Talk:Mamertine Prison

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[edit] On the names

I've updated the name section with some alternative theories from the Catholic Encyclopedia. I was tempted to remove the suggestion that "Mamertine" is derived from legends about St. Peter, since I can find no explanations anywhere as to what in St. Peter's life the name is supposed to relate to, but I've left it for now -- if anyone does know what exactly the theory is meant to be, it would be a nice idea to expand on that, or (of course) remove it if it's been debunked. Haeleth 13:14, July 15, 2005 (UTC)

The Catholic Encyclopedia says "The name Mamertine Prison is medieval, and is probably derived from the temple of Mars Ultor in the vicinity." http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09579a.htm

and also says "The lower, known as the Tullianum, was probably built originally as a cistern, whence its name, which is derived from the archaic Latin word tullius, a jet of water -- the derivation of Varro from the name of King Servius Tullius is erroneous." Do any modern scholars support Varro ? Haeleth's addition of this was sunsequently removed - why ? -- Beardo 17:31, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

And here's a reference to another Mamertine - "The god [Mars] was called "Mamers" in the Oscan language, from which the Mamertine tribe derived its name." http://www.angelfire.com/empire/martiana/mars/index.html -- Beardo 22:06, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Restoring deleted links

I just now noticed that back in July Paul August deleted some useful links; I've restored them. Bill 13:03, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Tullianum

If this was the Roman name, and Mamertine is a later addition, shouldn't the article be under Tullianum instead ? -- Beardo 17:15, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

Which is more commonly used? Bucketsofg✐ 22:08, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

Rename. The Google test shows them with equal results. However, from my experience, the term "Tullianum" is far more often used in academia. Since its significance lies in ancient Roman history, and at that time it was commonly referred to as the Tullianum, I strongly suggest that this article be renamed. 66.229.160.94 06:26, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

try searches in English only. "Mamertine prison" blows out "Tullianum." I'm not a huge fan of gauging usage solely by g-hits; however, what you said is inaccurate. Second, if you're doing the Latin wiki, by all means use Tullianum. But this is English wikipedia, hence articles relating to France are not in French, to Spain not in Spanish, et cetera. I strongly suggest the title remain unchanged unless there are better arguments. The Jackal God 18:41, 9 April 2007 (UTC)