Lit., those who hold the rod. The Roman lictors. They were the attendants of the chief Roman magistrates.
“Ho, trumpets, sound a war-note !
He, lictors, clear the way!
The knights will ride, in all their pride,
Along the streets to day.”
Macaulay, Lays of Ancient Rome.
They preceded the magistrates one by one in a line. They had to inflict punishment on the condemned, especially on Roman citizens. They also commanded the people to pay proper respect to a passing magistrate, by uncovering, dismounting from horseback, and standing out of the way. The badge of their office was the fasces, an axe bound up in a bundle of rods; but in the colonies they carried staves.