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Plebeians

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See also:Plebism
For other uses, seePlebs (spider)andPlebs (TV series).
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Ancient Romeand thefallof theRepublic

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Distributing bread to plebeians

Inancient Rome,theplebeiansorplebs[1]were the general body of freeRoman citizenswho were notpatricians,as determined by thecensus,or in other words "commoners".Both classes were hereditary.

Etymology

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The precise origins of the group and the term are unclear, but may be related to the Greek,plēthos,meaning masses.[2]

In Latin, the wordplebsis asingularcollective noun,and itsgenitiveisplebis.Plebeians were not a monolithic social class. Those who resided in the city and were part of the four urban tribes are sometimes called theplebs urbana,while those who lived in the country and were part of the 31 smaller rural tribes are sometimes differentiated by using the labelplebs rustica.[citation needed]

In ancient Rome

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Further information:Social class in ancient Rome

In the annalistic tradition ofLivyandDionysius,the distinction between patricians and plebeians was as old as Rome itself, instituted byRomulus' appointment of the first hundred senators, whose descendants became the patriciate.[3]Modern hypotheses date the distinction "anywhere from the regal period to the late fifth century" BC.[3]The 19th-century historianBarthold Georg Niebuhrbelieved plebeians were possibly foreigners immigrating fromother parts of Italy.[4]This hypothesis, that plebeians were racially distinct from patricians, however, is not supported by the ancient evidence.[2][5]Alternatively, the patriciate may have been defined by their monopolisation of hereditary priesthoods that grantedex officiomembership in the senate.[6]Patricians also may have emerged from a nucleus of the rich religious leaders who formed themselves into a closed elite after accomplishing theexpulsion of the kings.[7]

Certaingentes( "clans" ) were patrician, signalled by their family names (nomen).[citation needed]In the earlyRoman Republic,there are attested 43 clan names, of which 10 are plebeian with 17 of uncertain status.[3]A single clan also might have both patrician and plebeian branches sharing anomendistinguished by acognomen.[citation needed]

There existed an aristocracy of wealthy families in the regal period, but "a clear-cut distinction ofbirthdoes not seem to have become important before the foundation of the Republic ".[2]The literary sources hold that in the early Republic, plebeians were excluded frommagistracies,religiouscolleges,and theSenate.[2]Those sources also hold that they were also not permitted to know the laws by which they were governed.[citation needed]However, some scholars doubt that patricians monopolised the magistracies of the early republic, as plebeian names appear in the lists of Roman magistrates back to the fifth century BC.[8]It is likely that patricians, over the course of the first half of the fifth century, were able to close off high political office from plebeians and exclude plebeians from permanent social integration through marriage.[9]

Plebeians were enrolled into thecuriaeand the tribes; they also served in the army and also in army officer roles astribuni militum.[2]

Conflict of the Orders

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Main article:Conflict of the Orders

The Conflict of the Orders (Latin:ordomeaning "social rank" ) refers to a struggle by plebeians for full political rights from the patricians.[10]According to Roman tradition, shortly after the establishment of the Republic, plebeians objected to their exclusion from power and exploitation by the patricians. The plebeians were able to achieve their political goals by a series of secessions from the city: "a combination of mutiny and a strike".[11]

Ancient Roman tradition claimed that the Conflict led to laws being published, written down, and given open access starting in 494 BC with the law of theTwelve Tables,which also introduced the concept of equality before the law, often referred to in Latin aslibertas,which became foundational to republican politics.[12]This succession also forced the creation ofplebeian tribuneswith authority to defend plebeian interests.[10]Following this, there was a period ofconsular tribuneswho shared power between plebeians and patricians in various years, but the consular tribunes apparently were not endowed with religious authority.[13]In 445 BC, thelex Canuleiapermitted intermarriage among plebeians and patricians.[14]

