ROMAN DAYS 1999
Yes, folks, the second annual
Roman Days is just weeks away. I hope you're ready, cuz I sure
ain't!!
It will be held on June 12-13 at Marietta Mansion in Glenn Dale,
MD.
Public hours were going to be 10 AM to 4 PM, but Susan Wolfe, the site
manager, thinks opening at 11 AM would be better. Not wanting to
chop a whole hour out of the morning schedule, I just tweaked it a
little:
Saturday
11:30 AM, Full muster and opening remarks
12 Noon, Lunch--cooking and eating demos
12 to 2 PM, Various drill and tactical demos, tent tours, etc.
2 PM, Massed tactical and drill demo
4 PM to ?, hobnob, party, forage for food, debate great issues,
etc.
Sunday
11:30 AM, Olympic competition! Armor Race, Pilum Throw,
Hamata Toss, Wrestling, various ball games, etc.
Noon, Lunch and rehabilitation
1:00, Massed tactical and drill demo
3:00 PM Closing parade
Admission for the general
public
(i.e., anyone who hasn't told me they'll be attending as a participant)
is just $1 per person. If visitors arrive before 11, that's not a
problem--I've already handed out some flyers that list 10 AM as the
opening
time. As I recall, the Olympics didn't take up too much time last
year, so we should be able to do enough of that before noon.
People are welcome to arrive and
set up on Friday, and camp out or leave tents up until Monday morning,
if they like. The site layout will be similar to last year,
including
the large pavilion tent, but the military camps and historical civilian
booths will probably be up on the lawn between house and parking lot to
take advantage of the shade. If we need camp fires they can be
dug
on the other side of the driveway, or down on the field near the
bushes.
Come One, Come All!! You
do not have to be a member of Legio XX to participate in period
clothing,
and you do not need to have period clothing to come out and have
fun!
Heck, you don't even have to be Roman--anyone with an interest in
pre-medieval
history is welcome. Reenactors, wargamers, collectors,
scholars,
teachers, or people who just think Romans are cool (which they are, of
course.) Kentucky Public Television station KET will be sending a
Latin teacher and a camera crew to film parts of the event, mainly for
students but possibly for PBS! Merchants are welcome to sell
their
wares, and there is no fee (that I know of), but please let Susan Wolfe
know that you are coming. Group leaders: Please get
a rough head count of your members that plan to attend, and let me
know.
Last year we fielded 10 legionaries and over half a dozen civilians,
plus
participants in modern clothing, and this year will be bigger.
There is plenty of space for
displays,
parking, period or modern camping, etc. Water, portajohns, straw,
firewood. There will be a 20'x30' tent roof for shade or rain
protection,
mostly for the merchants and table displays, and we can also get some
10'x20'
pop-up flies. There are a number of hotels within a few miles,
mainly
on Rt. 450 near the Beltway. Participants should supply
their
own food, although there will be a hot dog and snow cone vendor present
(Legio XX will feed its own active members, of course). There are
stores, restaurants, and fast food places within a couple miles,
farther
west/north along Rt. 193, or near the Beltway.
Directions:
Marietta Mansion is located at 5626 Bell Station Road, just off
Rt. 193. From I-95/495, the Capital Beltway, take Exit 20 onto
Rt.
450 East, go 4 miles, turn left on Rt. 193, then left onto Bell Station
Rd. and immediately left into Marietta. There is much
construction
on Rt. 450, and it now makes a left turn where it meets Rt. 704, but
it's
well marked and should cause no problems.
FABRICA
There will be a workshop session
at Matthew and Jane's house on Saturday May 22, from about 10 to
5.
This is about your last chance to get help from the experts before
Roman
Days. Quintus will supply wieners for lunch as usual, and other
edible
contributions are welcome (no alcohol, please).
EVENTS
Yes, there is actually an event
coming up BEFORE Roman Days, the Settmour Swamp Quest in New Jersey on
May 29-30. Details were in the March issue, let me know if you
need
them again. Briefly, it is an SCA event whose other participants
will be our audience instead of the general public. We can do our
usual displays and marching demos, pilum practice, etc. Settmour
Swamp is the group whose ladies did that wonderful cooking last year at
Roman Days, so it would be nice if we could return the favor of their
visit.
George Metz has wangled an
invitation
for his Legio XXIV to the “Festival of Centuries” near Syracuse, New
York
on July 16-17. He’s hoping we can support him with a
vexillation.
It is at St Marie among the Iroquois near Syracuse, NY, and runs 10 AM
to 5 PM. Directions: North on I-81 thru
Syracuse
to "Liverpool" Exit. West on Rt 370 over
bridge,
two miles, past lake, to entrance on the left. Site phone,
315---. For more details, contact George at 610---
AFTER-ACTION REPORT: FORT WASHINGTON
This was a very small event, but
very sunny! There were 3 of us each day, and about a dozen other
participants from 1745 through World War II. On Sunday we were
joined
by David Michaels, recently transfered from Legio IX Hispana, with his
daughter Alexandra. Now and then a visitor would stop by to
chat.
It was nice and dry and relaxed.
The theme of this event was
military evolution, so next year
might be a good opportunity to show off some of the different periods
that
some of us have been dabbling in. The park will invite a few more
participants and actually advertise to get more spectators.
