GROUP PROJECT ONE (FEB 7): TRIAL OF CLODIA AND CATULLUS
Clodia was one of the most notorious women of the late Roman Republic. She was the wife of an important senator, Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer (consul in 60 B.C.), and sister of Publius Clodius Pulcher, a bitter enemy of Cicero. She was the probable mistress of the poet Catullus, who wrote love poems about her under the name of Lesbia. Although adultery was not a public crime before Augustus, we are going to commit a gross historical anachronism and try Clodia and Catullus according to the Augustan adultery legislation. The date is October, 56 BCE. Clodia is a widow, her husband having died under mysterious circumstances in 59 BCE. Clodia and Catullus are accused of having an affair during her husband’s lifetime. The accuser is Marcus Caelius Rufus, a former lover of Clodia himself (though only after her husband’s death). He had been brought to court earlier in the year for attempting to poison Clodia and had been acquitted because of the brilliant defense of Cicero.
You
should be contacting each other by email in the course of the week. In particular, the prosecution needs to let
the witnesses know whom it will call to the stand. The defense and prosecution should be consulting the jury about
the procedure for the trial. They
should consult the jurisconsults about the Roman law on adultery (and any other
crime they wish to accuse the defendants of).
1.
Jury and magistrates
This is
just to give you some further guidance on what you should know to be an effective
Roman jury. Adultery (and murder)
trials were judged by a standing jury (quaestio perpetua). You are technically an adultery jury, but it
is probable that the prosecution will add a murder charge. You may need to judge both crimes (this sort
of duplication happened). One of you
will be the magistrate (praetor), who will be in charge of the whole
trial. He (or she, though a woman will
have to take on a male persona to be plausible) will need one or two assistants
to apprehend and torture witnesses (lictores) and one or two scribes to write
down the proceedings. You each get a vote in the trial. You might try developing individual
personae to help you decide how to vote (i.e. are you pro-Caesar, or pro-Pompey;
populares or optimates; do you have a personal grudge against one of the
accused or the prosecution?).
Questions
you should answer to do your job:
Under
what form should the accusation be made?
How
long will you let the prosecution and defense speak (the whole trial should
take about 1 ½ hours).
What
sort of oaths do the accuser, jury, and witnesses have to take?
Who
actually questions the witnesses (hint: you will probably only question the
slaves)?
What
are the rules of evidence, i.e. can a Roman lawyer object to certain types of
evidence (“hearsay”, etc.) or questions?
Who
decides the penalty if you find the accused guilty?
How are
the slaves to be tortured?
How
does the jury vote (Is it a secret or public ballot? On what materials are the
votes cast?)? You will need to supply
any necessary materials.
What is
the political situation in 56 BC?
The
most important sources for you:
http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Judex.html
*A.H.M. Jones. Criminal Courts of the Roman Republic and
Principate (1972), pp 59-73 (on the shelf in Cudahy).
*J. L. Strachan-Davidson. Problems of the Roman Criminal
Law (1912), vol. 2, esp. Ch. XVIII (pp 112-152). I’ve put this one on reserve at Cudahy.
*Cambridge Ancient History (2nd ed.), vol.
IX, The Last Age of the Roman Republic (1994), pp 386 – 396 (for
political context of the year 56 BC), and pp 498 – 530 (esp. 505, 514, 521-24,
529) for procedure of jury courts).
A. H. J. Greenidge. The Legal Procedure of Cicero’s Time
(1901/1971) (you’ll need to request
this one from Lewis). (esp. pp 456-504).
E. Peters. Torture. (early chapters on Roman torture)
2.
The jurisconsults
This is
just some further advice on where you might find information on Roman criminal
law. The prosecution will need to
charge the accused as guilty of a violation of specific laws - certainly the Lex Iulia on
adultery, but also possibly the Lex Cornelia on murder and poisoning (Lex
Cornelia de sicariis et veneficiis). They
might even add incest. Some questions
you might think about: How will the prosecution need to frame their accusation?
