Roman Customs Part I Flashcards
In the context of Roman meals, what was the term for breakfast?
ientāculum
Fun Fact: The Romans typically ate three meals a day like we do. The first meal, ientāculum, would be the equivalent of our breakfast. It was consumed in the morning and consisted generally of bread, raisins, olives, and sometimes cheese. The ientāculum was usually a simple meal, but sometimes eggs were added to it along with mulsum (wine mixed with honey) and milk (lac).
In the context of Roman meals, what foods typically are typically served at an ientāculum?
Bread, raisins, olives, and sometimes cheese
Fun Fact: The Romans typically ate three meals a day like we do. The first meal, ientāculum, would be the equivalent of our breakfast. It was consumed in the morning and consisted generally of bread, raisins, olives, and sometimes cheese. The ientāculum was usually a simple meal, but sometimes eggs were added to it along with mulsum (wine mixed with honey) and milk (lac).
In the context of Roman meals, what was mulsum?
Wine mixed with honey
Fun Fact: The Romans typically ate three meals a day like we do. The first meal, ientāculum, would be the equivalent of our breakfast. It was consumed in the morning and consisted generally of bread, raisins, olives, and sometimes cheese. The ientāculum was usually a simple meal, but sometimes eggs were added to it along with mulsum (wine mixed with honey) and milk (lac).
In the context of Roman meals, what was lac?
Milk
Fun Fact: The Romans typically ate three meals a day like we do. The first meal, ientāculum, would be the equivalent of our breakfast. It was consumed in the morning and consisted generally of bread, raisins, olives, and sometimes cheese. The ientāculum was usually a simple meal, but sometimes eggs were added to it along with mulsum (wine mixed with honey) and milk (lac).
In the context of Roman meals, what meal followed the ientāculum?
prandium
Fun Fact: Ientāculum would be followed by lunch, what the Romans called prandium. For the Romans prandium was a small meal which consisted of leftovers from the night before. Mostly, therefore, prandium was a meal of cold food: cheese, olives, meat, fruits, etc..
In the context of Roman meals, what foods typically are typically served at an prandium?
Consisted mainly of leftovers from the night before
Fun Fact: Ientāculum would be followed by lunch, what the Romans called prandium. For the Romans prandium was a small meal which consisted of leftovers from the night before. Mostly, therefore, prandium was a meal of cold food: cheese, olives, meat, fruits, etc..
In the context of Roman meals, what was the term for dinner?
cēna
Fun Fact: The main meal of the Roman day was dinner, or cēna. The cēna was generally a formal affair which took place in the trīclīnium or dining room of the house. The trīclīnium was a room with three couches (lectī). The Romans ate by reclining on their left elbow on a lectus. The cēna was served in three parts. The first part was the appetizer (gustātio / antecēna). The main course (fercula) came next. Depending upon the host, the fercula could be quite elaborate. Finally came the dessert, or secunda mē**nsa. It was called this because slaves would bring out a “second table” with the dessert on it. The secunda mēnsa consisted of nuts, fruits, pastries, and wine. Since Romans ate eggs at the beginning of the meal and apples at the end they created the expression ab ōvō usque ad māla, which means “from the egg all the way to the apples.” Sometimes in English this phrase is translated as “from soup to nuts” or “from the beginning to the end.
In the context of Roman meals, what was a trīclīnium?
Dining Room
Fun Fact: The main meal of the Roman day was dinner, or cēna. The cēna was generally a formal affair which took place in the trīclīnium or dining room of the house. The trīclīnium was a room with three couches (lectī). The Romans ate by reclining on their left elbow on a lectus. The cēna was served in three parts. The first part was the appetizer (gustātio / antecēna). The main course (fercula) came next. Depending upon the host, the fercula could be quite elaborate. Finally came the dessert, or secunda mēnsa. It was called this because slaves would bring out a “second table” with the dessert on it. The secunda mēnsa consisted of nuts, fruits, pastries, and wine. Since Romans ate eggs at the beginning of the meal and apples at the end they created the expression ab ōvō usque ad māla, which means “from the egg all the way to the apples.” Sometimes in English this phrase is translated as “from soup to nuts” or “from the beginning to the end.
