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Vitalis or Vitalinis? A Roman Grave-Marker for an Eight-Year-Old Girl

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 November 2018

Janette McWilliam
Janette McWilliam*
Affiliation:
The University of Queenslandj.mcwilliam@uq.edu.au
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Abstract

This paper introduces a Latin funerary stele, now in the R. D. Milns Antiquities Museum at the University of Queensland, which does not appear in any of the major epigraphic collections or data bases. In doing so, this paper addresses questions pertaining to its date of manufacture and the name form of the deceased child commemorated on the tombstone. This study suggests that the date originally proposed for the memorial is too early, as it is neither Augustan nor Claudian but instead was produced in the period between the Neronian era and the second century ad. It also offers a revision regarding the name of the eight-year-old girl commemorated on the memorial. It does this by examining the development and use of cognomina related to the name form Vitalis, as, to date, no studies have looked at this name form in detail. It demonstrates that from the first century bc through to the fourth and fifth centuries ad, Vitalis, -is was used as a name form for both males and females. The n-inflected Vitalis, -inis then developed as a name form for females in the Imperial period. As such, the name form originally given to the girl commemorated on the memorial needs to be corrected: she is Vitalis, -inis rather than Vitalinis, -inis.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Antichthon , Volume 52 , 2018 , pp. 117 - 131
Copyright
© The Australasian Society for Classical Studies 2018 

Introduction

A Roman grave-marker, now in the R. D. Milns Antiquities Museum at the University of Queensland, is carved in white Italian marble and commemorates a young girl who died prematurely before reaching her ninth birthday (Fig. 1). The stele is one of the extant examples of a young girl with an individualised portrait represented in the guise of the goddess Diana. The stele, however, does not appear in any of the major collections of Latin inscriptions or discussions of young girls and women assocated with this type of iconography.Footnote 1 The purpose of this paper is threefold. Firstly, it suggests that the current date of manufacture previously assigned to the stele is too early. Secondly, it demonstrates that the name form of the young girl also needs revision. It has been argued previously that the nominative form of her name is Vitalinis, but it is more likely that this is the n-inflected genitive form of Vitalis.Footnote 2 In order to understand the form of the cognomen Vitalinis, this paper also examines the variations and derivatives of the cognomen Vitalis. To date, no study has examined the forms of the feminine cognomina in detail.Footnote 3 The cognomen is found primarily on Latin funerary, honorific, and votive memorials. Although it is impossible to address every example of Vitalis in this paper, it does examine all of the n-inflected forms found in the Epigraphic Database Clauss-Slaby (EDCS) in order to understand their uses.

Fig. 1a and 1b

Tombstone of child dressed in the guise of Diana. R. D. Milns Antiquities Museum, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, Inv. No. 78-004.

The rectangular memorial, carved in white Italian marble and set up to commemorate the death of the young girl, has a curved top (451mm h x 276mm w x 35mm d) and was designed to cover a niche housing the ashes of the deceased child either inside a tomb or in one of the new integrated styles of tomb and columbarium. Footnote 4 Unfortunately, the exact provenance and context of the stele is now lost. The sale catalogue for the stele suggests that it comes from Rome, ‘as the name [Vitalinis] occurs in a number of published examples from the city.’Footnote 5 However, as demonstrated below, the use of Vitalinis as a cognomen was not restricted to Rome. To date, in addition to this stele in the R. D. Milns Antiquities Museum, ‘eleven portraits in sculpture and seven reliefs’ of young girls and young women in the guise of Diana have been identified, primarily from Rome and Ostia, but it is likely that many more were once extant.Footnote 6 Mander also notes that the majority of funerary memorials depicting children in the guise of gods and goddesses come from Rome.Footnote 7 Therefore, while it is likely that the stele was originally set up in or around Rome or Ostia, without further evidence, we cannot rule out that it came from a tomb somewhere else in Italy.

Diana was an important Italian goddess during both the Republican and Imperial periods. She was worshipped by both males and females of all social classes. During the Republican period, worship of Diana has so far been identified in fifteen areas in Italy, including Rome and Nemi, and she was also invoked by members of the Latin League.Footnote 8 Diana then became an important Imperial deity during the Augustan era.Footnote 9 Her presence was visible in Rome throughout the Imperial period on both official monuments and coinage.Footnote 10 Diana as huntress,Footnote 11 the form chosen for the depiction of the young girl on the stele from the R. D. Milns Antiquities Museum, was the image of Diana most commonly associated with male and female children and youths, probably due to her qualities of sexual purity and virtus. For example, the Augustan poet Grattius, in his Cynegetica, describes Roman male youths undergoing a purification ritual overseen by the goddess. He also describes their ‘mastery of the forest’; young Romans developed hunting/martial skills under the guidance of Diana. Therefore, she not only helped to prepare Roman youths for adulthood, but her protection also warded off the labes fatuorum. Footnote 12 Young girls are also identifiable in the cult of Diana. For example, at Tusculum, Flavia Vera was commemorated on her death as the priestess who was the leader of sacred dances for the cult.Footnote 13 Tertullian, writing towards the end of the second century ad, in criticising the Roman religious practices, tells us that ‘an old man’s representation is taken from Saturn, a youth from Apollo’s, a girl’s from Diana...’, suggesting that representations of girls as Diana were fairly common.Footnote 14 As the nineteen extant depictions of young girls and young women in the guise of Diana the Huntress attest, Romans commemorating the deaths of people of this age-group identified the goddess Diana as a particularly fitting figure for females who had died prematurely before reaching adulthood. By adding individualised portraits to the image of the goddess, those commemorating the deceased offered an important message about the lives of these girls. Although their potential remained unfulfilled, as they would never become wives and mothers, they were now under the protection of the goddess and thus were endowed with her virtus.Footnote 15

Set up by her parents, the epitaph on the Roman grave marker for the young girl in the guise of Diana in the R. D. Milns Antiquities Museum reads:

D(is) M(anibus) ǀ Vitalini ǀ filiae suae ǀ q(uae) v(ixit) a(nnos) VIII m(enses) XI d(ies) III ǀ fecerunt ǀ parentes pientissimi

To the Departed Spirits. For Vitalis/Vitalinis(?), our own daughter, who lived 8 years, 11 months, and three days. Her most devoted parents set up [this memorial].

