Verginia, or Virginia (c. 465 BC449 BC), was the subject of an

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

story recounted in Roman historian

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

's text ''

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

''. Upon a threat to her virtue, Verginia was killed by her father Verginius. Livy directly links Verginia's death to the overthrow of the

decemviri The decemviri or decemvirs (Latin for "ten men") refer to official ten-man commissions established by the Roman Republic. The most important were those of the two decemvirates, formally the decemvirate with consular power for writing laws () w ...

and the re-establishment of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

The story of Verginia

In 451 BC, the decemvir Appius Claudius began to lust after Verginia, a beautiful

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

girl who was the daughter of Lucius Verginius, a respected

centurion In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...

. Verginia was betrothed to

Lucius Icilius Lucius Icilius was a Tribune of the Plebs in 456, 455 and 449 BC. In 456, he passed the ''lex de Aventino publicando'', which gave the Aventine Hill to the plebs. A few years later, around 451 BC, he was betrothed to one Verginia Verginia, or ...

, a former

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

of the plebs. When Verginia rejected Claudius' advances, he had one of his clients, Marcus Claudius, claim that she was not the daughter of Verginius but instead the daughter of his slave, and therefore a slave herself. Marcus Claudius then abducted her while she was on her way to school in the

Forum Forum or The Forum may refer to: Common uses *Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example * Internet forum, discussion board ...

, taking advantage of her father's absence from Rome. The crowd in the Forum objected to this, as both Verginius and Icilius were well-respected men, and they forced Marcus Claudius to bring the case before the decemvirs. However, the case was to be presided over by Appius Claudius himself. Verginius was recalled from the field to defend his daughter. Icilius, after threats of violence, succeeded in having Verginia returned to her house while the court waited for her father to appear. Claudius tried to have his own supporters intercept the messengers sent to summon Verginius, but they arrived too late to delay Verginius' arrival.Livy, History of Rome; book 3, chapter 44
58 ] When Verginius arrived two days later, he gathered his supporters in the Forum. Claudius, unmoved by Verginius' widespread support, would not let him speak or defend himself, and declared that Verginia was indeed Marcus Claudius' slave. Additionally, Claudius had brought an armed escort with him and accused the citizens of

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

, and the supporters of Verginius left the Forum rather than cause any violence. Verginius begged Claudius to question his daughter himself, which Claudius agreed to. However, Verginius grabbed a knife and, at the

Shrine of Venus Cloacina The Shrine of Venus Cloacina (''Sacellum Cloacinae'' or ''Sacrum Cloacina'') was a small sanctuary on the Roman Forum, honoring the divinity of the ''Cloaca Maxima'', the "Great Drain" or sewer of Rome. Cloacina, the Etruscan civilization, Etrusc ...

, he stabbed Verginia, the only way he felt he could uphold her freedom and virtue. Upon killing her, Livy claims that Verginius spoke to Claudius directly, yelling: "By this blood, Appius, I devote thy head to the infernal gods." Verginius and Icilius were arrested, but their supporters, angered by Claudius' actions, returned to attack the

lictors A lictor (possibly from Latin ''ligare'', meaning 'to bind') was a Roman civil servant who was an attendant and bodyguard to a magistrate who held ''imperium''. Roman records describe lictors as having existed since the Roman Kingdom, and may ha ...

and destroy their

fasces A fasces ( ; ; a , from the Latin word , meaning 'bundle'; ) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, often but not always including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbol that had its origin in the Etrus ...

. The pair was then released. Claudius was eventually jailed but he committed suicide before his trial. Marcus Claudius was tried, found guilty, and exiled to Tibur. This controversy led to the overthrow of the

and the re-establishment of the

References to Verginia in Literature

Livy compared the story of Verginia's death to the rape of

Lucretia According to Roman tradition, Lucretia ( /luːˈkriːʃə/ ''loo-KREE-shə'', Classical Latin: �ʊˈkreːtia died ), anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome. Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) raped her. Her subsequent suicide precipi ...

, whose death led to the overthrow of the Roman monarchy in 509 BC. Modern historians view the stories of Roman women such as Verginia and Lucretia as supporting traditional Roman values through the women's displays of feminine virtue and symbolization of criticisms against the tyrannical Roman government. The people of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

were already angry with the

for not calling the proper elections, taking bribes, and other abuses after taking power within the Roman government and the story of Verginia attested to this discontent. The tale is retold, with varying fidelity, in several works of Western literature. Among these are

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

's "

The Physician's Tale "The Physician's Tale" is one of ''The Canterbury Tales'', written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century. It is a domestic drama about the relationship between a daughter and her father, based on a tale from the Histories of Titus Livius and ...

" in his ''

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse (poetry), verse, as part of a fictional storytellin ...

'', Thomas Babington Macaulay's ''

Lays of Ancient Rome ''Lays of Ancient Rome'' is an 1842 collection of narrative poems, or lays, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Four of these recount heroic episodes from early Roman history with strong dramatic and tragic themes, giving the collection its name ...

'',

Jean de Meun Jean de Meun (or de Meung, ) () was a French author best known for his continuation of the '' Roman de la Rose''. Life He was born Jean Clopinel or Jean Chopinel at Meung-sur-Loire. Tradition asserts that he studied at the University of Paris. ...

's poem ''

Roman de la Rose ''Le Roman de la Rose'' (''The Romance of the Rose'') is a medieval poem written in Old French and presented as an allegory">allegorical romantic love is disclosed. Its two authors conceived it as a psychological allegory; throughout the Lover' ...

'', and the play ''

Appius and Virginia ''Appius and Virginia'' is an early 17th-century stage play, a tragedy by John Webster (and perhaps Thomas Heywood). It is the third and least famous of his tragedies, after ''The White Devil'' and ''The Duchess of Malfi''. Heywood On the basis ...

'' by

John Webster John Webster (c. 1578 – c. 1632) was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies '' The White Devil'' and ''The Duchess of Malfi'', which are often seen as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. His life and car ...

and

Thomas Heywood Thomas Heywood (early 1570s – 16 August 1641) was an English playwright, actor, and author. His main contributions were to late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre. He is best known for his masterpiece ''A Woman Killed with Kindness'', a ...

. Verginia is additionally mentioned in

William Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Titus Andronicus ''The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus'', often shortened to ''Titus Andronicus'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first t ...

'' and her story is retold in

Steven Saylor Steven Saylor (born March 23, 1956) is an American author of historical novels. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and classics. Saylor's best-known work is his '' Roma Sub Rosa'' historical mystery ...

's ''

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

''.

Footnotes

External links

*{{Wikisource-inline, list= **“

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

,” from ''

'' by

Thomas Babington Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was an English historian, poet, and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster General between 184 ...

(a fictional portrayal) **{{Cite EB1911, wstitle=Virginia (Roman martyr), display=Virginia, or Verginia, in Roman legendary history, daughter of L. Virginius, a plebeian centurion , short=x , noicon=x **{{Cite Collier's, wstitle=Virginia (daughter), display=Virginia, the daughter of Lucius Virginius , short=x , noicon=x 460s BC births 449 BC deaths Year of birth unknown Characters in Roman mythology 5th-century BC Roman women Verginii Deaths by stabbing in ancient Rome Republican era slaves and freedmen

The story of Verginia

References to Verginia in Literature

See also

Footnotes

External links