Nova Britannia General Meeting: Septembris MMDCCLXXVII

Monday, September 15th, MMDCCLXXVIII, 6:00 p.m. - 7:02 p.m.

Participants:    Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

                        Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   The evening started with some catching up on one another's activities. Sibylla reported having been busy with the spice trade, which had been busy. I mentioned having begun Medicus by Ruth Downie, a book which Sibylla had confirmed having read in the past. We talked a bit about historical fiction, including the Marcus Didius Falco books and Household Gods by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove.

   Sibylla's roommate Cindy dropped by and shared some Latin quotations that she knew.

   We talked a bit about Roman cuisine, naturally including spices. Sibylla talked about the origins of the varieties of pepper (long and black). I recalled a recent interview with Mary Beard (though I don't recommend it too highly) in which there was a brief mention of the enormous amounts of silver mined in Spain and shipped east to buy spices. Mary Beard was new to Sibylla, and I recommended her as an authoress who was both accessible and academically qualified.

   We read a bit of Capitulum VI from Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata.

    We also briefly talked about the Interpretation of Dreams by Artemidorus, of which I had recently acquired a copy. 

   Sibylla disclosed that the date for our Saturnalia festivities was tentatively set - December 20th-21st. I encouraged her to share this on the list to make sure everyone was in agreement on the dates. Sibylla also mentioned that Cassius had firm dates for MithraCon.

    In discussing Saturnalia, Sibylla mentioned that Quintius was planning to bring his fantastic Roman cheesecake. I asked whether there was such a thing as Roman fruitcake. We both felt that there must be, and a brief search revealed this page, with a recipe from Apicius for a pear dessert.

    We also tried to brainstorm some ideas for future presentation topics. Sibylla came up with two interesting ones which neither of us knew much about - Roman farming and Roman fishing.

Book Review: Mystery Cults of the Ancient World by Hugh Bowden

     This is a fairly comprehensive overview of mystery religion in ancient Greco-Roman world, ranging from the best known (e.g. the Eleusinian Mysteries, the cults of Isis & Mithras) to the obscure (e.g. mysteries at Andania and Lycosura). The definition of "mystery cult" used by the author is broad and flexible, so as to include both one-time initiation rites and recurring (often ecstatic) ceremonies like those dedicated to Dionysus/Bacchus and Magna Mater. One chapter is even dedicated to the gold tablets found in certain tombs, which Bowden suggests may not have been linked to any ceremony in which the deceased had participated in life at all (despite the opinion of others that these were specifically buried with Orphic initiates).

     If there is a flaw in this text, it may be that Bowden is a bit too confident at times in reconstructing the broad outlines of some of the better-known rites, but all of his conjectures are grounded in either literary or archaeological evidence, frequently both. He does admit uncertainty at times and at least mentions some of the scholarly theories he rejects, such as the use of mind-altering substances by participants in the mysteries of Eleusis. Where there is a clear gap in evidence, this is disclosed as well.

    Particularly in the introduction and final chapter, Bowden draws interesting comparisons with contemporary religions, especially those Christian churches in which snake-handling is practiced. While such comparisons could be overstated (which Bowden is careful not to do), they do seem to provide some insight, as does Bowden's contrast between "doctrinal" and "imagistic" forms of religion.

    On the subject of images, this book had many, some in colour.

    Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of mystery cults.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: II Januarius MMDCCLXXVIII

 Monday, January 27th, MMDCCLXXVIII, 6:00 p.m. - 7:20 p.m.

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

Publius Sextius Laevus

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

Marcus Quintius Clavus

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

    Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia & I were the first to join. Sibylla told me she was reading about World War II history and recounted a story about two of her own family members during that war. P. Sextius Laevus arrived in time to hear the end of the story.

    Conversation returned to ancient and modern (water, pipe, and reed) organs. Laevus explained the principles by which different types of organs created sound vibrations, comparing them to smaller instruments like recorders, transverse flutes, and harmonicas. He had even sketched out illustration to show how the shape of the instrument effected airflow. N. Octavius Astronomus joined just as Laevus was showing this illustration. Laevus also shared the website where he had obtained much of this information (https://www.archaeologychannel.org/video-guide-summary/109-the-ancient-hydraulis).

   Sibylla wondered aloud how the Romans had been inspired to create the organ. Laevus speculated that panpipes had been the original protype and recounted for us the myth of Pan and Syrinx. Around this time, M. Quintius Clavus joined the call.

   Laevus wondered whether the Romans had bells, or, if not, what would have been used to wake people up in the mornings. 'Sunlight' was my suggestion. Laevus mentioned horns or trumpets, and Quintius confirmed these to have been used by the army to mark out watches. Another possibility raised by Laevus was that of someone being hired to go door-to-door waking people, and Quintius mentioned being cast in this role himself on one occasion. I asked how Quintius himself managed to wake up on time, to which he replied that he was naturally an early riser.

