Roman Life & Manners Under The Early Empire (Volume 3 of 3 Only)
By Ludwig Friedlander
Published by George Routledge & Sons Limited: London c1910 (undated)
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Roman Life & Manners Under the Early Empire (Vol. III), authored by Ludwig Friedländer, continues the author's exhaustive survey of everyday existence in the first centuries of imperial Rome. This third volume shifts its focus from the political and military spheres explored earlier to the intimate realms of domestic life, personal relationships, and social rituals. Friedländer draws on a wealth of literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence to reconstruct how Romans organized their households, from the layout of domus and insulae to the roles of slaves, freedmen, and women within the family hierarchy. He examines marriage contracts, birth and death rites, dining customs—including the elaborate convivium—and leisure activities such as games, theater, and public baths, revealing how status, wealth, and citizenship dictated the nuances of participation. The chapter on education and patronage illustrates the pathways through which young aristocrats acquired rhetorical training and political connections, while the discussion of funerary monuments underscores the importance of memory and ancestral prestige in a society obsessed with legacy.
The volume also delves into the economic underpinnings that shaped daily routines: market organization, grain distribution, artisanal production, and the intricate tax system that affected both urban and provincial life. Friedländer highlights regional variations, showing how provincial elites adapted metropolitan fashions and customs to local traditions, thereby creating a mosaic of cultural exchange across the empire. By integrating legal texts, graffiti, and material culture, the author paints a vivid tableau of how ordinary Romans navigated the tensions between public expectations and private desires, offering modern readers a nuanced portrait of a civilization whose influence still reverberates today.
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