Marsi
The Marsi were an Italic people of ancient Italy, whose chief centre was Marruvium, on the eastern shore of Lake Fucinus (which was drained in the time of Claudius). The area in which they lived is now called Marsica. They originally spoke a language now termed Marsian and attested by several inscriptions.
History
The Marsi were first mentioned as members of a confederacy with the Vestini, Paeligni and Marrucini.[1] They joined the Samnites in 308 BC,[2] and, on their submission, became allies of Rome in 304 BC.[3] After a short-lived revolt two years later, for which they were punished by the loss of territory,[4] they were readmitted to the Roman alliance and remained faithful down to the Social War, their contingent[5] being always regarded as the flower of the Italian forces.[6]
The Latin colony of
In the
Language
| Marsian | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Marruvium |
| Region | Marsica in Abruzzo |
| Extinct | ca. 150 BC |
| |
| Inscriptions in votive offerings | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ims |
ims | |
| Glottolog | mars1253 |
The
Corpus
The Marsian inscriptions are dated by the style of the alphabet from about 300 to 150 BC (the middle
Phonology
Their language differs very slightly from Roman Latin of that date; for apparently contracted forms, such as Fougno instead of Fucino, may really only be a matter of spelling. In final syllables, the diphthongs ai, ei, and oi all appear as e. On the other hand, the older form of the name of the tribe (dat. plur. Martses = Lat. Martiis) shows its derivation and exhibits the assibilation of -tio- into -tso-, proper to the Oscan language but strange to classical Latin.
Bronze of Lake Fucinus
The Bronze of
- caso cantouio | s aprufclano cei | p apur finem e..| salicom
- en ur | bid casontonio | socieque dono | m ato.er.a[n]ctia | pro
- le[gio]nibus mar | tses.
It seems to be or describe a votive offering (donom) perhaps of boars (apruf) to the local goddess(es) Anctia (a[n]ctia) on behalf of the Marsian Legions (pro le[gio]nibus martses).[9]
Religion
The sanctuary of Lucus Angitiae, the chief temple and grove of the goddess Angitia stood at the southwest corner of Lake Fucinus, near the inlet to the tunnel of Claudius and the village of Luco dei Marsi. Angitia was widely worshipped in the central highlands[10] as a goddess of healing, especially skilled to cure serpent bites by charms and the herbs of the Marsian woods, which was carried out by local inhabitants until modern times.[11] Their country was considered by Rome to be the home of witchcraft.[12]
See also
- Marsus (disambiguation), Latinisation of the name Marsi
- Umbrian language
References
- Oscan to Latin alphabet see, for example, this page Archived 2015-10-25 at the Wayback Machine or this one. All of the Oscan monetary legends are retrograde, just like the one running clockwise on the copy reproduced in the margin
- ^ Conway 1911 cites: Livy viii. 29, cf. viii. 6, and Polybius ii. 24, 12.
- ^ Conway 1911 cites: Liv. ix. 41.
- ^ Conway 1911 cites: Liv. ix. 45.
- ^ Conway 1911 cites: Liv. x. 3.
- ^ Conway 1911 states: e.g. Liv. xliv. 46.
- ^ Conway 1911 states: e.g. Horace Odes ii. 20, 18.
- ^ Conway 1911 cites: Unteritalische Dialekten, p. 345.
- ^ a b Conway 1897, pp. 289–299.
- ^ Conway 1911
- ^ Conway 1911 cites: Sulmo, C.I.L. ix. 3074, Furfo Vestinorum, ibid. 3515
- ^ Conway 1911 states: see A de Nino's charming collection of Usi e costumi abrusszest.
- ^ see Hor. Sat. i, 9, 29, Epod. 17, 28, &c.
Bibliography
- Conway, Robert Seymour (1897). The Italic Dialects Edited with a Grammar and Glossary. Cambridge: University Press. pp. 289–299.
- Attribution
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Conway, Robert Seymour (1911). "Marsi". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. Endnote:
- Conway, R. S.The Italic Dialects. pp. 290 seq. (from which some portions of this article are taken; on the Fucino-Bronze, ib. p. 294)
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