Mamuralia
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In
ancient Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...
, the Mamuralia or ''Sacrum Mamurio'' ("Rite for Mamurius") was a
festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
held on March 14 or 15, named only in sources from
late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...
. According to Joannes Lydus, an old man wearing animal skins was beaten ritually with sticks. The name is connected to Mamurius Veturius, who according to tradition was the craftsman who made the ritual shields (''
ancilia In ancient Rome, the ''ancilia'' (Latin, singular ''ancile'') were twelve sacred shields kept in the Temple of Mars. According to legend, one divine shield fell from heaven during the reign of Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. He ordered ...
'') that hung in the temple of
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
. Because the
Roman calendar The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. The term often includes the Julian calendar established by the reforms of the Roman dictator, dictator Julius Caesar and Roman emperor, emperor Augustus in the ...
originally began in March, the ''Sacrum Mamurio'' is usually regarded as a ritual marking the transition from the old year to the new. It shares some characteristics with scapegoat or ''pharmakos'' ritual.


The craft of Mamurius

According to legend, Mamurius was commissioned by
Numa Nuclear mitotic apparatus protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''NUMA1'' gene. Interactions Nuclear mitotic apparatus protein 1 has been shown to interact with PIM1, Band 4.1, GPSM2 G-protein-signaling modulator 2, also call ...
, second
king of Rome The king of Rome ( la, rex Romae) was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 ...
, to make eleven shields identical to the sacred ''ancile'' that fell from the heavens as a pledge of Rome's destiny to rule the world. The ''
ancile In ancient Rome, the ''ancilia'' (Latin, singular ''ancile'') were twelve sacred shields kept in the Temple of Mars. According to legend, one divine shield fell from heaven during the reign of Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. He ordered el ...
'' was one of the sacred guarantors of the Roman state ''( pignora imperii)'', and the replicas were intended to conceal the identity of the original and so prevent its theft; it was thus a kind of "public secret." The shields were under the care of Mars' priests the
Salii In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, the Salii ( , ) were the "leaping priests" (from the verb ''saliō'' "leap, jump") of Mars (mythology), Mars supposed to have been introduced by King Numa Pompilius. They were twelve Patrician ...
, who used them in their rituals. As payment, Mamurius requested that his name be preserved and remembered in the song sung by the Salii, the ''
Carmen Saliare The ''Carmen Saliare'' is a fragment of archaic Latin, which played a part in the rituals performed by the Salii (Salian priests, a.k.a. "leaping priests") of Ancient Rome. There are 35 extant fragments of the ''Carmen Saliare'', which can be r ...
'', as they executed movements with the shields and performed their armed dance. Fragments of this archaic
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
survive, including the
invocation An invocation (from the Latin verb ''invocare'' "to call on, invoke, to give") may take the form of: *Supplication, prayer or spell. *A form of possession. *Command or conjuration. *Self-identification with certain spirits. These forms are ...
of Mamurius. Several sources mention the invocation of the hymn and the story of the smith, but only Lydus describes the ritual as the beating of an old man. Mamurius was also supposed to have made a
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
replacement for a
maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
statue of
Vertumnus In Roman mythology, Vertumnus (; also Vortumnus or Vertimnus) is the god of seasons, change and plant growth, as well as gardens and fruit trees. He could change his form at will; using this power, according to Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' (xiv) ...
, brought to Rome in the time of Romulus. He may have been
Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including th ...
and thought to have been buried in his homeland, since at the end of a poem about Vertumnus, Propertius has the god express a wish that the Oscan earth should not wear away Mamurius's skilled hands. '' Veturius'' is considered either an
Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...
or
Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including th ...
family name. "Mamurius Veturius" became the nickname of Marcus Aurelius Marius Augustus, a former smith or metalworker who was briefly Roman emperor in 269.


