The Latin Inscriptions of Rome
The Latin Inscriptions of Rome

Author: Tyler Lansford

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press+ORM

Published: 2009-08-15

Total Pages: 559

ISBN-13: 1421403250

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A collection of 15 guided walking tours of the ancient Latin descriptions found throughout Rome. Rome’s oldest known Latin inscription dates from the sixth century BC; the most recent major specimen was mounted in 2006—a span of more than two and a half millennia. Remarkably, many of these inscriptions are still to be found in situ, on the walls, gates, temples, obelisks, bridges, fountains, and churches of the city. Classicist Tyler Lansford has collected some 400 of these inscriptions and arranged them—with English translations—into fifteen walking tours that trace the physical and historical contours of the city. Each itinerary is prefaced by an in-depth introduction that provides a survey of the history and topography of the relevant area of the city. The Latin texts appear on the left-hand page with English translations on the right. The original texts are equipped with full linguistic annotation, and the translations are supplemented with historical and cultural notes that explain who mounted them and why. This unique guide will prove a fascinating and illuminating companion for both sophisticated visitors to the Eternal City and armchair travelers seeking a novel perspective into Rome's rich history. “This book is wonderful. . . . Lansford’s evocative depictions of monuments, cityscape, and memorable humans have inspired me anew with the fascination of Rome.” —Mary T. Boatwright, Duke University “If this book is not slipped into many a Rome-bound suitcase, there is no justice in the world. I can think of few more enjoyable companions on a prowl through the city.” —Jane Stevenson, Times Literary Supplement (UK)

Latin Inscriptions
Latin Inscriptions

Author: Dirk Booms

Publisher: British museum Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780714122885

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Latin inscriptions can appear daunting - a jumble of letters without any structure or meaning. However, once you know how, most are easy to read as they follow strict rules of grammar and abbreviation. This book will teach readers how to 'decipher' them and will highlight how even the smallest piece of information that an inscription may provide can help classicists and archaeologists to reconstruct the daily life of ordinary Romans. While surviving literature often only relates to the lives of the elite (who could afford books), inscriptions were texts used by all and meant to be seen by all. Thus, they shed light on the lives of those classes of people less visible in the archaeological record - the poor, slaves and women. Illustrated with the best examples of inscriptions from the British Museum's Roman collection, this book will explore the meaning of putting up public inscriptions and the standardised system of abbreviation that was used to ensure Romans from all areas of the Empire could read them. Written in the simple everyday-life Latin, they also reflect linguistic changes within society, allowing the modern day scholar to uncover the introduction of slang words and new spellings of Latin words. We may also stumble across spelling mistakes, for not everyone knew how to write Latin fluently, and often we find that words had been written phonetically. If the text of the inscriptions can give us one part of the information, often the style of decoration around the inscription, the accompanying images, or the original location can tell us even more. Every aspect of an inscribed monument was carefully chosen by the person commissioning the inscription, and thus carried specific meaning, and so combined with the texts of the inscriptions, it is possible to reconstruct pieces of the lives of everyday Romans that were thought most valuable to be remembered.

Latin Inscriptions in Oxford
Latin Inscriptions in Oxford

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781851244300

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For the first six centuries from the institution's foundation, Latin was the language spoken and written at the University of Oxford. It's no surprise, then, to find that the inscriptions carved into the monuments, colleges and municipal buildings of the city are for the most part also in Latin. It is also a language which lends itself to compression, so an inscription in Latin uses fewer characters than English, for example, saving space and money. But what do they all mean?For this book Reginald Adams has assembled, translated and explained a wide selection of Oxford's Latin inscriptions (and a few Greek ones). These can be found in many accessible places in both city and university, dating from the medieval period to the present day. Their purposes range from tributes and memorials to decorations and witty commentaries on the edifice that they adorn. The figures commemorated include Queen Anne, Roger Bacon, Cardinal Wolsey, Cecil Rhodes, T. E. Lawrence and a kind landlady who provided 'enormous breakfasts', as well as other eminent scholars and generous benefactors. These evocative mementos of the past bring insight to the informed observer of their surroundings and also vividly illustrate the history of Oxford.

By Roman Hands
By Roman Hands

Author: Matthew Hartnett

Publisher: Hackett Publishing

Published: 2012-07-01

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 1585105120

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By Roman Hands takes Latin out of the textbook and allows students to see and translate Latin as it actually appeared on Roman monuments, walls and tombs. The first collection of entirely authentic and un-adapted inscriptions and graffiti accessible to beginning and intermediate students of Latin, By Roman Hands unites the study of language and culture in a novel and compelling way and at a level that the Latin can be grasped and discussed by early Latin learners. Ranging from a love letter hastily scratched on a Pompeian wall to the proclamation of an emperor’s achievements formally inscribed on a monumental arch, these carefully selected texts afford fascinating glimpses into the lives and minds of the Romans, even as they illustrate and reinforce the basic elements of the Latin language. This edition, revised to work in parallel with the second edition of Susan Shelmerdine' s Introduction to Latin or any standard beginning Latin text, includes more texts and illustrations, and an additional section of inscriptions for practice and review.

Latin Inscriptions in the Kelsey Museum
Latin Inscriptions in the Kelsey Museum

Author: Steven Tuck

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2010-03-23

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 0472025473

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The Latin inscriptions in the Kelsey Museum are among the best primary sources we have for documenting the lives of the lower classes in the Roman world. They provide unique evidence of the details of Roman daily life, including beliefs, occupations, families, and attitudes toward death. The 400 entries in this volume include all of the Latin inscriptions on stone or metal in the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan; they represent the largest, and arguably the most important, collection of Latin inscriptions in the Western Hemisphere. The collection is notable not just for its size but for the fact that almost all the inscriptions were acquired by purchase for their scholarly and educational value to the members of the university community. Because of this, the collection is also an important testimony to a seminal phase in the development of the study of Classics at the University of Michigan. For the first time ever, this project makes the Latin inscriptions of the Kelsey available in one volume and has provided an opportunity to reexamine some texts that have not been edited in over a century. The commentaries for this edition have benefited from a wealth of recent scholarship resulting in some amended readings and reidentification of texts. Steven L. Tuck is Assistant Professor of Classics at Miami University of Ohio. The Kelsey Museum Studies series, edited by University of Michigan professors Elaine Gazda, Margaret Cool Root, and John Pedley, is designed to publish unusual material in the Museum's collections, together with reports of current and past archaeological expeditions sponsored by the University of Michigan.