Marsi
Encyclopedia
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...
, whose chief centre was Marruvium, on the eastern shore of Lake Fucinus
Fucine Lake
The Fucine Lake was a large lake in central Italy, stretching from Avezzano in the northwest to Ortuccio in the southeast, and touching Trasacco in the southwest. It was drained in 1875.-Roman drainage:...
, drained for agricultural land in the late 19th century. The area in which they lived is now called Marsica
Marsica
Marsica is a geographical area in the Abruzzo, central Italy, including 37 comuni in the province of L'Aquila, the most important of which is Avezzano. It is located between the plain of the former Lake Fucino, the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise, the plain of Carsoli and the valley of...
. During the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
the people of the region spoke a language now termed Marsian in scholarly English. It is attested by several inscriptions and a few glosses. The Linguist List
Linguist List
The LINGUIST List is a major online resource for the academic field of linguistics. It was founded by Anthony Aristar in early 1990 at the University of Western Australia, and is used as a reference by the National Science Foundation in the United States...
classifies it as one of the Umbrian Group of languages.
Corpus
The Marsian inscriptions are dated by the style of the alphabet from about 300 to 150 BC (the middle Roman RepublicRoman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
). Conway lists nine inscriptions, two from Marruvium, two from Lecce
Lecce nei Marsi
Lecce nei Marsi is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy...
, one from Ortona
Ortona dei Marsi
Ortona dei Marsi is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is included in the Marsica traditional area....
, two from Trasacco
Trasacco
Trasacco is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy....
and two from Luco
Luco dei Marsi
Luco dei Marsi is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is part of the Marsica.The town was probably founded by the Roman Emperor Claudius to house workers in the drying of the Lacus Fucinus...
. In addition are a few glosses, a few place names and a few dozen personal names in Latin form.
Phonology
Their language differs very slightly from Roman LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
of that date; for apparently contracted forms, such as Fougno instead of Fucino, may really only be a matter of spelling. In final syllables, the diphthong
Diphthong
A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...
s ai, ei, and oi, all appear as e. On the other hand, the older form of the name of the tribe (dat. plur. Martses = Lat. Martiis) shows its derivation and exhibits the assibilation
Assibilation
In linguistics, assibilation is the term for a sound change resulting in a sibilant consonant. It is commonly the final phase of palatalization.-Romance languages:...
of -tio- into -tso-, proper to the Oscan language
Oscan language
Oscan is a term used to describe both an extinct language of southern Italy and the language group to which it belonged.The Oscan language was spoken by a number of tribes, including the Samnites, the Aurunci, the Sidicini, and the Ausones. The latter three tribes were often grouped under the name...
but strange to classical Latin.
Sample text
The Bronze of Lake Fucinus was an inscribed bronze plaque taken from the bed of the lake near LucoLuco dei Marsi
Luco dei Marsi is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is part of the Marsica.The town was probably founded by the Roman Emperor Claudius to house workers in the drying of the Lacus Fucinus...
in 1877 during the process of totally draining the lake. It was in a settlement that had been covered by the lake. The bronze was placed in the Museum of Prince Alessandro Torlonia, where it was photographed for publication. In 1894 no one could find it nor has it been seen since. The text of the photograph is as follows:
- caso cantouio|s aprufclano cei|p apur finem e..|salicom
- en ur|bid casontonio | socieque dono|m ato.er.actia | pro
- le[gio]nibus mar|tses.
History
They are first mentioned as members of a confederacyConfederation
A confederation in modern political terms is a permanent union of political units for common action in relation to other units. Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution, confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues such as defense, foreign...
with the Vestini
Vestini
Vestini is the Roman exonym for an ancient Italic tribe that occupied the area of the modern Abruzzo included between the Gran Sasso and the northern bank of the Aterno river...
, Paeligni
Paeligni
The Paeligni or Peligni were an Italic people who lived in the Valle Peligna, in what is now Abruzzo, central Italy.-History:The Paeligni are first mentioned as a member of a confederacy which included the Marsi, Marrucini and Vestini, with which the Romans came into conflict in the Second Samnite...
and Marrucini
Marrucini
The Marrucini were an ancient tribe which occupied a small strip of territory around the ancient Teate , on the east coast of Abruzzo, Italy, limited by the Aterno and Foro Rivers...
. They joined the Samnites in 308 BC, and, on their submission, became allies of 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....
in 304 BC. After a short-lived revolt two years later, for which they were punished by loss of territory, they were readmitted to the Roman alliance and remained faithful down to the Social War, their contingent being always regarded as the flower of the Italian forces. In this war, which, owing to the prominence of the Marsian rebels is often known as the Marsic War, they fought bravely against odds under their leader Q. Pompaedius Silo, and, though they were frequently defeated, the result of the war was the enfranchisement of the allies.
The Latin colony of Alba Fucens
Alba Fucens
Alba Fucens was an ancient Italic town occupying a lofty situation at the foot of the Monte Velino, c. 6.5 km north of Avezzano, Abruzzo, central Italy. Its remains are today in the comune of Massa d'Albe....
near the northwest corner of the lake was founded in the adjoining Aequi
Aequi
thumb|300px|Location of the Aequi in central Italy.The Aequi were an ancient people of northeast Latium and the central Appennines of Italy who appear in the early history of ancient Rome. After a long struggle for independence from Rome they were defeated and substantial Roman colonies were...
an territory in 303, so that from the beginning of the 3rd century, the Marsians were in touch with a Latin-speaking community, to say nothing of the Latin colony of Carsioli (298 BC) farther west. The earliest pure Latin inscriptions of the district seem to be C.I.L.
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw light on all aspects of Roman life and history...
ix. 3827 and 3848 from the neighbourhood of Supinum; its character generally is of the Gracchan
Gracchi
The Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and Gaius, were Roman Plebian nobiles who both served as tribunes in 2nd century BC. They attempted to pass land reform legislation that would redistribute the major patrician landholdings among the plebeians. For this legislation and their membership in the...
period, though it might be somewhat earlier.
Mommsen pointed out that, in the Social War, all the coins of Pompaedius Silo have the Latin legend "Italia", while the other leaders in all but one case used Oscan.
Religion
The chief temple and grove of the goddess AngitiaAngitia
Angitia was a goddess among the Marsi, the Paeligni and other Oscan-Umbrian populations of central Italy. She was associated in antiquity as snake-charmers who claimed her as their ancestor. Roman interpretations probably obscure her Marsian significance.Her myths vary...
stood at the southwest corner of Lake Fucinus, near the inlet to the emissarius of Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
(restored by Prince Torlonia
Torlonia
200px|thumb|Coat of arms of the House of Torlonia.The princes Torlonia are an Italian noble family from Rome, who acquired a huge fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through administering the finances of the Vatican.-History:...
) and the modern village of Luco. She (or they, for the name is in the plural in the Latin inscription next cited) was widely worshipped in the central highlands as a goddess of healing, especially skilled to cure serpent bites by charms and the herbs of the Marsian woods. Her worshippers naturally practised the same arts—as their descendants do. Their country was considered by Rome to be the home of witchcraft.