Valeria gens


The gens Valeria was a patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Republic to the latest period of the Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the consuls in 509 BC, the year that saw the overthrow of the Tarquins, and the members of his family were among the most celebrated statesmen and generals at the beginning of the Republic. Over the next ten centuries, few gentes produced as many distinguished men, and at every period the name of Valerius was constantly to be found in the lists of annual magistrates, and held in the highest honour. Several of the emperors claimed descent from the Valerii, whose name they bore as part of their official nomenclature.
A number of unusual privileges attached to this family, including the right to burial within the city walls, and a special place for its members in the Circus Maximus, where the unique honour of a throne was granted them. The house built by Poplicola at the foot of the Velian Hill was the only one whose doors were permitted to open into the street. The historian Niebuhr conjectured that, during the transition from the monarchy to the Republic, the Valerii were entitled to exercise royal power on behalf of the Titienses, one of the three Romulean tribes that made up the Roman people.
Although one of the most noble and illustrious families of the Roman aristocracy, from the very beginning the Valerii were notable for their advocacy of plebeian causes, and many important laws protecting the rights of the plebeians were sponsored by the Valerii. As with many other ancient patrician houses, the family also acquired plebeian branches, which must have been descended either from freedmen of the Valerii, or from members of the family who, for one reason or another, had gone over to the plebeians.

Origin

According to tradition, the Valerii were of Sabine descent, having come to Rome with Titus Tatius, shortly after the founding of the city. However, their nomen, Valerius, is a patronymic surname derived from the Latin praenomen Volesus or Volusus, which in turn is derived from valere, to be strong. Volesus, or Volesus Valerius, the eponymous ancestor of the gens, is said to have been a powerful warrior in the retinue of the Sabine king. Several generations later, another Volesus Valerius was the father of Publius, Marcus, and Manius, three brothers from whom the oldest branches of the family claimed descent.

Praenomina

The earliest of the Valerii known to history bore the praenomen Volesus, which continued to enjoy occasional use among the Valerii of the early Republic. However, most stirpes of the Valerii favoured Publius, Marcus, Manius, and Lucius. Several branches of the family also used Gaius, while the Valerii Faltones employed Quintus, and the Valerii Asiatici of imperial times used Decimus. Other names are seldom found among the Valerii, although in one instance Potitus, an ancient surname of the gens, was revived as a praenomen by the Valerii Messallae during the first century. Examples of Aulus, Numerius, Sextus, Tiberius, and Titus are found in inscriptions.

