Fescennine Verses (Fescennina carmina), one of the earliest kinds of
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
, subsequently developed into
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
and
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
comic drama.
History
Originally sung at village harvest-home rejoicing, they made their way into the towns, and became the fashion at religious festivals and private gatherings, especially
weddings
A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicities, races, religions, denominations, countries, social classes, and sexual orientations. Most weddi ...
, to which in later times they were practically restricted. They were usually in the
Saturnine metre and took the form of a dialogue consisting of an interchange of extemporaneous raillery. Those who took part in them wore masks made of the bark of trees. At first harmless and good-humored, if somewhat coarse, these songs gradually outstripped the bounds of decency; malicious attacks were made upon both gods and men, and the matter became so serious that the law intervened and scurrilous personalities were forbidden by the Twelve Tables (
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
, ''De re publica'', 4.10; see also
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...
''epist''. 2.1.139).
Examples
Specimens of the Fescennines used at weddings are the ''Epithalamium of Manlius'' (
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus (; ), known as Catullus (), was a Latin neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic. His surviving works remain widely read due to their popularity as teaching tools and because of their personal or sexual themes.
Life
...
61) and the four poems of
Claudian
Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (Greek: Κλαυδιανός; ), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almo ...
in honor of the marriage of Honorius and Maria; the first, however, is distinguished by a licentiousness which is absent in the latter.
Ausonius
Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; ) was a Latin literature, Roman poet and Education in ancient Rome, teacher of classical rhetoric, rhetoric from Burdigala, Gallia Aquitania, Aquitaine (now Bordeaux, France). For a time, he was tutor to the future E ...
in his ''Cento nuptialis'' mentions the Fescennines of
Annianus Faliscus, who lived in the time of
Hadrian
Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
.
Etymology
Various derivations have been proposed for the word "Fescennine." According to
Festus
Festus may refer to:
People Ancient world
*Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD
*Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian
*Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli
*Festus (h ...
, they were introduced from
Fescennia in
Etruria
Etruria ( ) was a region of Central Italy delimited by the rivers Arno and Tiber, an area that covered what is now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and north-western Umbria. It was inhabited by the Etruscans, an ancient civilization that f ...
, but there is no reason to assume that any particular town was specially devoted to the use of such songs. As an alternative Festus suggests a connection with ''
fascinus
In ancient Roman religion and magic, the ''fascinus'' or ''fascinum'' was the embodiment of the divine phallus. The word can refer to phallus effigies and amulets, and to the spells used to invoke his divine protection. Pliny called it a ''m ...
'', the Latin word referring to a phallus-shaped amulet used to ward off the evil eye, either because the Fescennina were regarded as a protection against evil influences (see Munro, ''Criticisms and Elucidations of Catullus'', p. 76) or because the phallus, as the symbol of
fertility
Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate ...
, would from early times have been naturally associated with
harvest festival
A harvest festival is an annual Festival, celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different ...
s. H. Nettleship, in an article on ''The Earliest Italian Literature'' (''Journal of Philology'', xi. 1882), in support of Munro's view, translates the expression "verses used by charmers", assuming a noun ''fescennus'', connected with ''fas fari''.
See also
*
Epithalamium
An epithalamium (; Latin form of Greek ἐπιθαλάμιον ''epithalamion'' from ἐπί ''epi'' "upon," and θάλαμος ''thalamos'' "nuptial chamber") is a poem written specifically for the bride on the way to her marital chamber. This fo ...
Notes
References
*
*
Further reading
*Knapp, ''American Journal of Philology'', XXXIII, 146-148, 1912
*Schanz, ''Geschichte der römischen Litteratur'' (3d ed., Munich 1907)
{{EB1911 article with no significant updates
Poetry movements
Ancient Roman theatre
Italian literary movements