Talk:Lustration

Untitled

This page is linked to from Roman naming conventions, where it is given in this context:

The praenomen roughly equates to the given, or Christian, name of today. It was a personal appellation given to an infant on their day of lustration.

Could someone elaborate on what it meant in ancient Rome? —Vivacissamamente 09:54, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

I added a ref to eb1911 (text in Wikisource) which gives a reasonable explanation for Greece and Rome. Looking at this article and eb1911, I think the Greek and Roman meaning would make more sense as a separate article, like Lustration (ancients). Bob Burkhardt (talk) 16:33, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

With respect to the ancient use of lustration, Gibbons refers to it in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Vol 1, ch. 11):

"The Sibylline books enjoined ceremonies of a more harmless nature - processions of priests in white robes, attended by a chorus of youths and virgins; lustration of the city and adjacent country; and sacrifices, whose powerful influence disabled the barbarians from passing the mystic ground on which they had been celebrated. However puerile in themselves, these superstitious arts were subservient to the success of the war…" --Bartfast6 (talk) 03:23, 8 September 2014 (UTC)

I think this article must be improved by providing information about lustration in different countries. There is some information about it in article Institute of National Remembrance (Poland). But how about other countries?Biophys 18:14, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Title

This article is mistitled. "Lustration" may well be a term used, as here described, by specialists in contemporary Eastern European history. But, if so, it is not a wide usage in educated English, but a technical term – one adapted from a coinage in the foreign languages concerned, on the analogy of procedures in ancient Rome. The point for Wikipedians is that the generally accepted use is the original one, relating to Roman religious practice, and the article with the simple title "lustration" should be about that. If we want also a specialist article on the treatment of those involved with a previous regime after an major ideological change in eastern Europe (rather than more generally, such as in South Africa or post-fascist Italy) then it should be that article which has the more specific title, such as "Lustration (post-communist)". In a hundred years' time, the 1990s purge of European communists will be a footnote in history, but the major rituals of ancient Rome will still be the subject of active research. This page is already evidence that the current arrangement is causing confusion. Deipnosophista (talk) 10:30, 8 November 2014 (UTC)

Invention of term

Who invented the term "lustration"? It sounds very much like a euphemism, so I imagine that it was made up by the same spin-doctors who invented "sequestration" (for a budget cut) or "enhanced interrogation techniques" (i.e. torture). The term therefore is American slang, is it not? One editor refers to it as a technical term, I prefer "slang term".

From the article, "The term is taken from the Roman lustrum". Also, this. --NeilN ^{talk to me} 01:10, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

Flowery introduction

The purge of Communists from post 1989 Europe has been piecemeal, and in many cases window dressing only. Therefore the flowery and emotive statement that the [slang] term lustration "resonates with concepts such as possible accountability for past human rights abuses, corruption or injustice" is particularly inappropriate.Royalcourtier (talk) 00:55, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

Romania

I would like Wikipedia editors to uncheck Romania from the list and map.

There was an attempt for lustration, however, it fell flat since the 1990s-present. The discussion regarding its Communist past, with its people that actively participated in the Romanian Communist Party & Securitate secret police, has not been dealt with, since no "inner party" members, no secret police officers, nor their families, were ever purged from partaking in public life in post-Communist/contemporary Romania, unlike other Eastern European countries like Germany & its Stasi personnel.

Untenable Source

the use of the Black Book of Communism as a source is imprudent; its a polemic book rather than historic. to be only slightly dramatic it's use is not far removed from using the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a source.

the content of the attributed quote can certainly be found espewhere and/or the article does not suffer from its total incision. Abaczkowski (talk) 21:19, 30 September 2022 (UTC)