Vagitanus
Encyclopedia
In ancient Roman religion
, Vagitanus or Vaticanus was one of a number of childbirth deities who influenced or guided some aspect of parturition, in this instance the newborn's crying. The name is related to the Latin
noun
vagitus, "crying, squalling, wailing," particularly by a baby or an animal, and the verb
vagio, vagire. Vagitanus has thus been described as the god "who presided over the beginning of human speech," but a distinction should be made between the first cry and the first instance of articulate speech, in regard to which Fabulinus
(fari, "to speak"; cf. fabula) was the deity to invoke. Vagitanus has been connected to a remark by Pliny
that only a human being is thrown naked onto the naked earth on his day of birth for immediate wails (vagitus) and weeping.
These "divine functionaries" (German
Sondergötter) whose names express their sphere of influence are considered characteristic of Indo-European religions. The name Vaticanus in connection to vagitus is discussed by Aulus Gellius
and Augustine of Hippo
. Gellius quotes Varro
, who is generally acknowledged also as Augustine's main source on ancient Roman theology:
Despite the insistence on an etymological connection between the god's name and vagitus, Gronovius
thought the correct form should be Vaticanus, and that Vagitanus was Vulgar Latin
rather than classical
. Augustine
mentions Vagitanus/Vaticanus three times in Book 4 On the City of God in deriding the "mob" of Roman gods (turba deorum). In demonstrating that the names of gods reveal their function, he points to Vaticanus, "who presides over the cries (vagitibus) of infants," noting elsewhere that among the many deities associated with childbirth, Vaticanus is the one who opens the mouth of the newborn in crying (in vagitu).
Religion in ancient Rome
Religion in ancient Rome encompassed the religious beliefs and cult practices regarded by the Romans as indigenous and central to their identity as a people, as well as the various and many cults imported from other peoples brought under Roman rule. Romans thus offered cult to innumerable deities...
, Vagitanus or Vaticanus was one of a number of childbirth deities who influenced or guided some aspect of parturition, in this instance the newborn's crying. The name is related to the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
vagitus, "crying, squalling, wailing," particularly by a baby or an animal, and the verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
vagio, vagire. Vagitanus has thus been described as the god "who presided over the beginning of human speech," but a distinction should be made between the first cry and the first instance of articulate speech, in regard to which Fabulinus
Fabulinus
In the popular religion of ancient Rome, though not appearing in literary Roman mythology, the god Fabulinus taught children to speak. He received an offering when the child spoke its first words...
(fari, "to speak"; cf. fabula) was the deity to invoke. Vagitanus has been connected to a remark by Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
that only a human being is thrown naked onto the naked earth on his day of birth for immediate wails (vagitus) and weeping.
These "divine functionaries" (German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Sondergötter) whose names express their sphere of influence are considered characteristic of Indo-European religions. The name Vaticanus in connection to vagitus is discussed by Aulus Gellius
Aulus Gellius
Aulus Gellius , was a Latin author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome, where he held a judicial office...
and Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
. Gellius quotes Varro
Varro
Varro was a Roman cognomen carried by:*Marcus Terentius Varro, sometimes known as Varro Reatinus, the scholar*Publius Terentius Varro or Varro Atacinus, the poet*Gaius Terentius Varro, the consul defeated at the battle of Cannae...
, who is generally acknowledged also as Augustine's main source on ancient Roman theology:
We have been told that the word Vatican is applied to the hillVatican HillVatican Hill is the name given, long before the founding of Christianity, to one of the hills on the side of the Tiber opposite the traditional seven hills of Rome...
, and the deity who presides over it, from the vaticinia, or prophecies, which took place there by the power and inspiration of the god; but Marcus Varro, in his book on Divine Things, gives another reason for this name. "As Aius," says he, "was called a deity, and an altar was built to his honour in the lowest part of the new road, because in that place a voice from heaven was heard, so this deity was called Vaticanus, because he presided over the principles of the human voice; for infants, as soon as they are born, make the sound which forms the first syllable in Vaticanus, and are therefore said vagire (to cry) which word expresses the noise which an infant first makes.
Despite the insistence on an etymological connection between the god's name and vagitus, Gronovius
Jakob Gronovius
Jacobus Gronovius a.k.a. Jacob Gronow was a Dutch classical scholar.He was the son of the German classical scholar Johann Friedrich Gronovius and Aleyda ten Nuyl from Deventer, and father of the botanist Jan Frederik Gronovius...
thought the correct form should be Vaticanus, and that Vagitanus was Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin is any of the nonstandard forms of Latin from which the Romance languages developed. Because of its nonstandard nature, it had no official orthography. All written works used Classical Latin, with very few exceptions...
rather than classical
Classical Latin
Classical Latin in simplest terms is the socio-linguistic register of the Latin language regarded by the enfranchised and empowered populations of the late Roman republic and the Roman empire as good Latin. Most writers during this time made use of it...
. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
mentions Vagitanus/Vaticanus three times in Book 4 On the City of God in deriding the "mob" of Roman gods (turba deorum). In demonstrating that the names of gods reveal their function, he points to Vaticanus, "who presides over the cries (vagitibus) of infants," noting elsewhere that among the many deities associated with childbirth, Vaticanus is the one who opens the mouth of the newborn in crying (in vagitu).