''Verginia'', sometimes spelled ''Virginia'', was the daughter of

Aulus Verginius Aulus (abbreviated A.) is one of the small group of common forenames found in the culture of ancient Rome. The name was traditionally connected with Latin ''aula'', ''olla'', "palace", but this is most likely a false etymology. ''Aulus'' in fact p ...

, a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

. Her example of modesty and virtue in the face of adversity became famous in antiquity, and during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, she was celebrated as one of

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian people, Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanism, Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so we ...

's ''Famous Women''.The Ancient Library - Virginia number 2
Virginia Brown's translation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Famous Women, pp. 129–130; Harvard University Press 2003;
LVIII

Biography

In 296 BC, Verginia married Lucius Volumnius Flamma, a

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

who had held the

consulship A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

the previous year. Subsequently the leading patrician matrons prevented her from attending the sacred rights of

Pudicitia Pudicitia ("modesty" or "sexual virtue") 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. ''Pudicitia' ...

, the goddess of modesty, arguing that she had dishonoured her family by marrying a plebeian. She was removed from the temple, which was then barred to her and other women in similar circumstances.
Livy's History, Book X, 23 "Pudicitia"
/ref> Verginia protested she had entered the Temple of Pudicitia in good faith, and as a pure woman. Because she was refused entry to the temple, she dedicated a portion of her own house, in the

Vicus Longus The vicus Longus was a street in Regio VI of ancient Rome, linking the Suburra to the summit of the Quirinal Hill along the valley between the Quirinal Hill and the Viminal Hill. Livy (X.23.6.) mentions it in relation to the dedication of an alta ...

, as a shrine to Pudicitia, and invited the plebeian women to join her there to celebrate the rites of the goddess: :''I am dedicating this shrine to the Plebeian Pudicitia and invite you each to compete in a wifely modesty as the men in this City. I beg the patrician women to show the same spirit of emulation on the score of chastity that the men display with regard to courage and valor, so that this shrine may, if possible, have the reputation of being honored with a holier observance manner and by purer worshippers than that of the patrician women.''

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References

{{reflist 3rd-century BC Roman women Roman patricians Verginii

Biography

See also

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References