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This image illustrates the origin story of Romulus and Remus, the suspected founders of Rome. Romulus then created the Patrician class.


Patrician (ancient Rome)

This article is about the social and political class in ancient Rome. For other uses of the term, see Patrician (disambiguation).

The patricians (from

Latin: patricius) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 BC), and by the time of the late Republic and Empire
, membership in the patriciate was of only nominal significance.

The social structure of Ancient Rome revolved around the distinction between the patricians and the plebeians. The status of patricians gave them more political power than the plebeians. The relationship between the patricians and the plebeians eventually caused the Conflict of the Orders. This time changed the social structure of Ancient Rome.

After the

honorary title in the Byzantine Empire. Medieval patrician classes were once again formally defined groups of leading Grand Burgher families in the Holy Roman Empire and in many medieval Italian republics, such as Venice and Genoa, and subsequently "patrician" became a vague term used for aristocrats and the higher bourgeoisie
in many countries. The legacy of the patrician and plebeian distinction lives on in modern society. This article examines the work of E.P. Thompson to illustrate the legacy that Ancient Rome's class distinction has on modern day class structures.


Contents

Origin

According to

Claudii were added to the ranks of the patricians after coming to Rome in 504 BC, five years after the establishment of the Republic. This specific reason as to why Romulus chose who he chose remains contested by academics and historians but the importance of the patrician/ plebeian distinction is accounted by all as paramount to Ancient Roman society. The distinction between the noble class, the patricians, and the Roman populous, the plebeians, existed from the beginning of Ancient Rome.[1]
This distinction becomes important is years to come.

The periods at the end of your sentences should be inside the quotation, not on the outside. Your new sentences are also one too many spaces from the end of the pervious sentence, I would bring them back one space towards the period. These mistake appear throughout the rest of your revisions to the article.

The patricians were distinct from the

Tribune of the Plebs. There were quotas for official offices. One of the two consulships was reserved for plebeians. Although being a patrician remained prestigious, it was of minimal practical importance. With the exception of some religious offices which were devoid of political power, plebeians were able to stand for all of the offices that were open to patricians. Plebeians of the senatorial class were no less wealthy than patricians at the height of the republic. Originally Patrician, Publius Clodius Pulcher
willingly got himself adopted into Plebeian family in order to be able to become the Tribune of the Plebs.

Status[edit]

Patricians historically had more privileges and rights than plebeians. This status difference was At the beginning of the

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 priesthoods with limited political importance, such as the Salii, the Flamines, and the Rex Sacrorum
, were filled exclusively by patricians.

While it was not illegal for a plebeian to run for political office, a plebeian would have not have had the backing needed to win a seat.[2] Since society was organized in this way, the patrician class was essentially in complete control of Ancient Rome's government.[2] In Cassius' accounts of Ancient Rome, he details how important and advantaged the patrician class was over the plebeian class.[3] He indicates the status difference between patricians and plebeians by detailing about the specific shows the patricians wore. Cassius states, "For the shoes worn by the patricians in the city were ornamented with laced straps and the design of the letter, to signify that they were descended from the original hundred men that had been senators."[3] It is clear through Cassius' account that these details mattered and represent the differentiation between classes. For more on Ancient Rome's social class distinction visit Social Class in Ancient Rome.

Very few plebeian names appear in lists of

Lex Licinia Sextia of 367 BC, which established the right of plebeians to hold the consulship; and the Genucian Law
of 342 BC, which required that at least one of the consuls be a plebeian (although this law was frequently violated for several decades).

Many of the ancient patrician gentes whose members appear in the founding legends of Rome disappeared as Rome acquired its empire, and new plebeian families rose to prominence. A number of patrician families such as the Horatii, Lucretii, Verginii and Menenii rarely appear in positions of importance during the later republic. Many old families had both patrician and plebeian branches, of which the patrician lines frequently faded into obscurity, and were eclipsed by their plebeian namesakes.

The decline accelerated toward the end of the Republic, principally because of the civil wars, from the

Triumvirs
, which took a heavy toll on them. As a result, several illustrious patrician houses were on the verge of extinction during the 1st century BC, sometimes only surviving through adoptions, such as:

  • Julii Caesares
  • Manlii Torquatii
  • Papirii Masones
  • Postumii Albini
  • Servilii Caepiones

However, large gentes with multiple stirpes seem to have coped better; the

Valerii all continued to thrive under the Principate
.

