This thesis presents a study of the metrics and prosody of the carmina latina epigraphica from the Roman provinces of North Africa, the purpose of which is to test the prevailing but unsubstantiated view that these carmina exhibit especially poor versification, and that in them can be observed a chronological decline in quality of versification. A representative corpus of dated carmina latina epigraphica africana is established, the inscriptions are subjected to an analysis of their metrics and prosody, and conclusions are drawn concerning the nature, extent and chronology of their deviation from classical standards of versification. The corpus of inscriptions has four introductory chapters, which form Part II of the study. The first describes the criteria according to which the texts have been chosen. The second, third and fourth present three premises on which analysis and interpretation of their versification are based; these concern the authorship of the carmina, the educational background of the authors, and the linguistic milieu in which they were composed. The core of the thesis is Part III, which comprises the texts of eighty-six dated carmina, analyses of their versification and commentaries on several features of their composition. Observations are offered regarding: the nature and possible causes of unclassical metric and prosodic phenomena; the extent to which an author deviates from literary norms, and the effect of his errors on a quantitative reading of the poem; a brief assessment of each author's understanding of and competence in the composition of classical quantitative verse; the graphic disposition of the text and its effect on the reader's recognition and recitation of the poetic content. Conclusions drawn from the data compiled in Part III include the following. Unclassical metric features characteristic of the corpus include the combination of different meters in one poem, the composition of hypermetric and hypometric lines and the intermixture of prose with lines of verse. Such phenomena are found in about one-half the texts. Prosodical irregularities fall into two main types: those that can be considered classical (ascribable to an author's application of classical licences); and those that are errors, most of which are attributable to the intrusion of certain unclassical phonological features of an author's everyday speech. Prosodical errors occur in about three-quarters of the texts. Four main observations are offered regarding the distribution of errors in the corpus. The extent to which individual authors adhere to literary norms varies widely; the majority of versifiers, however, have adhered sufficiently well that their works can be read quantitatively without serious hindrance. The presence of metric deviations in a poem carries no chronological significance, for these are fairly evenly distributed throughout the corpus; a general chronological decline in adherence to classical prosody is discernible from the first century to the fifth, with a reverse in the decline seen in poems dated to the last three centuries of the period. The presence in the corpus of several poems of unsound versification of very early date and of poems of sound versification of very late date proves that the practice of some scholars of dating otherwise undatable carmina according to their quality of versification is unsafe. Pagan authors tend to adhere slightly more closely than their Christian counterparts to classical metrics and prosody. Poems of reasonably sound metrics and prosody tend to be inscribed in such a way as to facilitate the reader's recognition and recitation of their poetic content, while poems of poor quality of versification tend to be inscribed haphazardly. Appendix I provides full scansion of each carmen. Appendix II lists initia carminum. / Arts, Faculty of / Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, Department of / Graduate

Ces recherches participent d’une large réflexion menée actuellement sur les comportements démographiques de la population de l’Urbs. De récents travaux ont défini un régime démographique spécifique de la mégapole antique, où une natalité insuffisante et un fort taux de mortalité auraient empêché le renouvellement des générations. La population de Rome, « ville-tombeau », ne se serait maintenue que grâce à une immigration venue d’Italie et des provinces. Les tentatives de dénombrement ayant leurs limites, au vu des sources disponibles, ce doctorat s’inscrit dans le domaine de l’histoire sociale de la population de Rome. Centré sur les milieux populaires, il analyse les comportements familiaux et la place de l’enfant dans la famille. Il se fonde sur une étude d’épitaphes versifiées païennes (carmina Latina epigraphica), datant de la fin de la République et de l’Empire. Il présente ainsi un corpus d’épitaphes consacrées à des enfants dont l’âge au décès est mentionné, revues et traduites, ainsi qu’une étude de ce catalogue. Cette dernière analyse la nature et le rôle du carmen dans la commémoration funéraire. Elle précise l’identité des défunts et l’origine sociale des familles commanditaires des carmina, puis évoque la structure de ces familles en recensant l’ensemble des personnes mentionnées dans les épitaphes. Elle révèle des structures de famille complexes, où les enfants illégitimes sont nombreux, en raison du statut servile actuel ou passé de certains parents. Elle aborde enfin la question de la place de l’enfant dans la famille, en examinant les modes d’expression du chagrin selon les différents motifs littéraires et locuteurs choisis. Ces travaux permettent ainsi de mieux connaître le statut de l’enfant au sein des familles modestes et l’attitude de ces dernières face à la naissance et à la mort. / These researches participate in a wide reflection led at present on the demographic behavior of the population of Rome. Recent works defined a specific demographic model of the antique megalopolis, where an insufficient birthrate and a strong mortality rate would have prevented the renewal of the generations. The population of Rome would have held steady thanks to an immigration coming from Italy and from the provinces. This doctorate joins in the field of the social history of the population of Rome. It analyzes the family behavior in the lower classes, and the place of the child in the family. It bases itself on a study of funerary verse inscriptions (carmina Latina epigraphica), dating back to the end of the Republic and the Empire. It so presents a corpus of epitaphs dedicated to children (with an age mentioned), as well as a study of this catalog. This study analyzes the nature and the role of the carmen in commemoratives practices. It specifies the identity of the deceased and the social origin of families ; then it evokes the structure of these families by listing all the persons mentioned in the epitaphs. It reveals complex structures of family, where there are many illegitimate children, because of the current or past slavish status of certain relatives. It approaches finally the question of the place of the child in the family, by examining the modes of expression of sorrow, according to the various literary motives and chosen speakers. This research allows to know better the status of the child within the modest families and the attitude of these families in front of birth and of death.