Goût d’empire

Abstract

As a companion-piece to the “archaeology of the senses” that is now being developed, this article shows, taking examples that can be derived from classical Latin literature, how it is possible to construct a sensual geography of the Roman Empire, as experienced and felt by its inhabitants, by using specifically the epithets attached to toponyms and geographical epithets attached to the names of sensual objects. In conclusion, it considers how a few scattered examples from Roman Gaul provide early clues to the rich sensual geography of medieval France.

Keywords

• epithets
• histoire des mentalités
• Latin literature
• poetry
• Roman Empire
• Roman Gaul