Archive for May, 2009
Ancient Roman Law Posted by kunthra on May 31, 2009
Ancient Roman law rests upon Lex Duodecim Tabularum, or The Twelve Tables. Many Western countries have modeled their laws upon Ancient Roman laws. As a result, you might find some similarities between the laws of your own country and Ancient Roman law. I’ll give excerpts from some of the laws written in ancient times. This…
The Month of May Posted by kunthra on May 28, 2009
The ancient Romans celebrated four special festivals in the month of May. The first festival takes place around May 1st and is the Festival of Bona Dea or good goddess. Bona Dea is the goddess of fertility and the goddess of women. Offerings are made to her by women who want to get pregnant, or…
Ancient Roman Names Posted by kunthra on May 24, 2009
Back in ancient Roman times, most male citizens were named in three parts or the tria nomina. The praenomen is what we call the first name. In Latin, it literally means forename. In many cases, parents just chose to name their sons after male relatives, like a grandfather. Only close friends and family could address…
Neuter Nouns Ending in -um in the Plural Posted by kunthra on May 20, 2009
The last post dealt with the neuter nouns ending in -um in the singular. Today we deal with second declension neuter nouns in the plural. Nouns like castrum (camp) and tormentum (anguish, torment) belong in this category. N : –ā G : –ōrum D : –īs Acc : –ā Abl : –īs The endings for…
Second Declension Neuter Nouns Ending in -um Posted by kunthra on May 17, 2009
Second declension nouns are usually masculine, but they can be neuter. Nouns that fall into this category are: mercatum (market) and bellum (war). These are the endings for neuter nouns ending in -um: N : –um G : –ī D : –ō Acc : –um Abl : –ō The endings for the Latin word for…
Second Declension er/ir Plural Nouns Posted by kunthra on May 14, 2009
N : ī G : ōrum D : īs Acc : ōs Abl : īs The declension of the Latin word for man : N : virī G : virōrum D : virīs Acc : virōs Abl : virīs The second declensions for the Latin word for field: N : vesperī G : vesperōrum D…
Second Declension Singular Nouns with the er/ir Endings Posted by kunthra on May 10, 2009
This group can be divided into 2 groups; one group keeps the “e” when declined, and one does not. Words in this category are (ager) field and (magister) teacher. The er/ir endings for the singular form are as follows: N : -er/ir G : -ī D : -ō Acc : -um Abl : –ō These…