many Atellan plays including The Fool, as a hunchback with a beak nose. Buccus – Although the origin of this name is not definitely known, the Latin word bucca, meaning "cheek" or "mouth" is a common consideration. and implies a "country booby" "fat- cheeked, gluttonous braggart." Manducus – Deriving from the Latin for "The chewer", Manducus is a hypothesized stock character that does not appear in any of the surviving titles Possibly Manducus and Dossennus are the same character and Manducus is simply the description for Dossennus. as the arrogant soldier. Pappus – The name is considered derived from the Greek pappos meaning "grandfather." Pappus was easy to deceive often falling victim to either his daughter or wife, the character appears in five extant plays. Pappus is the only character from Atellan Farce that has a name of Oscan origin as the old man. Centunculus – The name of a comic slave. Dossennus – The origin of the name Dossennus is believed to have originated from the word dorsum or "back" as the character was hump backed as the pompous doctor or "hump backed, crafty cheat." The characters may have connections to similar roles in Commedia dell'arte and Punch and Judy. Both Atellan Farce and Commedia were improvised masked comedies. Stock characters in Atellan Farce are speculated as the beginnings of the Commedia dell'arte stock characters. For example, theorized character progressions include: Pappus → Pantalone Maccus+Buccus → Pulcinella Manducus → il Capitano However, these connections remain speculative and are contested in ongoing research. There are similarities between Punch and the Commedia dell'arte character Pulcinella, however, there is no consensus that Punch's derivation can be traced back to Pulcinella. The character Cicirrus, the Oscan word for "gamecock", is thought to be a stock character. Authorship The subjects and characters were decided upon just before the performance began and the dialogue was improvised. The performers were the sons of Roman citizens who were allowed to serve in the army: professional actors were excluded. The simple prose dialogues were supplemented by songs in Saturnian metre, the common language, accompanied by lively gesticulation. The plays were characterized by coarseness and obscenity. Atellan play acting contained much pantomiming. All roles were played by males. The plays did not have elaborate scenery and were performed in normal theaters. Atellan plays first became popular in Rome in the 3rd century B.C, with a revived popularity in literary