FECIALES, or FOECIALES, an order of priests or officers, consisting of 20 persons, among the ancient Romans, appointed to proclaim war, negotiate peace, &c.
Fellus derives the word from ferio, "I strike;" as ferire fadus signifies "to conclude a treaty;" and accordingly, instead of foeciales, he would have it written foeciales. Others derive it from fadus, which was anciently written fedus; or from fides, "faith." Others from facio, fecit, "I make," &c. because they made war and peace. Vossius chooses to derive it from fas, of the verb facio, "to speak;" in which sense the foeciales should be the same with oratores; which sentiment is also confirmed by the authority of Varro, who says they were called indifferently foeciales and oratores.
The foeciales were a sort of heralds, who, when the Romans had any dispute with their neighbours, were sent first to demand the thing pretended to be usurped, or require satisfaction for the injury alleged to be done. If an answer was not returned by them that was satisfactory to the people and the senate, they were dispatched again to declare war, and the like in treating of peace; the foeciales being the only persons appointed to negotiate between the senate, &c. and the enemy.
Plutarch, in the life of Numa, and Malicarnassus (lib. ii.), observe, that they were first instituted by that prince. The latter adds, that they were chosen out of the best families in Rome; that their office, which was reputed a sort of sacerdotium, or priesthood, only ended
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with their life; that their persons were sacred and inviolable, as those of other priests; that they were even charged to see the republic did not declare war unjustly; that they were to receive the complaints and remonstrances of nations who pretended to have been any way injured by the Romans; that if those complaints were found just, they were to seize the criminals, and deliver them up to those they had offended; that they were invested with the rights and privileges of ambassadors; that they concluded treaties of peace and alliance, and took care they were executed; and, lastly, abolished them, if they were found not to be equitable. Livy, lib. i. cap. 24. ascribes their institution to Ancus Martius, in the year of Rome 114.—Varro assures us, that in his time most of these functions of the foeciales were set aside; though Plutarch observes, that they had still some authority in his time.
The foeciales were crowned with vervina, "vervain," when they went to declare war. Their head was covered with a veil, over which the crown was applied. In this equipage they proceeded to the frontiers of the new enemy's country, and threw a bloody dart or javelin into the ground within the same. In Livy and other ancient authors we have the formula used in such declarations.