Bruttia Crispina
Encyclopedia
Bruttia Crispina was the Empress of Rome and wife of Roman Emperor
Commodus
.
Crispina’s mother is unknown and her father was twice consul Gaius Bruttius Praesens
. Crispina’s paternal grandparents were consul and senator Caius Bruttius Praesens
and rich heiress Laberia Hostilia Crispina
, who was the daughter of another twice consul, Manius Laberius Maximus
. Crispina's brother was future consul Lucius Bruttius Quintius Crispinus
. Her father’s family originally came from Volceii, Lucania
, Italy
and were closely associated with the Roman Emperors Trajan
, Hadrian
, Antoninus Pius
and Marcus Aurelius. Crispina was born and raised in Rome
or Volceii.
Crispina married Commodus, in the summer of 178 (probably July). The actual ceremony was modest but it was commemorated on coinage and largesse was distributed to the people. An epithalamium
for the occasion was composed by the sophist Julius Pollux
. Like many marriages of young members of the upper orders, it was an arranged marriage: Crispina's father and Marcus Aurelius (Commodus’ father) had arranged for it to occur. Commodus disliked Crispina, presumably due to her character - she was a beautiful woman, but said to be vain and haughty. She received the title of Augusta
.
On the basis of a misreading of SHA Commodus 5.9 and Dio 73.4.6 her fall is sometimes wrongly associated with the conspiracy of Lucilla
in 181 or 182. Her name continues to appear in inscriptions until as late as 191 (CIL 8.2366). Her eventual exile and death may instead have been associated with the fall of Marcus Aurelius Cleander or her inability to help Commodus ensure the dynastic succession.
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Commodus
Commodus
Commodus , was Roman Emperor from 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180. His name changed throughout his reign; see changes of name for earlier and later forms. His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded...
.
Crispina’s mother is unknown and her father was twice consul Gaius Bruttius Praesens
Gaius Bruttius Praesens
Lucius Fulvius Gaius Bruttius Praesens Laberius Maximus Polyonymus was a prominent Roman senator and twice consul during the reigns of Roman emperors Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. His career is largely known from inscriptions...
. Crispina’s paternal grandparents were consul and senator Caius Bruttius Praesens
Caius Bruttius Praesens
Caius or Gaius Bruttius Praesens Lucius Fulvius Rusticus was an important Roman senator of the reigns of Roman emperors Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. A friend of Pliny the Younger and Hadrian, he was twice consul, governed provinces, commanded armies and ended his career as City Prefect of...
and rich heiress Laberia Hostilia Crispina
Laberia Hostilia Crispina
Laberia Hostilia Crispina or her full name Laberia Marcia Hostilia Crispina Moecia Cornelia was a noble Roman woman and heiress that lived between the second half of the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd century in the Roman Empire....
, who was the daughter of another twice consul, Manius Laberius Maximus
Manius Laberius Maximus
Manius Laberius Maximus was a Roman who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries. Maximus was a significant Roman Senator and military figure in the reigns of Roman Emperors Domitian and Trajan....
. Crispina's brother was future consul Lucius Bruttius Quintius Crispinus
Lucius Bruttius Quintius Crispinus
Lucius Bruttius Quintius Crispinus was a Roman who lived in the 2nd century. His mother is unknown and his father was Roman consul Gaius Bruttius Praesens. Crispinus' paternal grandparents were consul and senator Caius Bruttius Praesens and rich heiress Laberia Hostilia Crispina, who was the...
. Her father’s family originally came from Volceii, Lucania
Lucania
Lucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, extending from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. To the north it adjoined Campania, Samnium and Apulia, and to the south it was separated by a narrow isthmus from the district of Bruttium...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and were closely associated with the Roman Emperors Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
, Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
, Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius , also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...
and Marcus Aurelius. Crispina was born and raised in Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
or Volceii.
Crispina married Commodus, in the summer of 178 (probably July). The actual ceremony was modest but it was commemorated on coinage and largesse was distributed to the people. An epithalamium
Epithalamium
Epithalamium refers to a form of poem that is written specifically for the bride on the way to her marital chamber...
for the occasion was composed by the sophist Julius Pollux
Julius Pollux
Julius Pollux was a Greek or Egyptian grammarian and sophist from Alexandria who taught at Athens, where he was appointed professor of rhetoric at the Academy by the emperor Commodus — on account of his melodious voice, according to Philostratus' Lives of the Sophists. Nothing of his...
. Like many marriages of young members of the upper orders, it was an arranged marriage: Crispina's father and Marcus Aurelius (Commodus’ father) had arranged for it to occur. Commodus disliked Crispina, presumably due to her character - she was a beautiful woman, but said to be vain and haughty. She received the title of Augusta
Augusta (honorific)
Augusta was the imperial honorific title of empresses. It was given to the women of the Roman and Byzantine imperial families. In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater castrorum and Mater Patriae .The title implied the greatest prestige, with the Augustae able to...
.
On the basis of a misreading of SHA Commodus 5.9 and Dio 73.4.6 her fall is sometimes wrongly associated with the conspiracy of Lucilla
Lucilla
Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla or Lucilla was the second daughter and third child of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger and an elder sister to future Roman Emperor Commodus....
in 181 or 182. Her name continues to appear in inscriptions until as late as 191 (CIL 8.2366). Her eventual exile and death may instead have been associated with the fall of Marcus Aurelius Cleander or her inability to help Commodus ensure the dynastic succession.
Sources
- http://www.livius.org/bn-bz/bruttius/crispina.html
- http://members.tripod.com/~Wakefield/collection/crispina.html
- http://www.forumancientcoins.com/Roman-Coins.asp?e=Crispina&par=422&pos=1&target=55