There was a radical reform in 367–6 BC, which abolished consular tribunes and "laid the foundation for a system of government led by two consuls, shared between patricians and plebeians"[15]over the religious objections of patricians, requiring at least one of the consuls to be a plebeian.[16]And after 342 BC, plebeians regularly attained the consulship.[17]Debt bondagewas abolished in 326, freeing plebeians from the possibility of slavery by patrician creditors.[18]By 287, with the passage of thelex Hortensia,plebiscites – or laws passed by theconcilium plebis– were made binding on the whole Roman people.[19]Moreover, it banned senatorial vetoes of plebeian council laws.[20][verification needed]And also around the year 300 BC, the priesthoods also were shared between patricians and plebeians, ending the "last significant barrier to plebeian emancipation".[19]

The veracity of the traditional story is profoundly unclear: "many aspects of the story as it has come down to us must be wrong, heavily modernised... or still much more myth than history".[21]Substantial portions of the rhetoric put into the mouths of the plebeian reformers of the early Republic are likely imaginative reconstructions reflecting the late republican politics of their writers.[8]Contradicting claims that plebs were excluded from politics from the fall of the monarchy, plebeians appear in the consular lists during the early fifth century BC.[8]The form of the state may also have been substantially different, with a temporary ad hoc "senate", not taking on fully classical elements for more than a century from the republic's establishment.[22]

Noble plebeians

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The completion of plebeian political emancipation was founded on a republican ideal dominated bynobiles,who were defined not by caste or heredity, but by their accession to the high offices of state, elected from both patrician and plebeian families.[23]There was substantial convergence in this class of people, with a complex culture of preserving the memory of and celebrating one's political accomplishments and those of one's ancestors.[24]This culture also focused considerably on achievements in terms of war and personal merit.[17]

Throughout theSecond Samnite War(326–304 BC), plebeians who had risen to power through these social reforms began to acquire the aura ofnobilitas( "nobility", also "fame, renown" ), marking the creation of a ruling elite ofnobiles.[25]From the mid-4th century to the early 3rd century BC, several plebeian–patrician "tickets"for the consulship repeated joint terms, suggesting a deliberate political strategy of cooperation.[26]

No contemporary definition ofnobilisornovus homo(a person entering the nobility) exists; Mommsen, positively referenced by Brunt (1982), said thenobileswere patricians, patrician whose families had become plebeian (in a conjecturaltransitio ad plebem), and plebeians who had held curule offices (e.g., dictator, consul, praetor, and curule aedile).[27]Becoming a senator after election to a quaestorship did not make a man anobilis,only those who were entitled to acurule seatwerenobiles.[28]However, by the time ofCiceroin the post-Sullan Republic, the definition ofnobilishad shifted.[29]Now,nobiliscame to refer only to former consuls and the direct relatives and male descendants thereof.[29]The new focus on the consulship "can be directly related to the many other displays of pedigree and family heritage that became increasingly common after Sulla" and with the expanded senate and number of praetors diluting the honour of the lower offices.[30]

A person becomingnobilisby election to the consulate was anovus homo(a new man).MariusandCiceroare notable examples ofnovi homines(new men) in the late Republic,[31]when many of Rome's richest and most powerful men – such asLucullus,Marcus Crassus,andPompey– were plebeian nobles.

Later history

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In the later Republic, the term lost its indication of a social order or formal hereditary class, becoming used instead to refer to citizens of lower socio-economic status.[2]By the early empire, the word was used to refer to people who were not senators (of the empire or of the local municipalities) orequestrians.[2]

Life

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Much less is known about the plebeians in Ancient Rome as most could not write and thus could not record what happened in their daily life.[32]

Childhood and education

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The average plebeian did not come into a wealthy family; the politically activenobilesas a whole comprised a very small portion of the whole population. The average plebeian child was expected to enter the workforce at a young age. Plebeians typically belonged to a lower socio-economic class than their patrician counterparts, but there also were poor patricians and rich plebeians by the late Republic.[citation needed]

Education was limited to what their parent would teach them, which consisted of only learning the very basics of writing, reading and mathematics. Wealthier plebeians were able to send their children to schools or hire a private tutor.[33]

