The ''Carmen Saliare'' is a fragment of

archaic 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 ...

, which played a part in the

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...

s performed by the Salii (Salian

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

s, a.k.a. "leaping priests") of

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, 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 ...

. There are 35 extant fragments of the ''Carmen Saliare'', which can be read in Morel's ''FPL''. The rituals revolved around

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

and

Quirinus In Roman mythology and religion, Quirinus ( , ) is an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, ''Quirinus'' was also an epithet of Janus, as ''Janus Quirinus''. Name Attestations The name of god Quirinus is recorded across Roman so ...

, and were performed in March and October. These involved processions in which they donned archaic

armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

and weapons, performed their sacred

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

, and sang the ''Carmen Saliare''. As a body they existed before the founding of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

, tracing their origin back to the reign of

Numa Pompilius Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political institutions ar ...

. The Salian priests were chosen from the sons of patrician families whose parents were still living. They were appointed for life, though they were allowed to resign from the Salian priesthood if they achieved a more prestigious priesthood or a major magistracy. In the '' Annales'' written by Roman historian

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, it is revealed that several Romans proposed the name of

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the pa ...

to be added to the Salian Song, as a memory of his virtue and goodwill.

Fragments

Two fragments which have been preserved by Marcus Terentius Varro in his ''De Lingua Latina'', 7.26, 27 (fragment 2 and 1 by Maurenbrecher's numbering): The mysterious ''cozeulodorieso'' has attracted several proposals.

Julius Pomponius Laetus Julius Pomponius Laetus (1428 – 9 June 1498), also known as Giulio Pomponio Leto, was an Italian humanist. Background Laetus was born at Teggiano, near Salerno, the illegitimate scion of the princely house of Sanseverino, the German historia ...

proposed in his ''

editio princeps In classical scholarship, the ''editio princeps'' (plural: ''editiones principes'') of a work is the first printed edition of the work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts, which could be circulated only after being copied by hand. For ...

'' the interpretation ''osculo dolori ero'' "I shall be as a kiss to grief", though his emendations are now dismissed as "editorial fantasy". George Hempl restored it more carefully to ''coceulod orieso'', attested in some manuscripts aside from the spacing, which is good archaic Latin for classical ''cucūlō oriēre'' "(thou shalt) come forth with the

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

". A fragment preserved by

Quintus Terentius Scaurus Quintus Terentius Scaurus was a Latin grammarian who flourished during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian.Holford-Strevens, LeofrancReview of Q. (Quintus) Terentius Scaurus, Federico Biddau, ''Q. Terentii Scavri de orthographia.''Bryn Mawr Classic ...

in his ''De orthographia'' (fragment 6 by Maurenbrecher's numbering): An excerpt of it:''Elegiac poems of Ovid edited by J. W. E. Pearce. Vol. II The Roman Calendar Selections from Fasti'', Oxford, 1914, p. 146
IA

Notes

References

External links

* B. Maurenbrecher: ** ''Carminum Saliarium reliquiae edidit B. Maurenbrecher''; in: ''Jahrbücher für classische Philologie. Herausgegeben von Alfred Fleckeisen. Einundzwanzigster Supplementband. Mit einer Karte. Druck und Verlag von B. G. Teubner'', Leipzig, 1894, p. 313ff.
IA
** ''Carminum Saliarium reliquiae edidit B. Maurenbrecher. Commentatio ex supplemento uno et vicesimo Annalium Philologicorum seorsum expressa. Lipsiae in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. MDCCCXCIV 894'
IA
* George Hempl: ** ''III.—''The Origin of the Latin Letters ''G'' and ''Z''.'' By Prof. George Hempl'', in: ''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. 1899. Volume XXX'', pp. 26 & 39f.
JSTOR
: ** ''XII.—''The Salian Hymn to Janus.'' By Prof. George Hempl'', in: ''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. 1900. Volume XXXI'', pp. 182ff.
JSTORIAgoogle-US
{{Authority control Ancient Roman religion

Fragments

See also

Notes

References

External links