Latins

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The term Latin has been used to refer to several groups of people across various historical periods who have been, in some form or another, connected to ancient Rome and its ethnic, cultural, and/or religious legacy.

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The term originally referred to the Latins, an ancient Italic tribe from Latium in the central Italian peninsula. Among them were the Romans, who united the Latins through conquest and built an empire which expanded not only to the entire Italian peninsula but to the rest of the Mediterranean region. Since then, "Latin" has been an ethnically-related or religious designation implying an ultimate origin from Roman civilization. [1]

Antiquity

Map of 5th century-BC Latium (Latium Vetus) and surrounding regions in central Italy that were eventually annexed by Rome to form "New Latium". The Alban Hills, a region of early Latin settlement (from c. 1000 BC) and the site of the Latiar, the most important Latin communal festival, are located under the "U" in LATIUM. The region's two main lakes, Nemi and Albanus, are visible under the "I". The leading Latin city-states of Rome, Tibur (Tivoli), Praeneste (Palestrina), Ardea and Gabii are shown. Volsci.jpg
Map of 5th century-BC Latium (Latium Vetus) and surrounding regions in central Italy that were eventually annexed by Rome to form "New Latium". The Alban Hills, a region of early Latin settlement (from c. 1000 BC) and the site of the Latiar, the most important Latin communal festival, are located under the "U" in LATIUM. The region's two main lakes, Nemi and Albanus, are visible under the "I". The leading Latin city-states of Rome, Tibur (Tivoli), Praeneste (Palestrina), Ardea and Gabii are shown.

The Latins were an ancient Italic people of the Latium region in central Italy (Latium Vetus, "Old Latium"), in the 1st millennium BC. Although they lived in independent city-states, they spoke a common language (Latin), held common religious beliefs, and extended common rights of residence and trade to one another. [2] Collectively, these Latin states were known as the Latin League.

A rupture between Rome, one of the Latin states, and the rest of the Latin League emerged as a result of the former's territorial ambitions. The Latin League fought against Rome in the Latin War (340-338 BC), which ended in a Roman victory. Consequently, some of the Latin states were incorporated within the Roman state, and their inhabitants were given full Roman citizenship. Others became Roman allies and enjoyed certain privileges. [3]

The Roman Empire would go on to dominate the Mediterranean region for the next several centuries, spreading the Latin language and Roman culture. The Latin-speaking Western Roman Empire ended in AD 476, while the Greek-speaking eastern half survived on until 1453.

Middle Ages

12th century depiction of Latin Crusaders 12th century unknown painters - Crusaders - WGA19723.jpg
12th century depiction of Latin Crusaders

In the Eastern Roman Empire, and the broader Greek-Orthodox world, Latins was a synonym for all people who followed the Roman Catholicism [4] of Western Christianity, [5] regardless of ethnicity. [6] The term was related to the predominance of the Latin Church, which is the largest autonomous particular church within the broader Catholic Church, and took its name from its origins in the Latin-speaking world which had Rome as its center. [7]

Latin was generally a negative characterization, especially after the 1054 schism. [4] The term is still used by the Orthodox church communities, but only in a theological context. Nonetheless, it did not share this negative connotation in the West, where many self-identified with the term, such as Petrarch, when he states "Sumus enim non greci, non barbari, sed itali et latini." ("We are not Greeks or barbarians; we are Italians and Latins."). [8]

Modern uses

Latin peoples

The various Romance-speaking ethnic groups, usually those of Latin Europe and Latin America, have sometimes been collectively referred to as "Latin peoples". [9] [10] Other synonymous terms are "Romance peoples" [11] or "Romanic peoples". [12] The designation has also specifically survived in the names of two Romance-speaking groups: the Ladin people (of northern Italy) and the Ladino people (of Central America).

Likewise, the Romance languages themselves are sometimes referred to as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages. [13] [14]

The term Latin Europe is sometimes used in reference to European nations and regions inhabited by Romance-speaking people. [15] [16] [17]

Latin America is the region of the Americas that was colonized by Latin Europeans, and came to be called so in the 19th century. [18] The term is usually used to refer to Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, namely Hispanic America and Brazil. Latin Americans are called latinoamericanos andlatino-americanos in Spanish and Portuguese, respectively; the shortening of this term resulted in the name for Latinos, [19] who are themselves sometimes just called "Latin". [20] [21] [22] [23]

Lazio (Italy)

The central Italian region, the birthplace of Latin civilization, still preserves its Latin identity in the modern name Lazio, which evolved from ancient Latium. The Valle Latina (Latin Valley) is a region in Lazio corresponding to the eastern area of ancient Roman Latium (Southern Province of Rome and Province of Frosinone). People from Lazio are called "Lazians" (Italian: Laziali).

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lazio</span> Region of Italy

Lazio or Latium is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants and a GDP of more than €197 billion per year, making it the country's second most populated region and second largest regional economy after Lombardy. The capital of Lazio is Rome, which is also the capital and largest city of Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etruscan civilization</span> Pre-Roman civilization of ancient Italy

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hispanic</span> Spanish-speaking cultures and persons

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etruria</span> Region of Central Italy

Etruria was a region of Central Italy delimited by the rivers Arno and Tiber, an area that covered what is now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and north-western Umbria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabines</span> Ancient Italic people

The Sabines were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latin League</span> Ancient Roman confederation for mutual defense

The Latin League was an ancient confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near the ancient city of Rome, organized for mutual defense. The term "Latin League" is one coined by modern historians with no precise Latin equivalent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province of Frosinone</span> Province of Italy

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latin rights</span> Ancient Roman set of legal rights

Latin rights were a set of legal rights that were originally granted to the Latins under Roman law in their original territory and therefore in their colonies. Latinitas was commonly used by Roman jurists to denote this status. With the Roman expansion in Italy, many settlements and coloniae outside of Latium had Latin rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italic peoples</span> Ethnolinguistic group

The Italic peoples were an ethnolinguistic group identified by their use of Italic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family.

