The Vindolanda Birthday Tablet

1 Cl(audia) Seuerá Lepidinae [suae	7 [diem] interuentú tuo facturá si
2 [sa]l[u]tem	8 [text missing]
3 iii Idus Septembr[e]s soror ad diem	9 Cerial[em t]uum salutá Aelius meus
4 sollemnen natalem meum rogó	10 et filiolus salutant
5 libenter faciás ut uenias	11 sperabo te soror
6 ad nos iucundiorem mihi	12 uale soror anima
	13 mea ita ualeam
	14 karissima et haue

The most famous Vindolanda tablet is an ink-leaf birthday invitation sent by one Claudia Severa to Sulpicia Lepidina, the wife of Flavius Cerialis, a commander of the fort at Vindolanda. The 14-line tablet (shown with a Latin transliteration) is characterized not only by its intimacy but also by Claudia Severa’s elegant penmanship. A few other tablets have been attributed to Severa, and these represent the earliest known Latin texts written by a woman.