    Discussion moved on to other ancient musical instruments and what we knew of the music itself. Astronomus recommended the YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@faryafaraji, which not only had re-creations of ancient music, but explained how these recreations were made. I mentioned having started (but not finished) the lecture in Latin by Luke Ranieri on YouTube for which Astronomus had shared a link on the Forum Domitium shortly before the meeting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OjMTxWYrOY&t=77s). I commented that the astronomical terms must be useful to Astronomus, and he agreed there was a lot of interesting technical terminology, adding that some terms were relatively easy to figure out.

    This led to a discussion of Latin in general. Laevus commented on how the most recent Sunday Latin meeting had gone and made suggestions for future improvements. Astronomus brought up Latin-related activities he had seen taking place in Virginia. Quintius commented that Classical studies received a lot of attention in that area. I wondered about Nova Roman activities in the area. Astronomus found the local legion on our website (http://novaroma.org/nr/Legio_XXIV_Media_Atlantia_(Nova_Roma)). Quintius told us some of the history of this legion and of Legion XX (https://www.larp.com/legioxx/), which was not affiliated with Nova Roma, but was known for such excellent research that our own Legio III Cyrenaica used them as a source.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Januarius MMDCCLXXVIII

Monday, January 6th, MMDCCLXXVIII, 6:00 p.m. - 7:02 p.m.

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

Publius Sextius Laevus

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   The conversation opened with comments by Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia and Publius Sextius Laevus on the macronational event which had taken place in the United States earlier that day. There had also been a snowstorm in Connecticut.

    Laevus then talked a bit about his plans for the new year, including restoration of the organ in his home. Sibylla expressed her enthusiasm about organs and asked whether it was a reed organ. Laevus clarified that it was a pipe organ. Laevus picked up his webcam to show us the organ, also summarizing the history of that particular pipe organ. The organ was built in 1832 in Portland Maine by Paine & Sparrow, 1 manual, 4 ranks of pipes, enclosed in a swell box and either foot pumped or hand pumped at the right side. It is believed that Paine made fifes for the Revolutionary War and his grandson was the composer John Knowles Paine. It was shipped to its current location by Laevus himself

    This led to a brief conversation about the Roman water organ, the hydraulis, and the changing attitudes of Christianity toward organ music, which at times was considered too pagan.

    It was mentioned that this meeting had fewer attendees than we might have hoped, and I agreed that this was a shame, particularly since there was some major business to discuss, which had been written up in an agenda.

   Laevus brought up the Latin meetings scheduled for January 12th and 13th, mentioning his excitement to be returning to Latin after being occupied by the holiday season. Laevus then invited me to proceed with the agenda.

   We ran through the agenda. First, I noted that the provincial reports were in progress.

   Then, I stated that we needed a new governor, listing the key requirements: taxpayer status, taking of the Oath of Office, submission of the provincial reports, and either having been quaestor or receiving a waiver (which I had been told was likely). Sibylla expressed some willingness to step forward, but noted taxes as an obstacle, as money was thin. I said that Quintius had mentioned being up to date with his taxes, and Sibylla agreed to discuss the idea with Quintius the following evening. Sibylla & Laevus encouraged me to put in my name as well, and I agreed.

   In addition to the strict requirements, I also described my wishlist of things the incoming governor would do: repeal or renew past edicts and appoint regional legates. Sibylla said that if she did take the role, she would be sure to do those things. I asked the others whether they had any requests for whomever eventually took the job. Sibylla said she hoped whoever took charge would keep up our existing program of activity.

   The next topic on the agenda was presentations for the year. Sibylla volunteered to do two: one on Roman cooking, in which she would show the actual prepared dishes (I suggested moving this meeting to a night on which Quintius was present to help eat the feast once it was shown off) and one on fortune-telling. I suggested advertising this later presentation to the Sodalitas Artium Magicum (https://groups.io/g/SodalitasArtiumMagicum). Sibylla also suggested someone else might present on ancient musical instruments and that she might eventually want to do a presentation on ancient spies & codes, but that much more research would be needed.

   Laevus seconded the suggestion for a presentation on musical instruments and added the topics of surveying, math, and the calendar would all be interesting. Laevus said he would consider whether to present himself.

   I said that I would like to present on late Roman historians.

   I mentioned there were still a few presentations left planned from last year. Astronumus on reading Latin verse and Cassius on Roman astronomy. Astronomus had also made the suggestion in the past for someone to do a presentation on timekeeping in the ancient world.

   The last point from the agenda was that the link to Facebook on http://novabritannia.org/ needed to be updated to https://www.facebook.com/groups/novabritannia.novaroma.org/. I committed to send an email to Cassius about it.

