medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Re: traditions of names in the classical (and post-) world:
My colleague down the hall in the Classics dept tells me that there are many factors to consider; esp. as Roman fashions in name got more creative by the 4th century than had held true in the classical period, and a fortiori in regions outside Italy itself. For example, what looks like a family name might actually be the name of the master who manumitted you, or an important patron with whom one wished to ingratiate oneself, or even, yes, a "patron" saint. So no, the Rufinas cannot be assumed, by virtue of their names alone, to be part of the same gens (though such may turn out to be the case).
A bit off (temporally speaking...,) I am recalling a book from my childhood... was it "How dear to my heart"? In which the protagonist's friend's Italian Mamma named all five of her sons Joseph... "Mamma, she likes the name Joseph" and would bellow at dinnertime: "Joseph, Joseph, Joseph" [etc]. But not Primo, Secundo, Tertio... so much for continuity.
I'll be interested to hear if anyone has yet tracked les Mlles Rufina down.
TGD from sultry Chicago
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