In the context of Roman meals, what are the three main parts of the Roman cēna?
gustātio / antecēna, fercula, and secunda mēnsa
Fun Fact: The main meal of the Roman day was dinner, or cēna. The cēna was generally a formal affair which took place in the trīclīnium or dining room of the house. The trīclīnium was a room with three couches (lectī). The Romans ate by reclining on their left elbow on a lectus. The cēna was served in three parts. The first part was the appetizer (gustātio / antecēna). The main course (fercula) came next. Depending upon the host, the fercula could be quite elaborate. Finally came the dessert, or secunda mēnsa. It was called this because slaves would bring out a “second table” with the dessert on it. The secunda mēnsa consisted of nuts, fruits, pastries, and wine. Since Romans ate eggs at the beginning of the meal and apples at the end they created the expression ab ōvō usque ad māla, which means “from the egg all the way to the apples.” Sometimes in English this phrase is translated as “from soup to nuts” or “from the beginning to the end.
In the context of Roman meals, what was the gustātio / antecēna?
Appetizer
Fun Fact: The main meal of the Roman day was dinner, or cēna. The cēna was generally a formal affair which took place in the trīclīnium or dining room of the house. The trīclīnium was a room with three couches (lectī). The Romans ate by reclining on their left elbow on a lectus. The cēna was served in three parts. The first part was the appetizer (gustātio / antecēna). The main course (fercula) came next. Depending upon the host, the fercula could be quite elaborate. Finally came the dessert, or secunda mēnsa. It was called this because slaves would bring out a “second table” with the dessert on it. The secunda mēnsa consisted of nuts, fruits, pastries, and wine. Since Romans ate eggs at the beginning of the meal and apples at the end they created the expression ab ōvō usque ad māla, which means “from the egg all the way to the apples.” Sometimes in English this phrase is translated as “from soup to nuts” or “from the beginning to the end.
In the context of Roman meals, what was fercula?
Main course of a Roman dinner
Fun Fact: The main meal of the Roman day was dinner, or cēna. The cēna was generally a formal affair which took place in the trīclīnium or dining room of the house. The trīclīnium was a room with three couches (lectī). The Romans ate by reclining on their left elbow on a lectus. The cēna was served in three parts. The first part was the appetizer (gustātio / antecēna). The main course (fercula) came next. Depending upon the host, the fercula could be quite elaborate. Finally came the dessert, or secunda mēnsa. It was called this because slaves would bring out a “second table” with the dessert on it. The secunda mēnsa consisted of nuts, fruits, pastries, and wine. Since Romans ate eggs at the beginning of the meal and apples at the end they created the expression ab ōvō usque ad māla, which means “from the egg all the way to the apples.” Sometimes in English this phrase is translated as “from soup to nuts” or “from the beginning to the end.
In the context of Roman meals, what was the secunda mēnsa?
Dessert
Fun Fact: The main meal of the Roman day was dinner, or cēna. The cēna was generally a formal affair which took place in the trīclīnium or dining room of the house. The trīclīnium was a room with three couches (lectī). The Romans ate by reclining on their left elbow on a lectus. The cēna was served in three parts. The first part was the appetizer (gustātio / antecēna). The main course (fercula) came next. Depending upon the host, the fercula could be quite elaborate. Finally came the dessert, or secunda mēnsa. It was called this because slaves would bring out a “second table” with the dessert on it. The secunda mēnsa consisted of nuts, fruits, pastries, and wine. Since Romans ate eggs at the beginning of the meal and apples at the end they created the expression ab ōvō usque ad māla, which means “from the egg all the way to the apples.” Sometimes in English this phrase is translated as “from soup to nuts” or “from the beginning to the end.
In the context of Roman meals, what Latin expression stands for the process of the cēna?
ab ōvō usque ad māla
Fun Fact: The main meal of the Roman day was dinner, or cēna. The cēna was generally a formal affair which took place in the trīclīnium or dining room of the house. The trīclīnium was a room with three couches (lectī). The Romans ate by reclining on their left elbow on a lectus. The cēna was served in three parts. The first part was the appetizer (gustātio / antecēna). The main course (fercula) came next. Depending upon the host, the fercula could be quite elaborate. Finally came the dessert, or secunda mēnsa. It was called this because slaves would bring out a “second table” with the dessert on it. The secunda mēnsa consisted of nuts, fruits, pastries, and wine. Since Romans ate eggs at the beginning of the meal and apples at the end they created the expression ab ōvō usque ad māla, which means “from the egg all the way to the apples.” Sometimes in English this phrase is translated as “from soup to nuts” or “from the beginning to the end.