Patricians vs. Plebeians[edit]

The distinction between patricians and

plebeians in Ancient Rome was based purely on birth. Although modern writers often portray patricians as rich and powerful families who managed to secure power over the less-fortunate plebeian families, plebeians and patricians among the senatorial class were equally wealthy. As civil rights for plebeians 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. However, no amount of wealth could change one's class.[2]

The Conflict of The Orders

Eventually, the plebeians were done with being the lower class and not having the same rights and privileges as the patricians.[2] This time in Roman history is called the Conflict of the Orders, which took place between 500-287 BCE.[2] Due to the patricians having the political status, the plebeian class had no representation in the government to advocate for their interests.[2] By not having anyone advocating for their interests, this also meant that the Plebeians did not know the laws they had to abide by.[2] Since the patricians were of high social status, they did not want to lose this status; they were not in agreement with changing the structure of society by giving plebeians more status.[2] Eventually, the plebeian class came together and created their own governing body, the Council of the Plebs.[2] Another advancement that came from the Conflict of the Orders was the twelve tables. At this time in Ancient Rome, the monarchy had been over thrown.[4] The plebeians wanted to know the laws, which resulted in the written form of laws: the Twelve Tables.[2] Even once these laws were written down, and the new Centuriate Assembly was created, the patrician class remained in power. The assembly separated citizens into classes, however, the top two class, Equestrians and Class 1, were able to control the majority of the vote.[2] This meant, that while the plebeians were able to vote, if the patrician classes voted together, the could control the vote.[2] Ancient Rome, according to Ralph Mathisen, author of Ancient Roman Civilization: History and Sources, made political reforms, such as the introduction of the Council of the Plebs and the Tribunes of the Plebs. These two political bodies were created to give the plebeians a voice. After the Conflict of the Orders, according to Mathisen, Plebeians were able to rise in politics and become members of the Senate, which used to be exclusively for patricians.[2]

Marriage

A marriage between a patrician and a plebeian was the only way to legally integrate the two classes. However, once the twelve tables were written down, a law was written which made the marriage between the two classes illegal.[2] If a marriage was to occur between a patrician and a plebeian, the children of that marriage would then be given patrician status. This law was created to prevent the classes from mixing. In Ancient Rome women did not have power in the household. However, according to Mathisen, having a recognized marriage, so not illegally marrying into the other class, was important.[2] Having a legally recognized marriage ensured that the children born from the marriage were given Roman citizenship and any property they might inherit.[2]

Modern Day

When the patrician class was created, the term "patres" was used to describe the head of the household, also known as the patres familias.[1] This term evolved into the word patriarch.[5] In modern society, class distinctions are inevitable. Thompson argues that there is a reason why rulers have looked back on history, specifically at Ancient Rome, to identify this form of societal order.[5] Using the term "patres" in today's society, as detailed by Thompson, means "from above".[5] One can deduct from this understanding of the term to indicate that the patres was the highest role one could have in the family. The relationship of "from above" governing transitions from families in Ancient Rome, to government's of current societies. The influence that the patrician class has on current day society and social class distinction visible through Thompson's reading. In addition to Thompson, Mathisen has also stated that the words "patrician" and "plebeian" are still used today to refer to groups of people of high and lower classes.[2]

Patrician families[edit]

Gentes maiores et minores[edit]

Among the patricians, certain families were known as the gentes maiores, the greatest or perhaps the most noble houses. The other patrician families were called the gentes minores. Whether this distinction had any legal significance is not known, but it has been suggested that the princeps senatus, or Speaker of the Senate, was traditionally chosen from the gentes maiores.

No list of the gentes maiores has been discovered, and even their number is entirely unknown. It has been suggested that the Aemilii, Claudii, Cornelii, Fabii, Manlii, and Valerii were amongst them. The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology suggests that the gentes maiores consisted of families that settled at Rome in the time of Romulus, or at least before the destruction of Alba Longa. The noble Alban families that settled in Rome in the time of Tullus Hostilius then formed the nucleus of the gentes minores. These included the Julii, Tulii, Servilii, Quinctii, Geganii, Curtii, and Cloelii.