To date, it has been accepted that the tombstone was either manufactured as early as the Augustan era or, alternatively, during the Claudian period. This dating was based on an interpretation of the letter forms of the inscription alone.Footnote 16 However, a more likely terminus ante quem is provided by the D.M., which indicates that it was probably not inscribed before ad 58-59, the date when D.M., Dis Manibus, began to be used on inscriptions.Footnote 17 The practice of using D.M. became much more common during the Flavian period and continued for several centuries. Moreover, the letter forms themselves are characteristic of those typical of the latter part of the first and also the second century ad; they were not used exclusively in the Augustan and Claudian periods.Footnote 18 Therefore, although it is impossible to date the tombstone precisely, it is unlikely that it was manufactured as early as the Augustan period. For this reason, it should be assigned a date ranging from the Neronian period to approximately the mid-second century ad, a period when both the iconographic style of such memorials featuring girls and women depicted in the guise of Diana and the use of the type of letter forms on the stele were popular.Footnote 19

It has also been argued previously that Vitalini, the substantive in the epitaph used to identify the young female recipient of the tombstone, is the dative singular form of a feminine name with the nominative singular form Vitalinis. Footnote 20 Thus, it has been accepted that Vitalinis is the nominative singular diminutive ‘of the fashionable name Vitalis’ and that the name form is ‘unusual and probably unique.’Footnote 21 However, a more thorough search has identified a further thirty-two examples on Latin funerary memorials, five using the form Vitalinis and twenty-seven Vitalini. Footnote 22 As will be demonstrated below, none of these examples support the claim that Vitalinis was used as a nominative singular name form in either Latin funerary, honorific, or votive inscriptions or in literary texts during the first to fifth centuries ad.

The form Vitalinis was used less commonly in Latin inscriptions than the dative form Vitalini. However, the examples below demonstrate that Vitalinis functioned as a possessive genitive, not as a nominative.Footnote 23 The earliest extant example found to date comes from the tomb purchased by Gnaeus Pomponius Hylas in the Flavian period. The dedicatory inscription honours Hylas himself while alive, along with his freedwoman:

Cn(aei) Pomponi Hylae v(ivit) Pomponiae Cn(aei) l(ibertae) Vitalinis.Footnote 24

[Tomb of] Gnaeus Pomponius Hylas [constructed] while alive [and] of Pomponia Vitalis, freedwoman of Gnaeus.

If Pomponiae was meant to be read as a dative, it would be qualified by Vitalini, not by Vitalinis. Nor can Vitalinis be nominative. In Rome, this use of the possessive genitive form Vitalinis continued into the fourth century ad, as demonstrated by the following two examples. The first commemorates a sixteen-year-old verna, the daughter of Imperial slaves:

Vitalinis dd(ominorum) / nn(ostrorum) vern(ae) quae / vixit ann(os) XVI m(enses) V / d(ies) XIII virgo def(uncta) Idib(us) / Oct(obribus) qu(a)e percep(it) diaria / stationi(s) hereditat(ium) / fecerunt parentes / b(ene) m(erenti).Footnote 25

[The memorial] of Vitalis, homeborn slave of our masters, who lived 16 years, 5 months and 13 days. She died unmarried on the 15th day of October. She was in the employment of the Inhertance Office. Her parents set up [this memorial] for their well-deserving [daughter].

A three-month-old was also commemorated with the possessive genitive form Vitalinis:

D(e)p(ositio) Vital[i]nis III Kal(endas) No<v=B>e<m=N>bre[s(!)] / Iul[i]ano IIII et Sallus[tio] conss(ulibus) vix(it) m(enses) IIII.Footnote 26

[The remains] of Vitalis, laid to rest on the 3rd day before the November Kalends (30th October) in the consulship of Iulianus IIII and Sallustius, lived 4 months.

When this usage is compared below to the possessive genitive forms of Vitalis, -is (both used for males and females), it will be confirmed that Vitalinis is a genitive rather than a nominative form.

