Furia Livia Medullina Camilla ( 6 BC–c. AD 10) was the second fiancee of the future Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

Biography

Medullina was the daughter of

Marcus Furius Camillus Marcus Furius Camillus (; possibly – ) was a Roman statesman and politician during the early Roman republic who is most famous for his capture of Veii and defence of Rome from Gallic sack after the Battle of the Allia. Modern scholars are dub ...

consul in AD 8, who was a close friend of the emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

and Livia Scriboniana, the daughter of

Marcus Livius Drusus Libo Marcus Livius Drusus Libo was an ancient Roman consul of the early Roman Empire. He was the son of Lucius Scribonius Libo and adopted brother of the empress Livia. His natural paternal aunt was Scribonia, the second wife of Augustus, as a conse ...

(born Lucius Scribonius Libo), the adopted brother of the empress

Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was List of Roman and Byzantine empresses, Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption ...

. As a child, Medullina may have been called by the names Furia and Camilla (possibly along with her other names), but as an adult she seems to have been referred to mainly as "Livia Medullina". Her ''

nomen gentilicium The (; or simply ) was a hereditary name borne by the peoples of Roman Italy and later by the citizens of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was originally the name of one's (family or clan) by Patrilineality, patrilineal descent. Howeve ...

'' Furia is not actually attested but can be assumed to have been used at some point due to Roman naming conventions for women at the time. Medullina's brother was

Lucius Arruntius Camillus Scribonianus Lucius Arruntius Camillus Scribonianus was a Roman senator, who was active during the reign of Tiberius. He was consul in AD 32. Ten years later, he revolted against the emperor Claudius, but was swiftly defeated.''PIR'', vol. I, p. 145. Family B ...

, who had been adopted by

Lucius Arruntius Lucius Arruntius was a Roman admiral. He saw action during the War with Sextus Pompeius, and the war of Mark Antony and Octavian (later named Augustus). He is most notable for his participation during the Battle of Actium, where he was in command ...

. He was consul in AD 32, as the colleague of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. Medullina was betrothed to Claudius some time after his first engagement, to his relative

Aemilia Lepida Aemilia Lepida is a Latin feminine given name that was given to the daughters of various Aemilius Lepiduses (), men belonging to the Lepidus branch of the Aemilia (family) that was founded by the Marcus Aemilius Lepidus who served as consul i ...

, was broken by

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

in AD 8, due to the disgrace of Aemilia's parents. Tiberius probably pushed for the new betrothal, in order to reward his friend with a connection to the imperial family. The betrothal of Medullina and Claudius is attested by an inscription erected by Camilla's

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

, dedicated to "Medullina Camilli f. Ti. Claudi Neronis Germanici sponsa" (Medullina, daughter of Camillus, betrothed of Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus). In ''

The Twelve Caesars ''De vita Caesarum'' (Latin; "About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as ''The Twelve Caesars'' or ''The Lives of the Twelve Caesars'', is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 Roman Emperor, emperors of the Roma ...

'',

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

states that Medullina unexpectedly fell ill, and died on the day of her wedding to Claudius, possibly in AD 9 or 10.Vagi, "Tiberius Claudius Drusus". Medullina's brother Scribonianus was the instigator of the first major rebellion against Claudius, while he was governor of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

in AD 42.

Literary depiction

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...

' novel '' I, Claudius'', Medullina Camilla is depicted as an early love of Claudius, who is able to look past his infirmities. Against

Livia Drusilla Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julia ''gens'' in AD 1 ...

's wishes, Claudius is permitted to marry Medullina by

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman people, Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicu ...

and

. However, Claudius is robbed of happiness on the day of the engagement as Medullina Camilla is assassinated, purportedly for an unrelated vendetta against Medullina's uncle.

Notes

References

Bibliography

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', commonl ...

, ''

De Vita Caesarum ''De vita Caesarum'' (Latin; "About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as ''The Twelve Caesars'' or ''The Lives of the Twelve Caesars'', is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire writte ...

'' (Lives of the Caesars, or The Twelve Caesars). * Meriwether Stuart, "The Date of the Inscription of Claudius on the Arch of Ticinum", in ''American Journal of Archaeology'', vol. XL, pp. 314–322 (1936). *

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roma ...

, ''The Roman Revolution'', Oxford University Press (1939). * Timothy P. Wiseman, "Calpurnius Siculus and the Claudian Civil War", in ''

The Journal of Roman Studies The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies (The Roman Society) was founded in 1910 as the sister society to the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. The Society is the leading organisation in the United Kingdom for those intereste ...

'', vol. 72, pp. 57–67 (1982). * Mika Kajava, "Livia Medullina and CIL X 6561", in ''Arctos'', 1986, Acta Philologica Fennica, pp. 59–71 (1987). *

Barbara Levick Barbara Mary Levick (21 June 1931 – 6 December 2023) was a British historian and epigrapher, focusing particularly on the Late Roman Republic and Early Empire. She was recognised within her field as one of the leading Roman historians of her ...

, ''Claudius'', Yale University Press (1990); ''Tiberius the Politician'', Routledge (2003). * Mary Mudd, ''I, Livia: The Counterfeit Criminal. The Story of a Much Maligned Woman'', Trafford Publishing (2005). * David L. Vagi, "Tiberius Claudius Drusus († AD 20), Son of Claudius and Urgulanilla", in ''American Journal of Numismatics'', vol. 22, pp. 81–92 (2010). * Alison E. Cooley, ''The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy'', Cambridge University Press (2012). * Andrew Pettinger, ''The Republic in Danger: Drusus Libo and the Succession of Tiberius'', Oxford University Press (2012). * Stephen P. Kershaw, "A Brief History of the Roman Empire'', Hachette UK (2013). * {{Refend Julio-Claudian dynasty 1st-century Roman women 1st-century Romans Medullina Women of Claudius