SPQR
Encyclopedia
SPQR is an initialism
from a Latin
phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate
and People of Rome
", see translation), referring to the government
of the ancient Roman Republic
, and used as an official emblem of the modern day comune
(municipality
) of Rome. It appears on coins
, at the end of documents made public by inscription in stone or metal, in dedications of monuments and public works, and was emblazoned on the standards
of the Roman legion
s. The phrase appears many hundreds of times in Roman political, legal and historical literature, including the speeches of Marcus Tullius Cicero
and the history of Titus Livius. Since the meaning and the words never vary, except for the spelling and inflection
of populus in literature, Latin dictionaries classify it as a formula.
, Senatus is a nominative singular noun meaning "Senate
". Populusque is compounded from the nominative noun Populus, "the People", and -que, an enclitic particle meaning "and" which connects the two nominative nouns. The last word, Romanus ("Roman") is an adjective
modifying Populus: the "Roman People". Thus, the sentence is translated as the more literal "The Senate and the Roman People", or alternatively as "The Senate and the People of Rome".
. The two legal entities mentioned, Senatus and the Populus Romanus, are sovereign when combined. However, where populus is sovereign alone, Senatus is not. Under the Roman Monarchy neither entity was sovereign. The phrase, therefore, can be dated to no earlier than the foundation of the Republic.
This signature continued in use under the Roman Empire
. The emperors were considered the representatives of the people even though the senatus consulta, or decrees of the Senate, were made at the pleasure of the emperor.
Populus Romanus in Roman literature is a phrase meaning the government of the People. When the Romans named governments of other countries they used populus in the singular or plural, such as populi Priscorum Latinorum, "the governments of the Old Latins". Romanus is the established adjective used to distinguish the Romans, as in civis Romanus, "Roman citizen". The locative, Romae, "at Rome", was never used for that purpose.
The Roman people appear very often in law and history in such phrases as dignitas, maiestas, auctoritas, libertas populi Romani, the "dignity, majesty, authority, freedom of the Roman people". They were a populus liber, "a free people". There was an exercitus, imperium, iudicia, honores, consules, voluntas of this same populus: "the army, rule, judgments, offices, consuls and will of the Roman people". They appear in early Latin as Popolus and Poplus, so the habit of thinking of themselves as free and sovereign was quite ingrained.
The Romans believed that all authority came from the people. It could be said that similar language seen in more modern political and social revolutions directly comes from this usage. People in this sense meant the whole government. The latter, however, was essentially divided into the aristocratic Senate, whose will was executed by the consul
s and praetor
s, and the comitia centuriata, "committee of the centuries", whose will came to be safeguarded by the Tribune
s.
During the regime of Benito Mussolini
, SPQR was emblazoned on a number of public buildings and manhole cover
s in an attempt to promote his dictatorship as a "New Roman Empire
".
, for instance, has SPQR in its coat of arms, standing for "Senatus Populusque Regiensis". There have been reports of SPQx from:
A humorous backronym
of the initialism is the Italian phrase "Sono pazzi questi Romani", which translates into "These Romans are crazy." This phrase is said by Obelix
in many translations of Goscinny and Uderzo's
of Asterix the Gaul
. The original phrase in French was "Ils sont fous ces Romains".
Another Italian backronym is "Sono Porci Questi Romani" - "Those Romans Are Pigs."
Another Italian backronym is "Solo pago quando ricevo" - "I will pay when I get paid."
Yet another Italian backronym (appropriate to Rome) is "Solo preti qui regnano," meaning "Only priests rule here."
Another Italian backronym uses the initialism and also its reverse: "SPQR - RQPS:" "Sapete Più o meno Quanto Rubiamo? - Rubiamo Quanto Possiamo Senza Parole." - "Do you roughly know how much we steal? - We steal as much as we can, without telling anything."
Another humorous meaning is "Small Profits, Quick Returns.
In the movie Gladiator (2000)
'SPQR' is seen marked on the left shoulder of Maximus when he is in the slave traders camp and when he tries to carve it out of his own skin when Juba asks him 'Is that the sign of your gods?'. It is also seen on the entryway into Rome when Commodus returns as its new emperor.
In the book The Lost Hero
and The Son of Neptune
, 'SPQR' is branded into the left arm of all Roman demigods. Annabeth identifies it as the motto of the Roman Empire.
