Fetial

A fetial (/ˈfiːʃəl/; Latin: fētiālis [feːt̪iˈaːlɪs], pl. fētiālēs) was a type of priest in ancient Rome. They formed a collegium devoted to Jupiter as the patron of good faith.

The duties of the fetials included advising the Roman Senate on foreign affairs and international treaties, making formal proclamations of peace and of war, and confirming treaties. They also carried out the functions of traveling heralds or ambassadors (Pater Patratus).

The first mention of the fetials by Livy occurs in the context of the war between Alba Longa and Rome, during which the Roman king Tullus Hostilius appointed Marcus Valerius as a fetial and Spurius Fusius as pater patratus, for the purpose of binding Rome and Alba Longa by a treaty.

According to Livy, the ritual by which the fetials were to declare war, the ritual of rerum repetitio, was introduced to Rome by Ancus Marcius, borrowing on the traditions of the Aequi. However, he had already described the ritual actions of the fetials when recording the wars of Tullus Hostilius. Thus some scholars think the mentions of the Aequi may be a misinterpretation due to a folk etymology connecting Aequi to aequus, the Latin adjective for fair (from which equitable in English). On the other hand ancient sources support the tradition that the priesthood was created under the influence of Aequian king Fertor Resius.

The ritual of rerum repetitio, a request of restitution or reparations, involved the pater patratus. Wearing a woolen hair-band, he was to announce Roman demands using a series of prescribed phrases, first at the enemy's frontier, then when he passed over the borders, again to the first man he met, again on entering the enemy's gate, and again on entering the forum in the presence of local magistrates. If the demands were not met, the pater patratus declared war within 33 days and returned to Rome to await the resolution of the King of Rome and Roman Senate. Once these had resolved to go to war, a fetial returned to the enemy frontier carrying a javelin whose tip, of steel or fire-hardened wood, had been dipped in blood. From his own side of the border he declared war on the enemy, then threw the javelin into their territory.

The fetials were concerned with matters of law and not directly with war, so that their formulae never invoked Mars, but rather Jupiter, Juno, Janus or Quirinus.

The religious relevance of the collegium or sodalitas lay in ensuring that Rome enjoyed the protection of gods in its relationships with foreign states.

This collegium was probably common to other Latin cities, as Livy makes reference to the fetials of Alba.