Virtues for freedmen - a question of masculinity?
The project examines Roman freedmen's masculinities by exploring how virtues, qualities and ideals used to define them in literary and epigraphic sources relate to ancient traditional gender identities and constructions. The project discusses what such virtues, qualities and ideals tell us about freedmen's gender identity and social standing. Hegemonic masculinity is a key concept to understand the material.
Applying masculinity theory is an innovative approach as it has never been used to study Roman freedmen. The project will contribute to a better understanding of Roman freedmen, their gender identity and their position in society and to the discussion of the social complexity of Roman society. What is more, the project will contribute to a better understanding of how gender identities were constructed and communicated in antiquity.
The empirical foundation of the project is a combination of Latin literary and epigraphical sources from c.50BC-120AD. A critical close reading of the texts combined with a contextual philological method, where the texts are compared with other texts of the same author and/or genre, is applied and the texts are given a literary, epigraphic and historical context. The project uses theories of masculinity to analyse the material as a means to create a complex and nuanced view of the gender identity and status of Roman freedmen.
Applying masculinity theory is an innovative approach as it has never been used to study Roman freedmen. The project will contribute to a better understanding of Roman freedmen, their gender identity and their position in society and to the discussion of the social complexity of Roman society. What is more, the project will contribute to a better understanding of how gender identities were constructed and communicated in antiquity.
The empirical foundation of the project is a combination of Latin literary and epigraphical sources from c.50BC-120AD. A critical close reading of the texts combined with a contextual philological method, where the texts are compared with other texts of the same author and/or genre, is applied and the texts are given a literary, epigraphic and historical context. The project uses theories of masculinity to analyse the material as a means to create a complex and nuanced view of the gender identity and status of Roman freedmen.
Final report
Aim, execution and development
The aim of the project was to examine Roman freedmen’s masculinities by exploring how virtues, qualities and ideals used to define them in literary and epigraphic sources relate to ancient traditional gender identities and constructions. The project discussed what such virtues, qualities and ideals tell us about freedmen’s gender identity and social standing.
The empirical foundation of the project was a combination of Latin literary and epigraphical sources from c. 50BC-120 AD. A critical close reading of the texts combined with a contextual method was applied and the project used theories of masculinity to analyse the material, where theories of relational masculinities and masculine positions proved especially useful.
I have in general kept to the original project plan and there has not been a shift in the aim of the project, but attention has been turned also to other topics. My approach towards the material has changed somewhat, as my original hypothesis concerning gender crossing virtues needed modification and development. My research showed that the phenomenon of specific virtues, qualities and ideals was more complex and multi-faceted than I thought. This made me change my approach towards the material as new aspects proved relevant for the aim of the project. I have chosen to work with keywords such as age and status, an approach that was not part of my original plan. Sexuality, especially sexual practices and conceptions, proved crucial for the aim of the project, and this, in turn, generated new questions concerning the constructions of masculinity among the freed group. As regards the empirical material and method, there was a change in the selection and conceptualization, in that I chose to apply a qualitative approach, instead of the planned quantitative approach, especially as concerns the epigraphic sources. My original plan to collect an epigraphical corpus was changed in favour of another method, that is, searching for keywords and phrases in available databases.
Results
The project’s contribution to the international body of research is undisputable, as my study is the only existing investigation on Roman freedmen´s masculinities. Applying masculinity theory is thus an innovative approach that has seldom been used to study Roman society.
1. The most important result of the project is that masculinity can be done in various ways and that many components are of importance when studying freedmen’s masculinity. The status and gender identity of freedmen must not be perceived as static and monolithic, rather it is a dynamic, changeable process. Given that gender is constructed relationally, and identity is formed through identification with and separation from others, the masculinity of freedmen varies depending on context. Rather than fixed identities, the masculinities of freedmen must be perceived as masculine positions that can change according to time and place. 2. Components such as age and showing oneself as a married man and a father proved crucial for the construction of freedmen’s masculinity, due to the fact that when the freedman was a slave he was deprived of these rights, and he was in fact perceived as a child. When obtaining freedom the former slave also achieved manhood, as these rights were given to him and he was thus eager to show them. Portraying oneself as an old man, as a husband and a father in funeral monuments can thus be seen as expression of masculinity among the freedmen.
3. Many scholars have argued for a certain set of virtues connected to freedmen, such as industria and the adjective probus. The central contribution of my research project to this discussion is that the findings of my study suggest that there were no virtues or qualities that were specific or exclusive to freedmen and there seems to be no distinct set of freedman virtues. In many contexts, freedmen and freeborn men of high status were expected to share many of the same virtues and behaviour. This opens up for a possible meritocratic attitude towards freedmen, less dependent on status of birth, at least in some contexts. However, freedmen cannot comply with the ideal, or hegemonic, masculinity in full, since they cannot embody the Roman masculine ideal of the vir bonus and cannot be associated with the Roman cardinal virtue virtus, which was central in the construction of masculinity in the Roman world. Enacting hegemonic masculinity in Roman society was to exercise power and to perform in public and this was personified by the vir bonus. The freedman, a subordinate homo ideally confined to performances in the private sphere, could not comply with this ideal, according to the normative discourse of the Roman elite. In this respect, the position of women and freedmen was similar in Roman society, due to their exclusion from political offices and the restrictions that were applied to them in public life. Thus, both groups were in many ways debarred from a site where masculinity was constructed and where it could be proven and tested. This elucidates the social complexity of Roman society, since the social status and gender identity of freedmen could be perceived as a position somewhat “in between” groups: A distinct set of freedman virtues did not exist and it was acceptable to describe freeborn elite men and freedmen in quite similar ways. Nevertheless, freedmen could not comply in full with the hegemonic masculine ideal of the elite, due to intersections of gender and status.
