Questions tagged [history]
For questions related to history. Bear in mind that questions about only history are off-topic; there should be a connection to Latin.
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Novo v. Novus v. Novum for demonym
What would be the correct or most appropriate demonym for someone who was from New Spain? I have seen “Nova Hispania” used for New Spain in some 17century maps but wikipedia also uses “Viceregnum ...
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Both 'masculus' and 'vir' mean man/male: what's the difference?
In Latin, masculus means male.
Noun masculus m (genitive masculī); second declension
a male (of humans or other animals)
In Latin, vir also means male.
Noun vir m (genitive virī); second ...
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Autistic/schizoid in latin?
What did the Romans—ordinary people or historians like Herodianus and Plinius—call the people who today are considered, in the modern sense, "autistic", or "schizoid". In fact, how ...
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What other numeral systems were used in Classical Rome?
In a recent question, I asked what the symbol was used for a thousand in Classical Latin, because I had heard somewhere that it was not 'M' which is what we are currently taught is the symbol (Short ...
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What was the symbol used for 'one thousand' in Ancient Rome?
I saw an episode of QI (Quite Interesting, a British 'quiz' show that just sort of presents trivia). I don't know the episode or when it was produced (I've searched for it on youtube but haven't found ...
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Roman awareness of the Italic branch
I've recently learned the Romans and Greeks were aware of their linguistic connection (aeolism). However, I couldn't find anything pertaining to their more obvious relationship with the Sabellic ...
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Possibility of Vulgar Latin or Old Romanian origins of "Akoldo" and "Dir" in medieval Primary Chronicles of Kievan Rus
The names "Akoldo" (that's how he was called for the first time, and later he is mentioned as Askold) and "Dir" are mentioned as the first Varangian rulers of Kiev in the medieval ...
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"Semitic languages" in Classical Latin
The term semiticus is attested in Rudimenta linguae Hebraicae (C. H. Vosen, 1883) but I am more interested in Classical Latin.
In English, the expression "Syro-Arabian languages" is ...
user12055
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On a Quote from St. Gregory and the Contextual Meaning of the Word `Operator'
Contained in St. Alphonsus Liguori's Dignity and Duties of the Priest or Selva, one finds the following passage in the section on "Sanctity Necessary for the Priest":
But St. Bernard says, ...
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Are the cases in Latin always six?
In a book about linguistics I've read this sentence:
Each word has up to six different such 'cases', and each case has distinct endings for singular and plural.
Now I'm pretty sure that when I ...
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Did the ancient Romans write on clay tablets?
I know that the most common writing media for the Latin language were papyrus, stone, wax and wood tablets.
But, are there any clay tablets preserved to this day that are written in Latin?
All I can ...
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Philip III of France in Latin
Philip III of France is called "the Bold" ("le Hardi" in French).
The Latin Wikipedia page translates: "Philippus Animosus" but I can't find any historical source using ...
user11811
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Did the ancient inhabitants of Rome who spoke Latin refer to themselves as Latins?
In Ancient Rome (8th century BC to 5th century AD), did the inhabitants use the terms Roman and Latin synonymously to describe themselves as a people?
Zan700
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Is the word "pitikkus" (meaning small) attested in Vulgar (or other) Latin?
Being interested in the obscure etymology of popular Romanian word "pitic" (n.m. "dwarf", adj. "of small stature") I have oddly concentrated only on a possible Greek-...
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Why is Latin more different and hard to learn for a Romance-language speaker than the other Romance languages?
I am a native Romanian and I can master more or less only English, French and Italian - while Spanish and Bulgarian are transparent to me: but German is not - nor Latin!
It seems to me obvious that ...
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Is the ancient word Greek πῐ́θηκος / píthēkos ("monkey") attested with the meaning "dwarf" more than once?
I am interested in the obscure etymology of popular Romanian word "pitic" (n.m. "dwarf", adj. "of small stature").
It might have a connection with the Latin line that led ...
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Meaning of old Greek neighborhoods' names
I was curious about the meaning/origins/etymology of the names of some of the well-known historic neighborhoods of central Athens.
I can assume that due to their age, there's a connection to classical ...
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Are tone indicators attested in Latin?
In English it's possible to use emojis or "tags" (/j, /hj, /s, etc.) to indicate that a sentence is a joke, sarcastic, etc.
In the long history of the Latin language, was there anything ...
user11281
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Did the Romans walk their dogs?
Here is a mosaic from Pompeii showing a Roman dog in a leash:
(Image from Wikipedia.)
Other similar pictures of mosaics are easy to find online, so I am confident that dog leashes were a well known ...
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Origin and actual quote of the proverb "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion"
While searching for the Latin quote of the proverb "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion", I was a bit surprised because the form that I know of that proverb was "It's not enough for ...
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Unde orta est sententia "Simplex sigillum veri"?
A little googling reveals that Simplex sigillum veri—"Simplicity is the seal of truth" or "The simple is the mark of the true"—is best known as the motto of Dutch physician ...
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Who assigned numbers to the declensions and conjugations, and why?
Why are the declensions in the order they are? If someone was learning Latin 2000 years ago, would they have used the same numbers? Would they have believed that some god assigned the numbers to the ...
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The classical Latin speakers called Vulgar Latin sermo vulgaris, sermo vulgi, and sermo plebeius, but what did plebeians call their language?
The elite and the educated, the classical latin speakers, called Vulgar Latin sermo vulgaris, sermo vulgi, and sermo plebeius, but what did plebeians and the other non elite Ancient Romans call Vulgar ...
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is there a pronunciation lineage of latin from the dawn of time?
what I mean is that are there people today who learnt the language personally from people who learnt the language personally etc all the way back to whenever we first detect latin in history?
the rest ...
