Class and Status (Lesson 8) Flashcards
What is Status?
The legal standing or social prestige.
Could Liberti get citizenship?
Yes but they were prohibited from running for office.
Was a freedperson truly free?
Kind of…they weren’t forced to live with their master anymore but they still owed their master free labour annually and had to stay loyal to their master as well.
What is a honestiores?
A wealthy citizen
What is a humiliores?
A poor citizen
Who did the elite consist of?
Equestrians, Senatorials (lifelong membership to the senate) and Decurions (wealthiest members of urban communities outside of Rome).
What were the two categories that Roman citizens were divided into?
Plebeians (humble backgroungs) and Patricians (100 patres and their descendants became patricians as well).
Who were the Novi homines?
Men that came from wealthy but non-political backgrounds and would pursue a political career.
What was a toga?
Semicircular garment that male Roman citizens had to wear in the forum and when attending the theatre. Senators had to wear a toga with a wide purple stripe and Equestrians had to wear one with a narrow purple stripe.
What was the tria nomina?
The naming system of Romans (helped determine class and status)
What was praenomen?
The individual’s personal name, for example Gaius.
What was nomen?
Gens or clan name, for example Julius.
What was cognomen?
Hereditary or earned names that helped identify individuals or branches of families, for example Caesar.
Who was Pertinax?
The son of a freedman who then became emperor. Was first commander and then general.
What does nexum mean?
It’s a debt bondage, involving the individual subjecting themselves to slavery as collateral against a loan.
