Fights, Drunks, Baths, and Excuses: Clues to Daily Life in the Roman Empire Via Latin Textbooks

A researcher translating Latin textbooks from the 2nd and 6th centuries has joined language learners of the past in discovering how to best deal with a variety of aspects of life in the Roman Empire. While many of the tasks described appear rather mundane, and include pointers on shopping, bathing, and dining, there are also some less apparent tips provided, such as how to deal with drunk relatives, handle being scolded, and picking fights. The texts are proving invaluable, as they offer hints on the social norms of the time for “ordinary Romans.”

Classics Professor Eleanor Dickey, of the University of Reading, has travelled around Europe and picked apart the details of ancient Latin school textbooks, or colloquia, which would have been used by young Greek speakers in the Roman empire learning Latin. Dickey has analyzed combined the manuscripts she recovered to create a book entitled Learning Latin the Ancient Way: Latin Textbooks in the Ancient World.

The beginning of the Gospel of John, in the Codex Sangallensis from the 9th century AD. (Public Domain) Latin text is written above the Greek.