Although a couple of the inscriptions using the substantive Vitalini are very brief,Footnote 27 an examination of examples on extant funerary inscriptions indicate that they are all dative singular forms. The majority follow a pattern similar to that of the epitaph in the R. D. Milns Antiquities Museum, with Vitalini functioning as a dative substantive qualified by a substantive/adjective combination: Vitalini filiae suae. This is also the form found on an epitaph composed in Latinised Greek, discussed below. Vitalini was therefore used in combination with single or multiple substantives and/or adjectives in the dative singular. For example, other memorials record: Atiliae Vitalini coniugi su(a)e;Footnote 28 Iuliae Vitalini…filiae dulcissimae;Footnote 29 Naeviae Vitalini matri;Footnote 30 Vitalini vernae suae carissimae;Footnote 31 Dominae filiae Vitalini;Footnote 32 and Aiae L(uci) l(ibertae) Vitalini.Footnote 33 Apart from McHugh and Puttock, the only other scholar who has suggested that Vitalinis is the nominative singular form with the dative form Vitalini is Leon. In his note on the Latinised Greek inscription Φλαβι[ε] Βιταλινι κονιουγι βενεμερεντι Σοσσιανους φηκιτ,Footnote 34 Leon argued that Vitalis is a masculine cognomen ‘hardly appropriate with a feminine gentilicium’ and that a Hellenised inflectional form Vitalini would not be expected from the nominative Vitalis.Footnote 35 However, a survey of funerary and honorific inscriptions of individuals who possessed the cognomen Vitalis was also undertaken. As discussed in more depth below, over one thousand examples of the cognomen Vitalis were found during this study. However, they are not all masculine:Footnote 36 feminine forms of the cognomen Vitalis certainly also exist on Latin funerary memorials. In fact, they number in the hundreds and were the cognomina of slaves, libertae, and females of freeborn status.Footnote 37 Moreover, Solin, who examined Hellenised forms of names in Latin inscriptions, notes that the inflection Vitalis, -inis, over time, also found its way into the repertoire of Greek and Latin names used on funerary memorials.Footnote 38 He thus identifies as name forms -os, -etis/-otis/-idis and -is, -enis/-onis/-inis.Footnote 39 This supports the finding of this study, demonstrated in more detail below, that the feminine nominative singular form of both Vitalinis (genitive singular) and Vitalini (dative singular) is Vitalis rather than Vitalinis.

First and Second-Declension Substantive Forms

Although not the central focus of this study, it is important to note that, during the early Imperial period, there was an interesting development in names related to the cognomen Vitalis.Footnote 40 First and second-declension forms related to Vitalis include Vitalius/Vitalia,Footnote 41 Vitalina,Footnote 42 Vitalianus Footnote 43 /Vitaliana, Footnote 44 Vitalicus/Vitalica, Footnote 45 the rare form Vitalinianus, Footnote 46 and the superlative forms Vitalissimus Footnote 47 /Vitalissima Footnote 48 /Vitalessima.Footnote 49 For example, Solin notes that both Vitalius and Vitalia were originally nomina,Footnote 50 but, towards the end of the second century ad, they also began to be used as the cognomina Vitalius Footnote 51 and Vitalia Footnote 52 and became particularly popular forms during the third century ad. The cognomina Vitalicus/Vitalica were favoured in the African provinces, especially for females,Footnote 53 and the superlative feminine form Vitalissima was used by members of the Christian communities of Rome between the mid-third and fifth centuries ad.Footnote 54

The n-Inflexion Third-Declension Name Form Vitalis, -is:

Vitalis as a Feminine Cognomen?

Before examining similar changes in cognomina of the third declension, it is important to address in more detail whether Vitalis was in fact a feminine cognomen. As mentioned at the beginning of this paper, Vitalis was used in the nominative, genitive (Vitalis), and dative singular (Vitali) as a feminine cognomen on approximately 305 inscriptions,Footnote 55 from the Republican period at least into the late fourth to mid-fifth century ad.Footnote 56 The number of females with this name was undoubtedly higher: numerous people with this cognomen cannot be assigned a gender on the basis of the information given in their inscriptions alone, as demonstrated by the following inscriptions: Dis Manibus Vitalis vixit m(enses) IIII h(ic) s(itus) e(st) Felix pater f(ecit);Footnote 57 Vitalis in pace q(ui) v(ixit) an(nos) IIII m(ensem) I d(ies) XIII;Footnote 58 Vitalis Gallici;Footnote 59 and the many instances of the cognomen Vitalis on other items, such as gemstones.Footnote 60 Therefore, a substantially higher number of this type of inscription may have belonged to females.Footnote 61 This certainly disproves the view that Vitalis was a cognomen given only to males, as stated by Leon.Footnote 62 The feminine cognomen Vitalis was found frequently in the nominative, predominantly on funerary memorials for women of all status levels:Footnote 63 freeborn women,Footnote 64 freedwomen,Footnote 65 and slaves.Footnote 66 Although they cannot be treated in detail in this study, it is importat to note that examples of Vitalis used as a feminine possessive genitiveFootnote 67 and dativeFootnote 68 cognomen are also found for women of all status levels. Thus, during the Imperial period, it is clear that the feminine name form Vitalis, -is was used for females of all status levels. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell from these examples if the names of females with the cognomen Vitalis used only in the nominative would have considered the stem of their names Vital- or Vitalin-.

Vitalis or Vitalinis?