New research questions
The study has generated new research questions about differentiation of masculinity within the unfree group, and the importance of using an intersectional perspective when studying slaves and freedmen. I have coauthored an article with docent Birgitta L. Sjöberg (submitted) on the subject of differentiation of masculinity within the unfree group in a rural context in the Greco-Roman society and we are planning further research on these issues. I am collaborating with docent Birgitta L. Sjöberg och Hedvig von Ehrenheim, Uppsala university, in a forthcoming project on the social geography of slavery in Greco-Roman society. Using a model based on intersectionality and social geography, the project aims to explore the status of slaves in relation to other social identities such as age, gender, ethnicity and sexuality in order to understand the mechanisms of identity formation, conditions of life, and spatial limitations of the unfree. Additionally, the project will use a comparative method, relating the slave’s vulnerability and limited access to social space to conditions of unfree and subjected groups in later historical settings. I am collaborating on an application for network support with these colleges and docent Ben Raffield for research on unfree and subjected groups in various historical settings.
The project’s international dimensions and contacts
Attending conferences and workshops has resulted in a broad network of contacts with Nordic and international research colleagues both within the field of ancient history and classical archaeology, gender studies and history and this has resulted in new research collaborations. I am part of several research networks, national as well as international: the national network for ancient historians and classicists focusing on gender issues, Forum för genusstudier i antiken (FoGA) and I have been the organizer of their annual meetings during the project; Antiquity Network, and an international network on research on labour: European Labour History Network – ELHN, within the group ”Free and unfree Labour”, resulting in participation in three international conferences. I have established close contact and collaboration with Nordic researchers, resulting in two co-organized sessions at international conferences.
Publication strategy
The project has had a broad publication strategy that has been successful: I have participated with papers in national and international conferences and workshops, and published peer reviewed articles in international journals and more articles are planned after the project funding ends. I have strived for a mix of journals with a broader classical and archeological focus as well as ancient history journals more focused on gender issues. All of these articles are published with open access, with one exception, and those forthcoming will be published with open access as well.
In addition, I have a popular research ambition, which has materialized in two contributions to journals with a broader scope than a mere academic and I have held three public lectures: ’Genus och ideal i det antika Rom’, Klassiska föreningen vid Stockholms universitets Saturnaliefest, 2018-12-14; ’Ärbara kvinnor och modiga män. Genusstrukturer i antikens Rom’,”en kvart över-föreläsning” i samarbete med forskningsbiblioteken Carolina Rediviva och Karin Boye biblioteket, 2019-03-20; ’En man bland män’, Medelhavsmuseets vänners glöggkväll, Stockholm, 2019-12-04. I have been interviewed by RJ’s journalist and the preliminary result of the project was published as ”forskningsnyheter” on the homepage of RJ (2019-04-24).
The aim of the project was to examine Roman freedmen’s masculinities by exploring how virtues, qualities and ideals used to define them in literary and epigraphic sources relate to ancient traditional gender identities and constructions. The project discussed what such virtues, qualities and ideals tell us about freedmen’s gender identity and social standing.
The empirical foundation of the project was a combination of Latin literary and epigraphical sources from c. 50BC-120 AD. A critical close reading of the texts combined with a contextual method was applied and the project used theories of masculinity to analyse the material, where theories of relational masculinities and masculine positions proved especially useful.
I have in general kept to the original project plan and there has not been a shift in the aim of the project, but attention has been turned also to other topics. My approach towards the material has changed somewhat, as my original hypothesis concerning gender crossing virtues needed modification and development. My research showed that the phenomenon of specific virtues, qualities and ideals was more complex and multi-faceted than I thought. This made me change my approach towards the material as new aspects proved relevant for the aim of the project. I have chosen to work with keywords such as age and status, an approach that was not part of my original plan. Sexuality, especially sexual practices and conceptions, proved crucial for the aim of the project, and this, in turn, generated new questions concerning the constructions of masculinity among the freed group. As regards the empirical material and method, there was a change in the selection and conceptualization, in that I chose to apply a qualitative approach, instead of the planned quantitative approach, especially as concerns the epigraphic sources. My original plan to collect an epigraphical corpus was changed in favour of another method, that is, searching for keywords and phrases in available databases.
Results
The project’s contribution to the international body of research is undisputable, as my study is the only existing investigation on Roman freedmen´s masculinities. Applying masculinity theory is thus an innovative approach that has seldom been used to study Roman society.
