Cubiculum
A private room in a domus
Cubiculum (plural cubicula) is a Latin term that vaguely refers to a nondescript, moderately sized squarish room in an ancient Roman building or home. While typically translated into English as “bedroom” by Latin students and professionals alike, neither the literary or archaeological evidence suggest such a straightforward modern translation for cubiculum. Most of what we know about cubicula from literary sources come from three writers: Vitruvius (writing on architectural standards), Pliny the Younger (writing a letter to a friend), and Varro (writing a history of the Latin language) (Allison, 1994). The English translation “bedroom” for cubiculum stems largely from Varro, who in his work explained that the origin of the world cubiculum stemmed from the word cubare - meaning “to lie asleep” or “to recline,” and therefore the term cubiculum was originally meant to denote a place for sleeping or reclining (Carucci, 2012). While it is tempting to assume that “bedroom” is an accurate translation for cubiculum based on the origins of the word, other uses of the word from various authors imply a wide range of uses and archaeological features associated with cubicula. Pliny, for example, describes numerous cubicula in his letter to Gallus about his villa (estate), but does not describe each of them the same, nor does he attribute the same usages to them. He describes one cubiculum as being fitted with shelving for a library (bibliotheca), and references another in conjunction with a hypocaust (a furnace system used to heat water and flooring for baths). From this we can clearly see that while cubicula may have been used as bedrooms in some cases during some periods, they could serve a multitude of other purposes as well. In fact, the multifunctionality of cubicula may have been one or their most defining features, as opposed to any feature suggesting a rigid function. Vitruvius in his writings mentions cubicula with little regard to function, but notes that they likely corresponded with the more private areas of a domus (house), as opposed to more public areas such as the atrium or tablina (Allison, 1994). This association with privacy seems to be consistent with the idea of cubicula as “bedrooms,” but archaeological evidence complicates the issue. A cubiculum excavated in Spain from the Roman period, for example, seems to have served a variety of private and public purposes for its owner - due in part to the lavish artwork and mosaics that adorn the room; design elements which are typically associated with spaces for entertainment in Roman domestic spaces (Carucci, 2012). These various uses and meanings for cubiculum add up to create a word filled with ambiguity and misunderstanding for modern scholars. Though the original meaning may have been related to a space where one sleeps or reclines - as can be understood through Varro - it is important to keep in mind that Varro wrote during the first century BCE, centuries away from the Latin origins to which he is referring. He makes no reference to whether or not the word cubiculum maintained its meaning throughout the entire Roman period, and when considering the other uses of the word throughout Latin literature, it is clear that the word took on a variety of meanings over time.
Bibliography
Latin Dictionary Entry
Cubiculum - Perseus Digital Library
Jay Brodzeller, 2022