SPQR

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about". Template:More citations needed Template:Use dmy dates Template:Roman government

SPQR or S.P.Q.R., an initialism for Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "IPA".; Template:Translation), is an emblematic phrase referring to the government of the Roman Republic. It appears on documents made public by an inscription in stone or metal, in dedications of monuments and public works, and on some Roman currency.

The full phrase appears in Roman political, legal, and historical literature, such as the speeches of Cicero and the Script error: No such module "Lang". (Books from the Founding of the City) of Livy.

Translation

Script error: No such module "Unsubst". In Latin, Senātus is a nominative singular noun meaning "Senate". Populusque is compounded from the nominative noun Populus, "the People", and -que, an enclitic particle meaning "and" which connects the two nominative nouns. The last word, Rōmānus ("Roman"), is an adjective modifying the whole of Senātus Populusque: the "Roman Senate and People", taken as a whole. Thus, the phrase is translated literally as "The Roman Senate and People", or more freely as "The Senate and People of Rome".

Historical context

Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The title's date of establishment is unknown, but it first appears in inscriptions of the Late Republic, from around 80 BC onwards. Previously, the official name of the Roman state, as evidenced on coins, was simply ROMA. The abbreviation last appears on coins of Constantine the Great (ruled 312–337 AD), the first Roman emperor to support Christianity.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

This signature continued in use under the Roman Empire. The emperors were considered the de jure representatives of the people even though the senātūs consulta, or decrees of the Senate, were made at the de facto pleasure of the emperor.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Populus Romanus in Roman literature is a phrase meaning the government of the People. When the Romans named governments of foreign states, they used populus in the singular or plural, such as populi Priscorum Latinorum, "the governments of the Old Latins". Romanus is the established adjective used to distinguish the Romans, as in civis Romanus, "Roman citizen".Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

The Roman people appear very often in law and history in such phrases as dignitas, maiestas, auctoritas, libertas populi Romani, the "dignity, majesty, authority, freedom of the Roman people". They were a populus liber, "a free people". There was an exercitus, imperium, iudicia, honores, consules, voluntas of this same populus: "the army, rule, judgments, offices, consuls and will of the Roman people". They appear in early Latin as Popolus and Poplus, so the habit of thinking of themselves as free and sovereign was quite ingrained.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

The Romans believed that all authority came from the people. It could be said that similar language seen in more modern political and social revolutions directly comes from this usage. People in this sense meant the whole government. The latter, however, was essentially divided into the aristocratic Senate, whose will was executed by the consuls and praetors, and the comitia centuriata, "committee of the centuries", whose will came to be safeguarded by the Tribunes.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

One of the ways the emperor Commodus (180–192) paid for his donatives and mass entertainments was to tax the senatorial order, and on many inscriptions, the traditional order is provocatively reversed (Populus Senatusque...).Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Medieval use

Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Beginning in 1184, the Commune of Rome struck coins in the name of the SENATVS P Q R. From 1414 until 1517, the Roman Senate struck coins with a shield inscribed SPQR.

Modern use

File:Insigne Romanum coronatum.svg
Modern coat of arms of Rome municipality

Even in contemporary usage, SPQR is still used in the municipal coat of arms of Rome and as abbreviation for the comune of Rome in official documents.[1][2] The Italians have long used a different and humorous expansion of this abbreviation, "Sono Pazzi Questi Romani" (Template:Lit).[3] SPQR is also part of the coat of arms of the Capital Military Command of the Italian army (Italian: Comando Militare Capitale).

In business, in English-speaking countries, SPQR is sometimes (humorously) used to mean "Small Profits, Quick Returns", often by people who have studied Latin at school.[4]

Civic references

Template:More citations needed section SPQTemplate:Math is sometimes used as an assertion of municipal pride and civic rights. The Italian town of Reggio Emilia, for instance, has SPQR in its coat of arms, standing for Script error: No such module "Lang".. There are historic usages of the deployment of the "SPQTemplate:Math" format in various other cities and towns:

