Roman Examples Research Articles

With trumpets?

A good deal of mystery still surrounds some aspects of Arcangelo Corelli's work. Firstly, although he was recognised as the main composer of Sinfonie in Rome around 1700, all of his repertoire of this genre, with the exception of one, seems to have disappeared; secondly, none of his survived orchestral scores contains evidence of the well documented practice of using winds, trumpets in particular, in conjunction with strings. To fill these gaps, speculations have tried to identify, amongst Corelli's works, not only the ones that might have originated as Sinfonie, but also those that might have included trumpets in their original form. This research moves along the same path but sets a slightly different goal: on the one hand it considers that it is virtually impossible to determine if any of Corelli’s survived compositions were originally conceived as Sinfonie with trumpets. On the other hand, it argues that through a study of Lulier's Santa Beatrice d'Este oratorio - a work that preserves the only genuine Corelli's Sinfonia that has survived - and through a comparative analysis of the two Handel's Roman oratorios, it is possible to approach closely the soundscape of Corelli's Sinfonie con trombe. To achieve that goal, in accordance with contemporary Roman examples, newly composed trumpet parts have been integrated into some movements of three concertos from Opus 6. The outcome can be listened in the audio-video material part of this paper. Whether the addition of trumpets on top of a string-only movement could have been improvised, and not planned beforehand with written parts, is open to further speculation. keywords: Corelli, trumpet, instrumentation, Concerti Grossi, Roman Sinfonie, Research by teachers of the Royal Conservatoire

Ստրատագեմների կիրառման հայկական փորձը (Ընդհանուր ակնարկ)

Chinese, Greek, and Roman examples of the use of stratagems are known from the history of the Ancient World. The leaders, especially those experienced in military fields, used various tricks to achieve their goal. There are well-known examples of the use of stratagems in the Armenian military art, the use of which is an opportunity to ensure success in achieving numerical and technical superiority of the enemy. We often encounter actions that distract the enemy's attention, make an unexpected attack and cause panic, blocking. There are memorable examples of strategies from the history of military operations in 1991- 1994: similar technologies were used during the liberation of Shushi, Karvachar, Sanasar, Akna. The possession of strategic skills and their proper use in military operations and operations of local importance can be of great importance for achieving your own goals, bending the advantage of another person in your favor and, of course, the successful conduct of military operations. In this sense, a deep and comprehensive study of the field, identification, development, systematization of effective experience with a positive result can be useful for future achievements.

Empress Theodora of Byzantium Through the Lens of Ancient Female Archetypes

This paper evaluates the historical reception of Byzantine Empress Theodora through the lens of her contemporaries and societal expectations. As Theodora was empress of the Eastern Roman empire during the spread of Christianity, she must be seen through the lens of biblical themes as well as through Roman literature. A prevalent Roman example for ideal femininity is found in Lucretia: a noblewoman who toppled the Etruscan kings with her honor. After she was violated, Lucretia chose to expose the perpetrator and end her life rather than live sullied. With such mythos surrounding a woman who chose her honor over her life, it is no wonder Theodora was received with shock. Theodora spent her early years as an actress, meaning she earned much of her living through sex work. Another strong Roman literary comparison comes in the form of Medea. Medea represented the antithesis to feminine ideals because she had murdered her kin. More than anything, familial duties rested upon a wife or mother in a Roman household, and a woman like Theodora who was, inaccurately, rumored to have orchestrated the death of an illegitimate child. Although the rumor is false, it represented a fracture between Theodora and the expectations her society had for her. Finally, in her Christian contemporary, Mary Magdalene, Theodora was viewed as redeemed. Just as Mary did in the Gospel of Luke, Theodora went from "sinful woman" to queen and a dedicated wife. She embodied the story of redemption that is so often told in Christianity.

