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Ancient Roman family From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome.[1] For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any other gens. At least seventy-five consuls under the Republic were members of this family, beginning with Servius Cornelius Maluginensis in 485 BC. Together with the Aemilii, Claudii, Fabii, Manlii, and Valerii, the Cornelii were almost certainly numbered among the gentes maiores, the most important and powerful families of Rome, who for centuries dominated the Republican magistracies. All of the major branches of the Cornelian gens were patrician, but there were also plebeian Cornelii, at least some of whom were descended from freedmen.[2]
The origin of the Cornelii is lost to history, but the nomen Cornelius may be formed from the hypothetical cognomen Corneus, meaning "horny", that is, having thick or callused skin. The existence of such a cognomen in early times may be inferred from its diminutive, Corneolus. Such a derivation implies a Latin origin for the Cornelii, and there is no evidence to contradict this, but beyond this no traditions survive relating to the family's beginning.[1]
The Cornelii employed a wide variety of praenomina, although individual families tended to favor certain names and avoid others. Servius, Lucius, Publius, and Gnaeus were common to most branches, while other names were used by individual stirpes; Marcus primarily by the Cornelii Maluginenses and the Cethegi, Gaius by the Cethegi, and Aulus by the Cossi. Other names occur infrequently; Tiberius appears once amongst the Lentuli, who later revived the old surname Cossus as a praenomen, while the Cornelii Sullae made use of Faustus.
The Cornelian gens included both patricians and plebeians, but all of its major families were patrician. The surnames Arvina, Blasio, Cethegus, Cinna, Cossus, Dolabella, Lentulus, Maluginensis, Mammula, Merenda, Merula, Rufinus, Scapula, Scipio, Sisenna, and Sulla belonged to patrician Cornelii, while the plebeian cognomina included Balbus and Gallus. Other surnames are known from freedmen, including Chrysogonus, Culleolus, Phagita, and others. A number of plebeian Cornelii had no cognomen.[2]
The first of the Cornelii to appear in history bore the surname Maluginensis. This family seems to have divided into two stirpes in the 430s, the senior line retaining Maluginensis, while the younger branches assumed Cossus. From their filiations, the first of the Cornelii Cossi would seem to have been younger sons of Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis, a member of the Second Decemvirate in 450 BC. Both families produced a number of consuls and consular tribunes during the fourth and fifth centuries BC. The Maluginenses disappeared before the period of the Samnite Wars, although the Cornelii Scipiones appear to have been descended from this family, while the surname Cossus appears as late as the beginning of the third century; members of the latter family also bore the cognomina Rutilus, "reddish", and Arvina. Cossus itself seems to belong to a class of surnames derived from objects or animals, referring to the larva of certain beetles that burrow under the bark of trees. The Cornelii Lentuli subsequently revived Cossus as a surname.[3][4]
The Cornelii Scipiones derived their surname from a legend in which the first of the family served as a staff (scipio) for his blind father. Since the first of the Scipiones seems to have borne the cognomen Maluginensis, he would seem to have been the son of Publius Cornelius Maluginensis, one of the consular tribunes in 404 BC. The Scipiones produced numerous consuls and several prominent generals, of whom the most celebrated were Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus and Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus. Members of this family held the highest offices of the Roman state from the beginning of the fourth century BC down to the second century of the Empire, a span of nearly six hundred years. Its members bore a large number of additional surnames, including Barbatus, "bearded", Scapula, "shoulder blade", Asina, "she-ass", Calvus, "bald", Hispallus, "little Spaniard", Nasica, "nosed", and Corculum, "little heart", in addition to those derived from their military exploits: Africanus and Asiaticus. The last generations of this great family were originally adopted from the Salvidieni, and so bore the additional names of Salvidienus Orfitus. The Scipiones had a large family sepulchre at Rome, which still exists, having been rediscovered in 1780.[5][6][7]
The cognomen Lentulus probably belongs to a class of surnames deriving from the habits or qualities of the persons to whom they were first applied; the adjective lentulus means "rather slow". An alternative explanation is that the name is a diminutive of lens, a lentil, and so belongs to the same class of surnames as Cicero, a chickpea, and Caepio, an onion.[8][9] The Cornelii Lentuli were famed for their pride and haughtiness, so that Cicero uses Lentulitas, "Lentulusness", to describe the most aristocratic of the patricians.[10] The Lentuli appear in history from the time of the Samnite Wars to the first century of the Empire, a period of about four hundred years. Their origin is uncertain. According to Livy, early in the Second Samnite War, Lucius Cornelius Lentulus described his father as the only man who, during the Gallic sack of Rome in 390 BC, had opposed paying a ransom to ensure the departure of the Gauls from the city.[11] The filiations of other early Lentuli suggest that their ancestors used the name Gnaeus, suggesting that they could have been descendants of the Cornelii Cossi.