I now return to the feminine name form found on the tombstone in the R. D. Milns Antiquities Museum at the University of Queensland. As mentioned at the beginning of this paper, twenty-eight females were commemorated on funerary memorials with the dative cognomen Vitalini, the same name form of the eight-year-old girl commemorated by her parentes. Footnote 69 Of the twenty-seven other epitaphs using the dative form Vitalini, twenty-one of these come from Rome,Footnote 70 five from around Italy,Footnote 71 and one from the region of Noricum.Footnote 72 They range in date from the mid-first ad through to the fifth century ad.Footnote 73 In all cases, Vitalini was used as a cognomen. Eight of the cognomina were used in conjunction with a nomen but have no status indicators such as filiation or tribe.Footnote 74 Five are the cognomina of libertae, for instance Octavia Vitalis, Atia Vitalis, Valeria Vitalis, and Pisivana Vitalis. Footnote 75 On one memorial, no nomen is included due to space constraints; however, status is given.Footnote 76 Eight epitaphs name females with the cognomen Vitalini alone and four are fragmentary.Footnote 77 The majority of individuals with only a cognomen may have been of servile status.Footnote 78 Two were clearly children at time of death: a verna who died at age six years, eight months, and ten daysFootnote 79 and a child commemorated by her parentes on her death aged nine years, nine months, and seventeen days.Footnote 80 As suggested at the beginning of this paper, these should all be considered dative singular forms of the n-inflexion cognomen with a nominative singular form Vitalis and the genitive singular Vitalinis. There is no evidence to support the claim that the cognomen Vitalinis functioned as a nominative singular. The dative Vitalini and genitive Vitalinis thus function in the same way as the dative and genitive singular of other inflected name forms, including the third-declension masculine and feminine Vitalis, -is and of the masculine Vitalio Vitalionis. Footnote 81 Moreover, both the feminine name forms Vitalis, -is and Vitalis, -inis were in use from the the mid to latter part of the first century ad and continued into the Late Empire.

This paper has demonstrated that the memorial, now in the R. D. Milns Antiquities Museum at the University of Queensland (Inv. No. 78-004) and set up to commemorate the life of the young girl depicted in the guise of Diana, should be dated later than the Augustan or Claudian periods. It was most likely commissioned somewhere between the Neronian era and the second century ad by the parentes of the young girl. More importantly, after an examination of the many forms and variations of the cognomen Vitalis, it is also clear that, during the Imperial period, the n-inflexion cognomen Vitalis, -inis evolved from the traditional Vitalis, -is form for females. As there is no evidence that Vitalinis was used as a nominative, the name form of the young girl should also be changed from Vitalinis, -inis to Vitalis, -inis.

Footnotes

1 R. D. Milns Antiquities Museum, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, Inv. No. 78-004. The inscription has not been recorded in CIL or more recent epigraphic collections, and the stele itself has not been included in the studies of Wrede (Reference Wrede1981), D’Ambra (Reference D’Ambra2007) and (Reference D’Ambra2008) 171-183, or Mander (Reference Mander2013).

2 See McHugh and Puttock (Reference McHugh and Puttock2003) 161-5.

3 Leumann (1926-Reference Leumann1928) 549 no. 366, e.g., lists the Latin -n and -t inflexions. However, his entry for masculine and feminine -is merely points out that the cognomen Vitalis, -is was genuinely Latin (rather than derived from Greek) and used for males and females. Although Vitalinis is identified in one example, CIL 6.5552, he does not identify it by case. Cf. the entries above for other forms, such as ‘(e) Entsprechend zu mask. gr. -ης (gen. var.) lat. -ēs gen. -ēnis: dat. Parnacēnī D 617 (pers.-gr. Φαρνάχης)’.

4 Borbonus (Reference Borbonus2014) discusses the development of columbaria and tomb structures.

5 Ede and Ede (Reference Ede and Ede1978) no. 21. The name form Vitalinis will be discussed in detail below. Unfortunately, no other collecting history is provided in the sale catalogue.

6 D’Ambra (Reference D’Ambra2008) 171-2. Note that all other depictions of girls in the guise of Diana known to date are either statues or reliefs on altars rather than stelai.

7 Mander (Reference Mander2013) 55.

8 See D’Ambra (Reference D’Ambra2007). Hollard (Reference Hollard2002) discusses Diana’s role as a multifaceted Republican goddess and her role in the Latin League. Hollard (Reference Hollard2002) 173-4 identifies Rome, Nemi, Bahareno ubi dicitur Casalecccio, Capua, Norba, Pisarum, Praeneste, Tarentum, Tibur, and Tusculum as sites where she was worshipped in the Republican period and finds circumstantial evidence for her presence in Ariminum, Cosa, Cumae, Marruvium and Minturnae. Hollard also demonstrates that Diana was worshipped by males and females, free and freed persons, magistrates and ordinary citizens.

9 D’Ambra (Reference D’Ambra2007) discusses the importance of Diana during the Augustan period and her role in the poetry of Horace, Ovid and Virgil (see esp. 236). Pollini (Reference Pollini1990) 355 dates the earliest extant unofficial inscription mentioning Diana Augusta to 6-5 bc (CIL 6. 1.128) and discusses the consistent representation of Diana with features similar to those of Augustus during his reign. Diana Augusta was also one of the most popular figures who recived dedications from vicomagistri. For a full discussion, see Flower (Reference Flower2017), esp. 329-47.

10 See, e.g., the Hadrianic tondo on the Arch of Constantine (LIMC ‘Diana’ 64). LIMC ‘Diana’ gives examples of official and non-official representations of Diana. She was represented in Roman literature and coinage as Diana Lucifera and linked to Juno Lucina (e.g. RIC 3.274-5; 352-3). See also D’Ambra (Reference D’Ambra2007) and Rawson (2003) 318-9.

11 For the Diana-Artemis type in general, see LIMC ‘Diana-Artemis’; see LIMC online for representations of the goddess from different areas of the Roman Empire.

12 Cyn. 491-5. A painted fragment of a calendar (now in the Vatican) depicting boys bearing torches and carrying baskets and bunches of grapes in front of a statue of Diana may reflect this ceremony or have something to do with the natalis Dianae; see LIMC ‘Diana’ 55.