Wo(man) with the Serpent Hair: An Assessment of the Validity of Globalization and Glocalization Framework in the Study of Roman Britain through Romano-British Sculpture of the Gorgon

Versluys (2014, 2015) proposed a way of looking at the visual material culture of the Roman Mediterranean through the lens of globalization. Can this approach to globalization apply to the visual material culture of Great Britain in the Roman period if we make an effort to view the ‘Roman’ and ‘Celtic’ not a separate ‘cultural containers’ (Versluys, 2014: 149) but as one container, continuously creating a new visual culture? I will explore this question by considering Romano-British sculptures depicting the Gorgon and asking: How does the visual language differ from Classical examples? Is the subject matter used in a new way or context than, or the same as, in Roman examples and if so, how? 

Panaetius, Scipio Aemilianus, and the Man of Great Soul

AbstractIn the second half of the second century BC, a single personality became ascendant in the Roman Republic. Scipio Aemilianus assumed the mantle of the first man in Rome from 146 BC until his death in 129 BC. Modern biographers of this leading statesman have drawn different conclusions about the influence of Greek ethics on the life of Scipio, either that he possessed a Hellenistic way of thinking or that he was a traditional Roman aristocrat. Much debate turns on historiography and the question of the usability of sources like Cicero for the history of the second century BC. This article focusses onde OfficiisBooks 1–2 and the issue of Cicero's debt to the writing of the Stoic philosopher Panaetius of Rhodes, Scipio's friend and tutor. I argue that sufficient evidence exists in the references to Scipio inOff.1–2 to demonstrate that Panaetius had characterised Scipio as influenced by the Stoic way of living and explicitly as a Roman example of the virtue of greatness of soul. This argument is supported by corroborating evidence from Polybius, Scipio's friend and confidant, who also wrote about him in hisHistories.

Visual Ekphrasis and the Articulation of the Past

This essay focuses on examples of graphic representations of architecture as they appear in architectural treatises and published studies of particular buildings or sites. I argue that these images are a form of writing, as they have syntactical and linguistic qualities. In this way, images are a kind of visual ekphrasis of the architecture they describe. These visual ekphrases of architecture make the past a place that is distinct from that which text-based antiquarian studies articulate, opening up questions of how we perceive space and time and the ways in which they can be visually described. I concentrate on a moment in the mid-eighteenth century when the past also extended geographically, as travel in Greece became possible and revealed a new past with different scholarly legacies from the more familiar ancient Roman examples. The resulting Graeco-Roman controversy that dominated architectural discourse shows us how visual descriptions were used as evidence in different aesthetic debates and how they pulled architecture into the present, enabling it to be used part of architectural practice. My discussion focuses on two publications which both appeared in 1762: James Stuart and Nicholas Revett’s The Antiquities of Athens: Measured and Delineated, and Giambattista Piranesi’s Ichnographiam Campi Martii antiquae urbis (Ichnographia of the Campus Martius of the ancient city). This line of enquiry allows us new understandings of how images operated as an inspiration to architects’ imagination, and of the ways in which they influence how histories can be formulated.

Reproducing Rome at the Congregation of the Oratorio in Bologna, 1618-1733: “To Imitate the Example of the Metropolis of Christianity”

The article looks at the various ways in which the Bolognese house of the Congregation of the Oratorio of San Filippo Neri modelled itself after the Roman motherhouse, and considers the institution from its early 17th-century beginnings until the 1730s. From the start, the deliberate imitation of Rome was a factor that shaped the self-image of the new institution in Bologna. The article provides a sort of institutional history of the first century of the Bolognese house, focused on how it dealt with its Roman model. It draws on a range of archival documents and other sources to show how the imitation of Rome remained an important issue: Roman examples were repeatedly and explicitly cited in internal documents, and deviations from Roman practices gave rise to discussions. The article looks at various issues affected by these concerns: the details of churches and oratories, the suburban S. Onofrio hill, the visit of the seven churches, indulgences, the seasonal and temporal organisation of devotional gatherings inside and outside the city, and the choice for their exact form, location and starting times, among other things. While the imitation of Rome seems to have been a point of pride, its practical application led to continual anxieties.

