User:CarlyBach/Bath curse tablets

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[Feedback from Dr Austen - Great work here Carly, and I can se that you have made excellent use of the scholarship available. I will not repeat the points made by your peer reviewer, since they are very thorough already, and I agree that these are all valid points to keep in mind as you continue working on your own draft. I think the two key sections you are planning on adding work perfectly, and will lead to a very well-rounded article.]

** From Wikipedias, [Bath curse tablets] **


The Bath curse tablets are a collection of about 130 Roman-era curse tablets (or defixiones in Latin) discovered in 1979/1980 in the English city of Bath. The tablets act as a request for intervention of the goddess Sulis Minerva in the return of stolen goods and to curse the perpetrators of thefts. Inscribed mostly in British Latin, they have been used to attest to the everyday spoken vernacular of the Romano-British population of the second to fourth centuries A.D. They have also been recognised by UNESCO in its Memory of the World UK Register.

Two of the Bath curse tablets on display at the Roman Baths (Bath)

Discovery and Description[edit]

Photograph of the Baths showing a rectangular area of greenish water surrounded by yellow stone buildings with pillars. In the background is the tower of the abbey.
The Roman baths at Bath — the entire structure above the level of the pillar bases is post-Roman.

The Roman baths and temple dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva in the English city of Bath (founded by the Romans as Aquae Sulis) were excavated between 1978 and 1983 by a team led by Barry Cunliffe and Peter Davenport.[1] In 1979/1980, around 130 tablets were discovered in an excavation of the "Sacred Spring" under the King's Bath.[2] This excavation was made possible by the removal of the concrete floor and walls, revealing a huge array of Roman-era items including the tablets.[3][4] The findings at the spring highlight what Sulis Minerva meant to the people here.[5]

The tablets, some in a fragmentary state,[6] were small and rectangular and initially were assumed to be made of lead, although subsequent metallurgical analysis revealed that they are, in fact, made of lead alloyed with tin, with occasional traces of copper.[7] Some of the tablets were cast under pressure into thin, flexible sheets with a finish as smooth as paper whereas others appear to have been roughly hammered out from a molten lump.[8] Most of the tablets were inscribed, either with Roman capitals or with cursive script, but the expertise of the lettering varied.[8] Some of the tablets had markings that appear to be an illiterate imitation of lettering, for example repetitive lines of crosses or sevens, and some were completely blank.[9]

The inscriptions on the tablets were published in full in 1988 by historian Roger Tomlin.[10] The tablets themselves are on public display at the Roman Baths Museum in Bath.[11][12]

Creation[edit]

The inscribed messages on the tablets were likely completed by specialists who used four steps to complete the process.[5][13]

The first step of the creation of the tablets was the drawing of the curse text. [13] This was an essential step in planning the length of the text in response to the size of the tablet sheet.[13] The second step was the production of the tablet, which could be completed with the proper equipment. [13] The third step is the inscription process which is where the primary source of information is gained from the curse tablets. [13] Numerous handwriting styles have been used in the inscription process amongst ornate detail speculating to a scribes role.[13] The final step included the deposition of the tablet.[13] The deposition process would change in regards to which deity the curse called too. The Bath Curse tablets were deposited in a body of water at the temple sacred to Sulis Minerva, where she could then act on the prayer for justice.[13]

Each of these steps was critical in the proper creation and deposition of the curse tablet. Although many tablets are believed to have been created by specialists, amateur cursers were also responsible for completing these tasks.[13] Illiterate people also created curse tablets; as they could not write the written formulae, they trusted in the goddess Sulis to decipher their curse marks.[13]

The Binding Ritual[edit]

To this day, questions surround the magic that took place in the process of binding curses.[14] The earliest examples of curse tablets include lists of names and were likely adjoined with a curse spoken aloud; as literacy spread throughout the Roman world, the curse tablets became much more detailed with inscriptions depicting a "written formulae".[15] The written formulae would be addressed to the goddess Sulis who had the power to identify the thief and enact punishment onto the culprit.[16] The formulation of the tablets evoke the idea of religious practices as the written formula can be read as a "prayer for justice" to the goddess.[17] The ritual of the curse tablets combines elements of a magical process and religion to connect to the mainline deity.[17]

Inscriptions[edit]

Gilt bronze head of Sulis Minerva, to whom the curse tablets were addressed, found at her temple in Bath.

The tablets were identified as “curse tablets” dating from the second to fourth centuries A.D.[18] Curse tablets are metal sheets inscribed with curses against specific people who committed petty theft.[19] The tablets were meant to call upon the gods for assistance in reaching justice; acting as a popular use of magic throughout the Roman world.[20]

Language[edit]

Most of the inscriptions are in colloquial Latin,[21] and specifically in the Vulgar Latin of the Romano-British population, known as "British Latin".[18][22] Two of the inscriptions are in a language which is not Latin, although they use Roman lettering, and may be in a British Celtic language.[23] If this should be the case, they would be the only examples of a written ancient British Celtic language; however, there is not yet scholarly consensus on their decipherment.[24]

Content[edit]

