Female Networks in Military Communities in the Roman West

A View from the Vindolanda Tablets

Bibliographic Data

ID20045376
AuthorsElizabeth M Greene (0000-0002-0121-4751, corresponding author)
Year2013
Pages369-390
Publication date2013-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueWomen and the Roman City in the Latin West (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/9789004255951_020
OpenAlexW2495900593
ISBN9789004255951
LanguageEN
Citations received7

This paper illuminates the character of the communities that surrounded military units in the Roman West by taking a close look at the Vindolanda tablets and the individuals represented in this corpus. Attention is given particularly to the women that appear in the Vindolanda community and how their presence can be reconciled with the traditional view of the Roman army. The paper explores the important role played by women in preserving continuity and normality for families that joined soldiers far from home for military service. It examines the character of the military community with tablets suggesting that daughters remained within the military sphere by marrying fellow soldiers. The letters plainly support that some soldiers maintained strong ties with women and families during service and provide useful evidence for the prominent social role of at least upper-class women living amongst the Roman army. Keywords:military communities; military service; Roman army; Roman West; Vindolanda tablets; women

Archaeology · Economy · Military personnel · Military science · Military service · Military theory · Political science · Sociology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Studies and Legal History · Gender Studies · Historical and Architectural Studies · History · Law · Philosophy

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