Cymbals playing in a Roman mosaic from Mariamin in Syria

The mosaic of the six female musicians from Mariamin in Syria depicts in exquisite detail a late antique musical performance. The present study focuses on the cymbal tongs player and the finger cymbals player from this mosaic, who have raised little interest so far, yet provide much information on cymbal playing in the Roman-Imperial period. The first part of this work studies the technical aspects of cymbal playing revealed by the Mariamin mosaic. It discusses the typology and playing techniques of cymbal tongs, using a comparative iconographic approach and an experimental reconstruction approach. The Mariamin mosaic portrays a type of cymbal tongs in which the cymbals are struck laterally, in contrast to cymbals tongs in which cymbals are struck frontally, the only type discussed by archaeomusicologists to date. Significantly, lateral cymbal tongs similar to those of Mariamin appear in other late antique mosaics from Bulgaria and Algeria, suggesting that this instrument was widespread. The reconstruction of lateral and frontal cymbal tongs shows that the two instruments sounded different. The Mariamin mosaic also provides information on the use of small cymbals attached directly to fingers. It shows a finger cymbal tying system that seems to differ from the few other Roman examples known to date. It also shows that finger cymbals players could use two different pairs of cymbals to make two different musical notes, one with each hand. These findings illustrate the technical richness of cymbal playing in the Roman Empire. The second part of this work discusses the instrumental associations visible in the Mariamin mosaic, placing them in the context of other late antique representations. The trio of three resonant metallic instruments discernible in the Mariamin band (cymbal tongs, finger cymbals and acetabuli) illustrates the Roman-Imperial taste for abundant metallic tinkling. Finally, the inclusion of cymbal tongs or finger cymbals in musical bands recurs in mythological representations. The cupid disguises of the two children in the Mariamin mosaic echo these images. However, the scene depicted by the mosaic seems anchored in the reality of the late Roman Empire. Remarkably, the Mariamin mosaic shows that ‘simple’ small cymbals could hold an important place in a high-class musical band equipped with prestigious instruments.

«ПРЕМУДРОСТЬ БОЖИЯ» В МОЗАИКАХ СОБОРА МОНРЕАЛЕ

As special devotional image among the Montreal Cathedral mo- saics is dedicated to the personification of the Wisdom of God on the east side of the arch that separates the central nave from the transept. The Wisdom is depicted as a queen-like wife with her hands raised in prayer, entitled SAPIEN- TIA DEI. Below on the sides of the arch the Archangels Gabriwl and Michael are adoring her. The image is located at the beginning of the Old Testament scenes on the walls of the nave. A personification of the Wisdom of God as a queen-like wife is not known in the Byzantine art of the 11 th – 12 th centuries but is found among Roman min- iatures. This depiction is similar to personifications of the Church in Roman and early Byzantine monumental painting. It is difficult to tell the difference without an inscription. A Roman example could be used by Byzantine artists of the Monreale as а model. The image in the Monreale may be considered as personification of both Wisdom and the Church. Such double personification is found in Medieval images.

Baldassarre Fontana (1661-1733): some Notes and Considerations about Roman Languages in the Polish and Moravian Building Sites

This article analyzes the relationship between stucco decoration and architecture through the investigation of the languages used by Baldassarre Fontana, cousin of the more famous Carlo. The study of the stucco decoration and some architectures created by Baldassarre in Moravia and Poland will allow to underline the innovative elements in the languages used by the architect and plasterer of Chiasso, compared with roman examples including the altar of Santa Maria in Traspontina designed by Carlo Fontana or the chapel of Santa Cecilia in San Carlo ai Catinari and some works by Bernini. In Fontana’s work, the intention is to overturn the relationships between architecture and sculpture, in order to find the greatest possible separation between sculpture and architecture. Instead, in other yards, experimentation is already directed towards the rococo. The paper will consider some cases including the decoration of the church of Saint Anne in Krakow dated 1695-1704 and the low undercut plastic decoration made on the gothic vaults of the Zydowski palace, also in Krakow. The examples of the Wawrzyniec Wodzicki palace or the funerary monuments built in Poland and Moravia are also interesting. The article also presents an analysis of the stucco technique used by Baldassarre Fontana and a comparison with the construction site practices used in the Roman area.

