Roman Archaic Age, summary of Latin literature: the diffusion of culture, theatre, oratory, the circulation of books and the transmission of texts.
Roman Archaic Age: summary
The public . Despite the scant evidence that has come down to us, we can estimate with certainty that in archaic Rome the literary public was limited to a small circle of people and that the rest of the population could neither read nor write.
Cultural transmission . Since common people could not use written texts, they had at their disposal some forms of transmission with which they could reach a reasonable cultural level: theatre, oratory, public readings of epic texts.
Art: the theatre
The theatre , through some devices such as music, mime, acting, managed to capture the interest of both an illiterate and a literate audience.The theatre was open to all, and soon it was possible to distinguish inside it actual seats reserved for different social classes.
Of course, not everyone would have interpreted the meaning of the representation in the same way, but even people of more modest social extraction would have been able to understand its language and therefore broaden their knowledge.
The show was free and admission was also open to women. The Roman theatre season was rich in events and often other shows could be added to the normal ones: the votive games were used to celebrate a funeral, a monument or a victory, and generally all those games during which even the smallest irregularity had occurred were repeated.
Since it was the magistrates or other members of the Roman ruling class who were responsible for staging theatrical performances, their careers could be made more prestigious by the success that such performances achieved with the public.Typically, the performances were accompanied by other types of displays, such as gladiatorial fights, athletic contests, and performances by tightrope walkers and acrobats.The scenic games did not have a competitive character as in Greece, but it is almost absolutely certain that there was competition between the actors.
One of the most important functions within the “companies” was that of the comic chief , which coincided with that of the first actor and the impresario: he had the task of taking care of the entire staging of the performance.Probably the musician also had an important role, even if we do not have any evidence regarding music.
The figure of the actor was certainly not looked upon favorably, due to his low social position: actors were often foreigners or freedmen.
Despite the great success of theatrical performances, there were no permanent theatre buildings in Rome until the age of Pompey.This was due to the characteristics that the figure of the Roman man had to embody, as the mos maiorum imposed: the man, as proof of his virility, had to be able to watch the show standing up.
Therefore the games were held on a pulpitum , or stage; the sets were simple and depicted public places; there was no curtain. The use of masks is attested, as the actors (only men) could play multiple roles and even female parts.
Poetic oratory
Poetic oratory was expressed mostly in the Senate chamber, while judicial oratory took place in open spaces where anyone could attend.
Usually the speaker did not read a written text, but impersonated a previously prepared outline.
Public readings had a very limited diffusion, since it was difficult to know how to read texts on epic subjects. It is however easy to understand that cultural transmission was mainly entrusted to orality : this implied a scarce presence of written texts and their even lesser diffusion.
Read also
Roman society: general characteristics, economy, social classes, culture, games and shows
The book and its circulation: from the 2nd to the 1st century BC
Until the middle of the 1st century AD, the papyrus roll (or volumen ) of Greek and Egyptian origin continued to be used. For notes and drafts, wooden tablets were used on which ink was written or covered with wax and engraved with a small stick called a stilus.
Only in the imperial age did the use of the codex , a book similar to the modern one, become widespread. On its parchment pages one could write on both sides and it was more comfortable.
As time passed, written texts multiplied in Rome, as culture was recognized as having a fundamental role in society. Little by little, a series of books began to circulate and speeches were also written down.
This primitive literary market, however, could not satisfy the needs of the more cultured public.
Publication (2nd to 1st century BC). Generally, men of letters such as Cicero preferred to obtain books through their large network of friends, having them copied by their personal slaves.
Publication could be considered to have occurred when the author of a book announced that he had finished it and allowed his friends to begin copying it.
The public and books during the Augustan age . During this period there was a notable growth in the literary public and consequently in the book market, which made higher quality works available.
The publication no longer had a private character, even if the exchange of works through friendships remained a fairly widespread phenomenon.
Patronage was the most significant cultural phenomenon of the period: since the authors were of low social status, they placed themselves under the protection of a patron, becoming his clientes , and in turn celebrated the deeds of their patron.
The transmission of texts . Of the vast majority of books that circulated in antiquity, almost nothing remains. This is the direct consequence of the fact that much later people thought of making several copies of a text so that it would not be lost.
Furthermore, ancient philology did not guarantee the exact copying of a work and many texts disappeared in fires and earthquakes. In addition to some direct testimonies, indirect testimonies of certain works have reached us. In fact, some works refer to works by other authors.