In the context of Roman meals, what is the closest equivalent to a fast-food restaurant for the Romans?
thermopōlium
Fun Fact: In addition to meals eaten in the home, Romans sometimes purchased meals at a thermopōlium, which would be the closest equivalent to a modern fast-food restaurant.
What are the Roman terms for the three main “parts” of a Roman citizen’s name?
praenōmen, nōmen, and cognōmen
Fun Fact: Roman citizens each had three names: praenōmen, nōmen, and cognōmen.
Which “part” of a Roman name is known as the first or given name?
praenōmen
Fun Fact: Roman citizens each had three names: praenōmen, nōmen, and cognōmen. The praenōmen was the given name or first name.
What is the name of the ceremony in which the parents of a Roman child give their child its praenōmen?
diēs lustricus
Fun Fact: Roman citizens each had three names: praenōmen, nōmen, and cognōmen. The praenōmen was the given name or first name. It was chosen by parents in a ceremony, called the diēs lustricus, nine days after the birth of a male child and typically eight days after the birth of a female child.
Which “part” of a Roman name is known as the name of the family or clan?
nōmen
Fun Fact: Roman citizens each had three names: praenōmen, nōmen, and cognōmen. The praenōmen was the given name or first name. It was chosen by parents in a ceremony, called the diēs lustricus, nine days after the birth of a male child and typically eight days after the birth of a female child. The nōmen was the name of the family or clan, called the gēns in Latin.
What Latin term is given to the name of a Roman family or clan?
gēns
Fun Fact: Roman citizens each had three names: praenōmen, nōmen, and cognōmen. The praenōmen was the given name or first name. It was chosen by parents in a ceremony, called the diēs lustricus, nine days after the birth of a male child and typically eight days after the birth of a female child. The nōmen was the name of the family or clan, called the gēns in Latin. The gēns consisted of several different families which all shared the same nōmen.
Which “part” of a Roman name was used to designate a particular branch or individual family within a gēns or clan and may have originally been a nickname?
cognōmen
Fun Fact: Roman citizens each had three names: praenōmen, nōmen, and cognōmen. The praenōmen was the given name or first name. It was chosen by parents in a ceremony, called the diēs lustricus, nine days after the birth of a male child and typically eight days after the birth of a female child. The nōmen was the name of the family or clan, called the gēns in Latin. The gēns consisted of several different families which all shared the same nōmen. The cognōmen was used to designate a particular branch or individual family within a gēns or clan. The cognōmen may have originally been a nickname, for often times cognōmina (plural of cognōmen) had special meanings. For example, in the name Appius Claudius Caecus, the cognōmen “Caecus” means “blind.”
Which “parts” of a Roman name are passed on directly from father to son?
nōmen and cognōmen
Fun Fact: When a son was born, he would take the nōmen and cognōmen of his father.
Which “parts” of a Roman name are passed on directly from father to daughter?
Girls would take the nōmen of their father, but in the feminine form
Fun Fact: When a son was born, he would take the nōmen and cognōmen of his father. Girls would take the nōmen of their father, but in the feminine form. Therefore, the daughter of Marcus Tullius Cicero would be called Tullia.
Which “fourth name”, sometimes known as an “earned name”, is given for accomplishing a famous deed?
agnōmen
Fun Fact: Sometimes a Roman man would be given a fourth name, called an agnōmen, for accomplishing a famous deed. Probably the most well-known example of this is the name of the general who conquered Carthage in the Second Punic War, Pūblius Cornēlius Scipio Africānus. He was given the agnōmen “Africānus” because he defeated Carthage, a city-state in Africa.
Which Latin phrase is sometimes used to describe the agnōmen?
cognōmen ex virtūte
Fun Fact: Sometimes a Roman man would be given a fourth name, called an agnōmen, for accomplishing a famous deed. Probably the most well-known example of this is the name of the general who conquered Carthage in the Second Punic War, Pūblius Cornēlius Scipio Africānus. He was given the agnōmen “Africānus” because he defeated Carthage, a city-state in Africa. The agnōmen is sometimes called the cognōmen ex virtūte—the “cognōmen from virtue.”
