Manus, another history of Rome
New book by Sarah Rey published by Albin Michel
.The body is a language in Rome, whose grammar Sarah Rey proposes to study through the rich and original prism of the hand. What does it teach us about the Roman world, its symbolism and its uses, from the most traditional to the most surprising?
In Rome, the hand takes oaths, seals contracts, performs rituals, heals, commands, executes, emancipates, is as eloquent as the voice..., but it can still prove impious, failing or unsightly, and be struck down by prohibition. Dextra or sinistra, celebrated or feared, and sometimes even mutilated, the hand proves an essential tool in the development of moral, social and religious codes from the beginnings of the Republic to the advent of the Empire. Sarah Rey shows just how important the hand was for all strata of the Roman population, from the ruling elites to manual workers, craftsmen and peasants, soldiers, priests and doctors. In this way, we explore, through the hand, a whole series of expressions of what makes Romanity on a daily basis.
Invoking legal, rhetorical and poetic sources, as well as epigraphic and iconographic ones that feature the hand, and which she translates and analyzes with precision and finesse, Sarah Rey delivers a highly embodied essay, which helps us rediscover the emblematic episodes of ancient Rome and the famous figures in its history.