All but one of the 130 Bath curse tablets concern the restitution of stolen goods and are a type of curse tablet known as "prayers for justice".[25] The complained of thefts are generally of personal possessions from the baths such as jewellery, gemstones, money, household goods and especially clothing.[26] Theft from public baths appears to have been a common problem as it was a well-known Roman literary stereotype and severe laws existed to punish the perpetrators.[27] Most of the depositors of the tablets (the victims of the thefts) appear to have been from the lower social classes.[28]

The inscriptions generally follow the same formula, suggesting it was taken from a handbook: the stolen property is declared as having been transferred to a deity so that the loss becomes the deity’s loss; the suspect is named and, in 21 cases, so is the victim; the victim then asks the deity to visit afflictions on the thief (including death) not as a punishment but to induce the thief to hand the stolen items back.[26] The curse tablet was meant to ask the goddess Sulis Minerva to bring punishment on to the thief; they were a form of communication with the goddess.[19] Once created, the tablets were later deposited by the victims in the spring that was sacred to the goddess Sulis Minerva herself.[29]

Examples[edit]

The Bath Curse Tablets include several different texts, all with a similar goal. Some wish for the goddess to kill their offender, while others seek alternative forms of justice.[30]

Curse tablet with complaint about theft of a cloak and bathing tunic

A typical example reads:

"Solinus to the goddess Sulis Minerva. I give to your divinity and majesty [my] bathing tunic and cloak. Do not allow sleep or health to him who has done me wrong, whether man or woman or whether slave or free unless he reveals himself and brings those goods to your temple."[31][32]

The formula "whether man or woman or whether slave or free" is typical, and the following example is unusual in two respects.[33] Firstly it adds the words "whether pagan or Christian" and secondly the text was written in reversed lettering:

"Whether pagan or Christian, whether man or woman, whether boy or girl, whether slave or free whoever has stolen from me, Annianus [son of] Matutina (?), six silver coins from my purse, you, Lady Goddess, are to exact [them] from him. If through some deceit he has given me...and do not give thus to him but reckon as (?) the blood of him who has invoked his upon me."[33]

Many name the suspected thieves:

Curse tablet with complaint about the theft of Vilbia
"I have given to the goddess Sulis the six silver coins which I have lost. It is for the goddess to exact [them] from the names written below: Senicianus and Saturninus and Anniola."[34]

Some of the inscriptions are very specific in the afflictions requested and reveal the intensity of the victim's anger:[35]

"Docimedis has lost two gloves and asks that the thief responsible should lose their minds [sic] and eyes in the goddess' temple."[36]
"May he who carried off Vilbia from me become liquid as the water. May she who so obscenely devoured her become dumb"[35]
"...so long as someone, whether slave or free, keeps silent or knows anything about it, he may be accursed in (his) blood, and eyes and every limb and even have all (his) intestines quite eaten away if he has stolen the ring or been privy (to the theft)."[37]
Curse tablet thought to have text in British Celtic

One of the suspected British Celtic inscriptions has been translated as:

"The affixed – Deuina, Deieda, Andagin, (and) Uindiorix – I have bound"[38]

An alternative translation of the above inscription is:

"May I, Windiorix for/at Cuamena defeat (alt. summon to justice) the worthless woman, oh divine Deieda."[39]

Significance[edit]

The Bath curse tablets are the most important record of Romano-British religion yet published.[40] Curse tablets are of particular use in evidencing the Vulgar Latin of everyday speech,[41] and, since their publication in 1988, the Bath inscriptions have been used as evidence of the nature of British Latin.[42][43] Additionally, the contents of the inscriptions have been used as evidence of popular attitudes to crime and the system of justice.[44]

A folded curse tablet

In 2014, the Bath curse tablets were recognised by UNESCO in its Memory of the World UK Register.[45][46]



