商品簡介
Liu (classical studies, DePauw University) takes a new look at the collegia centonariorum of the Roman Empire in the west. Long assumed to be some sort of fire-fighting organizations, she argues that they were instead trade guilds made up predominantly of textile workers. Using epigraphic and literary sources, Liu uncovers a great deal of prosopographical information on specific guilds and their members. Noting the variations among the groups, she also puts together a solid base of commonalities to suggest that the guilds were for business, social and religious activities and that they were regulated by the state. Oddly, she found no direct evidence that they had a role in fighting fires. Her work is an important addition to the study of working men's associations and the nature of the guild in both Roman and later medieval urban society. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
作者簡介
Jinyu Liu, Ph.D. (2004) in Ancient History, Columbia University, is Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at DePauw University. She was awarded visiting fellowships at the Center for Epigraphical and Paleographical Studies (Ohio State University) in 2007 and the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (New York University) in 2007–2008. Her research interests include social relations in Roman cities, the non-elite in the Roman Empire, Latin epigraphy, as well as the reception of Graeco-Roman classics in China. She has published several articles on Latin inscriptions and the ancient associations and has a chapter on professional associations forthcoming in theCambridge Companion to Ancient Rome (edited by Paul Erdkamp). She is currently completing a book-length project on the translation history of Graeco-Roman classics in China.