Lucius Verus Frater Arvalis Louvre Ma1169

The ''Carmen Arvale'' is the preserved chant of the Arval priests or ''Fratres Arvales'' of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

. The Arval priests were devoted to the goddess Dia, and offered sacrifices to her to ensure the

fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...

of ploughed fields (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''arvum''). There were twelve Arval priests, chosen from

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

families. During the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

was always an Arval priest. They retained the office for life, even if disgraced or exiled. Their most important festival, the Ambarvalia, occurred during the month of May, in a grove dedicated to Dia. The ''Carmen Arvale'' is preserved in an inscription dating from 218 AD, which contains records of the meetings of the Arval Brethren. It is written in an archaic form of

Old Latin Old Latin, also known as Early Latin or Archaic Latin (Classical la, prīsca Latīnitās, lit=ancient Latinity), was the Latin language in the period before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin. It descends from a common Proto-Italic ...

, likely not fully understood any more at the time the inscription was made. One of its interpretations goes as follows: :''enos Lases iuuate'' :''enos Lases iuuate'' :''enos Lases iuuate'' :''neue lue rue Marmar sins incurrere in pleores'' :''neue lue rue Marmar sins incurrere in pleores'' :''neue lue rue Marmar sins incurrere in pleores'' :''satur fu, fere Mars, limen sali, sta berber'' :''satur fu, fere Mars, limen sali, sta berber'' :''satur fu, fere Mars, limen sali, sta berber'' :''semunis alternei advocapit conctos'' :''semunis alternei advocapit conctos'' :''semunis alternei advocapit conctos'' :''enos Marmor iuuato'' :''enos Marmor iuuato'' :''enos Marmor iuuato'' :''triumpe triumpe triumpe triumpe triumpe'' While passages of this text are obscure, the traditional interpretation makes the chant a prayer to seek aid of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

and the

Lares Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ''Lar'') were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these. Lares ...

(''lases''), beseeching Mars not to let plagues or disasters overtake in the fields, asking him to be satiated, and dance, and call forth the "Semones", who may represent sacred sowers. (Cf. Semo Sancus, a god of good faith.) Semones are minor

tutelary deities A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety an ...

, in particular

Sancus In ancient Roman religion, Sancus (also known as Sangus or Semo Sancus) was a god of trust (), honesty, and oaths. His cult, one of the most ancient amongst the Romans, probably derived from Umbrian influences. Cato and Silius Italicus wrote tha ...

, Priapus,

Faunus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus was the rustic god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan, after which Romans depicted him as a ...

, all Vertumni, all

Silvani Silvani is a surname of Italians, Italian origin. There are approximately 1516 people with the surname in Italy, the largest number in Emilia Romagna, in Bagno di Romagna, Sarsina, Bologna, and Pieve Santo Stefano, near Arezzo, Tuscany. A consi ...

Bona Dea Bona Dea (; 'Good Goddess') was a List of Roman deities, goddess in Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion. She was associated with chastity and fertility in Women in ancient Rome, Roman women, healing, and the protection of the SPQR, st ...

. The semones are probably the hidden life forces residing in seeds: they were presented as only offering milk in the earliest tradition. ''limen sali, sta'' means ''jump over the beam of the threshold/door/lintel, stand'' in standard Latin.A. Lubotsky, M. De Vaan ''Etymological Dictionary of Latin and The Other Italic Languages'' Leiden 2008, p. 342 s.v. limen.

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References

{{reflist Ancient Roman religion Roman religion inscriptions Old Latin literature 3rd-century inscriptions

See also

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References