Mural painting from fullonica (cloth-launderer) VI 8, 20.21.2 at Pompeii, now in the National museum of Naples.
Cleverness, cleanliness, and urine in ancient Rome
Christina Vester
Labyrinth: Classical Studies Department, University of Waterloo, Issue 89 (2009)
Abstract
There is a lot of graffiti in Pompeii. This is a rather clever one scribbled on the façade of a house on the Via di Nola: FVLLONES VLVLAM Q[VE] CANO NON ARMA VIRVMQ(VE). In translation, it reads, “I sing of fullers and the owl, not of arms and the man”. A parody of the very beginning of Vergil’s Aeneid (Arma virumque cano), this graffito cleverly subordinates the legendary accomplishments of Aeneas to the work of fullers. The topic of the Aeneid, the founding of Rome from the tattered remains of a once mighty Troy, has been diminished. The labours of fullers, on the other hand, have been elevated to an extraordinary degree.
At this point, it is necessary to explain what the deeds of ancient fullers were. Fullers, or fullones, are the ancient equivalent of today’s dry cleaners. Images of them and their shops often feature an owl, the bird that represents Minerva. Under the protection of the goddess of war, wisdom, crafts, and commerce, fullers took on the business of treating clothing, both new and worn. They polished and smoothed cloth once it was finished on the loom. Of far greater importance, they worked with urine, nitrum, or fuller’s earth in laundering. Of these three agents, urine was the most heavily used.
The cleaning of Roman clothing was no insignificant undertaking. Roman clothing was made of natural fibres. The most heavily used material was wool, employed as it was for tunics, stolas, and togas. Natural fibres worn in a hot climate frequently require serious cleansing, even purification, and this is exactly the service fullones provided to their customers. An abundant source of urine was required for this task, and collected from large clay pots placed at road intersections, outside shops, or at public urinals. Fullers became quite the connoisseurs of urine for they avoided the pots outside of taverns. Pee discharged after a session of drinking is low in nitrogen, an agent necessary for proper washing.
Cleverness, cleanliness, and urine in ancient Rome
Christina Vester
Labyrinth: Classical Studies Department, University of Waterloo, Issue 89 (2009)
Abstract
There is a lot of graffiti in Pompeii. This is a rather clever one scribbled on the façade of a house on the Via di Nola: FVLLONES VLVLAM Q[VE] CANO NON ARMA VIRVMQ(VE). In translation, it reads, “I sing of fullers and the owl, not of arms and the man”. A parody of the very beginning of Vergil’s Aeneid (Arma virumque cano), this graffito cleverly subordinates the legendary accomplishments of Aeneas to the work of fullers. The topic of the Aeneid, the founding of Rome from the tattered remains of a once mighty Troy, has been diminished. The labours of fullers, on the other hand, have been elevated to an extraordinary degree.
At this point, it is necessary to explain what the deeds of ancient fullers were. Fullers, or fullones, are the ancient equivalent of today’s dry cleaners. Images of them and their shops often feature an owl, the bird that represents Minerva. Under the protection of the goddess of war, wisdom, crafts, and commerce, fullers took on the business of treating clothing, both new and worn. They polished and smoothed cloth once it was finished on the loom. Of far greater importance, they worked with urine, nitrum, or fuller’s earth in laundering. Of these three agents, urine was the most heavily used.
The cleaning of Roman clothing was no insignificant undertaking. Roman clothing was made of natural fibres. The most heavily used material was wool, employed as it was for tunics, stolas, and togas. Natural fibres worn in a hot climate frequently require serious cleansing, even purification, and this is exactly the service fullones provided to their customers. An abundant source of urine was required for this task, and collected from large clay pots placed at road intersections, outside shops, or at public urinals. Fullers became quite the connoisseurs of urine for they avoided the pots outside of taverns. Pee discharged after a session of drinking is low in nitrogen, an agent necessary for proper washing.
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