   Conversation returned to our next meeting. It was agreed we would return to our regular schedule: Latin on Monday, January 13th and another general meeting on Monday, January 27th. Sibylla would not be able to attend on the 13th but expected to be present for the 27th.

Notes: Thanks to P. Sextius Laevus for clarifying details about the pipe organ.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Julius MMDCCLXXVII

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Julius MMDCCLXXVII

Monday, July 6th, MMDCCLXXVII, 6:00 p.m. - 6:40 p.m.

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

Publius Sextius Laevus

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   At the start of the meeting, I requested a delay of my presentation on Roman medicine, as I had not yet done enough research for a full introduction to the topic. Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia and N. Octavius Astronomus agreed. A second later, P. Sextius Laevus signed on.

   The conversation turned to the announcement four days earlier by M. Cassius Julianus on the dates for MithraCon the following year (Friday, April 25th to Sunday April 27th, 2025). Sibylla stated that she planned to take more notes next MithraCon, as the conversation had been quite interesting in April 2024. Astronomus likewise recalled the detailed presentations given by Patty and Zoe, and the distance Zoe had travelled to attend. I asked about progress on steps needed to qualify the next MithraCon as a Conventus. Sibylla and Astronomus reported that they and Cassius had discussed venues and looked into the ballroom of the hotel where the majority of MithraCon took place. We agreed that this would require more deliberation, but that having the dates was an important step, allowing people to add it to their plans.

   Laevus said that he would not be able to attend MithraCon, since it would involve too much travel. He did say that one of us could meet with him if we happened to be passing through Albany and called ahead.

   Sibylla mentioned that she would have copies of her newest book Tales of the North at MithraCon. This an irreverent take on Norse myth continuing her earlier book - Norse Mythology...According to Uncle Einar. Sibylla said she might next give Greco-Roman mythology the same treatment.

   We next discussed Saturnalia for the coming December. It was agreed that either Sunday, December 15th or Saturday, December 21st would be good options, but it was left open for everyone, particularly Sibylla as the hostess, to think about further.

    Astronomus announced as the call ended that he was gathering a local in-person Latin group, which hopefully would begin meeting regularly.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Junius MMDCCLXXVII

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Junius MMDCCLXXVII

Monday, June 17th, MMDCCLXXVII, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Participants: Marcus Quintius Clavus

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

Publius Sextius Laevus

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   Shortly after the call began, we drifted into a conversation about different styles of armour, particularly mail, in Roman times and afterward. Since this was in his area of expertise, much of this was questions to M. Quintius Clavus from the rest of us. He told us that 4-on-1 mail was the most common form of mail through much of history, with the exception of the Seleucid Empire, where archaeologists had found 5-on-1 mail. Quintius also mentioned some of the activities Legio III Cyrenaica had planned for the coming months and John Conyard of Comitatus.

   When Zoom ended the meeting, Quintius was not able to call back in due to another item on his schedule. P. Sextius Laevus talked a bit about his history in the Roman Republic Cultural Group. N. Octavius Astronomus and I tried to help Laevus to join the Nova Roma and Curia servers on Discord, as well as a non-Nova Roma-affiliated Latin server recommended by Astronomus.

   Zoom ended the meeting again. Astronomus & I returned and had a surprisingly long and detailed discussion about the effects of translation technology on language (conversational Latin in particular), which language(s) would make the best lingua franca (Astronomus suggested each region of the globe have its own), and how Roman revivalism might evolve when humanity colonized the stars (I suggested Astronomus should found Nova Roma's space program).

Nova Britannia General Meeting II: Maius MMDCCLXXVII

Nova Britannia General Meeting II: Maius MMDCCLXXVII

Monday, May 27th, MMDCCLXXVII, 7:00 p.m. - 8:22 p.m.

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

Publius Sextius Laevus

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

    During this evening's call, there was more discussion of plans for Latin and what had happened with our studies of the language since the last Nova Britannia General Meeting. Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia gave her approval to the idea of opening our Monday night sessions to all of Nova Roma, which had been considered last time. Sibylla expressed sorrow that A. Tullia Scholastica was no longer with us, a sentiment we all shared.

    There was some conversation about personal activities. I praised comments which N. Octavius Astronomus had made about the current provincial evaluation system on Discord.

    Sibylla had to turn in due to the lateness of the hour. I suggested to the others that we consider moving our meetings an hour earlier, and there was some approval for the idea.

    I mentioned that Rosalia was coming up, and that this celebration of the Roman war dead nearly coincided with Memorial Day. We looked up Rosalia on the Nova Roma wiki and in the process found a number of deficiencies in the wiki, a few of which we resolved to correct at the earliest opportunity, such as listing Astronomus as a contact for Vermont and updating the list of active citizens in Nova Britannia.si

    P. Sextius Laevus shared a comic strip which he had written in Latin and illustrated as part of Saturnalia celebrations for the Roman Republic. He shared with us some of his history with that group.