Calendar and name

The divine shield is supposed to have fallen from the sky on March 1, the first day of the month ''Martius'', named after the god
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
. In the earliest Roman calendar, which the Romans believed to have been instituted by
Romulus Romulus () was the legendary foundation of Rome, founder and King of Rome, first king of Ancient Rome, Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus ...
, the ten-month year began with Mars' month, and the god himself was thus associated with the agricultural year and the cycle of life and death. The number of ''ancilia'' corresponds to the twelve months in the reformed calendar attributed to Numa, and scholars often interpret the Mamuralia as originally a
New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...
festival, with various explanations as to how it was moved from the beginning of the month to the midpoint. The Mamuralia is named as such only in calendars and sources dating from the 4th century of the Christian era and later. On the
Calendar of Filocalus The ''Chronograph of 354'' (or "Chronography"), also known as the ''Calendar of 354'', is a compilation of chronological and calendrical texts produced in 354 AD for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus by the calligrapher and illustrato ...
(354 AD), it is placed on March 14, but by Lydus on the
Ides Ides or IDES may refer to: Calendar dates * Ides (calendar), a day in the Roman calendar that fell roughly in the middle of the month. In March, May, July, and October it was the 15th day of the month; in other months it was the 13th. **Ides of Mar ...
. The earliest extant calendars place an Equirria, one of the sacral
chariot races Chariot racing ( grc-gre, ἁρματοδρομία, harmatodromia, la, ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games fro ...
in honor of Mars, on March 14. The festival of Anna Perenna, a goddess of the year (''annus''), took place on the Ides. Macrobius understood her doubled name to mean "through the year" (''perennis'', English "perennial").
Jane Ellen Harrison Jane Ellen Harrison (9 September 1850 – 15 April 1928) was a British classical scholar and linguist. Harrison is one of the founders, with Karl Kerenyi and Walter Burkert, of modern studies in Ancient Greek religion and mythology. She ...
regarded Anna Perenna as the female equivalent of Mamurius, representing the
lunar year A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, the Gr ...
to his
solar year A tropical year or solar year (or tropical period) is the time that the Sun takes to return to the same position in the sky of a celestial body of the Solar System such as the Earth, completing a full cycle of seasons; for example, the time fro ...
. The Ides were supposed to be determined by the
full moon The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic coordinate system, ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon opp ...
, reflecting the lunar origin of the Roman calendar. On the earliest calendar, the
Ides of March The Ides of March (; la, Idus Martiae, Late Latin: ) is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several religious observances and was notable in Rome as a deadline for settling debts. In 44 BC, it became ...
would have been the first full moon of the new year. H.S. Versnel has argued that adjustments made to the calendar over time caused the Mamuralia to be moved from an original place as the last day of the year (the day before the
Kalends The calends or kalends ( la, kalendae) is the first day of every month in the Roman calendar. The English word "calendar" is derived from this word. Use The Romans called the first day of every month the ''calends'', signifying the start of a n ...
of March) to the day before the Ides, causing the Equirria on February 27 to be repeated on March 14. Mamurius in this view was associated with '' Februarius'', the month of purifications and care of the dead that originally ended the year, and represented concepts of lustration,
rites of passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...
, and
liminality In anthropology, liminality () is the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of a rite of passage, when participants no longer hold their pre-ritual status but have not yet begun the transition to the status they w ...
. Because the name ''Veturius'' can be explained as related to Latin ''vetus, veteris'', "old," the ritual figure of Mamurius has often been interpreted as a
personification Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their b ...
of the Old Year, and the rite as its expulsion. ''Mamurius'' may be a form of ''Mamers'', the name of Mars in
Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including th ...
(
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''Mavors''). The Roman personal name Mamercus was derived from ''Mamers'', which was itself formed from doubling the
vocative In grammar, the vocative Grammatical case, case (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed, or occasionally for the noun modifiers ...
stem of the god's name; ''Mamurius'' would thus be related to the vocative ''Marmar'' in the ''
Carmen Arvale The ''Carmen Arvale'' is the preserved chant of the Arval priests or ''Fratres Arvales'' of ancient Rome. The Arval priests were devoted to the goddess Dia, and offered sacrifices to her to ensure the fertility of ploughed fields (Latin ''ar ...
'', the cult song of the
Arval Brothers In ancient Roman religion, the Arval Brethren ( la, Fratres Arvales, "Brothers of the Fields") or Arval Brothers were a body of priests who offered annual sacrifices to the Lares and gods to guarantee good harvests. Inscriptions provide eviden ...
. ''Mamurius Veturius'' would be "old Mars" as the embodiment of the year. The late Republican scholar
Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
, however, takes the name ''Mamuri Veturi'' as it appears in the Salian song and analyzes it within a
semantic field In linguistics, a semantic field is a lexical set of words grouped semantically (by meaning) that refers to a specific subject.Howard Jackson, Etienne Zé Amvela, ''Words, Meaning, and Vocabulary'', Continuum, 2000, p14. The term is also used in ...
pertaining to "memory", deriving the reduplicative verb ''meminisse'' ("to remember") from ''memoria'' ("memory"), "because that which has remained in the mind is again moved." He also places the
causative verb In linguistics, a causative (abbreviated ) is a valency-increasing operationPayne, Thomas E. (1997). Describing morphosyntax: A guide for field linguists'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 173–186. that indicates that a subject either ...
''monêre'', "to warn, advise, remind," in this same group, explaining that the verbal action is meant to create a memory or ''monimenta'', "monument(s)." Therefore, Varro says, when the Salii chant ''Mamuri Veturi'', they are symbolically referring ''(significant)'' to archaic memory.
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
, in an extended passage on the shields in his ''Life of Numa'', also notes that Mamurius was invoked by the Salii, but that "some say" the phrase means not the name, but ''veterem memoriam'', an "ancient remembrance."
William Warde Fowler William Warde Fowler (16 May 1847 – 15 June 1921) was an England, English historian and ornithologist, and tutor at Lincoln College, Oxford, Lincoln College, Oxford. He was best known for his works on religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman ...
, in his 1899 work on Roman festivals, agreed with Mommsen that the story of Mamurius might be "one of those comparatively rare examples of later ritual growing itself out of myth." The name of ''Mamurius'' as chanted by the Salii in March may have become attached to the March 14 Equirria, which is omitted from sources that list the Mamuralia.