However,

Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities suggests that the Alban families were also included among the gentes maiores, and that the gentes minores consisted of the families admitted to the patriciate under the Tarquins and in the early years of the Republic
. In any case, the distinction cannot have been based entirely on priority, because the Claudii did not arrive at Rome until after the expulsion of the kings.

Late Roman and Byzantine periods[edit]

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. This prestige gradually declined further, and by the end of the 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 (r. 306–337) reintroduced the term as the empire's senior honorific title, not tied to any specific administrative position, and from the first limited to a very small number of holders. The historian Zosimus states that in Constantine's time, the holders of the title ranked even above the praetorian prefects.

In the late

Senate
.

In the 8th century, the title was further lowered in the court order of precedence, coming after the

magistros and the anthypatos. However it remained one of the highest in the imperial hierarchy until the 11th century, being awarded to the most important strategoi (provincial governors and generals) of the Empire. In the court hierarchy, the eunuch patrikioi enjoyed higher precedence, coming before even the anthypatoi-Latn. According to the late 9th-century Kletorologion, the insignia of the dignity were ivory inscribed tablets. During the 11th century, the dignity of patrikios followed the fate of other titles: extensively awarded, it lost in status, and disappeared during the Komnenian period in the early 12th century. The title of prōtopatrikios (πρωτοπατρίκιος, "first patrician") is also evidenced in the East from 367 to 711, possibly referring to the senior-most holder of the office and leader of the patrician order (taxis). The feminine variant patrikia (πατρικία) denoted the spouses of patrikioi; it is not to be confused with the title of zostē patrikia
("girded patrikia"), which was a unique dignity conferred on the ladies-in-waiting of the empress.

The patrician title was occasionally used in Western Europe after the end of the Roman Empire; for instance, Pope Stephen II granted the title "Patricius of the Romans" to the Frankish ruler Pepin the Short. The revival of patrician classes in medieval Italian city-states, and also north of the Alps, is covered in patricianship.

References

  1. ^
    ISSN 0032-3195
    .
  2. ^
    OCLC 1137838429. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
  3. ^ a b "Cassius Dio — Fragments of Book 2". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-23. {{cite web}}: no-break space character in |title= at position 32 (help)
  4. ISSN 0022-5037
    .
  5. ^
    ISSN 0022-4529
    .

Class Work

Reference List

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2140599

  • Title: The Social Composition of the Primitive Roman Populus

https://www.jstor.org/stable/296175

  • Title: Patricians and Plebeians at Rome

https://www.jstor.org/stable/590734

  • Title: Capitalism without Classes: The Case of Classical Rome

http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015028304320

  • Title: Ancient Rome

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/acadia/detail.action?docID=178583

  • Title: Women and Politics in Ancient Rome

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/2*.html

  • Title: Cassius Dio- Fragments of Book 2

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/6*.html

  • Title: Cassius Dio- Fragments of Book 6

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3786463

Mathisen, Ralph W., Ralph W. Mathisen, and Ralph W. Mathisen. Ancient Roman Civilization: History and Sources, 753 BCE to 640 CE. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.


Improving My Article

I added the specific hyperlinks into my article above. Below is a list of articles where I linked my own article:

1.)Social class in ancient Rome

While patrician was already hyperlinked into this article, I wanted to include this article to indicate that I made sure it was included.

2.) Ancient Rome#Republic

I added the hyperlink into this article under the Republic heading.

3.) Conflict of the Orders

Once again, my article was already linked, but I wanted to indicate that I looked here as well.

4.)

Plebeian Council#The Plebeian Council and the Conflict of the Orders

Added my article's link in the section on the Conflict of the Orders.



Annotated Bibliography

Hannah Helm- 100135135

CLAS 2673 Annotated Bibliography

Wikipedia Topic: Patricians (Ancient Rome)

1.    Bauman, Richard A. Women and Politics in Ancient Rome. London, UNITED KINGDOM: Routledge, 1994. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/acadia/detail.action?docID=178583.        This source discusses women in ancient Rome.  Specifically, this book has a chapter on women during the Order of the Conflicts (13).  This chapter will allow me to add women into the section on the Order of the Conflicts. Within this chapter, marriage between the two classes is discussed.  If enough information is gained from this source and the class textbook, a subsection on marriage could be added to the article.  Women’s political engagement, specially, patrician women, is detailed in this chapter (14).  The role of patrician women that this chapter explains will added significantly to the current article. 


