Lucius Volumnius Flamma Violens
Encyclopedia
Lucius Volumnius Flamma Violens was a Roman
politician, the first consul
from a plebeian gens
: see novus homo
.
, the city's magistracies, the offices of consul
and various religious positions were restricted to patricians. Volumnius was a beneficiary of the Conflict of the Orders
, when during a two hundred year struggle plebeians gradually gained political equality and the right to hold all such offices. The Lex Licinia Sextia
of 367 BC had restored the consulship and sought to reserve one of the two consular offices for a plebeian, but in practice this failed to happen until the first election of Volumnius in 307. The Conflict of the Orders was finally resolved in 287 BC, when plebeians gained political equality.
, Volumnius was the first member of his family to become a consul. John Briscoe says of him "The first plebeian consul known to have presided was L. Volumnius Flamma Violens in 296 [sic]." However, Mario Torelli says "...the famous P [sic] Volumnius Flamma Violens, cos. 307 and 296 BC, could be among the (plebeian) descendants of P. Volumnius Amintinus Gallus, cos. 461."
Volumnius served as consul twice, in 307 BC and 296 BC, both times in partnership with the patrician Appius Claudius Caecus
.
The Third Samnite War
broke out in 298 BC. By the end of its second campaign, the Samnites
, led by Gellius Egnatius
, seemed defeated, but the next year Egnatius formed an alliance against Rome with Etruria
. This had the effect of withdrawing Roman troops from Samnium, which according to Livy's Ab Urbe condita
had been assigned to Volumnius as his sphere of action. In 296, a combined Etruscan and Samnite army invaded Campania
, but was defeated by the combined armies of Volumnius and Claudius, in a battle near the River Volturnus
.
, the daughter of Aulus Verginius, a patrician. She is one of the one hundred and six subjects of Giovanni Boccaccio
’s On Famous Women (De mulieribus claris, 1362). In about 295, the patrician matronae insulted Virginia by forbidding her access to the ceremony at the shrine of Pudicitia Patricia honouring the female virtue of pudicitia
(modesty, or sexual virtue), on account of her having married a plebeian. As a result, she erected an altar in her own house to Plebeia Pudicitia. Boccaccio says "Beginning at that time, and for long thereafter, the temple of Plebeia Pudicitia was equal in sanctity to the altar of the patricians, since no one could offer a sacrifice in it unless she were of singular chastity and had had only one husband..."
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...
politician, the first 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...
from a plebeian gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
: see novus homo
Novus homo
Homo novus was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul...
.
Background
According to Roman tradition, membership of the Roman SenateRoman 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...
, the city's magistracies, the offices of 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...
and various religious positions were restricted to patricians. Volumnius was a beneficiary of the Conflict of the Orders
Conflict of the Orders
The Conflict of the Orders, also referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the Plebeians and Patricians of the ancient Roman Republic, in which the Plebeians sought political equality with the Patricians. It played a major role in the development of the...
, when during a two hundred year struggle plebeians gradually gained political equality and the right to hold all such offices. The Lex Licinia Sextia
Lex Licinia Sextia
Lex Licinia Sextia was a Roman law introduced around 376 BCE and enacted in 367 BCE. It restored the consulship, allegedly reserved one of the two consular positions for a plebeian , and introduced new limits on the possession of conquered land.- Authors :It is named for the plebeian tribunes Gaius...
of 367 BC had restored the consulship and sought to reserve one of the two consular offices for a plebeian, but in practice this failed to happen until the first election of Volumnius in 307. The Conflict of the Orders was finally resolved in 287 BC, when plebeians gained political equality.
Career
A new manNovus homo
Homo novus was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul...
, Volumnius was the first member of his family to become a consul. John Briscoe says of him "The first plebeian consul known to have presided was L. Volumnius Flamma Violens in 296 [sic]." However, Mario Torelli says "...the famous P [sic] Volumnius Flamma Violens, cos. 307 and 296 BC, could be among the (plebeian) descendants of P. Volumnius Amintinus Gallus, cos. 461."
Volumnius served as consul twice, in 307 BC and 296 BC, both times in partnership with the patrician Appius Claudius Caecus
Appius Claudius Caecus
Appius Claudius Caecus was a Roman politician from a wealthy patrician family. He was dictator himself and the son of Gaius Claudius Crassus, dictator in 337 BC.-Life:...
.
The Third Samnite War
Samnite Wars
The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars, between the early Roman Republic and the tribes of Samnium, extended over half a century, involving almost all the states of Italy, and ended in Roman domination of the Samnites...
broke out in 298 BC. By the end of its second campaign, the Samnites
Samnium
Samnium is a Latin exonym for a region of south or south and central Italy in Roman times. The name survives in Italian today, but today's territory comprising it is only a small portion of what it once was. The populations of Samnium were called Samnites by the Romans...
, led by Gellius Egnatius
Egnatius
Gellius Egnatius was the leader of the Samnites during the Third Samnite War, which broke out in 298 BC. By the end of the second campaign the Samnites appeared completely defeated, however in the following year Gallius Egnatius marched into Etruria, and roused the Etruscans to a close co-operation...
, seemed defeated, but the next year Egnatius formed an alliance against Rome with Etruria
Etruria
Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...
. This had the effect of withdrawing Roman troops from Samnium, which according to Livy's Ab Urbe condita
Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. AUC is a year-numbering system used by some ancient Roman historians to identify particular Roman years...
had been assigned to Volumnius as his sphere of action. In 296, a combined Etruscan and Samnite army invaded Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
, but was defeated by the combined armies of Volumnius and Claudius, in a battle near the River Volturnus
Volturno
The Volturno is a river in south-central Italy.-Geography:It rises in the Abruzzese central Apennines of Samnium near Rocchetta a Volturno and flows southeast as far as its junction with the Calore River near Caiazzo and runs south as far as Venafro, and then turns southwest, past Capua, to...
.
Wife
Volumnius married VirginiaVirginia (Volumnius)
Virginia was the daughter of Aulus Verginius, a patrician. Verginia is the usual orthography found in Latin manuscripts.Virginia’s new husband in 296 BCE was Lucius Volumnius Flamma Violens. He became a novus homo the previous year...
, the daughter of Aulus Verginius, a patrician. She is one of the one hundred and six subjects of Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
’s On Famous Women (De mulieribus claris, 1362). In about 295, the patrician matronae insulted Virginia by forbidding her access to the ceremony at the shrine of Pudicitia Patricia honouring the female virtue of pudicitia
Pudicitia
Pudicitia was a central concept in ancient Roman sexual ethics. The word is derived from the more general pudor, the sense of shame that regulated an individual's behavior as socially acceptable...
(modesty, or sexual virtue), on account of her having married a plebeian. As a result, she erected an altar in her own house to Plebeia Pudicitia. Boccaccio says "Beginning at that time, and for long thereafter, the temple of Plebeia Pudicitia was equal in sanctity to the altar of the patricians, since no one could offer a sacrifice in it unless she were of singular chastity and had had only one husband..."