How was adultery defined? What was the
punishment for adultery, murder, etc.?
Is it legal for slaves to testify against their mistresses or
masters?
Your
most important sources will be:
*Roman
adultery legislation (Lex Iulia):
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/cjc-marriage.html
*Digest
of Justinian 48.8.3 (Lex Cornelia on poisoning): best translation is The Digest
of Justinian (Philadelphia: 1998): Cudahy KJA 1112.2 1998
O.F.
Robinson, The Criminal Law of Ancient Rome (1996)
T.
McGinn, Prostitution, Sexuality and the Law in Ancient Rome (Oxford:
1998) (esp. Ch 5 Lex Iulia de Adulteriis Coercendis).
Cambridge
Ancient History
(2nd ed.), vol. IX, The Last Age of the Roman Republic (1994),
521-524 (poisoning). (in reference
section of Cudahy).
Richard
Bauman, Crime and Punishment in Ancient Rome (Routledge: 1996) (for
punishment of adultery; meaning of “capital” punishment).
3.
The witnesses
You
should develop individual personas for yourselves – as Clodia’s household
slaves, Clodius, any other witnesses the prosecution calls. Your main job will be to research historical
details about Clodia, Metellus (Clodia’s dead husband), Catullus, Clodius,
Caelius (the accuser), and Roman slaves so that your testimony will be
plausible. Come up with a story about
whether Clodia had extramarital affairs (and if so, with whom), whether she
poisoned her husband or whether he died of some other cause (and if so, what),
whether any of you have ever seen Catullus, and what Caelius’ relationship with
Clodia was. You do not have to share
your story with the prosecution or the defense ahead of time. You might also consider how you could
influence the trial through more dubious means. Most of you will probably be friends, family or slaves of the
accused, called by the prosecution to testify against your will. One of you is Clodius – the aristocratic
brother of the accused woman, a bitter enemy of the lawyer for the prosecution
(Cicero), and probably the most dangerous man in Rome in 56 BC. He was notorious for gathering mobs to
intimidate his enemies. How might he
have behaved in this situation?
Important
sources for your group:
*Cicero, Pro Caelio (I’ve put a collection of Cicero’s speeches –
including this one – one reserve at Cudahy; you can also find the sections
relating to Clodia on the web:
http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/wlgr/wlgr-mensopinions71.html)
*Catullus, Poems 83, 2, 3, 5, 7, 13, 51, 85, 87, 107, 109,
43, 86, 36, 83, 92, 104, 8, 68, 70, 72, 75, 76, 11, 37, 58, 79, 37, 91, 79
(evidence of his affair with “Lesbia” – i.e. Clodia) (translation on reserve at
Cudahy; online translations at
http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/Clodia.html)
*Cambridge Ancient History (2nd ed.), vol.
IX, The Last Age of the Roman Republic (1994), pp 386 – 396 (for
political context of the year 56 BC) (in Reference section of Cudahy; put back
on shelf when through with it)
*E. Gruen. The Last Generation of the Roman Republic
(1974). (if you check this out, let the Defense and Prosecution know)
*T. P. Wiseman, Catullus and his World: A Reappraisal
(Cambridge: 1985), esp. pp. 54-91 (ditto)
Bradley,
K.R. Slaves and Masters in the Roman Empire (1987) and/ or Bradley, K.R.
Slavery and Society at Rome (1994), esp. Ch. 5.
W.
Buckland's The Roman Law of Slavery (Cambridge 1908, and reprinted) and
/ or
D Watson, A. Roman Slave Law (1987) (you may need to share with the
Jury)
4.