In the October 1st, 2011 episode, The Wedding of River Song
, of the British TV show Doctor Who
, the letters SPQR are seen inscribed on buildings, marked on coats of arms, and stitched onto banners all over the alternate-reality city of London, when many time periods are occurring at once. The assumed reason for the letters being present is the fact that Winston Churchill is the Holy Roman Emperor, due to the fact that many aspects of Roman culture are present in this alternate reality.
Acronym and initialism
Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial components in a phrase or a word. These components may be individual letters or parts of words . There is no universal agreement on the precise definition of the various terms , nor on written usage...
from a Latin
Latin
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...
phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
and People of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
", see translation), referring to the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
of the ancient 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...
, and used as an official emblem of the modern day comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
(municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
) of Rome. It appears on coins
Roman currency
The Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the aureus , the denarius , the sestertius , the dupondius , and the as...
, at the end of documents made public by inscription in stone or metal, in dedications of monuments and public works, and was emblazoned on the standards
War flag
A war flag is a variant of a national flag for use by the nation's military forces on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign — the battle ensign...
of the Roman legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
s. The phrase appears many hundreds of times in Roman political, legal and historical literature, including the speeches of Marcus Tullius Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
and the history of Titus Livius. Since the meaning and the words never vary, except for the spelling and inflection
Inflection
In grammar, inflection or inflexion is the modification of a word to express different grammatical categories such as tense, grammatical mood, grammatical voice, aspect, person, number, gender and case...
of populus in literature, Latin dictionaries classify it as a formula.
Translation
In 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...
, Senatus is a nominative singular noun meaning "Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
". Populusque is compounded from the nominative noun Populus, "the People", and -que, an enclitic particle meaning "and" which connects the two nominative nouns. The last word, Romanus ("Roman") is an adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
modifying Populus: the "Roman People". Thus, the sentence is translated as the more literal "The Senate and the Roman People", or alternatively as "The Senate and the People of Rome".
Historical context
The phrase's date of origin is not known, but its meaning places it generally after the founding of the 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...
. The two legal entities mentioned, Senatus and the Populus Romanus, are sovereign when combined. However, where populus is sovereign alone, Senatus is not. Under the Roman Monarchy neither entity was sovereign. The phrase, therefore, can be dated to no earlier than the foundation of the Republic.
This signature continued in use under the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. The emperors were considered the representatives of the people even though the senatus consulta, or decrees of the Senate, were made at the pleasure of the emperor.
Populus Romanus in Roman literature is a phrase meaning the government of the People. When the Romans named governments of other countries they used populus in the singular or plural, such as populi Priscorum Latinorum, "the governments of the Old Latins". Romanus is the established adjective used to distinguish the Romans, as in civis Romanus, "Roman citizen". The locative, Romae, "at Rome", was never used for that purpose.
The Roman people appear very often in law and history in such phrases as dignitas, maiestas, auctoritas, libertas populi Romani, the "dignity, majesty, authority, freedom of the Roman people". They were a populus liber, "a free people". There was an exercitus, imperium, iudicia, honores, consules, voluntas of this same populus: "the army, rule, judgments, offices, consuls and will of the Roman people". They appear in early Latin as Popolus and Poplus, so the habit of thinking of themselves as free and sovereign was quite ingrained.
The Romans believed that all authority came from the people. It could be said that similar language seen in more modern political and social revolutions directly comes from this usage. People in this sense meant the whole government. The latter, however, was essentially divided into the aristocratic Senate, whose will was executed by the consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
s and praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
s, and the comitia centuriata, "committee of the centuries", whose will came to be safeguarded by the Tribune
Tribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
s.
During the regime of Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, SPQR was emblazoned on a number of public buildings and manhole cover
Manhole cover
A manhole cover is a removable plate forming the lid over the opening of a manhole, to prevent anyone from falling in and to keep unauthorized persons out....
s in an attempt to promote his dictatorship as a "New Roman Empire
Italian Empire
The Italian Empire was created after the Kingdom of Italy joined other European powers in establishing colonies overseas during the "scramble for Africa". Modern Italy as a unified state only existed from 1861. By this time France, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Netherlands, had already carved...
".