Ritual

The fullest description of the ritual known as the Mamuralia is given by Joannes Lydus in his 6th-century work ''De mensibus'' ("Regarding the Months"). Lydus records that an old man, addressed as Mamurius, was clothed in animal skins and beaten with white sticks, meaning branches that have been peeled, stripped of bark; in a structuralist interpretation, the peeled sticks thus reverse the covering of smooth human flesh with rough animal hides. Lydus does not state that the old man was driven out of the city, but scholars generally infer that he was. As portrayed in the myth of the ''ancilia,'' the craftsman Mamurius would seem to be a beneficent figure, and his punishment unearned. The lateness of this account has raised questions about the festival's authenticity or antiquity, since references in
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
and
Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...
calendars or literary sources are absent or oblique. Lydus may have misunderstood descriptions of the Salian rites.
Servius Servius is the name of: * Servius (praenomen), the personal name * Maurus Servius Honoratus, a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian * Servius Tullius, the Roman king * Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the 1st century BC Roman jurist See ...
says that a day was consecrated to Mamurius on which the Salii "struck a hide in imitation of his art," that is, the blows struck by a smith. A passage from
Minucius Felix __NOTOC__ Marcus Minucius Felix (died c. 250 AD in Rome) was one of the earliest of the Latin apologists for Christianity. Nothing is known of his personal history, and even the date at which he wrote can be only approximately ascertained as betwe ...
indicates that the Salii struck skins as the shields were carried in procession. Two
mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s of the Imperial era have been interpreted as illustrating the rite of Mamurius. The calendar mosaic from
El Djem El Djem or El Jem (Tunisian Arabic:, ') is a town in Mahdia Governorate, Tunisia. Its population was 21,576 during the 2014 census. It is home to Roman Empire, Roman remains including the "Amphitheater of El Jem". History The Roman city of Thys ...
,
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
(
Roman Africa Roman Africa may refer to the following areas of Northern Africa which were part of the Imperium Romanum and/or the Western/Byzantine successor empires : ; in the unified Roman empire : * Africa (Roman province), with the great metropolis Carth ...
), which places March as the first month, shows three men using sticks to beat an animal hide. Lydus's understanding of Mamurius may be connected to medieval lore of the wodewose or wild man of the wood, who could play a similar role in winter or new year ceremonies pertaining to
Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
and
carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
.


''Statua Mamuri''

A bronze statue of Mamurius stood near the Temple of
Quirinus In Roman mythology and religion, Quirinus ( , ) is an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, ''Quirinus'' was also an epithet of Janus, as ''Janus Quirinus''. Name Attestations The name of god Quirinus is recorded across Roman sourc ...
along the Alta Semita, in Regio VI Alta Semita. It is likely to have been connected with the ''Curia Saliorum Collinorum,'' the ''
curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...
'' of the Colline Salii, who may have dedicated it.


''Clivus Mamurius''

"Mamurius Street" appears in medieval records, and took its name from the statue. According to
Pomponio Leto Julius Pomponius Laetus (1428 – 9 June 1498), also known as Giulio Pomponio Leto, was an Italian humanist. Background Laetus was born at Teggiano, near Salerno, the illegitimate scion of the princely house of Sanseverino, the German historian ...
, the Italian humanist, the statue and "Mamurius's neighborhood" ''(
Vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...
Mamuri)'' were at the Church of S. Susanna on the
Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; la, Collis Quirinalis; it, Quirinale ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palace ...
, though the regionary catalogues locate it nearer the Capitolium Vetus.Richardson, ''New Topographical Dictionary,'' p. 89.


References

{{Reflist Ancient Roman festivals March observances