In this contribution, I would like to show that status and status-distinctions were key concernsof the Roman elite in their handling with freedmen, both in praising and in rebukingthem. After a short discourse analysis of Cicero’s letters of recommendation for freedmen,I will argue that such an emphasis on the inferior status of freedmen is often mistakenlygeneralized by too strong a focus on the one-sided literary evidence and that this preoccupation isnot shared by freedmen themselves. By integrating social theory as a conceptualframework and inscriptions as alternative source material, I show that amongfreedmen other identity dimensions (than status) prevailed and that elite stereotypes hadmuch less of an impact on the daily life of Roman freedmen than the literary, elite sourcessuggest.