Provenance of the Transparent Gypsum Crystals (Lapis Specularis) and Gypsum Mortars in the Windows from the Churches of Rome: S. Sabina sull’Aventino and S. Giorgio al Velabro

The latest example of the traditional Roman use of lapis specularis crystals in windows panels instead of glass are represented by the Paleochristian- Early Medieval churches of Rome. The churches of S. Sabina sull’Aventino and S. Giorgio al Velabro were characterized by some of the most ancient examples of windows frameworks built using gypsum mortar. The light was penetrating the panels throughout openings covered by two or more embricated gypsum cleveage fragments less than 15 cm across and up to 7 mm-thick, a technique unknown in older Roman examples, which is clearly related to the availability of small and low-quality crystals. The petrography of the gypsum mortars and the strontium and sulfur isotope analyses of the crystals indicate two different supply sources. A large group of window frameworks were produced using selenite rocks and lapis specularis crystals probably quarried from Tuscany, Sicily or Cyprus, whereas a window in S. Sabina was built using alabastrine gypsum and lapis specularis crystals quarried in Emilia-Romagna, Sicily, Cyprus or Southern Turkey.

Translations of State: Ancient Rome and Late Elizabethan Political Thought

This essay reconsiders late Elizabethan political thought by scrutinizing the significance of the Roman state in the passionate controversy about the royal succession. It explains the varied and often contradictory polemical utility of Roman history in contemporary discussions in England and Europe of monarchy and imperial expansion, and then analyzes its deployment in the most daring contemporary succession tract: the Jesuit Robert Persons's A Conference about the Next Succession to the Crowne of Ingland (1595). While A Conference has been traditionally understood to advocate limited elective kingship, this essay demonstrates that its theoretical first part, in which the Roman example underpins a case for popular sovereignty, was open to far more radical readings. Persons's treatise attracted widespread charges of antimonarchism and, in the following century, served republican and Whig enemies of the Stuarts.

Translations of State: Ancient Rome and Late Elizabethan Political Thought

This essay reconsiders late Elizabethan political thought by scrutinizing the significance of the Roman state in the passionate controversy about the royal succession. It explains the varied and often contradictory polemical utility of Roman history in contemporary discussions in England and Europe of monarchy and imperial expansion, and then analyzes its deployment in the most daring contemporary succession tract: the Jesuit Robert Persons’s A Conference about the Next Succession to the Crowne of Ingland (1595). While A Conference has been traditionally under-stood to advocate limited elective kingship, this essay demonstrates that its theoretical first part, in which the Roman example underpins a case for popular sovereignty, was open to far more radical readings. Persons’s treatise attracted widespread charges of antimonarchism and, in the following century, served republican and Whig enemies of the Stuarts

Rzymska przysięga procesowa jako prototyp umowy dowodowej

The recent amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure for the first time in the Polish legal system enabled the parties of proceedings to conclude a contract of evidence. This novelty concerns only special proceedings in commercial matters. By concluding a contract of evidence, the parties may avoid adducing a specific type of evidence in court. Such an agreement is also binding on the court. The introduction of contract of evidence is aimed at accelerating civil proceedings. However, doubts may arise as to whether the contract of evidence does not pose a significant hindrance to the court in learning about the actual facts of the case and whether that does not undermine the principle of material truth. The experience of Roman law brings to mind the institution of trial oath. When one of the parties suggested that the other one took an oath with a specific content, and the other immediately took that oath, the content of that oath was protected by the praetor as unquestionable. The oath could concern some factual circumstances or the very legitimacy of the plaintiff’s claim. In the latter case, the praetor immediately denied the plaintiff’s claim or issued a judgment against the defendant without any evidentiary proceedings. Therefore the Roman civil trial rules provided that the consensus of the parties could replace assertion of the truth by the judge. It turns out that the Polish evidence contract and the Roman trial oath, despite structural differences, were motivated by the same value: the economy of proceedings. They are also similar in that they give rise axiological doubts. The Roman example shows that material truth has an intuitively essential meaning in a civil trial. Formal truth, on the other hand, comes into play when specific values, such as the efficiency of proceedings or the sacredness of a word given, have to be protected in a particular way.

