Nomenclator (slave)

Sepulchral inscription for Epaphroditus, imperial freedman and nomenclator, and his wife Flavia Prisca

A nomenclator (/ˈnoʊmən.kleɪtər/ NOH-mən-KLAY-tər; English plural nomenclators, Latin plural nomenclatores; derived from the Latin nomen- name + calare – to call), in classical times, referred to a slave whose duty was to recall the names of persons his master met during a political campaign.[1] Later, the scope was expanded to include names of people in any social context and also other socially important information about them.[2]

The employ of nomenclatores was common in Roman republican elections from the time of Sulla onwards. Their introduction may have been related to the expansion of the franchise that emerged from the Social War.[3] Their role was especially important when canvassing for votes, since it was important for political candidates to appear to remember all those they had met;[4] indeed it was apparently impressive especially for rural Italians to be addressed by name at Rome.[5] It may have been illegal in the late republic to employ a nomenclator in political campaigns. If actually illegal, the prohibition was widely flouted.[6] The possible illegality aside, use of a nomenclator was still disreputable.[4]

Various ancient texts referenced nomenclatores including: Saturnalia (2.4.15), Historia Augusta (Life of Hadrian 20), Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (27.5),[7] and Natural History (7.88).[8]

References

  1. ↑ Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, "A Latin Dictionary". Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1879. Digitised by Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  2. ↑ Gummere, Richard M., ed. (1979). Seneca: Ad Lucilium epistulae morales I. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 194 n. c. ISBN 0-674-99084-6.
  3. ↑ Morstein-Marx 1998, p. 265 n. 34.
  4. 1 2 Jehne 2006, p. 233.
  5. ↑ Morstein-Marx 1998, p. 265. "Small-town pooh-bash consider it a great sign of friendship if you manage to address them by name".
  6. ↑ Drogula 2019, pp. 36–37, noting also that Cato the Younger's decision to eschew a nomenclator when canvassing for the military tribunate of 67 BC was remarkable.
  7. ↑ McKeown, J. C. (2010). A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the World's Greatest Empire. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-19-539375-0.
  8. ↑ Cheesman, Clive (2009). "Names in -por and Slave Naming in Republican Rome". The Classical Quarterly. 59 (2): 415 n.27. doi:10.1017/S0009838809990152.

Bibliography

  • Drogula, Fred K (2019). Cato the Younger: life and death at the end of the Roman republic. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-086902-1. OCLC 1090168108.
  • Morstein-Marx, Robert (1998). "Publicity, popularity and patronage in the Commentariolum Petitionis". Classical Antiquity. 17 (2): 259–288. doi:10.2307/25011085. ISSN 0278-6656. JSTOR 25011085.
  • Jehne, Martin (2006). "Who attended Roman assemblies? Some remarks on political participation in the Roman republic". Repúblicas y ciudadanos: modelos de participación cívica en el mundo antiguo. pp. 221–34.

Further reading

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