1. The most important result of the project is that masculinity can be done in various ways and that many components are of importance when studying freedmen’s masculinity. The status and gender identity of freedmen must not be perceived as static and monolithic, rather it is a dynamic, changeable process. Given that gender is constructed relationally, and identity is formed through identification with and separation from others, the masculinity of freedmen varies depending on context. Rather than fixed identities, the masculinities of freedmen must be perceived as masculine positions that can change according to time and place. 2. Components such as age and showing oneself as a married man and a father proved crucial for the construction of freedmen’s masculinity, due to the fact that when the freedman was a slave he was deprived of these rights, and he was in fact perceived as a child. When obtaining freedom the former slave also achieved manhood, as these rights were given to him and he was thus eager to show them. Portraying oneself as an old man, as a husband and a father in funeral monuments can thus be seen as expression of masculinity among the freedmen.
3. Many scholars have argued for a certain set of virtues connected to freedmen, such as industria and the adjective probus. The central contribution of my research project to this discussion is that the findings of my study suggest that there were no virtues or qualities that were specific or exclusive to freedmen and there seems to be no distinct set of freedman virtues. In many contexts, freedmen and freeborn men of high status were expected to share many of the same virtues and behaviour. This opens up for a possible meritocratic attitude towards freedmen, less dependent on status of birth, at least in some contexts. However, freedmen cannot comply with the ideal, or hegemonic, masculinity in full, since they cannot embody the Roman masculine ideal of the vir bonus and cannot be associated with the Roman cardinal virtue virtus, which was central in the construction of masculinity in the Roman world. Enacting hegemonic masculinity in Roman society was to exercise power and to perform in public and this was personified by the vir bonus. The freedman, a subordinate homo ideally confined to performances in the private sphere, could not comply with this ideal, according to the normative discourse of the Roman elite. In this respect, the position of women and freedmen was similar in Roman society, due to their exclusion from political offices and the restrictions that were applied to them in public life. Thus, both groups were in many ways debarred from a site where masculinity was constructed and where it could be proven and tested. This elucidates the social complexity of Roman society, since the social status and gender identity of freedmen could be perceived as a position somewhat “in between” groups: A distinct set of freedman virtues did not exist and it was acceptable to describe freeborn elite men and freedmen in quite similar ways. Nevertheless, freedmen could not comply in full with the hegemonic masculine ideal of the elite, due to intersections of gender and status.
New research questions
The study has generated new research questions about differentiation of masculinity within the unfree group, and the importance of using an intersectional perspective when studying slaves and freedmen. I have coauthored an article with docent Birgitta L. Sjöberg (submitted) on the subject of differentiation of masculinity within the unfree group in a rural context in the Greco-Roman society and we are planning further research on these issues. I am collaborating with docent Birgitta L. Sjöberg och Hedvig von Ehrenheim, Uppsala university, in a forthcoming project on the social geography of slavery in Greco-Roman society. Using a model based on intersectionality and social geography, the project aims to explore the status of slaves in relation to other social identities such as age, gender, ethnicity and sexuality in order to understand the mechanisms of identity formation, conditions of life, and spatial limitations of the unfree. Additionally, the project will use a comparative method, relating the slave’s vulnerability and limited access to social space to conditions of unfree and subjected groups in later historical settings. I am collaborating on an application for network support with these colleges and docent Ben Raffield for research on unfree and subjected groups in various historical settings.
The project’s international dimensions and contacts
Attending conferences and workshops has resulted in a broad network of contacts with Nordic and international research colleagues both within the field of ancient history and classical archaeology, gender studies and history and this has resulted in new research collaborations. I am part of several research networks, national as well as international: the national network for ancient historians and classicists focusing on gender issues, Forum för genusstudier i antiken (FoGA) and I have been the organizer of their annual meetings during the project; Antiquity Network, and an international network on research on labour: European Labour History Network – ELHN, within the group ”Free and unfree Labour”, resulting in participation in three international conferences. I have established close contact and collaboration with Nordic researchers, resulting in two co-organized sessions at international conferences.
Publication strategy
The project has had a broad publication strategy that has been successful: I have participated with papers in national and international conferences and workshops, and published peer reviewed articles in international journals and more articles are planned after the project funding ends. I have strived for a mix of journals with a broader classical and archeological focus as well as ancient history journals more focused on gender issues. All of these articles are published with open access, with one exception, and those forthcoming will be published with open access as well.
In addition, I have a popular research ambition, which has materialized in two contributions to journals with a broader scope than a mere academic and I have held three public lectures: ’Genus och ideal i det antika Rom’, Klassiska föreningen vid Stockholms universitets Saturnaliefest, 2018-12-14; ’Ärbara kvinnor och modiga män. Genusstrukturer i antikens Rom’,”en kvart över-föreläsning” i samarbete med forskningsbiblioteken Carolina Rediviva och Karin Boye biblioteket, 2019-03-20; ’En man bland män’, Medelhavsmuseets vänners glöggkväll, Stockholm, 2019-12-04. I have been interviewed by RJ’s journalist and the preliminary result of the project was published as ”forskningsnyheter” on the homepage of RJ (2019-04-24).