The gens Lartia, sometimes spelled Larcia or Largia, was a patrician family at Rome, distinguished at the beginning of the Republic through two of its members, Titus Lartius, the first dictator, and Spurius Lartius, the companion of Horatius on the wooden bridge. The name soon after disappears entirely from the annals. A family by this name existed in the early Empire, but its relationship to the Lartii of the early Republic is unknown.
Contents
Origin
The Lartii were of Etruscan origin, as their name clearly shows. The nomen Lartius is a patronymic surname, based on the Etruscan praenomen Lars. This name, meaning "lord", is usually spelled Larth in Etruscan inscriptions, but Latin writers also used Lars in place of the Etruscan praenomina Laris and Larce, apparently distinct names in Etruscan. The nomen is always spelled Lartius in Livius, while Dionysius alternates between Λάρκιος, Larcius and Λάργιος, Largius. All three forms appear on Latin inscriptions. However, as the nomen is derived from Larth or Lars, the normal Latin form should be Lartius.
Praenomina
The only praenomina associated with the Lartii of the early Republic are Titus and Spurius.
Branches and cognomina
According to Dionysius, the Lartii bore the surname Flavus. However, Rufus is found in place of Flavus in some inscriptions. As the consuls of the early Republic are known to have been brothers, it seems possible that one of them, having fair hair, was called Flavus, while the other, having red hair, was called Rufus. The cognomina are now so confused that it is impossible to determine which was which.