Las tábulas de hospitalidad y patronato

Abstract

A systematic review of the extant material relating to contracts of friendship and patronage has yielded 86 inscriptions of this type, as well as 22 relatively plausibly identifiable fragments. This material includes not only agreements of a public nature but also patronage relations with collegia and other variants attested in Hispania. The analysis of this material allowed for the reconstruction of both the geographical distribution and chronological development of this type of inscription, revealing not only the formulae and materials used, but also the functions it performed in preserving the memory of these contracts of friendship and patronage.