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8
Introduction
tionswerethesubjectofstudyofseveralscholarscontemporarytohim,
whichwasanotherargumentforfocusingonthelegalaspectsoftheres
sodaliciaria.Tirdly,seriousstudiesontheorganisationandfunctioning
ofRomancollegesrequiredincludingepigraphicsources,whichwereex-
tremelydimculttoaccessatthetime.Inhindsight,overacenturyaferthe
publicationofDecollegiis,thereisnodoubtthatMommsenwaswrongto
claimthatthemainstreamofstudiesonRomancorporationsbeginning
atthetimewouldfocusonthefunctionalaspectsofcolleges)operation.
Formanydecades,thelegalaspectbecamethecentreofhistorians)at-
tention,whichwascertainlypartlyduetothepublicationofMommsen)s
treatise.Tehistoriancouldnothaveanticipatedhowstronglyhisown
workwouldinfluencemodernhistoriography,buthewasawareofcertain
objectivelimitationswithregardtostudiesonthefunctioningofRoman
colleges.AsIhavementioned,henotedalreadyin1843thatprogressin
thisfieldwouldonlybepossibleifhistoriansgainedaccesstotherich,but
atthetimeverydispersed,epigraphicmaterial.7Atpresent,wehavethe
resourceswhichthisoutstandingscholarcalledforatourdisposal.Clas-
sicepigraphiccorpusesandelectronicdatabasesalikeenableustoaccess
informationwhichinthemid-19thcenturywasbeyondevenMommsen)s
reach.However,contrarytotheexpectationsoftheCfatherofepigraphy)
,8
historiansdidnotimmediatelynoticethepossibilitieswhichthenew
tools(intheformofcollectionsofinscriptionspublishedbytwogreat
epigraphicprojectsoftheBerlinAcademy)gavethem.Foralmostanen-
tirecenturyafertheCepigraphicrevolution)issuessuchasthechronology
oftheRepublicanlegislationconcerningcolleges,itsinterpretation,and
theroleofcollegesinthepoliticallifeintheLateRepublic,dominatedthe
discussionaboutRomancorporations.
However,itwouldbeamistaketothinkthatthehistoryofstudieson
Romancorporationsisnotableonlyduetoitslongtradition.Tecourse
ofthediscussion,thescholarswhoparticipatedinit,theopinionsthey
presented,andthehistoricalcontextinwhichthediscussiontookplace
tionbecamethemottoofthetreatiseswrittenbyW
.Liebenam(1890)andF.Ausbüttel
(1982,11).
7Mommsen1843,129.
8Alreadyin1847,withthesupportoftheKingofDenmark,Mommsenstarted
workingontheCorpusInscriptionumLatinarum(Perry2006,29).
