Lyon Tablet
Bronze tablet recording Emperor Claudius's 48 AD speech to the Senate.
via Wikipedia: Lyon Tablet · see source
The Lyon Tablet is a bronze plaque recording a speech by the Roman emperor Claudius. Its surviving lower half was unearthed in 1528 by a cloth merchant working a vineyard on Croix-Rousse Hill in Lyon, France, the site of the former Sanctuary of the Three Gauls. The tablet now resides in Lyon’s Gallo-Roman Museum, renamed Lugdunum. In the speech, delivered before the Roman Senate in 48 AD, Claudius proposed admitting wealthy, landowning citizens from outer Gaul into the senatorial class, provided they met the required wealth threshold. He supported his case by noting his own family’s Sabine origins and the recent elevation of men from Gallia Narbonensis. The text reveals much about Claudius’s character and the dynamics between the emperor and the Senate.
Quick Facts
- Material
- Bronze
- Date of speech
- 48 AD
- Speaker
- Emperor Claudius
- Place of discovery
- Croix-Rousse Hill, Lyon, France
- Year of discovery
- 1528
- Current location
- Gallo-Roman Museum of Lyon (Lugdunum)
- Proposal
- Admission of wealthy citizens from further Gaul into the Senate
Facts from the source article.
Background
Claudius had particular affinities with Lugdunum (Lyon). He was born there, and it housed the Imperial cult centre: as both Emperor and a 'native' of the city, he was probably seen as its patron. He made the inscribed speech before the Roman Senate in 48 AD. The proposal was carried by the Senate. The elite of Lugdunum may have had the tablet made to celebrate their new status and as a demonstration of their gratitude. Claudius is known to have visited the city in 43 AD and in 47 AD.
Did You Know?
- The speech includes interjections from senators urging Claudius to get to the point.
- Tacitus reports a different version of the speech in his Annals, which broadly reaches the same conclusions but differs considerably.
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