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What are some examples of famous brands in the ancient Roman world?
In the Wikipedia article about brands, they give a few different examples of brands that existed in antiquity. A couple examples are given for ancient Rome, such as Umbricius Scaurus, a manufacturer ...
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What is the event referred to in this passage from Hermann von dem Busche's Vallum Humanitatis?
In Hermann von dem Busche's Vallum Humanitatis, a spirited defense of renaissance humanism against scholastics at the University of Cologne, I have come across a puzzling passage.
Ecce tibi, quam ...
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the kiskis and kankan debate: primary sources
There's a very famous story about how in the middle of the sixteenth century the Sorbonne University filed a legal claim to the Parlement de Paris re: the correct pronunciation of qu- in Latin, viz. ...
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How the Latin Hexameter was adopted and developed from the Greek?
In Wikipedia I stumbled upon quite surprising sentence:
The hexameter came into Latin as an adaptation from Greek long after the practice of singing the epics had faded. Consequentially, the ...
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Maria mater Domini
The phrase "Maria mater Domini" appears in Pseudo-Papias Fragment X (A fragment attributed by J.B. Lightfoot to Papias of Lombardy, 1040s–1060s, author of the Elementarium Doctrinae ...
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What is the etymology of the Scythian word "hezios" meaning "covered"?
Pliny the Elder claimed, in the 6th book in the 19th chapter of "Naturalis Historia", that the name "Caucasus" comes from Scythian "kroi hezios" meaning "snow-...
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When did "si" become the standard word for "yes" in the Italian peninsula?
I am aware that classical Latin did not have words for "yes" and "no" in the same sense that English does. I know that they could express the idea of "yes" by either ...
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How did Jerome pronounce the Latin language?
Jerome (Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus) lived between the 4th and 5th centuries. He translated the Bible into Latin as the Vulgate (Biblia Vulgata). How would he have pronounced the Latin language?
In ...
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What are some notable works never translated from Latin?
I guess most, if not all, of classical-period works that have survived, were translated. But I'm certain many of the medieval era works were never published in a language other than their Latin ...
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Could all soldiers in the Roman army actually speak Latin?
I am under the impression that men for the legions of the Roman Empire were conscripted across the empire, and so Latin could not have possibly been the first language to every soldier.
But could all ...
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What was the latin command to plunder?
After the Gallic Wars, there existed a commanders order to plunder the cities of the vanquished. What was that Latin command?
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Did Romulus and Remus have other names?
Throughout Classical times, Romans would often have several names: one person might be identified by praenomen, nomen gentilicum, cognomen, agnomen, signum, and patronymic, all together.
Were Roman ...
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Which modern language is more similar to classical latin?
Since Spanish, Italian and French languages are all romance languages and which one of them is the most similar one to classical latin language? Is it Italian? (Rationally maybe?)
EDIT1: I found this ...
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What did the Romans think about new technology?
Are there any attested texts where a Roman comments on some new technology?
The modern world sees a constant flux of them, but technological advancement was slower in antiquity and I do not recall ...
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Is there an etymological connection between "comitia" and "comes"?
In the Roman Republic, the word comitia was used for the various popular assemblies (e.g. comitia centuriata). I can't find any clear indication online as to its etymological roots.
I was wondering ...
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What is "Lux Belli"?
In a certain old text dealing with the Spanish conquest of the Americas, I found the following phrase:
El restituirle el derecho, y acciones de Patron, que le tiene quitado,
y el Titulo de ...
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What did bishop Rémi say to Clovis?
When Clovis, the first king of Franks, stepped into the church where we was to be baptized, he was allegedly told by Rémi, bishop of Reims
Depona colla, Sicamber.
We were taught at school (in ...
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Meaning of "Spiritus Libertatis"
Another question from the frequent latin expressions in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. Here a character is complaining about evil followers from Spiritus Libertatis. I saw that this could ...
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Which ancient Latin works survived into the Middle Ages or later but are now lost?
While reading Saint Aldhelm's 'Riddles' I saw a reference to Lucan's Orpheus, a Latin poem written in the first century AD. The seventh century writer Aldhelm had a copy of Orpheus, but it is now lost ...
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Origin of the Latin Language?
Latin is an Italic language which originated in the Italian peninsula, and was originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome located along the Mediterranean Sea. Similar to most European languages, ...
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How did the Romans salute the Republic?
Are there any known phrases that were used by Romans to celebrate or cheer for the Republic? Something like Ave Res Publica ?
Or maybe they'd cheer for something else, like for the Senate or for the ...
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Extra initial Aeneid lines in 1662 M. de Marolles version
I have a 1662 version of the Aeneid, with Latin and French on facing pages, with the French having been translated by M. de Marolles, Abbé de Villeloin, [additional book info continues: À Paris, Chez ...
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Historicity doubted by Romans
The Roman historians seem happy to mix history with myth with no discussion on the reliability of one's sources — or even a mention of the sources in the first place.
I would like to imagine ...
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Written evidence of a ten-month calendar
There is speculation that prior to the republic Roman calendar there was an earlier calendar instated by Romulus and consisting of ten months.
I do not want to discuss here whether Romulus existed and ...
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Are there Roman accounts of Easter?
Now that it is Easter time, I wonder whether the Romans wrote about Easter.
I am looking for non-Christian accounts in Latin describing the events of Jesus's death and subsequent resurrection.
I ...
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Etymology of ambulance
For a while I have been curious about the etymology of the English word 'ambulance' since it seems to be derived from the Latin word 'ambulare' (to walk). This seems a strange origin for the word. ...
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