Livia Medullina Camilla


Livia Medullina Camilla was the second fiancee of the future Emperor Claudius.

Biography

Medullina was the daughter of Marcus Furius Camillus consul in AD 8, who was a close friend of the emperor Tiberius) and Livia Medullina, the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Libo, adopted brother of the empress Livia. As a child, Medullina would have been called "Furia Camilla", but as an adult she replaced "Furia" with "Livia Medullina".
Medullina's brother was Lucius Arruntius Camillus Scribonianus, who had been adopted by Lucius Arruntius the Younger. He was consul in AD 32, as the colleague of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus.
Medullina was betrothed to Claudius some time after his first engagement, to his relative Aemilia Lepida, was broken by Augustus in AD 8, due to the disgrace of Aemilia's parents. Tiberius probably pushed for the new betrothal, in order to reward his friend with a connection to the imperial family. The betrothal of Medullina and Claudius is attested by an inscription erected by Camilla's pedagogue, dedicated to "Medullina Camilli f. Ti. Claudi Neronis Germanici sponsa".
In The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius states that Medullina unexpectedly fell ill, and died on the day of her wedding to Claudius, possibly in AD 9 or 10.
Medullina's brother Scribonianus was the instigator of the first major rebellion against Claudius, while he was governor of Dalmatia in AD 42.

Cultural depictions

In Robert Graves' novel I, Claudius, Medullina Camilla is depicted as an early love of Claudius, who is able to look past his infirmities. Against Livia Drusilla's wishes, Claudius is permitted to marry Medullina by Germanicus and Augustus, but is robbed of happiness on the day of their engagement as she is assassinated for an unrelated vendetta against Medullina's uncle.