Family life

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Throughout Roman society at all levels including plebeians, thepaterfamilias(oldest male in the family) held ultimate authority over household manners. Sons could have no authority over fathers at any point in their life. Women had a subservient position in the family to fathers and husbands.[33]

Living quarters

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Ruins ofinsulae

Plebeians who lived in the cities were referred to asplebs urbana.[34]

Plebeians in ancient Rome lived in three or four-storey buildings calledinsula,apartment buildings that housed many families. These apartments usually lacked running water and heat. These buildings had no bathrooms and was common for a pot to be used.[33]The quality of these buildings varied. Accessing upper floors was done via a staircase from the street they were built on. Sometimes these were built around a courtyard and of these, some were built around a courtyard containing a cistern. Lower floors were of higher quality while the higher ones were less so. By the beginning of the Roman Empire, theinsulaeswere deemed to be so dangerous because of a risk to collapse that Emperor Augustus passed a law limiting the height of the buildings to 18 metres (59 ft) but it appeared this law was not closely followed as buildings appeared that were six or seven floors high.[35]Plebeian apartments had frescoes and mosaics on them to serve as decorations.[36]Rents for housing in cities was often high because of the amount of demand and simultaneously low supply.[37]Rents were higher in Rome than other cities in Italy along with other provincial cities.[33]The owner of the insulae did not attend to duties regarding it and instead used aninsulariuswho was most often an educated slave or a freedman instead. Their job was to collect rent from tenants, manage disputes between individual tenants and be responsible for maintenance.[38]

Not all plebeians lived in these conditions, as some wealthier plebs were able to live in single-family homes, called adomus.[33]Another type of housing that existed wasdiversorias(lodging houses)[35]Tabernaewhich were made of timber frames and wicker walls open to streets with the exception of shutters being one to two floors high with tightly packed spaces.[37]

Attire

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Plebeian men wore atunic,generally made of wool felt or inexpensive material, with a belt at the waist, as well as sandals.[39]Meanwhile, women wore a long dress called astola.Roman fashion trends changed very little over the course of many centuries. However, hairstyles and facial hair patterns changed as initially early plebeian men had beards before a clean shaven look became more popular during the Republican era before having facial hair was popularized again byEmperor Hadrianin the 2nd century CE. Some plebeian women would wear cosmetics made from charcoal and chalk. Romans generally wore clothes with bright colors and did wear a variety of jewelry.[33]

Meals

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Since meat was very expensive, animal products such as pork, beef and veal would have been considered a delicacy to plebeians. Instead, a plebeian diet mainly consisted of bread and vegetables. Common flavouring for their food included honey, vinegar and different herbs and spices. A well-known condiment to this day known asgarum,which is a fish sauce, was also largely consumed.[33]Apartments often did not have kitchens in them so families would get food from restaurants and/or bars.[40]

Recreation and entertainment

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One popular outlet of entertainment for Roman plebeians was to attend large entertainment events such as gladiator matches, military parades, religious festivals and chariot races. As time went on, politicians increased the number of games in an attempt to win over votes and make the plebeians happy.[33]A popular dice game among plebeians was calledalea.[41]

Financial status

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Plebeians who resided in urban areas had to often deal with job insecurity, low pay, unemployment and high prices[34]along with underemployment.[37]A standard workday lasted for 6 hours although the length of the hours varied as Romans divided the day into 12 daytime hours and 12 nightime hours; with the hours being determined based on the seasons. Cicero wrote in the late republican period that he estimated the average laborer working in the city of Rome earned 6 1/2denariia day which was 5 times what a provincial worker would make. By middle of the 1st century CE this number was higher because of inflation but however the high cost of living in the city of Rome kept the value of real wages down.[33]

