Patrician families

I am compiling a list of Patrician familie names/cognomen from the time of the Kings to the end of the Republic. Any help on his topic would be appeciated. I know there were 100 families who originally advised one of the Kings, and that the Julii and the Fabii were some of the families represented.

I'd start with a well-discussed thread that Nephele started and has added to: click here

Thanks for the props, Dol.

I am compiling a list of Patrician familie names/cognomen from the time of the Kings to the end of the Republic. Any help on his topic would be appeciated. I know there were 100 families who originally advised one of the Kings, and that the Julii and the Fabii were some of the families represented.

cornelius_sulla, I think you may mean 100 individuals who were chosen to advise the king during the time of Rome's monarchy -- and not 100 families. Although these men were, of course, selected from Rome's leading patrician families of the time.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, in Book II, Chapter 12 of his history of Rome, wrote about the selection of these 100:

"As soon as Romulus had regulated these matters he determined to appoint senators to assist him in administering the public business, and to this end he chose a hundred men from among the patricians, selecting them in the following manner. He himself appointed one, the best out of their whole number, to whom he thought fit to entrust the government of the city whenever he himself should lead the army beyond the borders. He next ordered each of the tribes to choose three men who were then at the age of greatest prudence and were distinguished by their birth. After these nine were chosen he ordered each curia likewise to name three patricians who were the most worthy. Then adding to the first nine, who had been named by the tribes, the ninety who were chosen by the curiae, and appointing as their head the man he himself had first selected, he completed the number of a hundred senators."

The Julii and Fabii, being two of the most ancient patrician families of Rome, would have been represented in the earliest senate during the time of the monarchy. An old patrician family such as the Claudii, however, would not, as the Claudii came to Rome about six years after the last king had been expelled.

For help with your question on patrician cognomina, I've already compiled a list of the Surnames of the Cornelii and the Surnames of the Claudii. I hope to cover eventually the surnames of all the Republican era patrician and prominent plebeian families.

-- Nephele

Thankyou Nephele and docoflove for your assistance. Nephele, I did mean individuals, not families, but the message didn't make it from brain to fingers when I was posting the topic. I am a relative neophyte to this whole deal so any help is appreciated.

Cheers for all of the information.

And then I read the list! That isn't just comprehensive, it's exhaustive! For want of a better superlative, wicked!.

And then I read the list! That isn't just comprehensive, it's exhaustive! For want of a better superlative, wicked!.

Thank you, Cornelius Sulla! Do you have a personal interest in the Roman families, or are you inquiring about them in conjunction with school/university course work? I'm glad to have been of help.

-- Nephele

I am an interested amateur - many have cognominated me 'geek'. My last name in the real world is Julian; when I was eight years old my grandfather explained to me who Julius Caesar was, and bought me a copy of the Gallic commentaries. (I must state that I have no pretensions; I am not deluded enough to think that I am descended from one of the patrician Julii. It's just when your last name is Julian, and you know a bit about history, well, you can't help but be proud.) Since then I've had an all consuming interest in all things Roman, particularly the families and their famous scions.

I've had a chance to read through all of the replies to your original topic, and I am awed by the breadth and depth of your knowledge, and also very happy for to have 'met' you. I feel like the proverbial kid in the candy shop.

Geekitude is something I can definitely relate to -- and the families of ancient Rome have my all-consuming interest, too. Thanks again for your kind words, CS. I'm freakin' blushing.

-- Nephele

It looks like our sorceress cast a spell on you, Cornelius Sulla.

It looks like our sorceress cast a spell on you, Cornelius Sulla.

I am just very appreciative of Nephele's knowledge. I'm new to this, and she helped me out. And you have to admit, Ursus, the lady is a gem. With one email she's given me a massive shortcut to information on a topic that has been an annoyingly hard-to-pin-down obsession for years. For me it's like finding the source. Bigs ups to our Lady Nephele.

I was admiring the lady along with you, CS. Neph and I have been friends and colleagues for a while now, and her contributions are rightly and universally praised.

And if you explore other parts of the site you'll find many of our leading members have massive amounts of knowledge in other areas of Romanophilia, some of whom are distinguished scholars or authors in their own right. It's really an interesting mix of people we have here.

Didn't Sir Ronald Syme dedicate his life to researching the connections between the Republics Patrician families?

There is even a name for this kind of study. Prosopography (?).

Didn't Sir Ronald Syme dedicate his life to researching the connections between the Republics Patrician families?

 

There is even a name for this kind of study. Prosopography (?).

Yes, my interest in prosopography of the ancient Romans has grown out of my interest in onomastics, as names and families (Nomina et Gentes) go hand-in-hand.

Friedrich Munzer, author of Roman Aristocratic Parties and Families (whose exciting book I've added to my collection of favorites on the subject) was an especially noteworthy prosopographist. Sadly, his career (and life) was ended by the Nazis.

-- Nephele

And if you explore other parts of the site you'll find many of our leading members have massive amounts of knowledge in other areas of Romanophilia, some of whom are distinguished scholars or authors in their own right. It's really an interesting mix of people we have here.

I must admit that it's all a bit daunting. Even this first contact with the eminent Lady Nephele has shown me how much more I have to learn, and how lax my research has been, how little I actually know. And Nephele is just the start. Then there are your contributions, those of Marcus Porcius Cato, Octavius... this site has seen me late back to work from lunch on many, many occasions.

I'm starting here though, where I feel comfortable. Familial history has a warmth to it that dissecting battles and reasons Cicero's Phillipics doesn't, (well, for me anyway).

Didn't Sir Ronald Syme dedicate his life to researching the connections between the Republics Patrician families?

 

There is even a name for this kind of study. Prosopography (?).

Did Sir Ronald publish any books on this topic? His stuff is really hard to find here in New Zealand. I'm hoping that I can find some on the net.