Dominus is the Latin word for master or owner. Dominus was used as a Roman imperial title. It was also the Latin title of the feudal, superior and mesne, lords, and an ecclesiastical and academic title. The ecclesiastical title was rendered through the French seigneur in English as sir, making it a common prefix for parsons before the Reformation, as in Sir Hugh Evans in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor. Its shortened form Dom remains used as a prefix of honor for ecclesiastics of the Catholic Church, and especially for members of the Benedictine and other religious orders. The title was formerly also used as is, Dominus, for a Bachelor of Arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latium adiectum</span>

Latium adiectum or Latium Novum was a region of Roman Italy between Monte Circeo and the river Garigliano, south of and immediately adjacent to Old Latium, hence its name of attached Latium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latium</span> Historical region of Italy

Latium is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.

A Roman colonia was originally a settlement of Roman citizens, establishing a Roman outpost in federated or conquered territory, for the purpose of securing it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term "colony".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western world</span> Countries with an originally European shared culture

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legacy of the Roman Empire</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latins (Italic tribe)</span>

The Latins, sometimes known as the Latials or Latians, were an Italic tribe which included the early inhabitants of the city of Rome. From about 1000 BC, the Latins inhabited the small region known to the Romans as Old Latium, that is, the area between the river Tiber and the promontory of Mount Circeo 100 km (62 mi) southeast of Rome. Following the Roman expansion, the Latins spread into the Latium adiectum, inhabited by Osco-Umbrian peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman people</span> Historical national or ethnic group

The Roman people was the body of Roman citizens during the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire. Variously referred to as a cultural group, a nationality or a multi-ethnicity, the meaning of "Romans" underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of Roman civilisation as its borders expanded and contracted. In classical antiquity, from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD, the Romans ruled large parts of Europe, the Near East and North Africa through conquests made during the Roman Republic and the later Roman Empire. Originally only referring to the Italic Latin citizens of Rome itself, by late antiquity Roman identity evolved into a collective geopolitical identity, extended to nearly all subjects of the Roman emperors and encompassing vast regional and ethnic diversity.

The name Latin was a common demonym among the followers of the Latin Church of Western Christianity during the Middle Ages.

References

  1. ↑ "Definition of LATIN". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  2. ↑ "Ancient Rome - Latin League, Republic, Empire | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  3. ↑ "Ancient Rome - Latin League, Republic, Empire | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  4. 1 2 George Ostrogorsky, History of the Byzantine State
  5. ↑ "Distinguishing the terms: Latins and Romans". Orbis Latinus . Archived from the original on 2018-07-09.
  6. ↑ "Distinguishing the terms: Latins and Romans". Orbilat.
  7. ↑ "Why So Many Rites in the Church | EWTN". EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  8. ↑ "Invectiva contra eum qui maledixit Italiam - Wikisource". la.wikisource.org (in Latin). Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  9. ↑ "Latin Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster". Merriam-Webster. 2023-06-10. Archived from the original on 2023-06-10. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  10. ↑ MultiCultural Review: Dedicated to a Better Understanding of Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Diversity. GP Subscription Publications. 2001. ISBN   978-0-8239-9700-8.
  11. ↑ Dame, Frederick William (2001). "The Swiss Romance Peoples And Their Identity". History of Switzerland: Historical Switzerland from the Romans to Napoleon. E. Mellen Press. ISBN   978-0-7734-7386-7.
  12. ↑ Pavlovic, Zoran (2006). "Romanic Peoples". Europe. Infobase Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4381-0455-3.
  13. ↑ "Latin Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster". web.archive.org. 2023-06-10. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  14. ↑ "Definition of NEO-LATIN". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  15. ↑ Friedman, Lawrence; Perez-Perdomo, Rogelio (2003). Legal Culture in the Age of Globalization: Latin America and Latin Europe. Stanford University Press. p. 1. ISBN   0-8047-6695-9.
  16. ↑ Iiams, Thomas M. (1971). "National Libraries of Latin Europe". American Libraries. 2 (10): 1081–1085. ISSN   0002-9769.
  17. ↑ "The History of the Romanian Language". linguistics.byu.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  18. ↑ Chasteen, John Charles (2001). Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America . W. W. Norton. p.  156. ISBN   978-0-393-97613-7.
  19. ↑ Gutiérrez, Ramón A.; Almaguer, Tomás (2016). The new Latino studies reader: a twenty-first-century perspective. Oakland (Calif.): University of California press. ISBN   978-0-520-28483-8.
  20. ↑ "Definition of LATIN". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  21. ↑ Fajkus, Michelle Margaret (2022-11-21). "10 Differences in Latin Culture Compared to U.S. Culture". Homeschool Spanish Academy. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  22. ↑ Horvath, Richard (2021-11-23). "10 things in Latin Culture that Will Influence a Workplace". English to Spanish Raleigh. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  23. ↑ highheelsandabackpack (2023-01-30). "Dating Latin Men - Everything you need to know" . Retrieved 2024-03-10.
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