13 CIL 6. 2177. Flavia died aged 6 years and 11 months.

14 Tert. Ad nat.1.10.25-35: […] senex de Saturno, imberbis de Apolline, uirgo de Diana figuratur […]’.

15 D’Ambra (Reference D’Ambra2008) 181.

16 McHugh and Puttock (Reference McHugh and Puttock2003) 161-2 say that their suggested dates ‘have not been completely substantiated’.

17 Degrassi (Reference Degrassi1959) 212-13 suggests that it was first used around ad 58 or 59. See also Degrassi (Reference Degrassi1971) 291-2 and Cooley (Reference Cooley2012) 42. Cf. Solin (Reference Solin1971) 35–6 for possible pre-Claudian inscriptions using D.M.

18 For a discussion of palaeographic dating techniques, see Gordon and Gordon (Reference Gordon and Gordon1957) 208-9 and Gordon and Gordon (Reference Gordon and Gordon1958).

19 As Hopkins (Reference Hopkins1983) 211 n.14 points out, although cremation ceased to be the dominant form of burial after the first century ad, it did co-exist with the practice of inhumation after this period. The girl’s hair is pulled back into a simple bun, in a style common for young girls. For the iconography of girls represented in the guise of Diana-Artemis, see the studies of Wrede (Reference Wrede1981) and D’Ambra (Reference D’Ambra2007) and (Reference D’Ambra2008). For children in general, see Mander (Reference Mander2013) and Gercke (Reference Gercke1968).

20 McHugh and Puttock (Reference McHugh and Puttock2003) 165. The dictionary form of the substantive would, therefore, be Vitalinis, -inis, 3f. Although Kajanto (Reference Kajanto1982) is cited, Vitalinis is never identified as a cognomen by McHugh and Puttock.

21 McHugh and Puttock (Reference McHugh and Puttock2003) 165.

22 A search of the Brepols Library of Latin Texts database up to ad 500 indicates that neither Vitalinis, -ini nor Vitaline were forms used in extant Latin literature.

23 HEp 6. 141u, a now lost inscription from Montijo in Baetica, has only Vitalinis, but is likely that this is the genitive singular form denoting possession, as discussed below for forms of Vitalis, -is. Dates will be included for inscriptions only when they have been given by the editors of the epigraphic collections used throughout this paper, as it is not possible to view all the inscriptions discussed here.

24 CIL 6.5552 (Roma, ad 69-96); see also Feraudi-Gruénais (Reference Feraudi-Gruénais2001) 44 and (Reference Feraudi-Gruénais2003) 96.

25 ICUR 8.23034 (Roma, ad 200-225). AE 1948, 176 identifies Vitalinis as the genitive of Vitalis, supporting the findings of this study; see also AE 1951, 173; AE 2006, 150; Carletti (Reference Carletti2006) 91-119.

26 CIL 11.4038 (1) (Amelia, Umbria, ad 363); Fiocchi Nicolai (Reference Fiocchi Nicolai1986) 21. See also ICUR 4.10282 (Roma, ad 300-339) for the final inscription using a possessive genitive.

27 See, e.g., ICUR 4.16564 [Cand]idus Vitalini in pace (Roma, ad 300-350); ICUR 7.19559h Vitalini (Roma, ad 300-399).

28 CIL 6.13237 (Roma).

29 CIL 6.20730 (Roma).

30 CIL 6.22861a (Roma).

31 CIL 6.22544. (Roma).

32 ICUR 6.17171 (Roma).

33 CIL 5.1061 (Aquileia, Venetia et Histria, ad 1-125).

34 CIJ 1.235 (Roma, 3rd-4th cent. ad).

35 Leon (Reference Leon1995) 100. McHugh and Puttock (Reference McHugh and Puttock2003) do not mention this inscription or Leon’s comments. Lampe (Reference Lampe2003) 338 refers to the inscription ICUR 8.23034 (Roma, ad 200-225) cited above via the reference in AE 1948, 176. However, he does not follow, or question, the suggestion in AE that Vitalinis should be taken as the genitive of Vitalis.

36 Vitalis was a very popular male cognomen and is found on inscriptions as early as the Sullan period. It then became a popular slave name from the Augustan period onwards: see Solin (Reference Solin1998) 210 and n.41. It is often considered a slave cognomen, e.g. by Duff (1958) 110 and Gordon (Reference Gordon1931) 76.

37 Approximately 305 inscriptions were found to date: 185 inscriptions with the cognomen Vitalis used in the nominative singular (Vitalis) refer to females, even though, as pointed out below, many inscriptions that list the cognomen Vitalis alone often cannot be attributed to either a male or female, so more examples undoubtedly exist. 113 inscriptions use the feminine dative singular form Vitali and 7 the feminine possessive genitive Vitalis.

38 7 examples use the feminine genitive singular form Vitalis: Fufiae Vitalis, CECapitol 93 (Roma); Cassiciae Vitalis, CIL 6.14484 (Roma); Cicereiae Vitalis, CIL 6.14801 (Roma); Siliae Vitalis, CIL 6.26582; Petroniae Vitalis, AE 1951, 217 (Herculaneum, Latium et Campana, ad 74/75); Iuliae Vitalis, CIL 15.7480 (Roma); Gratiae Vitalis, IDR 2.58. These will be discussed in more detail below.

39 Solin (Reference Solin1992) 183-4. This was also suggested by Ferrua (Reference Ferrua1941) 34, but rejected by Leon. See also Noy (Reference Noy1995) 238, no. 273. Solin (Reference Solin1971) 212 identifies the n-inflection Vitalinis as a genuine Latin form: ‘Die n-Flexion ist ja aus der griechischer Namen in die Flexion echtlateinischer Namen eingedrungen.’

