ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, (''in-'', "not", and ''fama'', "reputation") was a loss of legal or social standing. As a technical term in

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

, was juridical exclusion from certain protections of

Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome () was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cu ...

, imposed as a legal penalty by a censor or

praetor ''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to disch ...

. In more general usage during the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

and

Principate The Principate was the form of imperial government of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the Dominate. The principate was ch ...

, was damage to the esteem ''(aestimatio)'' in which a person was held socially; that is, to one's reputation. A person who suffered was an (plural ).

As a legal penalty

''Infamia'' was a form of censure more disgraceful than ''ignominia'', which in its technical sense resulted from the censors' ''nota censoria'', a figurative branding or marking of a citizen that included removal from the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

or other reduction of status. ''Ignominia'', however, was an impermanent status that could be ameliorated, for instance by paying off a debt. A debtor who could not meet his obligations might eventually suffer ''infamia'', a penalty that legislation passed under

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

sought to mitigate through payment options. In addition to

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

, a judgment of flagrant dishonesty over contractual relations and other business dealings could result in ''infamia''. Examples of legal actions for which ''infamia'' was a penalty (called ''actiones famosae'' or ''actiones turpes'') generally involved a betrayal of trust, at times as expressed by lack of respect for another's

property rights The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership), is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their Possession (law), possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely ...

. A successful lawsuit claiming theft ''(furtum)'' or seizure of movable goods by force ''( rapina) ''could result in ''infamia'' for the defendant. In 66 BC, a praetorian edict permitted lawsuits against "fraud by means of deception" ''(dolus)'' when no other contractual remedy was available. ''Dolus'' was so broadly defined that

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

characterized this kind of lawsuit as a fishing expedition. A contractual obligation of ''mandatum'' was based on friendship and could not involve any payment, but a lawsuit could be brought to seek restitution for loss or damage; a ''depositum'' was the contractual placing of property in the keeping of someone who was not supposed to use it, and legal action could be undertaken to show that the depositary did not fulfill his obligation or refused to return it. A conviction for either an ''actio mandati'' or an ''actio depositi'' resulted in ''infamia'' primarily for breaking one's word, beyond material or financial loss. ''Iniuria'' (from which English "

injury Injury is physiological damage to the living tissue of any organism, whether in humans, in other animals, or in plants. Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanically with penetration by sharp objects such as teeth or with ...

" derives) was a broad category for a wrongful act that could be penalized by ''infamia'', including bodily harm and damage against property or reputation, as well as "affronts to decency" and what would now be called

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

. Other grounds for ''infamia'' included dishonorable discharge from the military, bigamy, and "misbehavior in family life."

Consequences

shared some conditions of status with slaves: they could not provide testimony in a court of law, and they were liable to corporal punishment. They could not bring lawsuits to the court on behalf of themselves or others, and they could not run for public office.

The ''infames''

was an "inescapable consequence" for certain kinds of employment, including that of undertakers, executioners, prostitutes and pimps, entertainers such as actors and dancers, and

gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

s. The collective ''infamia'' of stage performers, prostitutes, and gladiators arose from the uses to which they put their bodies: by subjecting themselves to public display, they had surrendered the right of privacy and bodily integrity that defined the citizen. The of entertainers did not exclude them from socializing among the Roman elite, and entertainers who were "stars", both men and women, sometimes became the lovers of such high-profile figures as

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

and the dictator

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

. Charioteers may or may not have been ''infames''; two jurists of the later Imperial era argue that athletic competitions were not mere entertainment but "seem useful" as instructive displays of Roman strength and . The low status of those who competed in public games in Rome stands in striking contrast to athletics in Greece, where Olympic victors enjoyed high honors. A passive homosexual who was " outed" might be subject to social in the colloquial sense without being socially ostracized, and if a citizen he might retain his legal standing.

Religious infamy

late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

, when the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

had come under Christian rule, ''infamia'' was used to punish "religious deviants" such as heretics, apostates, and those who declined to give up their own religious practices and convert to Christianity.Sarah Bond, "Altering Infamy: Status, Violence, and Civic Exclusion in Late Antiquity," ''Classical Antiquity'' 33:1 (2014), pp. 1-30 The modern

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

has the similar concept of infamy.

References

External links