Patulcia (gens)


The gens Patulcia was an obscure plebeian family at Rome. Few members of this gens occur in history, but a number of others are known from inscriptions.

Origin

The Patulcii probably originated at Puteoli in Campania, as evidenced by the large number of inscriptions from that town bearing the name. The derivation of the nomen Patulcius are not immediately apparent; morphologically the name suggests an earlier cognomen Patulcus, which does not appear in inscriptions except perhaps as a rare variant of Patulcius. However, in his discussion of Roman gentilicia, Chase observes that a number of gentile-forming suffixes became stereotyped, so that they were applied to names and other words for which there was no morphological justification. Any connection with the adjective patulus, meaning "broad" or "spreading", is purely speculative.

Praenomina

The chief praenomina of the Patulcii were Lucius and Sextus. Lucius was the most common praenomen throughout all periods of Roman history; Sextus was much more distinctive, but still a common name. A few of the Patulcii used other names, including Quintus, Publius, Gnaeus, and Titus.

Members