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The Social and Cultural Meanings of Names in Late Antique Italy, 313-604 Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 6-2014 The Social and Cultural Meanings of Names in Late Antique Italy, 313-604 Eric Ware Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the European History Commons, Italian Language and Literature Commons, and the Medieval Studies Commons Recommended Citation Ware, Eric, "The Social and Cultural Meanings of Names in Late Antique Italy, 313-604" (2014). Master's Theses. 510. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/510 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL MEANINGS OF NAMES IN LATE ANTIQUE ITALY, 313-604 by Eric Ware A thesis submitted to the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts History Western Michigan University June 2014 Thesis Committee: Dr. Luigi Andrea Berto, Ph.D., Chair Dr. Robert F. Berkhofer, III, Ph.D. Dr. E. Rozanne Elder, Ph.D. Dr. Anise K. Strong, Ph.D. THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL MEANINGS OF NAMES IN LATE ANTIQUE ITALY, 313-604 Eric Ware, M.A. Western Michigan University, 2014 This thesis examines many uses of names in Italian culture and society between the years 313 and 604. Through an anthroponymic study of names in Late Antique Italy, I explore the relationships between names and religion, social groups, gender, and language. I analyze the name patterns statistically and through micro-historical studies. This thesis argues that, contrary to studies emphasizing the late antique decline of the Roman trinominal system, Italian names demonstrated continuity with classical onomastic practices. The correlations between saint’s cults and local names and the decline of pagan names suggests that saints’ names replaced pagan ones as apotropaic names as paganism. declined The introduction of Christianity brought only moderate change to naming practices, as Christians preferred to adapt the meanings of existing names. The senatorial elite continued to use names as a means of tracing family lineage and clung to traditional names. Women’s names became more varied during this period but still derived from male names and their role as transmitters of lineage did not improve. Finally, despite the decline of Greek names in Italy during this period, those regions that maintained classical economic, social, and political practices retained use of these names, suggesting a link between the two. Together, these arguments demonstrate endurance and importance of classical anthroponymic customs in Late Antique Italy. Copyright by Eric Ware 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 Historical Overview ................................................................................................................ 1 The Interest of Names and Italy ............................................................................................... 7 Historiography and Theory .................................................................................................... 12 Sources and Thesis ................................................................................................................ 24 The Database ........................................................................................................................ 28 CHAPTER I – Saints’ Names, Saint’s Cults, and Anthroponymic Practice ............................... 35 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 35 Biblical Names...................................................................................................................... 39 Non-biblical Saints ................................................................................................................ 45 Saints’ Names as Taboo ........................................................................................................ 57 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 58 CHAPTER II – Christianity and Names .................................................................................... 62 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 62 The First Generations: Names 313-392 .................................................................................. 64 Ecclesiastics and Laypeople .................................................................................................. 72 Names at the End of Late Antiquity, 573-604 ........................................................................ 90 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 94 CHAPTER III – Gender and Names .......................................................................................... 98 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 98 Males, Names, and Family .................................................................................................. 101 Women’s Names and Kinship ............................................................................................. 104 Senatorial Cultural Conservatism: A Case Study ................................................................. 112 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 116 CHAPTER IV – Greek Names in Italy .................................................................................... 119 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 119 Greek Names in Social Contexts ......................................................................................... 122 ii Table of Contents – continued Greek Names in an Urban Context ...................................................................................... 126 Byzantine Influence ............................................................................................................ 128 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 141 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 144 APPENDIX I: The Foreigners ................................................................................................. 149 APPENDIX II: The Constitutum Silvestri ................................................................................ 152 APPENDIX III: Tables and Figures ........................................................................................ 156 APPENDIX IV: List of Names ............................................................................................... 167 Part 1: Ecclesiastical Males ................................................................................................. 167 Part 2: Lay Males ................................................................................................................ 251 Part 3: Ecclesiastical Females .............................................................................................. 297 Part 4: Lay Females............................................................................................................. 303 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 314 Primary Sources .................................................................................................................. 314 Secondary Sources .............................................................................................................. 315 iii 1 INTRODUCTION Historical Overview To say that Late Antiquity was an era of significant change in the Mediterranean world would be to risk understatement. At the beginning of the fourth century, when this period dawned, the Roman Empire still dominated the whole of the Mediterranean basin, calling the sea Mare Nostrum , “Our Sea.” To be sure, the crises of the third century had weakened the empire, but, to all appearances, Diocletian had restored order and found the path to effective government by dividing the state’s rule between four men, the “Tetrarchs”. Yet, an enduring peace was not to be. Even within Diocletian’s own lifetime –he retired from the post of emperor in 305 – Rome sank back into another round of civil wars, first to decide who would succeed Constantius Chlorus and, later, to determine who would be sole emperor. After several more civil wars the Roman Empire was permanently split between East and West in 395, and the fates of the two halves began to diverge. The Western Roman Empire, unlike its Eastern counterpart, disintegrated relatively rapidly. The central government in Ravenna lost control of the outlying provinces in less than a century. The Romans abandoned some, such as Britannia,
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