40 Kajanto (Reference Kajanto1982) 274 lists many of these forms in his book on cognomina. Although I have discovered many more examples for each name form than identified by Kajanto, who only had access to the printed volumes of CIL, they collectively number in the thousands and, as such, cannot be examined in any depth here. All examples discussed throughout this paper are funerary inscriptions, unless specifically identified as honorific or votive inscriptions or graffiti.

41 Discussed below, nn.51 and 52.

42 Examples can be found of the cognomen Vitalia used with a nomen, usually without formal status indicators such as filiation or tribe, such as, for instance, CIL 6.18087, (Roma); ICUR 3.8518 (Roma, ad 300-350); CIL 9.5864 (Auximum, Picenum); ILAfr. 66.09 (Hadrumentum, Africa Proconsularis), and the votive ILJug. 1.339 (Poetovio, Pannonia Superior). Females with only the cognomen Vitalina include AE 1939, 286 (Scarbantia, Pannonia Superior); CIL 5.5343; 5392 (Comum, Transpadana); CIL 6.29059 (Roma); ICUR 1.3870 (Roma, ad 326-375); ICUR 2.6053 (Roma, ad 395); ICUR 8.22705 (Roma ad 300-399); ICUR 10.27295 (Roma, ad 367).

43 Vitalianus was a popular male cognomen. See, e.g., AE 1990, 62 (Roma, ad 200-300); CIL 6.3593 (Roma); CIL 14.30 (Ostia Antica, ad 201-230); AE 1905, 161 (Viminacium, Moesia Superior, ad 151-300); CIL 3.3545 (Aquincum, Pannonia Inferior, ad 201-250); ICUR 1.3253 (Roma, ad 530-533); ICUR 9.24218 (Roma, ad 300-399); IGLTheben 469 (Thebae/Diospolis Magna, Aegyptus); CIL 13.5872 (Andematunum Belgica/Germania Superior). Examples continue into the sixth century ad, e.g. ICUR 1.3253 (Roma, ad 530-533). See also I. Kajanto (Reference Kajanto1963) 3-54 for a discussion of the development of the Latin name in the Imperial period as well as the -anus ending.

44 As a feminine cognomen, Vitaliana was rare. Examples include ICUR 1.648 (fragmentary, Roma, ad 326-375); CIL 6.33893 (votive, Roma); CIL 6.17054 (Roma, ad 171-200).

45 Discussed below, n.53.

46 The feminine form Vitaliniana is not attested. Vitalinianus is found only on a fifth-century ad Christian sarcophagus (CIL 5.8775 = ILCV 716 Add.; Concordia, Venetia et Histria, ad 400-450). The text of the inscription is disputed: Arc(a)m Fla(vi) Vitaliniani et Fl(avi) Severi / emerunt de prop(r)io suo… or Arcu VETIA Vitaliniani et Fl(avi) Severi emerunt de proprio suo…; see also Lettich (Reference Lettich1983) n.79.3 and Lettich and Zovatto (Reference Lettich and Zovatto2007) n.35.

47 Only two examples of the masculine cognomen Vitalissimus have been found to date:ICUR 7.19533 (cognomen only; Roma, ad 326-375); CIL 6.1056 (Roma,ad 205).

48 7 examples have been found of females with the cognomen Vitalissima. All are Christian, such as, e.g., ICUR 1.2879 (Roma, ad 250-350); ICUR 4.11242 (Roma, ad 400-499).

49 A young girl who died around the age of four was given the cognomen Vitalessima: ICUR 1.3228 p. 491 (Roma, ad 425). As this is the only example attested, it may be a misspelling for Vitalissima.

50 For Vitalius, see, e.g., CIL 6. 30575 (Roma). Vitalia is used as a nomen at CIL 13.5913 (votive, Belgica, Germania Superior); CIL 3.14747 (Salona, Dalmatia, ad 151-300); CIL 6.29075 (Roma).

51 Solin (Reference Solin1998) 209-11. See also 70-86 for a discussion on the development of cognomina in -ius and -ia in pagan and Christian inscriptions. Kajanto (Reference Kajanto1963) 3-54, esp. 18-30, addresses both double nomina and cognomina in his discussion of the Latin name during the early Empire. For examples of Vitalius, see AE 1984, 184 (Sessa Aurunca, Latium et Campania, ad 151-200); CIL 6.2635 (Roma, ad 180-220); ICUR 7.19475 (Roma, ad 300-399). Vitalius does not seem to have been used commonly as a cognomen for slaves or for individuals commemorated with only a nomen. Vitalio seems here to have been the preferred form, although it is difficult in some cases to tell whether the person’s name was meant to be in the nominative or dative: see, e.g., BCTH 1934/35-103, El Kseur, Mauretania Caesarensis.

52 Examples of Vitalia used as a cognomen in conjunction with a nomen include CIL 3.2108 (Salona, Dalmatia, ad 201-400); ILJug 3.1327 (Timacum Minus, Moesia Superior); ILJug 3.2789 (Siculi, Dalmatia, ad 425); CIL 14.5132 (Ostia-Portus, Latium et Campania). Note also the freedwoman Negilia Vitalia at CIL 9.150 (Brundisium, Apulia et Calabria), whose nomen is listed as Necilia by the editors of CIL: cf. De Nicolò (2007-Reference De Nicolò8) Negilia, 234-5, no. 241. For female names using the cognomen Vitalia only, see, e.g., CIL 10.171 (Potenita, Bruttium et Lucania); ICUR 3.9246 (alumna, Roma).