Some plebeians would sell themselves into slavery or their children in order to have access to wealthy households and to them hopefully advance socially along with getting a chance to have an education. Another way plebeians would try to advance themselves was by joining the military which became easier after theMarian reformsas soldiers were expected to pay for their own weapons. By joining the military they could get a fixed salary, share of war loot along with a pension and an allotted land parcel.[42][better source needed]There was also the reward of getting citizenship for non-citizens. Potential recruits needed to meet a variety of requirements as well which included: being male, at least 172 centimetres (5.64 ft) tall, enlist before one was 35, having aletter of recommendationand completing training.[43]

Derivatives

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United States military academies

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See also:Plebe Summer
Plebes (first-year students) marching in front ofBancroft Hall,United States Naval Academy

In the U.S. military,plebesarefreshmenat theU.S. Military Academy,U.S. Naval Academy,Valley Forge Military Academy and College,theMarine Military Academy,theU.S. Merchant Marine Academy,Georgia Military College(only for the firstquarter), andCalifornia Maritime Academy.The term is also used for new cadets at thePhilippine Military Academy.[citation needed]

Philippine Military Academy

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Since the construction ofPhilippine Military Academy,the system and traditions were programmed the same as theUnited States Military Academy.First Year Cadets in PMA are calledPlebes orPlebos(short term for Fourth Class Cadets) because they are still civilian antiques and they are expected to master first the spirit ofFollowership.As plebes, they are also expected to become the "working force (force men or"porsmen") in the Corps of Cadets. They must also know the different plebe knowledges.[citation needed]

British and Commonwealth usage

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In British,Irish,Australian,New ZealandandSouth African English,theback-formationpleb,along with the more recently derivedadjectival formplebby,[44]is used as a derogatory term for someone considered unsophisticated, uncultured,[45]or lower class.[46]

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The British comedy showPlebsfollowed plebeians during ancient Rome.[47]

InMargaret Atwood's novelOryx and Crake,there is a major class divide. The rich and educated live in safeguarded facilities while others live in dilapidated cities referred to as the "pleeblands".[48]

See also

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  • Bread and circuses– Figure of speech referring to a superficial means of appeasement
  • Capite censi– Lowest class of citizens of ancient Rome
  • Plebeian Council– Principal assembly of the ancient Roman Republic
  • Proletariat– Class of wage-earners
  • Plebgate(aka Plodgate or Gategate), a 2012 British political scandal involving the use of the word as a slur

