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The "Crepundia"

by Eugenia Salza Prina Ricotti

The objects described by Palestra in Plautus’s comedy were her “crepundia”, the ones that when she was a child were hanged to her shoulder band, just the ones that all the babies of these times wore. To sum it up they were the same ones that today we find at Vienna in the Museum für Kunst und Industrie: Lot of golden charms hanged to a precious golden chain. In this case the charms are many more of the six ones described by Palestra. At Vienna there are 50 “crepundia”. Among them we find little swords, axes, sickles, little hands, trees’ leaves, slippers, shovels scissors and so on and, at the bottom topping all of them, a “bulla”
Other examples of “crepundia are the ones found by Fiorelli in the excavations of a necropolis in the Via Salaria and it is certainly better to report the news written by him in 1866.
“From a necropolis of the Via Salaria: Under the inscription of “Privatus” we found, dug in the wall, a little irregular burial niche for the body of a child. Around his neck the skeleton had a magic necklace. Another necklace similar to this one was found near it and was always around the neck of another little skeleton: the objects were very singular both for substance and for the incredible variety of their shapes: For the substance I have listed, bones, ivory, crystal, onyx, jasper, amethyst, amber, touchstone, metal, glass, paste, email, etfc. As shapes I have noted elephants, bells, doves, bagpipes, hares knives, rabbits, daggers, mice, a figurine of the Fortune, octopuses, human arms, penis, hammers, boat’s helms, globes, spindles, exaeders, breads, boar’s teeth, and so on”
Then these are still “crepundia”, just as the ones described by Plautus: only here they are not six but many more. Of course if poor Palestra had to list the “crepundia” of Fiorelli or the ones of the Wien’s chain an entire comedy would not be long enough and Plautus could not take this liberty. In theatre the necessity of the script have to be respected, and he could not exert any further the patience of the public.

Bibliography

PLAUTO
FIORELLI, Notizie Scavi