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Chapter 10 - Explaining the gens

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2009

C. J. Smith
Affiliation:
University of St Andrews, Scotland
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Summary

INTRODUCTION

The previous chapters have had three objectives: first, to reinstate the curiae properly in the discourse on early Rome, by examining their nature, functions and privileges; second, to examine the nature and privileges of the patriciate, in the context of the Struggle of the Orders; and third, to pose a problem over the apparently fractured and fracturing nature of Roman society, and its surprising cohesion and success. I have laid heavy emphasis on the proclaimed privileges of the patriciate, but have been dubious about the grounds for those privileges. In other words, I have suggested that the patriciate is a fiction of its own making, and claims and counterclaims about it should be seen in terms of an argument, and not as statements of fact. Moreover, it is not clear that the patriciate emerged into the Republican period with these arguments already developed, or that it was successful in maintaining the privileges it claimed in the fifth and fourth centuries. The long history of the military tribunes with consular imperium for instance may reflect a long period of uncertainty over the justification of patriciate control of office.

In terms of the cohesiveness or otherwise of Roman society, the army provides an obvious case-study.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Roman Clan
The Gens from Ancient Ideology to Modern Anthropology
, pp. 299 - 335
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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  • Explaining the gens
  • C. J. Smith, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • Book: The Roman Clan
  • Online publication: 22 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511482922.014
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  • Explaining the gens
  • C. J. Smith, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • Book: The Roman Clan
  • Online publication: 22 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511482922.014
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Explaining the gens
  • C. J. Smith, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • Book: The Roman Clan
  • Online publication: 22 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511482922.014
Available formats
×