The Lentuli used a number of additional surnames, including Caudinus, apparently referring to the Battle of the Caudine Forks, crus, a leg, or the shin, Gaetulicus, bestowed upon the conqueror of the Gaetuli, Lupus, a wolf, Niger, black, Spinther, a bracelet, and Sura, the calf. The Lentuli also revived several old cognomina that had belonged to other stirpes of the Cornelii: Maluginensis, Cossus, Rufinus, and Scipio. At least two of this family bore surnames derived from other gentes; Clodianus was borne by a Lentulus who had been adopted from the Clodii, while Marcellinus belonged to a member of the family who was adopted from the Claudii Marcelli.[9][12][13]
The Cornelii Rufini appear in the latter half of the fourth century BC, beginning with Publius Cornelius Rufinus, dictator in 334 BC. From the surname Rufinus, meaning "reddish", one may infer that the first of this family had red hair.[7] A descendant of this family was the first to assume the cognomen Sulla, about the time of the Second Punic War. The name is probably a diminutive of Sura, a cognomen found in several gentes, including among the Cornelii Lentuli, and probably referred to someone with prominent calves.[7] Plutarch, who erroneously believed that the dictator Sulla was the first to bear the name, thought it must have referred to a blotchy, reddish complexion, while Macrobius derives it from Sibylla, an etymology that is rejected by Quintilian.[14][15][16][17] The dictator Sulla adopted the agnomen Felix, meaning "fortunate" or "happy", and this name was passed on to some of his descendants.[18] The Sullae continued in the highest offices of the state well into imperial times. The last appearing in history fell victim to Elagabalus, early in the third century AD.[14]
The Dolabellae first came to prominence at the beginning of the third century BC, and so remained until the reign of Vitellius. Several of the Dolabellae achieved high office, and one was Rex Sacrorum, but many of this family were notorious for their pride, extravagance, and disregard for the law. Their surname, Dolabella, is a diminutive of dolabra, a mattock or pickaxe, and belongs to a common class of surnames derived from everyday objects.[4][19]
Several lesser patrician stirpes flourished during the late Republic and early years of the Empire. The Cornelii Merendae flourished for about a century, beginning in the early third century BC. Their cognomen means the midday meal, and is also found among the patrician Antonii. The Blasiones appeared at the same time and flourished for about 160 years; their surname was originally given to one who stammers.[7] Cethegus is a cognomen whose original meaning and significance have been lost. The Cornelii Cethegi first appear in the latter half of the third century BC, and were described by Horace as cinctuti Cethegi, for their old-fashioned practice of wearing their arms bare. They remained prominent for the next two centuries.[20][21] The Cornelii Mammulae held several praetorships, beginning at the time of the Second Punic War, but they never attained the consulship, and disappeared after about fifty years. Their surname is a diminutive of mamma, a breast.[22][7] Merula refers to an ouzel, or blackbird. The family that bore this surname rose from obscurity at the beginning of the second century BC, and continued for the next century.[23] The Cornelii Cinnae were the last patrician family to emerge in the late second century BC; they retained prominence until the early decades of the Empire.[24]
Balbus, which like Blasio signifies a stammerer,[7] was not originally a surname of the Cornelia gens, but was adopted by a native of Gades, who was granted Roman citizenship by Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, as a reward for military service during the War against Sertorius. He probably took the nomen Cornelius after Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus, who ratified the act making Balbus a citizen in 72 BC. He eventually attained the consulship, but the family, which was plebeian, disappeared from history in the early years of the Empire.[25] Another plebeian surname of the Cornelii was Gallus, known from Gaius Cornelius Gallus, the poet, who came to Rome from Forum Julii as a young man. His surname signified his Gallic origin.[26][27]
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