‘Most musicall, most melancholy’: Avian aesthetics of lament in Greek and Roman elegy1

In this paper, I explore how Greek and Roman poets alluded to the lamentatory background of elegy through the figures of the swan and the nightingale. After surveying the ancient association of elegy and lament (Section I) and the common metapoetic function of birds from Homer onwards (Section II), I analyse Hellenistic and Roman examples where the nightingale (Section III) and swan (Section IV) emerge as symbols of elegiac poetics. The legends associated with both birds rendered them natural models of lamentation. But besides this thematic association, I consider the ancient terms used to describe their song, especially its shrillness (λιγυρότης/liquiditas) and sweetness (γλυκύτης/dulcedo) (Section V). I demonstrate how these two terms connect birdsong, lament and elegiac poetry in a tightly packed nexus. These birds proved perfect emblems of elegy not only in their constant lamentation, but also in the very sound and nature of their song.

POJĘCIA I ŻYWOTNOŚĆ RZYMSKIEGO PRAWA KARNEGO

THE NOTIONS AND VITALITY OF THE ROMAN CRIMINAL LAWSummary In the recent studies one tends to revaluate the influence of the Roman criminal law on the later penal doctrine, as well as the achievements of the Roman criminal law itself, rejecting the previous theories presenting it as significantly inferior. It is noticed in this study that the medieval jurists idolized the Roman law, adopted it to the new circumstances, and obviously made mistakes interpreting it. And thus the influence of the Roman jurisprudence on the penal doctrine of the ius commune Europe was thoroughly substantial. Notwithstanding the popular opinion also many of the Enlightenment jurists (as, for instance, Gaetano Filangieri and Francesco Mario Pagano) not only knew but also benefited from the Roman criminal law legacy. The doctrine of crime of the successive period was less inspired by the Roman criminal law, which however did not totally lose its significance. It still had some indirect influence, as the nineteenth century codifiers did not stop using the notions of criminal law shaped-up by the mediaeval jurists overwhelmingly impressed by the Roman law.The main part of the study presents a brief overview of the Roman criminal law, especially of the principal rules constituting today the general part of criminal law, principles which could be directly or indirectly found in the experience of the Roman prudentes. It is pointed out that the only Roman lawyer who tried classifying Roman criminal law was Claudius Saturninus (D. 48,19,16). His classification is later discussed in the article as well as some of the crimina (public law crimes), observing that the Romans never separated the Roman criminal law from ius. On this occasion it is underlined that one of the rules often ascribed to the Romans, nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali, not only was not their own invention but it was clearly contrary to the criminal law practice in their times (the principle itself being probably formulated only by a German lawyer, Feuerbach). The Romans tried describing the subjective and objective element of the crime as well as presenting various defences available to the culprits (e.g., age, necessity, self-defence, mistake, etc).In the last part o f the paper the possible influence of the Roman criminal law constructions on the Middle Ages is pondered over. The often wrong interpretations of the ancient sources led to some embarrassment and paradoxes. This explains Baldus’ famous statement allowing the judge to construe the (Roman) statute according to the principles of the ius commune, which would in turn revive the statute and save it from an inevitable decay. The mediaeval lawyers studied and analysed the figures of deliberate misconduct and unintentional negligence (anyway without further effects in clarifying vague issue o f the subjective element of the crime). Some of the defences, like the most important figure of self-defence, known and elaborated in the Roman law came to the teachings and studies of the doctores in their original shape and significance, sometimes even stimulating further development of the penal doctrine. The mediaeval ius commune jurists adopted Roman considerations applying different responsibility regarding the doer’s age as well as Roman systématisations of the crimes subordinated to various legal principles. And therefore the doctores, following the Roman example, drew a line between public and private crimes, these which were officially prosecuted and those which were brought to court on a basis of a private motion. The jurists distinguished between lay-public and ecclesiastical crimes, between ordinary and peculiar offences, dishonourable and regular wrong-doings. Similarly the mediaeval lawyers took over the Roman considerations about attempt and iter criminis as well as concurrence of crimes and offenders.In conclusion the paper, wishing for a future development of the studies on the subject, summarises that the theoretical solutions and considerations in the Roman criminal law wrought out above by the classical jurisprudence outlived their times and became the source of the doctrinal inspirations in the coming centuries.

