Vindicius (''

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

'' 509 BC) was a

Roman slave Slavery in ancient Rome played an important role in society and the economy. Unskilled or low-skill slaves labored in the fields, mines, and mills with few opportunities for advancement and little chance of freedom. Skilled and educated slaves ...

manumitted for his service to 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 ...

in the first year after it was founded. Ancient sources tell the story as an

aetiology Etiology (; alternatively spelled aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek word ''()'', meaning "giving a reason for" (). More completely, etiology is the study of the causes, origin ...

for ''manumissio vindicta'', a form of manumission that granted the former slave

Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome () was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cu ...

. The historicity of Vindicius and the linguistic validity of connecting his name to the

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of ''vindicta'' are dubious, but the story is an example of how Roman legendary history valued patriotism and integrated slaves into civic life.

The story

Vindicius was said to have discovered papers that exposed Tarquin's plot to regain power after the

overthrow of the Roman monarchy The overthrow of the Roman monarchy was an event in ancient Rome that took place between the 6th and 5th centuries BC where a political revolution replaced the then-existing King of Rome, Roman monarchy under Lucius Tarquinius Superbus wit ...

. Tarquin had been attempting to have his possessions legally restored to him, and the papers indicated that he was doing so in order to be allowed into Rome again with the intention of killing Rome's first consuls, Collatinus and

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC) was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...

, and reinstalling himself as

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

. Vindicius gave these papers to

Publius Valerius Publicola Publius Valerius Poplicola or Publicola (died 503 BC) was one of four Roman aristocrats who led the overthrow of the monarchy, and became a Roman consul, the colleague of Lucius Junius Brutus in 509 BC, traditionally considered the first year o ...

on account of the "affable and kindly ways of the man," according to his biographer

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

. The meritorious behavior of Vindicius despite his servile status is contrasted to that of the privileged nephews of Collatinus and the sons of Brutus, who conspired in the restoration plot, and Brutus puts his own sons to death.

Manumission

As a reward for his service, Vindicius was released from slavery, granted citizenship, and given the property which was about to restored to Tarquin.Livy 2.5 According to tradition, this act established that a slave freed by a citizen master through the same legal procedure would acquire citizenship. The story has explanatory rather than historical value in indicating that the Romans thought that ''manumissio vindicta'' predated the

Twelve Tables The Laws of the Twelve Tables () was the legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Formally promulgated in 449 BC, the Tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.Crawford, M.H. 'Twelve Tables' in Simon Hornbl ...

, Rome's early body of laws, by at least fifty years.

The name

KHM - Iupiter Dolichenus Mauer Statue 2 Victoria

The name ''Vindicius'' may have been invented for the story, but appears as a '' nomen'' in

Roman Imperial The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

literature and inscriptions especially in

Roman Africa Roman Africa or Roman North Africa is the culture of Roman Africans that developed from 146 BC, when the Roman Republic defeated Carthage and the Punic Wars ended, with subsequent institution of Roman Empire, Roman Imperial government, through th ...

and

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

into

late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

Notes

References

Sources