References

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Citations

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  1. ^Wright, Edmund, ed. (2006).The Desk Encyclopedia of World History.New York:Oxford University Press.p. 507.ISBN978-0-7394-7809-7.
  2. ^abcdefgMomigliano & Lintott 2012.
  3. ^abcForsythe 2005,p. 157.
  4. ^Cornell 1995,p. 242.
  5. ^CfCornell 1995,p. 244. "That anyone could ever have thought that the Conflict of the Orders arose from a primordial division of the community into two ethnic groups is almost beyond belief".
  6. ^Forsythe 2005,pp. 167–68.
  7. ^Cornell 1995,pp. 251–52.
  8. ^abcBeard 2015,p. 151.
  9. ^Cornell 1995,pp. 255–56.
  10. ^abBeard 2015,p. 146.
  11. ^Beard 2015,p. 147.
  12. ^Flower 2010,p. 48.
  13. ^Flower 2010,p. 49.
  14. ^Flower 2010,p. 45.
  15. ^Flower 2010,p. 50.
  16. ^Beard 2015,pp. 148, 151.
  17. ^abFlower 2010,p. 51.
  18. ^Beard 2015,pp. 147–8.
  19. ^abFlower 2010,p. 52.
  20. ^Harris, Karen."Secession of the Plebs: When the Peasants Went on Strike".History Daily.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-05-24.Retrieved2020-04-15.
  21. ^Beard 2015,pp. 150–1.
  22. ^Beard 2015,p. 152.
  23. ^Flower 2010,p. 25.
  24. ^Flower 2010,p. 39.
  25. ^Salmon, E. T. (1967).Samnium and the Samnites.Cambridge University Press. p. 217.ISBN978-0-521-06185-8.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-02-28.Retrieved2022-02-28.
  26. ^Forsythe 2005,p. 269.
  27. ^Brunt, P A (1982)."Nobilitas and Novitas".The Journal of Roman Studies.72:1–17.doi:10.2307/299112.ISSN0075-4358.JSTOR299112.S2CID162220741.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-04-29.Retrieved2021-04-29.
  28. ^Flower 2010,pp. 155–6.
  29. ^abFlower 2010,p. 156.
  30. ^Flower 2010,pp. 156–7.
  31. ^Lintott, A. W. (1974)."Review: Novi Homines".The Classical Review.24(2): 261–263.doi:10.1017/S0009840X00243242.ISSN0009-840X.JSTOR708820.S2CID162366274.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-04-29.Retrieved2021-04-29.
  32. ^"PLEBIANS".THE ROMAN EMPIRE: In The First Century.Devillier Donegan Enterprises. 2006.RetrievedDecember 1,2023.
  33. ^abcdefghiKaren, Harris."Life as a Plebeian"(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on 26 June 2021.Retrieved14 April2020.
  34. ^abDavies, Mark Everson; Swain, Hilary (2010).Aspects of Roman History 82BC-AD14: A Source-based Approach.Taylor & Francis. p. 15.ISBN9781135151607– via Google Books.
  35. ^abRenshaw, James (2012).In Search of the Romans.Bloomsbury Academic. p. 162.ISBN9781853997488– via Google Books.
  36. ^Faas, Patrick (2005).Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome.University of Chicago Press. p. 42.ISBN9780226233475.RetrievedDecember 9,2023– via Google Books.
  37. ^abcSchultz, Celia E.; Ward, Allen M.; Heichelheim, F. M.; Yeo, C. A. (2019).A History of the Roman People.Taylor & Francis.ISBN9781351754705.Unemployment and underemployment caused hardship for many. Housing was in high demand and short supply. Rents were steep for even the worst accommodations. This situation encourage overcrowding. That, in turn, produced serious health, sanitation, and safety problems. People lived in tightly packed rows of flimsy tabernae, one- or two-story buildings with timber frames and wicker walls open to the street except shutters.
  38. ^Yavetz, Z. (1958)."The Living Conditions of the Urban Plebs in Republican Rome".Latomus.17(3): 515.JSTOR41521048– via JSTOR.The owner of the insula did not attend to it himself. A so called insularius was installed for that purpose, who was often a freedman, or sometimes an educated slave. The insularius was responsible for the maintenance of good order in the house; he would settle disputes between tenants, and collect the rent at fixed times in the year.
  39. ^"Ancient Roman Clothing".vita-romae.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-01-13.Retrieved2023-01-13.
  40. ^"Plebeians in Ancient Rome".historylink101.RetrievedDecember 1,2023.
  41. ^Purcell, Nicholas (May 1995)."Literate Games: Roman Urban Society and the Game of Alea".Past & Present.147(147): 3–37.doi:10.1093/past/147.1.3.JSTOR651038.RetrievedDecember 17,2023– via JSTOR.
  42. ^Milani, Maria (2017)."Plebeians".Maria Milani: ANCIENT ROMAN HISTORY.RetrievedDecember 17,2023.
  43. ^de Lima, Carolina Rangel."Introduction to Legion: life in the Roman army".
  44. ^"plebby".Oxford English Dictionary.Oxford University Press.Archivedfrom the original on 11 January 2008.Retrieved24 September2012.
  45. ^"pleb".Oxford English Dictionary.Oxford University Press.Archivedfrom the original on 11 January 2008.Retrieved24 September2012.
  46. ^Walker, Peter (2014-11-27)."Andrew Mitchell and the Plebgate affair explained for non-Brits".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-02-10.Retrieved2022-02-14.
  47. ^Plebs (TV Series 2013– ) - IMDb,archivedfrom the original on 2022-08-19,retrieved2020-04-15
  48. ^"Oryx and Crake: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis".SparkNotes.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-29.Retrieved2022-02-28.

Sources

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Library resourcesabout
Plebs

Further reading

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Look upplebin Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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