53 ILAlg 2.1.2456 (Castellum Celtianum, Numidia, ad 101-200); CIL 8.12862 (Carthago, Africa Proconsularis); cf. CIL 13.3552 from Gesoriacum (Bononia) in Belgica. 15 examples were found in Roman Africa, but only 3 of these inscriptions were for males: see, e.g, ILAlg 2.1.2845 (Castellum Celtianum, Numidia, ad 101-200).

54 As discussed in nn.47 and 48 above.

55 See n.37 above.

56 See, e.g., ICUR 8.21591b (Roma, ad 390-450); ICUR 1.3333; 3.7453; 9.25616 (Roma, ad 300-399); CIL 2.2209 (Corduba, Baetica, ad 301-400). The earliest inscriptions found so far with an assigned date are CIL 6.34508 and 6.34509 (Roma, 30 bc-AD 30). See also CIL 6.5237 (Roma, ad 14-50); CIL 9.1255 (Aeclanum, Apulia et Calabria, ad 1-100); HEp 1998.150 (Torreparedones, Baetica, ad 31-70).

57 CIL 8.22991 (Hadrumentum, Africa Proconsularis).

58 ICUR 1.2457 (Roma).

59 CIL 10.8047, 20 (Pompei, Latium and Campania).

60 CIL 13.10024, e.g., lists three names: Severa/Vitalis/Prima (Lugdunum, Lugudunensis).

61 Vitales appears as masculine cognomen, although it is found much less commonly than Vitalis (8 examples, e.g. CIRG 1.63 [Marzarelas, Hispania Citerior]; AE 1986, 269 [Vercellae, Transpadana]; AE 1978, 730 [Kabile, Thracia ad 151-300]). These may be misspellings for Vitalis. Only one example of Vitales used as a feminine cognomen was found, making it likely at least that this inscription should read Vitalis: AE 2006, 1194 Vitales coniunx (Kuceviska Bara, Moesia Superior, ad 131-250).

62 See above, p. 123.

63 Approximately 185 examples are identifiable. Vitalis as a feminine cognomen is also found in graffiti from Pompeii, e.g. CIL 4.2003. 139 examples list a nomen and the feminine cognomen Vitalis without the use of filiation, pseudo-filiation, or tribe. They come from many different parts of the Empire, e.g. Rome (CIL 6.10721), Ostia (CIL 14.1362), Marruvium in Samnium (AE 1975, 317), Musarna in Etruria (CIL 11.3026), Catina in Sicilia (NSA 1915.216), Philippi in Macedonia (Philippi 298), Senia in Dalmatia (CIL 3.15093), Numidia (CIL 8.3999), Africa Proconsularis (CIL 8.12861), Gallia Narbonensis (CIL 12.1645), Lusitania (CPIL Caceres 187), and Carthago in Africa Proconsularis (CIL 8.12861).

64 Of the 29 examples found to date of freeborn women with the cogomen Vitalis, 20 are from Africa Proconsularis and Numidia. Their memorials generally follow the basic format: Papiria M(arci) f(ilia) / Vitalis v(ixit) a(nnos) XXXXI / h(ic) s(ita) e(st) (ILAlg 2.3.8675); some also include tribe, a few leave out age at death; see, e.g., CIL 8.2179 (El Ksour, Numidia); ILAlg 2.2.5982 (Thibilis, Numidia); CIL 8.554 (Thala, Africa Proconsularis); AE 1937, 41 (Thrysdus, Africa Proconsularis). The remainder come from Italy and other areas of the Empire.

65 See, e.g., ArchAnz 2015.48 (Dyrrachium, Macedonia); CIL 9.1255 (Aeclanum, Apulia et Calabria, ad 1-100); AE 1978, 143 (Ravello, Latium et Campania, ad 20-70); CIL 9.1920 (Beneventum, Apulia et Calabria); InscrIt 1.1.158 (Salernum, Latium et Campania).

66 See, e.g., CIL 8.12855 (Carthago, Africa Proconsularis). Women given the cognomen Vitalis only were probably also slaves: CIL 2.5693 (Legio, Hispania Citerior); CIL 6.7367 (Roma, ad 51-70). The number of female slaves was probably higher, but, as mentioned previously, many inscriptions listing only the cognomen Vitalis are difficult to assign gender to.

67 Nomen and cognomen, no status indicators: e.g. CIL 15.7480 (Roma, led pipe on the Esquiline); AE 1951, 217 (Herculaneum, Latium et Campania, ad 74/76); CECapitol 93 (Roma, ad 101-200); IDR 2.58 (fragmentary, Drobeta, Dacia, ad 171-270); CIL 6.14484 (Roma); CIL 6.14801 (Roma); CIL 6.26582 (Roma).