Branches and cognomina

The oldest branches of the Valerii bore the surnames Poplicola, Potitus, and Maximus, with Volusus being used by the first generations of the Potiti and Maximi. Later families bore various cognomina, including Corvus or Corvinus, Falto, Flaccus, Laevinus, Messalla, Tappo, and Triarius. Most other surnames found in Republican times belonged to freedmen or clientes of the Valerii. The surnames Acisculus, Catullus, Flaccus, and Barbatus appear on coins. A few Valerii are known without any cognomina, but they achieved little of significance.
Poplicola, also found as Publicola and Poplicula, belongs to a class of surnames referring to the character of the bearer. Derived from populus and colo, the name might best be explained as "one who courts the people." The cognomen first appears in history as the surname given to Publius Valerius, one of the consuls chosen in 509 BC to serve alongside Lucius Junius Brutus. Despite his patrician background, he made a considerable effort to win the support of the plebeians, averting a breach between the two orders at the inception of the Republic. Poplicola seems to have been the original form, while in inscriptions Publicola is more common, and Poplicula is occasionally found. Publicola is found in literary sources from the end of the Republic, including Livy and Cicero.
The Valerii Potiti were descended from Marcus Valerius Volusus, the brother of Poplicola, who fell in battle at Lake Regillus. The surname Potitus seems to be derived from potio, to place someone under one's power, and might be translated as "leader". This family flourished from the early years of the Republic down to the Samnite Wars, when the cognomen seems to have been replaced by Flaccus, a surname first borne by one of the Potiti, who must have been flabby or had floppy ears. Potitus was later revived as a praenomen by the Valerii Messallae, a practice that was common in aristocratic families toward the end of the Republic. As a distinct family, the Valerii Flacci continued down to the first century AD.
Maximus, the superlative of magnus, "great", was the cognomen of the Valerii descended from the third brother, Manius Valerius Volusus, who first bore the surname. The Valerii Maximi appear in history down to the First Punic War, after which time the surname was replaced by Messalla or Messala, a cognomen derived from the city of Messana in Sicilia. The first to bear this name received it after relieving Messana from a Carthaginian blockade in 264 BC. The Valerii Messallae held numerous consulships and other high offices in the Roman state, remaining prominent well into imperial times. Some of them had additional surnames, including Barbatus, "bearded", as well as Niger and Rufus, originally referring to someone with black or red hair. The names Valerius Maximus and Valerius Messalla occur as late as the third century, but the consular family of that age may have been descended from the Valerii through the female line, and more properly belonged to the Vipstani.
The branch of the Valerii Maximi that gave rise to the Messallae also bore the surname Corvinus, a diminutive of Corvus, a raven. The first of this family was Marcus Valerius Corvus, who in his youth earned everlasting renown for his combat against a giant Gaul in 349 BC. Corvus defeated his adversary with the help of a raven that repeatedly flew in the barbarian's face. He held the consulship six times, was dictator twice, and reached the age of one hundred. The two forms of this surname are interchangeable, but the hero is usually referred to as Corvus, while Corvinus generally refers to his descendants.
Another branch of the Valerii Maximi bore the surname Lactucinus, derived from Lactuca, lettuce, the cognomen of an early member of the family. Such names, referring to objects, were quite common at Rome. The first of this family was a son of the first Valerius Maximus, but the surname was of brief duration; the last mention of the Valerii Lactucinae is early in the fourth century BC.
The cognomen Laevinus, meaning "left-handed", belonged to a family of the Valerii that was prominent for about a century, beginning with the Pyrrhic War, in 280 BC. This family may have been another offshoot of the Valerii Maximi, as the surname first appears in connection with the trial of Spurius Cassius Viscellinus in 485 BC. They continued long after they had ceased to have any importance in the Roman state, and the family is mentioned as late as the end of the first century AD.
The Valerii Faltones flourished at the end of the third century BC, first appearing at the end of the First Punic War. Their relationship to the other Valerii is not immediately apparent, as none of the older stirpes of the gens used the praenomen Quintus, but they may have been a cadet branch of the Valerii Maximi, whose surname disappears around this time. The surname Falto is another form of Falco, referring to a falcon, and was commonly given to someone with inward-pointing toes, resembling talons.
The plebeian Valerii Triarii belong to the time of Cicero, in the first century BC. None of them rose higher than the rank of praetor, and the family was of brief duration. Their surname, Triarius, seems to allude to their military service; in the Roman army of this period, a triarius was a soldier of the third rank, the heavily armed reserve infantry, often consisting of older, wealthier men, and the last line of defense in battle.
Catullus seems to be another orthography of Catulus, a surname of the Lutatia gens, referring to a whelp, cub, or puppy. The Valerii Catulli appear in the first century BC, beginning with the renowned poet, and their surname continued through the first century of the Empire. One of the Catulli bore the additional surname of Messalinus, previously associated with the Valerii Messallae, but it is unclear whether the Catulli were descended from the Messallae, or whether the surname entered the family at a later time. The pairing of Catullus Messalinus was also borne by one of the Valerii Asiatici, but again the nature of the relationship between these families is unknown.
Asiaticus, the surname of the only major family of the Valerian gens to emerge in imperial times, belongs to a class of cognomina typically derived from the locations of military exploits. In this instance the source of the name is not apparent, although it might allude to some connection with the Cornelii Scipiones; Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus was the younger brother of Scipio Africanus, and his surname was passed down in his family for several generations. The Valerii Asiatici were closely connected with the imperial family from the time of Caligula to that of Hadrian, and accounted for several consulships.

Members

Early Valerii