The Patricii

[Adelais Valerius]

I was recently reading Michael Grant's History Of Rome, and I came across the evolution of the Patricii and the Plebians during what Grant calls the "class struggle" following the formation of the Republic, and basically the ensueing years until the Empire is formed. He also mentioned the inherited rights of the Patricii to converse with the gods, control the law and calendar(which were understood to be religious in character). The Patricii comprised of, according to Grant, over 1,000 families made up of clans(examples:Cornelii, Fabii and or course Claudii). These clans included sons, decendents and relatives mainly. My question being, what type of impact did these inherited, custom filled rights have on the Republic? Was the effect mainly on the senate, which though had no executive power, did hold extensive constiutional power, or were there other ways that the Patricii made a difference? With that many people, with apparently that much political weight to throw around, there had to have been a large footprint left by them?

Edited March 25, 2008 by mikeal1917

[M. Porcius Cato]

My question being, what type of impact did these inherited, custom filled rights have on the Republic?

 

The early history of Rome is murky, but the exclusion of plebs from public office apparently led to a century or more of civil strife. Expanding the civil rights of plebs was a long process, leading to many compromises that (1) shaped the list of magistracies that we take as canonical, including the office of pratetor urbanus and curule aedile (originally, set-asides for patricians after the magistracies were opened to plebs), and (2) provided for a set of checks and balances within the system (e.g., the traditional check by the senate on the proposals brought to the people for vote, the check by the people as a whole on the magistrates that comprised the senate, the check by the censors on the senate roll, etc). These checks and balances had the effect of stabilizing the Republic from the shifting winds of popular sentiment (e.g., from perpetual agitation for debt relief and land reform), thereby providing stability that allowed for the long-term planning and capital accumulation necessary for large-scale projects (e.g., the construction of the Roman road networks and aqueducts). On the other hand, the stability of the constitution also meant that adaptation to novel conditions (e.g., the acquisition of new provinces) was never as fast as some desired (e.g., in the enfrachisement of the Italian allies).

[Adelais Valerius]

So are you saying that all you just said was normally in the hands of the Patricians, and that over time the Plebians were giving the ability to these things so that they could have political influence?

[P.Clodius]

So are you saying that all you just said was normally in the hands of the Patricians, and that over time the Plebians were giving the ability to these things so that they could have political influence?

Yes he is. A long process or series of events known collectively as The Struggle of the Orders.

Edited March 26, 2008 by P.Clodius

[Adelais Valerius]

That was my question. I was just confused on what inherited rights the Patricians had, I didn't understand what Grant met by that for some reason.