The prosecution
This is
just some advice on what you will need to know to be an effective
prosecution. First of all, you should
all develop plausible personas – Cicero and Caelius especially, but the rest of
you should also have Roman identities (whether historical or fabricated). You
will need to accuse the defendants of violation of specific Roman laws. If you don’t frame your accusation properly,
the praetor (the magistrate in charge) can throw your case out of court before
you even get started. So ask the jury
and the jurisconsults how you should frame your accusation(s). Also ask the
jury for guidance on procedure – who interrogates the witnesses; what are the
rules for evidence (did the Romans have objections about “hearsay” etc.);
etc. Let both the Witnesses and the
Jury know the names of the witnesses you plan to call in addition to Clodia’s
slaves and brother (Clodius). Let the
Defense know if you plan to call Catullus and Clodia. Through private communication (i.e. email), you might try to influence
individual members of the jury. Find
out their private political leanings (are they pro-Caesar, pro-Pompey,
pro-Senate?). What are your own political leanings? Romans were notorious for
bribing juries with promises of future political support, gifts of property,
even sexual favors. Use your imagination (always remembering, of course, that
we are members of a Jesuit university)!
Your
most important sources:
*Cicero, Pro Caelio (I’ve put a collection of Cicero’s speeches –
including this one – one reserve at Cudahy; you can also find the sections
relating to Clodia on the web)
*Catullus, Poems 83, 2, 3, 5, 7, 13, 51, 85, 87, 107, 109,
43, 86, 36, 83, 92, 104, 8, 68, 70, 72, 75, 76, 11, 37, 58, 79, 37, 91, 79
(evidence of his affair with “Lesbia” – i.e. Clodia)
(translation on reserve at Cudahy; online translations at
http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/Clodia.html)
Cambridge Ancient History (2nd ed.), vol. IX, The
Last Age of the Roman Republic (1994), pp 386 – 396 (for political context
of the year 56 BC) (In reference section at Cudahy; put back on shelf when
through with it)
E. Gruen. The Last Generation of the Roman Republic
(1974). (if you check this out, let the defense and witnesses know)
T. P. Wiseman, Catullus and his World: A Reappraisal
(Cambridge: 1985), esp. pp. 54-91 (ditto)
M. Fuhrman. Cicero and the Roman Republic (1990),
esp. Ch. 12 . (if you check this out, let defense know)
5.
The defense
This is
some further advice on the group project.
You should find out as soon as possible the specific crimes the
prosecution is accusing you of and the names of the witnesses they are calling
(which may include Catullus and Clodia).
You will be allowed to cross examine the witnesses during their
testimony. Ask the Jurisconsults for
information about the Roman law of adultery, murder, etc. and the Jury for
information on procedure (how long will you get to speak, can you object to
certain types of evidence or questions,etc.).
A large part of your job will be to research the personas of the accused
(Clodia and Catullus), gather dirt about the prosecution (Caelius and Cicero),
and compose a speech (or two) of defense (using Cicero’s speech as your
model). Roman defendants would also
gather testimonies (laudationes) of their good character from important people,
often in writing, to be read aloud during the trial. Clodia might want to privately get in contact with her brother
Clodius (in the Witnesses group).
*Cicero, Pro Caelio (I’ve put a collection of Cicero’s speeches –
including this one – one reserve at Cudahy; you can also find the sections
relating to Clodia on the web
http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/wlgr/wlgr-mensopinions71.html)
*Catullus, Poems 83, 2, 3, 5, 7, 13, 51, 85, 87, 107, 109,
43, 86, 36, 83, 92, 104, 8, 68, 70, 72, 75, 76, 11, 37, 58, 79, 37, 91, 79
(evidence of his affair with “Lesbia” – i.e. Clodia)
(translation on reserve at Cudahy; online translations at
http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/Clodia.html)
Cambridge Ancient History (2nd ed.), vol. IX, The
Last Age of the Roman Republic (1994), pp 386 – 396 (for political context
of the year 56 BC) (In reference section at Cudahy; put back on shelf when
through with it)
E. Gruen. The Last Generation of the Roman Republic
(1974). (if you check this out, let the prosecution and witnesses know)
T. P. Wiseman, Catullus and his World: A Reappraisal
(Cambridge: 1985), esp. pp. 54-91 (ditto)
M. Fuhrman. Cicero and the Roman Republic (1990),
esp. Ch. 12 . (if you check this out, let prosecution know)