Civic references
SPQx is sometimes used as an assertion of municipal pride and civic rights. Reggio EmiliaReggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
, for instance, has SPQR in its coat of arms, standing for "Senatus Populusque Regiensis". There have been reports of SPQx from:
- AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Netherlands, SPQA at one of the major theatreTheatreTheatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
s and some of the bridgeBridgeA bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s - Antwerp, Belgium, SPQA on the Antwerp City HallAntwerp City HallThe City Hall of Antwerp, Belgium, stands on the western side of Antwerp's Grote Markt . Erected between 1561 and 1565 to the design of Cornelis Floris de Vriendt and several other architects and artists, this Renaissance building incorporates both Flemish and Italian influences.The low arcaded...
- BeneventoBeneventoBenevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
, Italy, SPQB on manhole covers - BremenBremenThe City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, Germany, SPQB in the Town Hall of BremenTown Hall of BremenThe Town Hall of Bremen is the seat of the President of the Senate of Bremen and of the Mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. It is one of the most important examples of Brick Gothic architecture in Europe... - BrugesBrugesBruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, Belgium, SPQB on its coat of arms - BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium, SPQB found repeatedly on the Law Courts of BrusselsLaw Courts of BrusselsThe Law Courts of Brussels or Brussels Palace of Justice is the most important Court building in Belgium, and is a notable landmark of Brussels. It was built between 1866 and 1883 in the eclectic style by architect Joseph Poelaert...
, and over the main stage of La Monnaie/De MuntLa MonnaieLe Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
opera house - Dublin, Ireland, SPQHHiberniaHibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of Ireland. The name Hibernia was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe , Pytheas of Massilia called the island Ierne . In his book Geographia Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of...
on the City Hall, DublinCity Hall, DublinThe City Hall, Dublin , originally the Royal Exchange, is a civic building in Dublin, Ireland. It was built between 1769 and 1779 to the designs of architect Thomas Cooley and is a notable example of 18th-century architecture in the city.-Overview:...
built in 1769 - FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy, SPQF - FlorianópolisFlorianópolis-Climate:Florianópolis experiences a warm humid subtropical climate, falling just short of a true tropical climate. The seasons of the year are distinct, with a well-defined summer and winter, and characteristic weather for autumn and spring. Frost is infrequent, but occurs occasionally in the winter...
, Brazil, SPQF - HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany, SPQH on a door in the Hamburg RathausHamburg RathausThe Hamburg Rathaus is the Rathaus—the city hall or town hall—of Hamburg, Germany, it is the seat of the government of Hamburg, located in the Altstadt quarter in the city centre, near the lake Binnenalster and the central station... - Hannover, Germany
- HasseltHasseltHasselt is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital of the Flemish province of Limburg...
, Belgium, SPQH - KortrijkKortrijkKortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...
, Belgium, SPQC, city hall - Leeuwarden, Netherlands, SPQL on the mayor's chain of office
- LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England, SPQL on various gold doors in St George's HallSt. George's Hall, LiverpoolSt George's Hall is on Lime Street in the centre of the English city of Liverpool, opposite Lime Street railway station. It is a building in Neoclassical style which contains concert halls and law courts, and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building... - City of LondonCity of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, England, SPQL - LübeckLübeckThe Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, Germany, SPQL on the HolstentorHolstentorThe Holsten Gate is a city gate marking off the western boundary of the old center of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. This Brick Gothic construction is one of the relics of Lübeck’s medieval city fortifications and the only remaining city gate, except for the Citadel Gate... - LucerneLucerneLucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
, Switzerland - ModicaModica-External links:*...
, Italy, SPQM is on the coat of arms - MolfettaMolfettaMolfetta is a city and comune of the province of Bari in the southern Italian region of Apulia, on the Adriatic coast, at sea-level. It is 25 km WNW of Bari.It has a well restored old city, and its own dialect.- History :...
, Italy, SPQM is on the coat of arms - OlomoucOlomoucOlomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
, Czech Republic, SPQO on its coat of arms - PalermoPalermoPalermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Italy, SPQP - SienaSienaSiena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
, Italy, SPQS - SolothurnSolothurnThe city of Solothurn is the capital of the Canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. The city also comprises the only municipality of the district of the same name.-Pre-roman settlement:...