NEWS
A couple things got left out of
previous issues. A lady spoke with us at MTT was selling mugs
printed
with a photo of our camp! They were cool, so I bought one (even
though
I need another mug like Caesar needs a haircut). She can also put
photos on T-shirts, computer mouse pads, etc., so contact her with your
desires: Debra K. Roy,
301---.
If you didn’t have a chance to
grab one of those T-shirts by Terry Nix from me at MTT, I have a few
left,
$18 each. They are printed with engravings of Trajan’s Column,
black
on white, all extra large. You can also order direct from Terry,
just add $3.50 for the first shirt and 50 cents for each additional
shirt.
In new news, ABC TV will show
a new movie, Cleopatra, on May 23. Why does this worry me?
The History Channel will have some new show on the Roman Army sometime
in May, I think, as well. Probably more worthwhile. Check
your
local listings for details.
There is a new email list for
Roman Army reenactors, which you can subscribe to by going to www.onelist.com/subscribe/RomanArmy
. Keep those lines of communication open, and all that.
LEGO, LEGERE
Volume 7 of the Journal of Roman
Military Equipment Studies is out, dated 1996! It is a little
heavy
on the third century this time, mostly because of an article on some
grave
finds and another fascinating one on a collection of brass harness
fittings
with mysterious enamel coatings. Putting a complete coating of
enamel
directly onto brass was thought to be impossible because the two
substances
expand and contract differently due to temperature changes, which would
cause the enamel to crack and flake off. But somehow the Romans
did
it, and even after microscopic analysis the experts are still
scratching
their heads and saying, “How did they DO that?” There is still
plenty
of first century stuff, including a number of swords and a very nicely
preserved pugio. There is a spun Montefortino helmet which has 8
concentric rings (in 4 pairs) inscribed around its crest knob--very
spiffy!
All 7 volumes of JRMES are
available
from David Brown Book Co. This is good reading, folks, especially
for you crafty types!
I’m about halfway through The
Roman Army at War 100 BC-AD 200
by Adrian Keith Goldsworthy. It’s a fascinating analysis, if not
quite as romping in style as, say, John Peddie. Goldsworthy
clears
up a number of misconceptions and skewed analyses by earlier authors
simply
by making good use of the available contemporary evidence and avoiding
modern perspectives. For instance, it is usually assumed that the
Roman army was less effective against opponents who used guerilla
warfare,
but there are several well-documented conflicts in which the Romans
were
able to beat guerilla forces at their own game, even using legionary
infantry.
I wouldn’t say I agree completely with everything he says, but he has
obviously
done his homework. The rest of the book should be equally
enlightening.
DICO, DICERE
Linda Thompson sent me a wonderful
list of Latin interjections and sayings, taken from Charlton Lewis’
Elementary
Latin Dictionary (1895) and a phrase book called Quomodo Dicitur?
The whole list is almost four pages long, so I’ll just give you a few
of
the highlights here. There will be a quiz.
ACTUM EST-- It’s all over; all is lost
AIN’ TU? AIN’ TANDEM? AIN’ VERO? --Really? Do you mean that?
APAGE! APAGE TE!--Go away! Get lost!
EM TIBI--(esp. when striking someone) There you go! Take
that!
EU! EUGAE! EUGE! MACTE!--Bravo! Hurrah!
QUID ERGO?--So what?
PERGE--Continue, carry on
FESTINA--Hurry!
APAGE NUGAS--All joking aside; quit kidding around
PORRO--Go on, continue; Onward, Charge (Ah, that will be useful!)
(MIHI) LIBET--It pleases me; I like it
EXPERGISCERE--Wake up!
VIX CREDO--I can hardly believe it!
QUO VADIS?--Where are you going?
CALENDAR
May 29-31 --SCA Quest, New Jersey. We have been invited
by the Barony of Settmour Swamp, whose ladies who did all that fine
cooking
at Roman Days 1998. Who's in?
June 12-13 --ROMAN DAYS, Marietta Mansion, Glenn Dale, MD.
If you only get to one Roman event all year, this is the one!
Several
other groups will be joining Legio XX, and it will be bigger and better
than last time. Massed tacticals, Olympics, merchants, and
more.
You do not have to be dressed as a Roman to participate and have a
great
time!
July --Festa Italiano, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. No official
invitation yet.
July 16-17 --Centuries Event, Syracuse, NY. Legio XXIV
has been invited and would like Legio XX members to attend as
well.
Contact George Metz for more info: 610---
July 31-Aug. 1 --Military Time Line event, Ft. Malden, Ontario
(just over the border from Detroit). Bit of drive for most of us,
but definitely a good time of year to head north, eh? Is anyone
seriously
interested?
Sept. 18-19 --Legio III Gallica encampment, New Orleans,
Louisiana.
Contact Darren Nunez for more information: 504---
Sept. 24-26 --Roman Military Equipment Conference, South Shields,
Eng. See the ROMEC website for details,
http://pobox.com/~jrmes/romec.htm
Oct. 30-31 --Dionysia of Massilia. Games and rites in honor
of the god Dionysos, Australia. Contact Mark Kelly
------------------------
Well, there’s probably something else I’ve managed to leave out, but
it’s late as usual so this will have to do. ADLOCVTIO is the
official
monthly newsrag of the Twentieth Legion, and is mostly written and
directed
by Matthew Amt, aka Quintus.
The Legion website is still at
www.geocities.com/Yosemite/3761/index.htm
, but we’re working on a new one! Time,
time...
Valete!