The mighty Claudius

[Mulceber]

3) On a side note, as I was researching the Claudia Gens, I discovered another fact I didn't know. The name Claudius is likely derived from the word Claudeo, meaning to limp because many members of the Claudian family suffered from this, likely genetic, issue.

Yep. Heard it. They supposedly came to Rome VERY early in its history from one of the other Italian tribes and were accepted as part of the Roman aristocracy. Their name (I think) was something that sounded similar in another language, but because they tended to limp, and their name sounded like the latin verb to limp, their original name was corrupted into Claudius. Don't quote me on that though. -M

[Africanvs]

Yep. Heard it. They supposedly came to Rome VERY early in its history from one of the other Italian tribes and were accepted as part of the Roman aristocracy. Their name (I think) was something that sounded similar in another language, but because they tended to limp, and their name sounded like the latin verb to limp, their original name was corrupted into Claudius. Don't quote me on that though. -M

Indeed, that is also what I have found.

The gens Claudia was one of the oldest families in ancient Rome, and for centuries its members were regularly leaders of the city and empire.

The family was traditionally held to have begun with Attius Clausus, a Sabine who favored peace with Rome. Tacitus, Annals XI.23 This was an unpopular position that led to him leaving Regillus with his followers around 504 BC. Rome was welcoming however, making his followers citizens and giving them land, and making Appius Claudius Sabinus Inregillensis, as he was called in Latin, a senator. It is assumed that the name came from the Latin claudeo (to limp), as many of the family members were lame, probably from some congenital disorder.