City Country SPQTemplate:Math Latin Where has it been used Image
Alkmaar Template:Country data Netherlands SPQA On the façade of the Waag building
Amsterdam Template:Country data Netherlands SPQA Script error: No such module "Lang".[5] At the Stadsschouwburg theater on Leidseplein[6] and some of the bridges[5] File:Imperial Crown and the letters SPQA on bridge detal in Amsterdam.jpg
Antwerp Template:Country data Belgium SPQA Script error: No such module "Lang". On Antwerp City Hall and other public buildings and schools[7] File:SPQA - the Antwerp Take-Off on Antiquity - panoramio.jpg
Ascoli Piceno Template:Country data Italy SPQA Script error: No such module "Lang". On the wall above the south loggia of the Piazza del Popolo
Basel Template:Country data Switzerland SPQB Script error: No such module "Lang". On the Webern-Brunnen in Steinenvorstadt[8]
Benevento Template:Country data Italy SPQB[9] Script error: No such module "Lang".[9] On manhole covers[9]
Bologna Template:Country data Italy SPQB Script error: No such module "Lang". On the Fountain of Neptune
Bremen Template:Country data Germany SPQB In Bremen City Hall.[10]
Bruges Template:Country data Belgium SPQB On its coat of arms[11]
Brussels Template:Country data Belgium SPQB Script error: No such module "Lang". (of the city) or Script error: No such module "Lang". (of the country) Repeatedly on the Palace of Justice,[12] over the main stage of the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie,Script error: No such module "Unsubst". and on the ceiling of the hemicycle of the Belgian Senate in the Palace of the Nation.
Capua Template:Country data Italy SPQC
Catania Template:Country data Italy SPQC On manhole covers
Chicago Template:Country data United States SPQC Script error: No such module "Lang". Chicago On the George N. Leighton Cook County Criminal Courthouse[13]
Dublin Template:Country data Ireland SPQH Script error: No such module "Lang". On the City Hall, built in 1769
Florianópolis Template:Country data Brazil SPQF[9] Script error: No such module "Lang".[9]
Franeker Template:Country data Netherlands SPQF At the a gate on the Westerbolwerk and Academiestraat 16[14]
Freising Template:Country data Germany SPQF Above the door of the town hall
Ghent Template:Country data Belgium SPQG Script error: No such module "Lang". On the opera house, theatre and some other major buildings, inscribed on a shield on coins struck in Ghent in 1583, during the Dutch Revolt[15] File:Gent Sint-Christoffelkapel SPQG.jpg
Groningen Template:Country data Netherlands SPQG Above the entrance of the Der Aa-kerk File:Groningen (stad), Der Aa-kerk in Groningen. 13-06-2022. (actm.) 01.jpg
The Hague Template:Country data Netherlands SPQH Above the stage in the Koninklijke Schouwburg
Hamburg Template:Country data Germany SPQH On a door in the city hall (Hamburg Rathaus)[16] File:2011-06-22-hh-buergerschaft-by-RalfR-04.jpg
Hanover Template:Country data Germany
Haarlem Template:Country data Netherlands SPQH On the façade of the town hall at the "Grote Markt"
Hasselt Template:Country data Belgium SPQH
Istanbul Template:Country data Turkey SPQC Script error: No such module "Lang".
Kortrijk Template:Country data Belgium SPQC Script error: No such module "Lang". On the City hall
Kraków Template:Country data Poland SPQC Senatus Populusque Cracoviensis Over the Waza Gate in Wawel Castle File:Kraków 1644.jpg
La Plata Template:Country data Argentina SPQR On a monument outside of the city's casco urbano
Leeuwarden Template:Country data Netherlands SPQL Script error: No such module "Lang". On the mayor's chain of office[17]
Leuven Template:Country data Belgium SPQL Senatus Populusque Leuvensis Over the painting of Jesus in the back reception room inside Leuven Town Hall
Liverpool Template:Country data United Kingdom SPQL Script error: No such module "Lang". On various gold doors in St George's Hall[18]
City of London Template:Country data United Kingdom SPQL Script error: No such module "Lang". On historic variants of the City's coat of arms[19][20]
Lübeck Template:Country data Germany SPQL Script error: No such module "Lang". On the Holstentor[21] File:Luebeck Holtstentor Detail E 2879 201409.jpg
Lucerne Template:Country data Switzerland
Madrid Template:Country data Spain SPQM Script error: No such module "Lang". On the Template:Ill, built in 1780
Milan Template:Country data Italy SPQM The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V struck coins at Milan with the inscription Script error: No such module "Lang"..[22]