2.     Botsford, George Willis. “The Social Composition of the Primitive Roman Populus.” Political Science Quarterly 21, no. 3 (1906): 498–526. https://doi.org/10.2307/2140599.


This source illustrates how the Roman populous was created in Ancient Rome. The source uses the Romulus and Remus legend to illustrate how the Roman society came to be (498).  Discussion of the army, the Senate, and the citizen body are discussed in their relation to the class structure of Rome which will be used to contribute to the “Status” section of the article.  This source mostly discusses the patrician class, detailing a lot on the pater familias (499).  This information will allow me to expand the Lead of the article in order to create a better foundation for the article.  Throughout the source, the author refers to many primary sources, including Livy. The meaning behind the word patrician is also illustrated in this source. The meaning behind the word will enable a new section that can be added to the Wikipedia page. 

3.     “Cassius Dio — Fragments of Book 2.” Accessed February 3, 2020. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/2*.html.


This source is a primary document translated from Cassius Dio.  Throughout this source, there are moments and stories explained about the Ancient Roman time.  Within these stories, the role of the patrician class is detailed, showing the hierarchy of class in Ancient Rome.  Having these primary sources allows the reader to see the role as shown through the day to day affairs of Ancient Roman people.  There are details in this passage, such as what the patrician shoes looked like, which will enable to article to form imagery in the mind of the reader.  A quote for example is, “For the shoes worn by the patricians in the city were ornamented with laced straps and the design of the letter, to signify that they were descended from the original hundred men that had been senators.”, (Dio).  This is a credible source, as it is a primary document.  This source will better the “status” section of the article, including more details. 


4.     Mathisen, Ralph W., Ralph W. Mathisen, and Ralph W. Mathisen. Ancient Roman Civilization: History and Sources, 753 BCE to 640 CE. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.


This source contains a lot of details on the patricians. Particularly, this source will be used to add a new section about the conflict of the orders.  The current Wikipedia page does not contain a section about the fall of the patrician and plebian divide which I think it critical in Roman history. This source will also be able to significantly contribute to the currently lacking patrician vs plebian section of the article.  It contains primary documents from Livy, which will enhance the day to day affairs throughout the article.  This source also has the twelve tables in it, which will allow me to include the fact that marriage between the two classes was not illegal.  The current article does not elaborate on the political involvement of the patricians and plebeians.  This source will allow me to enhance that part of the article.


5.     Rose, H. J. “Patricians and Plebeians at Rome.” The Journal of Roman Studies 12 (1922): 106–33. https://doi.org/10.2307/296175.


This source documents the opinion that the patricians and plebeians were two distinct races. The source details the many theories and legends surrounding this opinion.  This source will allow for a new section on the myths and legends of the distinction between patricians and plebeians for the Wikipedia page.  The source directly discusses three specific legends.  While all of the details surrounding the different myths will not be used, the stories will be of benefit for the explanation of the origins.  This source is written in the Journal of Roman Studies, which is a credible source. Currently, the article discusses the families and members of the distinct classes, but neglects to discuss the separation between the classes themselves.  This article discusses the language distinct between the two groups which will be an interesting fact or sub-section in the article (111).


6.     Thompson, E. P. “Patrician Society, Plebeian Culture.” Journal of Social History 7, no. 4 (1974): 382–405.

                                                   

This source examines how the Roman classification of patrician and plebeian has shaped societies in England today.  The author examines why other rulers based their class structure off of the ancient Roman structure.  This source examines in more detail the life of the plebeian and how it can be seen today. It is important to understand the role and life of the plebeians in order to form the contrast with the patrician class.  The source is taken from the Journal of Social History.  Since the class structure is a social history, in and of itself, this is a fitting and credible source to examine.  This source will allow me to create a new section perhaps showing the legacy or impact the patricians have on the modern world. 


Editing an Existing Article

The patricians (from

Latin: patricius) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome [1]. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 BC), and by the time of the late Republic and Empire
, membership in the patriciate was of only nominal significance.


The patricians were distinct from the

plebeians because they had wider political influence, at least in the times of the early Republic [2]
.

  1. ISSN 0032-3195
    .
  2. OCLC 1038024098.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
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