The Tabula Lugdunensis

Unearthed in 1528 at Lyon, the Tabula Lugdunensis preserves the longest speech of a Roman emperor to survive in epigraphic form. In AD 48 Claudius addressed the senate to press a petition by elites of north-western Gaul to hold senatorial rank and office. In support he demonstrated Rome's history of constitutional innovation, particularly in integrating outsiders, and asserted a commitment to recruiting worthy provincial senators such as he claims the Gauls to be. The speech offers important evidence for the history and rhetoric of Roman political integration, unparalleled Etruscan testimony about Regal Rome, and insight into the Latin language and oratory of the early Principate. Uniquely, the Tabula can be set beside Tacitus' version of Claudius' speech in Annals 11 to provide a case-study of ancient historiographical practice. This edition contains a newly-edited text of the Tabula, an English translation, and a comprehensive introduction and commentary.

• The fullest scholarly treatment of the Tabula Lugdunensis in English
• Presents a newly edited Latin text of the speech of Claudius preserved on the Tabula and a translation into English
• Includes a comprehensive introduction and commentary addressing relevant historical, archaeological, and philological issues arising from the speech of Claudius and its epigraphic medium