Latins

The term Latin has been used to refer to several groups of people across various historical periods, in ethnic and religious contexts.

Antiquity

Main article: Latins (Italic tribe)

Further information: Latin League

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 shared a sense of kinship, expressed in the myth that all Latins descend from Latinus. Latinus was worshiped on Mons Albanus (Monte Albano) during an annual festival attended by all Latins, including those from Rome, one of the Latin states. The Latin cities extended common rights of residence and trade to one another.

Rome's territorial ambitions united the rest of the Latins, the Latin League, as they were later called, against Rome in the Latin War in 341BC, but in the end, Rome won in 338 BC. 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.

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

Further information: Latins (Middle Ages)

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, many Europeans held on to the "Latin" identity, more specifically, in the sense of the Romans, as members of the Empire.

In the Eastern Roman Empire, and the broader Greek-Orthodox world, Latins was a synonym for all people who followed Roman Catholic Christianity, regardless of ethnicity. It was generally a negative characterization, especially after the 1054 schism. Latins is still used by the Orthodox church communities, but only in a theological context.

Modern uses

See also: Romance languages, Languages of Europe § Romance, and Latin America

Latin Europe and Latin America

The various Romance-speaking peoples, usually those of Latin Europe and Latin America, have sometimes been collectively referred to as "Latin peoples". The Romance languages themselves are sometimes referred to as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages.

The term Latin Europe can be used in reference to European nations and regions inhabited by Romance-speaking people.

Latin America is the region of the Americas that was colonized by Latin Europeans, and came to be called so in the 19th century. The term is usually used to refer to Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, namely Hispanic America and Brazil.

Lazio (Italy)

The central Italian region, the birthplace of Latin civilization, still preserves its Latin identity in the modern name Lazio (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).

Catholicism

The Latin Church is the largest autonomous particular church within the broader Catholic Church. The name refers to the Latin liturgical rites, who themselves took their name from their origins in the Latin-speaking world which had Rome as its center.

See also

• Latin Rights
• Latin Valley
• Latin Union

External links

• Distinguishing the terms: Latins and Romans