, Switzerland, on the Cathedral of St UrsusUrsus of SolothurnUrsus of Solothurn was a 3rd century Roman Christian venerated as a saint. He is the patron of the main Roman Catholic Church church in Solothurn, Switzerland, where his body is located. He was associated very early with the Theban Legion and Victor of Solothurn, for instance in the Roman Martyrology...
and VictorViktor of XantenVictor of Xanten or Saint Victor is a martyr and saint of the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church. His presumed bones are kept in a shrine since the 12th century that today is embedded into the high altar of the Xanten Cathedral. His feast day is October 10.Tradition states that Victor was a... - TerracinaTerracinaTerracina is a town and comune of the province of Latina - , Italy, 76 km SE of Rome by rail .-Ancient times:...
, Italy, SPQT - Tivoli, ItalyTivoli, ItalyTivoli , the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km east-north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills...
, SPQT - VerviersVerviersVerviers is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. The Verviers municipality includes the old communes of Ensival, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Heusy...
, Belgium, SPQV on the Grand Theatre - ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Popular culture: Humorous backronyms and other uses
A joke in the Vatican tells that Pope John XXIII asked a bishop about the meaning of SPQR, displayed on the personal coat of arms of the Pope, read backwards RQPS. He answered the question himself with: "Rideo Quia Papa Sum" ("I laugh, because I am the Pope").A humorous backronym
Backronym
A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed purposely, such that an acronym can be formed to a specific desired word. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology....
of the initialism is the Italian phrase "Sono pazzi questi Romani", which translates into "These Romans are crazy." This phrase is said by Obelix
Obelix
Obelix is a fictional character from the French comic book series Asterix. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his fatness, the menhirs he carries around on his back and his superhuman strength...
in many translations of Goscinny and Uderzo's
Albert Uderzo
Albert Uderzo is a French comic book artist, and scriptwriter. He is best known for his work on the Astérix series, but also drew other comics such as Oumpah-pah, also in collaboration with René Goscinny.-Early life:...
of Asterix the Gaul
Asterix the Gaul
Asterix the Gaul is the first volume of the Asterix comic strip series, by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo .-Plot summary:...
. The original phrase in French was "Ils sont fous ces Romains".
Another Italian backronym is "Sono Porci Questi Romani" - "Those Romans Are Pigs."
Another Italian backronym is "Solo pago quando ricevo" - "I will pay when I get paid."
Yet another Italian backronym (appropriate to Rome) is "Solo preti qui regnano," meaning "Only priests rule here."
Another Italian backronym uses the initialism and also its reverse: "SPQR - RQPS:" "Sapete Più o meno Quanto Rubiamo? - Rubiamo Quanto Possiamo Senza Parole." - "Do you roughly know how much we steal? - We steal as much as we can, without telling anything."
Another humorous meaning is "Small Profits, Quick Returns.
In the movie Gladiator (2000)
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
'SPQR' is seen marked on the left shoulder of Maximus when he is in the slave traders camp and when he tries to carve it out of his own skin when Juba asks him 'Is that the sign of your gods?'. It is also seen on the entryway into Rome when Commodus returns as its new emperor.
In the book The Lost Hero
The Lost Hero
The Lost Hero is a 2010 fantasy-adventure novel written by Rick Riordan and is based on Greek and Roman mythology. It is the first book in the series The Heroes of Olympus, the next series about Camp Half-Blood. It was preceded by the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, which focused solely on...
and The Son of Neptune
The Son of Neptune
The Son of Neptune is the second book in the Heroes of Olympus series written by Rick Riordan. It was released on October 4, 2011.-Development:...
, 'SPQR' is branded into the left arm of all Roman demigods. Annabeth identifies it as the motto of the Roman Empire.
In the October 1st, 2011 episode, The Wedding of River Song
The Wedding of River Song
"The Wedding of River Song" is the thirteenth and final episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on 1 October 2011.-Plot:...
, of the British TV show Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, the letters SPQR are seen inscribed on buildings, marked on coats of arms, and stitched onto banners all over the alternate-reality city of London, when many time periods are occurring at once. The assumed reason for the letters being present is the fact that Winston Churchill is the Holy Roman Emperor, due to the fact that many aspects of Roman culture are present in this alternate reality.
External links
- Instances of "Roman Senate and People" in www.Perseus.edu
- Lewis & Short dictionary entry for populus on www.Perseus.edu
- Polybius on the Senate and People (6.16)