POLYBE ET MONTESQUIEU : aspects d’une réflexion sur le pouvoir

In the Considerations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur decadence, Montesquieu refers, among other sources, to Polybius. Starting from the Roman example, both authors carry out a larger reflection, intended for the statesmen, on the nature of power and the conditions for its conquest and maintenance. While bringing out the many specific strengths that enabled Rome to prevail, they also point out that any government casting aside its core principles is naturally doomed to collapse. Although unavoidable, this corruption can be evaluated and anticipated by means of the very logic of the process, and can even be postponed through a balance of the political powers.

The Origin of Scientific Notions in the Circle of the Roman Accademiadella Virt¾ around 1550

The Origin of Scientific Notions in the Circle of the Roman Accademia della Virtù around 1550. Between c. 1537 and 1555 a group of humanists, clerics, architects and philologists known as the so-called Accademia della Virtù got together in Rome to work on a program which was formulated in a letter by the Sienese humanist Claudio Tolomei in 1542 and published in 1547. Starting out with the intention to understand the only surviving antique book on architecture and architectural theory - Vitruvius' De architectura libri decem - the program describes a series of 24 books, eleven containing the classical text and its translation with commentaries, 13 books systematically illustrating and documenting all known and available material remains from Roman antiquity. This program for a scientific classical archaeology in a modern sense was not only intended to serve the intellectual curiosity of some humanist antiquarians but to help architects and their patrons to develop a new architecture of the same high quality as the idealized Roman examples. To achieve this practical as well as theoretical goal it was obviously necessary to re-create the antique vocabulary of architecture and its rules as well as to unify the contemporary usage of notions and norms in a canon. The first results of this project seem to be the In decem Libros M. Vitruvii Pollionis de Architectura Annotationes by Guillaume Philandrier (Rome, 1544) - up to this day a very valuable explanation of ambiguous parts in the Vitruvian text. Until the 1980s, it was believed that this book was the only outcome of the ambitious project; but then two codices of drawings after antique reliefs were identified as preparations for one of the other 23 volumes - and, because of their systematic approach, regarded as the 'first systematic archaeological book'. Now it seems that there are some other corpora of manuscripts and drawings documenting antique artifacts that should be regarded as results of the Accademia's work, too, showing antique buildings, inscriptions and coins. Other results of the unfinished project may be the theoretical and practical works of the two most influencial architects of the sixteenth century: Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola and Andrea Palladio.

Mithras Tauroctonos in Late Antique Rome

This article discusses the tauroctony icons of late antique Rome, specifically the main icons of Mithraea that were in use during the last century or so of the life of the cult of Mithras in Rome. When dealing with Mithraic art, and even with the scholarship on Mithraic art, we are first and foremost dealing with the image of the bull-slaying Mithras; the tauroctony. This ubiquitous image executed in a wide range of media – reliefs, murals, and sculpture – shows Mithras astride the bull, raising its head by the nostrils, and plunging his dagger into its nick. In the following, I will not concern myself with interpreting the motif of the bull-slaying Mithras as such, but I will rather focus on the corpus of Mithraic icons from Rome as a group, with the main emphasis on tauroctonies which could have been in use in the last phase of the cult in Rome, in particular looking more closely at how these late antique Roman examples of Mithraic art differed from other Mithraic icons both in form and in function.

Dibujos didácticos y memoria de la Antigüedad romana: Las glosas de los Proverbios del Marqués de Santillana ilustradas en la Suma de virtuoso deseo

The Marquis of Santillana’s Proverbios is one of his most important poetic works and his most well-known text from the fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries. The central part of the poem presents a group of biblical and Roman examples, some of them glossed by Santillana himself. The Suma de virtuoso deseo (BNE, ms. 1518), a miscellaneous historical text, provides variants in some of these glosses in prose, together with illustrations. The interpretation of these images, which seek a didactic and mnemonic effect, and the interpretation of the symbolic set represented by both texts and images, help us understand some issues related to the metamorphosis of the vision of Antiquity and the written transmission of history in this particular period of the Spanish Middle Ages.