Modica Template:Country data Italy SPQM On the coat of arms[23]
Molfetta Template:Country data Italy SPQM On the coat of arms[24]
Naples Template:Country data Italy SPQN Script error: No such module "Lang". Inscribed on a shield on coins struck during Masaniello's 1647 revolt[25]
Noto Template:Country data Italy SPQN Script error: No such module "Lang". On the coat of arms[26] and the façade of Noto Cathedral.
Nuremberg Template:Country data Germany SPQN Script error: No such module "Lang". On the Charles Bridge (one of the major bridges over river Pegnitz in the inner city)[27] File:Nürnberg Karlsbrücke Obelisk Chronogramm.jpg
Oudenburg Template:Country data Belgium SPQO Script error: No such module "Lang". On its water pump next to the market square[28]
Olomouc Template:Country data Czech Republic SPQO[9] Script error: No such module "Lang". On the coat of arms[29] File:Coat of arms of Olomouc, city in the Czech Republic.svg
Palermo Template:Country data Italy SPQP [30]
Penne, Abruzzo Template:Country data Italy SPQP [30]
Pontecorvo Template:Country data Italy SPQF Used as motto for municipal coat of arms
Rieti Template:Country data Italy SPQS Script error: No such module "Lang". On the coat of arms, present also in the modern composite Lazio coat-of-arms
Rotterdam Template:Country data Netherlands SPQR Mural in the Burgerzaal of Rotterdam City Hall File:20080423 Rotterdam Stadhuis Burgerzaal Pricker SPQR1.jpg
Severn Beach Template:Country data United Kingdom SPQR On the crest of Pilning & Severn Beach Parish Council
Seville Template:Country data Spain SPQH Script error: No such module "Lang". On the historic banner of the city
Siena Template:Country data Italy SPQS On the base of a statue of the Capitoline Wolf[31]
Solothurn Template:Country data Switzerland SPQS Script error: No such module "Lang". On the Cathedral of St Ursus and Victor
Terracina Template:Country data Italy SPQT [32]
Tivoli, Lazio Template:Country data Italy SPQT [33]
Toruń Template:Country data Poland SPQT Senatus Populusque Thorunensis On the City Hall[34]
Valencia Template:Country data Spain SPQV Script error: No such module "Lang". In several places and buildings, including the Silk Exchange[35] and the University of Valencia Historic Building.[36]
Verviers Template:Country data Belgium SPQV On the Grand Theatre[37]
Vienna Template:Country data Austria SPQV[9] Script error: No such module "Lang".[9] Above the main entrance of the civic armoury (Bürgerliches Zeughaus) at Am Hof, with a dedication to Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (Imperante Carolo VI. instauravit)[38] File:Am Hof Zeughaus.jpg
Winschoten Template:Country data Netherlands SPQW[39] Script error: No such module "Lang". On the façade of the municipal office (stadhuis) of Oldambt[39] File:Senatus Populesque Winschotanus (SPQW), Winschoten (2024) 04.jpg

Popular culture

SPQR is often used to represent the Roman Empire and Roman Republic, such as in video games and movies. In the 2000 movie Gladiator, the Roman general Maximus (portrayed by Russell Crowe) has "SPQR" tattooed on his upper arm, which he removes by scraping after he is sold into slavery.

The humorous modern Italian expansion Sono Pazzi Questi Romani (Template:Lit) is used in the French Ils sont fous, ces Romains ! (Template:Lit) as the catchphrase of the character Obelix in the French comic album series Asterix, and the Italian original/retranslation (translating back to the original) Sono Pazzi Questi Romani is used in the Italian translation of Asterix, rendered with capitals to make the acronym clear;[40] note that Albert Uderzo, the co-creator of Asterix, was born to Italian immigrants and was exposed to Italian as a child.

Gallery

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

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External links

Template:Sister project Template:Sister project Template:Library resources box

Template:Ancient Rome topics

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ See, e.g. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Template:OED
  5. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g h Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Italian Coinage Medieval to Modern, The Collection of Ercole Gnecchi, coin 3683
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ See for example the image at r/bandedessinee "SPQR", Reddit
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