Exploring Family, Faith and Slavery in the Late Roman World

Ealing Branch of the Historical Association welcomes Professor Kate Cooper

A Roman aristocrat punishes one of his slaves with a stick. 315-350 AD. Piazza Armerina, Villa Romana del Casale

January 26, 2026

Professor Kate Cooper is to give a talk examining one of the most complex and morally challenging aspects of the ancient world: family life under slavery at the moment Christianity began to reshape Roman society.

The Ealing Branch of the Historical Association is hosting the discussion which takes place on Tuesday 10 February, from 7.30pm to 9pm at Ealing Green Church. The talk, The Family in Slavery and Freedom: Evidence from Late Antiquity, explores domestic slavery in the later Roman Empire and the ethical debates it provoked among Roman elites.

Professor Cooper will focus in particular on the often-overlooked role of women, drawing on unusually rich evidence surrounding the moral responsibilities of female slave-owners. These ancient debates are set alongside modern scholarship on nineteenth-century plantation slavery, revealing some unexpected parallels — and striking differences — in attitudes towards enslavement across time.

The talk also addresses a central paradox of early Christian thought. While the Apostle Paul famously wrote that “there is neither slave nor free” within the Christian community, this idea of spiritual equality did not lead to calls for the abolition of slavery itself. Ancient writers instead wrestled with how slavery should be adapted — rather than dismantled — in light of new religious ideals. Professor Cooper will consider why this was the case, and what it tells us about the limits of moral change in both ancient and modern societies.

Kate Cooper is Professor of History at Royal Holloway, University of London, and a leading authority on late antiquity and early Christianity. Her influential books include The Virgin and the Bride, The Fall of the Roman Household, Band of Angels, and most recently Queens of a Fallen World (2023), which rereads Augustine’s Confessions through the women who shaped his life.

The event is open to members and visitors. Membership costs £15 per year, while visitors can attend individual talks for £5.

Meetings are usually held on the second Tuesday of each month at Ealing Green Church at 7.30pm, with the exception of the November meeting which takes place at Twyford School at 6.30pm. Talks are live events but with the speaker’s permission the association aims to make a recording available afterwards to those registering on Eventbrite (the booking link will be available on the society's website one month in advance of each talk).