68 113 examples have been found to date: e.g. AE 1991, 1963, and 1949, 36 (Gurza, Africa Proconsularis); CIL 11.1224 (Placentina, Aemelia, ad 100-200); CIL 5.7678 (Augusta Bagiennorum, Liguria); CIL 6.18226 (Roma); CIL 5.7581 (Hasta, Luguria, ad 1-100); CIL 12.3225 (Nemausus, Gallia Narbonensis); CIL 11.167 (Ravenna, Aemilia); AE 1977, 32(2) (Roma, ad 201-300); CIL 6.14356 (Roma, ad 69); CIL 8.20792 (Auzia, Mauretania Caesarensis); CIL 2.2209 (= 2.7.270, Corduba, Baetica ad 301-400); CIL 5.3138 (Vicetia, Venetia et Histria); CIL 6.9383 (Roma); CIL 6.13017 (Roma); CIL 6.29069; CIL 6.8685; AE 1997, 643 (Ateste, Venetia et Histria); CIL 11.6880 (Bononia, Aemilia); AE 1994, 489 (Larinum, Samnium); Slaves: e.g. AE 1994, 369 (= AE 1984, 86, Roma, end of the first or beginning of the second century ad); CIL 6.29073 (Roma); CIL 5.2593 (Ateste, Venetia et Histria); CIL 6.38150 (Roma); CIL 5.111 (Pola, Venetia et Histria).

69 See above, page 121.

70 CIL 6.12855 (AD 51-200); 6.13237; 6.20730; 6.22544; 22861a; 6.23367 (AD 51-200); 6.25441; 6.27752 (ad 1-50); ICUR 1.407 (now lost); ICUR 4.10833 (AD 400-499); ICUR 4.12061b; ICUR 4.12798; ICUR 6.16564 (ad 300-350); 6.17171; ICUR 7.19559h (AD 300-399); ICUR 8.22707 (AD 290-325); ICUR 9.24219 (AD 300-399); ICUR 9.24516 (AD 290-325); CECapitol 113.

71 ER Canosa Add. 8 (Canusium, Apulia et Calabria, ad 101-250); AE 1982, 292 (Falerii Novi, Etruria, ad 101-150); Baiae 57.1 (Baiae, Latium et Campania, ad 171-300); CIL 5.1061 (Aquileia, Venetia et Histria, ad 1-125); 5.3803 (Verona, Venetia et Histria).

72 CIL 3.11735 (Solva, Noricum).

73 The earliest example appears to be CIL 6.27752 (Roma), given a date range of ad 1-50 on archaeological and palaeographic grounds, the latest ICUR 4.10833 (Roma), with a date of ad 400-499.

74 CIL 6.12855 (Roma, ad 51-200); 6.13237 (Roma); 6.20215 (Roma); 6.20730 (Roma); CIJ 1.235 (Roma, ad 200-300); CECapitol 113 (Roma); ERCanosa Add. 8 (Canusium, Apulia et Calabria, ad 101-250); Baiae 57.1 (Baiae, Latium et Campania).

75 CIL 5.1061 (Aquileia, Venetia et Histria, ad 1-125); 5.3803 (Verona, Venetia et Histria); 6.23367 (Roma, ad 51-200); AE 1982, 292 (Falerii Novi, Etruria, ad 101-150); CIL 6.27752 (Roma, ad 1-50).

76 CIL 6.27752 (Roma, ad 1-50) names Vitalis as a liberta, but, as this is a shared commemorative inscription, there was no space to include a nomen: Tullia M(arci) l(iberta) Helena sibi et / M(arco) Tullio M(arci) l(iberto) Timoni patro(no) // Favori l(iberto) / Aucto l(iberto) / Antiocho l(iberto) / posteris<qu=C>e / suis // L(ucius) Tampius L(uci) l(ibertus) / Anteros sibi et / Felicioni l(iberto) et / Floro l(iberto) et / Vitalini l(iberta) et / posterisque suis.

77 Fragmentary: ICUR 4.10833 (alumna, Roma, ad 400-499); ICUR 1.407 (Roma); ICUR 1.3081 (Roma, ad 326-375); ICUR 4.12798 (Roma).

78 See, e.g., CIL 6.25441 (Roma): D(is) M(anibus) s(acrum) / Rodiadi et / Vitalini / sororibus / fecit / Domitia / Rodias soror / pientissima. See also ICUR 6.16564 (Roma, ad 300-350): [Cand]idus Vitalini / in pace; ICUR 7.19559h (Roma, ad 300-339): Vitalini; ICUR 8.22707 (Roma, ad 290-325): Vitalini fili(a)e dulcissim(a)e; ICUR 9.24219 (Roma, ad 300-399): Vitalini merenti in p(ace) / vixit annis VIIII m(ensibus) VIIII / d(iebus) XVII par(entes) fec(erunt) dep(ositus) IIII K(alendas) Mar(tias); ICUR 9.24516 (Roma, ad 290-325): Valerius / Vitalini / co(n)iugi. ICUR 6.17171 was set up by the parentes (Festus and Urbica) and sister (Festa) of Vitalis; CIL 3.11735 was set up by the libertus Secundus Vitalis and Annia Botta (while alive) for their 7-year-old daughter Secundina, along with Ingenus Sabinus and Vitalis. However, see Kajanto (Reference Kajanto1963) on the use of single cognomina.

79 CIL 6.22544 (Roma): D(is) M(anibus) / C(aius) Minucius / Charito et / Carvilia Tyche / Vitalini(!) vernae / suae carissimae / fecerunt q(uae) v(ixit) an(nos) / VI m(enses) VIIII d(ies) X.

80 ICUR 9.24219 (Roma, ad 300-399): Vitalini merenti in p(ace) / vixit annis VIIII m(ensibus) VIIII / d(iebus) XVII par(entes) fec(erunt) dep(ositus) IIII K(alendas) Mar(tias).

81 There is unfortunately not the space to discuss the masculine cognomen Vitalio in this study.

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Figure 0

Fig. 1a and 1b Tombstone of child dressed in the guise of Diana. R. D. Milns Antiquities Museum, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, Inv. No. 78-004.