such as the Julii reappear only at the end of the Republic. There are some cases where the same gens name was shared by patrician and plebeian clans (for example the Appii Claudii were patricians and the Claudii Marcelli were plebeians).
-==Patricians vs. Plebeians==
-The distinction between patricians and [[plebeians]] in ancient Rome was not defined by a simple rule in the ancient historical sources. Modern writers often portray patricians as rich and powerful families who managed to secure power over the less-fortunate plebeian families, though most historians argue that this is an over-simplification. As civil rights for plebleians increased during the middle and late [[Roman Republic]], many plebeian families had attained wealth and power while some traditionally patrician families had fallen into poverty and obscurity.
-Historian [[Adrian Richard]] states that patrician families were initially those who held positions within the [[flamen|priesthoods]], and that the ancient Senate, composed of patricians, was a religious advisory body. The Senate, acting as a council of religious elders, had political power because it was necessary to have their assent on new laws. The priestly class would confirm that the new laws were in keeping with ''[[mos maiorum]]'' and would give their ''[[auctoritas]]'' to the measures that could then be enacted.
-==Patrician position==
-Patrician status still carried a degree of prestige at the time of the early [[Roman Empire]], and Roman emperors routinely elevated their supporters to the patrician caste en masse.  The prestige and meaning of the status gradually degraded, and by the end of the [[3rd century|3rd-century]] crisis, patrician status, as it had been known in the Republic, ceased to have meaning in everyday life. The Emperor [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] reintroduced the term, and ''Patrician'' became an honorific title bestowed to those who demonstrated faithful service to the Empire. There were often only a few patricians in the Empire at any given time, and sometimes only one.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}
-By the [[5th century]], the title generally denoted a man, commonly a general of the Roman army, who held the power behind the imperial throne. Patricians of this era included [[Stilicho]], [[Constantius III]], [[Flavius Aëtius|Aëtius]], [[Count Boniface|Boniface]], and [[Ricimer]]; Constantius III would later become co-emperor. The patrician title was occasionally used in Western Europe after the end of the Roman Empire; for instance, [[Pope Stephen II]] granted the title "Patrician of the Romans" to the Frankish ruler [[Pippin III]].
-{{Cleanup|date=March 2007}}<!--moved tag here 10May07 -->
-In the Eastern Empire, where the emperors maintained their hold on power, the title retained its meaning as an honorific. The term fell out of use as the [[Greek language]] replaced Latin as the language of the court.  A member of the plebeian class could be elevated by showing great support towards the Senate, by living a life of pure dedication, and having no criminal history with members of the groups.  Patricians could be demoted to plebeian status if they failed to fulfill their duties as a husband, or by murdering another member of the patrician society.
-== Use in fiction ==
-In the satirical [[fantasy]] series ''[[Discworld]]'' by [[England|English]] author [[Terry Pratchett]], the city of [[Ankh-Morpork]] is run by a Presidential figure who is akin to the old Roman nobility. The ruler takes the title of Patrician, but is in all respects a [[tyrant]]. In most of the novels, the Patrician in office is named [[Havelock Vetinari]] and though he often puts up a democratic facade, he is a ''[[de facto]]'' [[dictator]], albeit a relatively benign one.
-In the [[science fiction]] ''[[Foundation (novel)|Foundation]]'' trilogy of [[Isaac Asimov]],  [[Ducem Barr]] is referred to as a Patrician of the [[Empire]] in the ''[[Foundation and Empire]]'' volume. Within the story, it is an inherited noble title, clearly derived of the Roman [[Roman Empire|Imperial]] definition, which was used as a model for [[Isaac Asimov|Asimov]]'s [[Galactic Empire]].
-==List of some patrician families==
-===Definite===
-*[[Aemilius|Aemilia]], [[Claudius (gens)|Claudia]], [[Cornelius (gens)|Cornelia]], [[Fabius|Fabia]], [[Furius|Furia]], [[Lucretius|Lucretia]], [[Menenius|Menenia]], [[Cloelius|Cloelia]]
-*[[Julius|Julia]], [[Manlius|Manlia]], [[Nautius|Nautia]], [[Postumius|Postumia]]
-*[[Quinctilius]], [[Quinctius]], [[Sergius|Sergia]], [[Servilius|Servilia]], [[Sulpicius|Sulpicia]]
-*[[Valerius|Valeria]], [[Veturius|Veturia]], [[Verginius|Verginia]], [[Geganius|Gegania]]
-===Possible===
-*[[Livius_(gens)|Livia]]
-*[[Junius_(gens)|Junia]] (later republic)
-*[[Cassius_(gens)|Cassia]] (later republic)
-*[[Domitius_(gens)|Domitia]]
-*[[Gens Calpurnia|Calpurnia]]
-*[[Caecilii|Caecilia]]
-*[[Scribonius|Scribonia]]
-===List of Patricii===
-*[[Julius Constantius|Flavius Julius Constantius]]: [[335]]-[[337]]
-*[[Flavius Stilicho]]: [[394]]-[[408]] (also [[magister militum]])
-*[[Constantius III|Flavius Constantius]]: [[417]]-[[421]] (later [[Roman emperor|emperor]] February-September 421)
-*[[Flavius Castinus]]: [[420s]]
-*[[Bonifacius]]: [[432]]
-*[[Flavius Aëtius]]: [[433]]-[[454]] (also magister militum)
-*[[Petronius Maximus]]: [[445]]-[[455]] (later emperor March-April 455)
-*[[Ricimer]]: [[456]]-[[472]] (also magister militum)
-*[[Gundobad]]: [[472]]-[[473]] (also magister militum, and later [[King of Burgundy|King of the Burgundians]] [[473]]-[[516]])
-*[[Odoacer]]: [[476]]-[[493]] (also [[List of barbarian kings of Italy|King of Italy]])
-*[[al-Harith ibn Jabalah]]: [[529]]-[[569]] (also King of the [[Ghassanids]])
-*[[Kubrat]] d. mid 7th C.
-==See also==
-* [[Patricianship]]
-==References==
-* Kurt Raaflaub, ed. ''Social Struggles in Archaic Rome: New Perspectives on the Conflict of the Orders'' ([[Blackwell Publishing]], 2005)
-* Gary Forsythe, 2005, A Critical History of Early Rome. University of California Press.
-*Kenny Zeng, 2007, A History Of Ancient and Early Rome
-[[Category:Ancient Rome]]
-[[Category:Social groups]]
-[[bs:Patriciji]]
-[[bg:Патриций]]
-[[ca:Patricis]]
-[[cs:Patricius]]
-[[da:Patricier]]
-[[de:Patrizier]]
-[[es:Patricios]]
-[[eo:Patricio]]
-[[fr:Patricien]]
-[[hr:Patricij]]
-[[it:Patrizio (storia romana)]]
-[[he:פטריקים]]
-[[ku:Patrîsyan]]
-[[lb:Patrizier]]
-[[lt:Patricijai]]
-[[hu:Patrícius]]
-[[nl:Patriciër]]
-[[ja:パトリキ]]
-[[pl:Patrycjusze]]
-[[pt:Patrício]]
-[[ro:Patrician]]
-[[ru:Патриции]]
-[[simple:Patrician]]
-[[sr:Патрицији]]
-[[sh:Patriciji]]
-[[fi:Patriisi]]
-[[sv:Patricier]]

Difference between revisions of "Patricians"

Revision as of 17:54, August 19, 2007

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