References

  1. ^ "The end of Roman Bath". Current Archaeology (217). 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  2. ^ Gordon, Richard; Simon, Francisco Marco (2010). Magical Practice in the Latin West. p. 15. ISBN 9789004179042.
  3. ^ Cunliffe, Barry (1983). "The Temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath". Archaeology no. 6. 36: 19 – via JSTOR.
  4. ^ Wilson, Roger (1988). A guide to the Roman remains in Britain. p. 109. ISBN 0094686807.
  5. ^ a b Cunliffe, Barry (1983). "The Temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath". Archaeology no. 6. 36: 21 – via JSTOR.
  6. ^ J.N. Adams (1992). "British Latin: the text, interpretation and language of the Bath Curse Tablets". Britannia. 23: 1–26. doi:10.2307/526102. JSTOR 526102.
  7. ^ Flint, Valerie; et al. (1998). Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Ancient Greece and Rome Vol.2. p. 11. ISBN 0485891026.
  8. ^ a b Tomlin, Roger "Writing and Communication", p.152 in Allason-Jones, Lindsay (ed.) (2011). Artefacts in Roman Britain: Their Purpose and Use. ISBN 978-0521860123. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ Flint, Valerie; et al. (1998). Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Ancient Greece and Rome Vol.2. p. 60. ISBN 0485891026.
  10. ^ Adams, James N. (2008). The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC – AD 600. pp. 579–580. ISBN 978-0521881494.
  11. ^ "Roman curse tablets from Bath recognised by Unesco". BBC. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Key objects of the collection". The Roman Baths Museum Bath. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ogden, Daniel (1999). Binding Spells: Curse Tablets and Voodoo Dolls in the Greek and Roman Worlds. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 55–60.
  14. ^ Faraone, Christopher A (1991). Magika Hiera : Ancient Greek Magic and Religion. USA: Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 3–4.
  15. ^ Faraone, Christopher A (1991). Magika Hiera : Ancient Greek Magic and Religion. USA: Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 4–5.
  16. ^ Ogden, Daniel (199). Binding Spells: Curse Tablets and Voodoo Dolls in the Greek and Roman Worlds. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 39.
  17. ^ a b Ogden, Daniel (1999). Binding Spells: Curse Tablets and Voodoo Dolls in the Greek and Roman Worlds. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 85.
  18. ^ a b J.N. Adams (1992). "British Latin: the text, interpretation and language of the Bath Curse Tablets". Britannia. 23: 1–26. doi:10.2307/526102. JSTOR 526102.
  19. ^ a b Cunliffe, Barry (1983). "The Temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath". Archaeology No. 6. 36: 20 – via JSTOR.
  20. ^ Herman, Jozsef (2000) [1967]. Vulgar Latin. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0271020016.
  21. ^ Adams, Geoffrey (2005). Romano-Celtic Elites and their Religion. p. 68. ISBN 0975844512.
  22. ^ Carver, Martin (2006). The Cross Goes North: Processes of Conversion in Northern Europe, AD 300–1300. p. 89. ISBN 1843831252.
  23. ^ R.S.O Tomlin (1987). "Was Ancient British Celtic ever a written language? Two texts from Roman Bath". Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies. 34: 18–25.
  24. ^ Koch, John T. (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. p. 970. ISBN 1851094407.
  25. ^ Flint, Valerie; et al. (1998). Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Ancient Greece and Rome Vol.2. pp. 37–38. ISBN 0485891026.
  26. ^ a b Gager, John G. (1999). Curse tablets and binding spells from the ancient world. p. 193. ISBN 0195134826.
  27. ^ Gager, John G. (1999). Curse tablets and binding spells from the ancient world. p. 193 note 73. ISBN 0195134826.
  28. ^ Tomlin, Roger (1988). Tabellae Sulis: Roman inscribed tablets of tin and lead from the sacred spring at Bath. pp. 97–98. ISBN 0947816003.
  29. ^ Wilson, Roger (1988). A guide to the Roman remains in Britain. p. 109. ISBN 0094686807.
  30. ^ Adams, J N (1992). "British Latin: The Text, Interpretation and Language of the Bath Curse Tablets". Britannia. 23: 7 – via JSTOR.
  31. ^ Fagan, Garrett G. (2002). Bathing in Public in the Roman World. p. 37. ISBN 0472088653.
  32. ^ A. Kropp (2008). Defixiones: Ein aktuelles Corpus lateinischer Fluchtafeln. Speyer. 03-02-24.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) EDCS-ID: EDCS-17900027.
  33. ^ a b Gager, John G. (1999). Curse tablets and binding spells from the ancient world. p. 195. ISBN 0195134826.
  34. ^ Gager, John G. (1999). Curse tablets and binding spells from the ancient world. p. 194. ISBN 0195134826.
  35. ^ a b Dvorjetski, Estee (2007). Leisure, Pleasure and Healing: Spa Culture and Medicine in Ancient Eastern Mediterranean. p. 103. ISBN 978-9004156814.
  36. ^ Tomlin, Roger (1988). Tabellae Sulis: Roman inscribed tablets of tin and lead from the sacred spring at Bath. pp. 114–115. ISBN 0947816003.
  37. ^ Collins, Derek (2008). Magic in the Ancient Greek World. pp. 86–87. ISBN 9781405132381.
  38. ^ Mees, Bernard (2009). Celtic Curses. Boydell & Brewer. p. 35.
  39. ^ Sims-Williams, Patrick (2007). "Common Celtic, Gallo-Brittonic, and Insular Celtic" in Gauloise et celtique continental, P-Y Lambert, G-J Pinault, eds. Droz. p. 327.
  40. ^ Hornblower, Simon; et al. (2012). The Oxford Classical Dictionary. p. 128. ISBN 978-0199545568.
  41. ^ Herman, Jozsef (2000) [1967]. Vulgar Latin. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0271020016.
  42. ^ J.N. Adams (1992). "British Latin: the text, interpretation and language of the Bath Curse Tablets". Britannia. 23: 1–26. doi:10.2307/526102. JSTOR 526102.
  43. ^ Adams, James N. (2008). The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC – AD 600. pp. 579–580. ISBN 978-0521881494.
  44. ^ Uhalde, Kevin (2007). Expectations of justice in the age of Augustine. pp. 27–30. ISBN 978-0812239874.
  45. ^ "Roman curse tablets from Bath recognised by Unesco". BBC. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  46. ^ "Key objects of the collection". The Roman Baths Museum Bath. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
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