OxTalks will soon move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events.' There will be a need for an OxTalks freeze. This was previously planned for Friday 14th November – a new date will be shared as soon as it is available (full details will be available on the Staff Gateway).
In the meantime, the OxTalks site will remain active and events will continue to be published.
If staff have any questions about the Oxford Events launch, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
Silencing women was the rule in Roman times as voice was the marker of male superiority. But in the Roman Empire, the framework of speech underwent change. Gossip could result in false allegations and lead to trial. Female muteness may have served women well as a skill. Before the trial or to avoid it, litigants asked the specialist of silence to cut out dangerous tongues. Who were these experts? A Gaulish source, the so-called Plomb du Larzac, a lead curse tablet dated to 100 AD, talks about a fight of witches in a judicial context. The interpretation of the text is difficult since it is written in Gaulish. Comparing it with Ovid’s Metamorphoses may promote the idea of a female expertise in the magic of silence.
