Nova Britannia Remote General Meeting: Martius MMDCCLXXVI

Nova Britannia Remote General Meeting: Martius MMDCCLXXVI

Attendees: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

Aula Tullia Scholastica

Marcus Quintius Clavus

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

   As we joined the meeting one or two at a time, Sibylla, who had joined first, inquired what we had been up to lately.

   I reported typing up some of the vocabulary for our next Latin meeting.

   Scholastica mentioned that she had processed a number of citizenship applications while her Latin class was on recess and persuaded one of her best students and his wife to join Nova Roma, as well as another acquaintance in Ukraine contacted with the help of Sarmatians affiliated with Arx Mercatura. Sibylla suggested that Scholastica's friends would be welcome to join our remote meetings, although Scholastica pointed out that the time difference might be an issue. (They are six hours ahead of us.  Ukraine may be seven hours ahead, as is Finland.)

   Octavius told of his recent trip to gaming convention PAX East (https://east.paxsite.com/) and shared photos of the many Roman-/Classical-themed board games he'd found there, included one he'd purchased. Sibylla invited him to bring this to the next in-person event.

   We discussed ancient board games and the possibility of playing them together, perhaps even remotely via a website we found with a brief search, Locus Ludi (https://locusludi.ch/play-ancient-online-games/).

   Quintius described two recent events he'd attended with Legio III Cyrenaica (https://www.facebook.com/LegionIIICyr/). The first was a meeting of the Classical Association of New England over St. Patrick's Day/Liberalia weekend. The second was a display at the Worchester Art Museum, that past Saturday, March 25th, which had over 50 attendees per presentation, which Quintius attributed modestly to the weather.

   Sibylla informed us that there would likely not be a full MithraCon that year, as the number of expected attendees would not be sufficient to cover a hotel room. However, a day trip to New Haven was not out of the question.

   We talked about Roman bread and food in general. Octavius said that it was too bad food could not be shared digitally. I suggested we each cook the same Roman dish at home and eat it together (remotely). We settled on the 18th of April as the best date for this little party, which was very felicitous, as it happened to be Scholastica's birthday. It was agreed that we would sing "Happy Birthday" in Latin to mark the occasion. (Scholastica herself provided the translation via Discord soon after this meeting.)

Thanks to Scholastica for feedback on the initial draft.

Saturnalia 2775 - December 17th, 2022

 

Attendees: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia (Hostess)

Marcus Quintius Clavus

Aula Tullia Scholastica

Flavius Vedius Germanicus

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

Quintus Valerius Callidus

Marcus Cassius Iulianus

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

Cindy

                Fl. Vedius Germanicus and I arrived at the house of Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia’s house around noon. M. Quintius Clavus and A. Tullia Scholastica had already arrived. Sibylla offered coffee and tea to her guests; Quintius was having an herbal blend which happened only to contain ingredients known to the Romans.

We started to converse on various topics, and more people joined gradually. Q. Valerius Callidus was next to arrive. “Finally, an event!” he said cheerily as he walked through the door. I pointed out that there had been a small gathering at Sibylla’s house in March of that year, but he had not heard about it at the time.

Vedius and Callidus discovered an extraordinary coincidence – the two of them had actually grown up in the same town at the same time, and knew many of the same people, even though they didn’t remember meeting each other before.

M. Cassius Julianus followed soon after. He had brought a few trays of antiquities which some other members of the group helped to carry into the house.

 

N. Octavius Astronomus came just a little later. Sibylla escorted Octavius on a short tour of her house, since he would be staying overnight.

Everyone spent a long time in conversation with others. Cindy, Sibylla’s roommate arrived and participated a bit in conversation as well. Even one of Sibylla’s usually shy cats (the bolder of the two) came by the living room where most people were seated. A spread of snacks brought by the participants, including olives, cheese, and stuffed grape leaves was laid out for enjoyment as we talked.

Scholastica reviewed a bit of Latin vocabulary she had taught her hostess, and shared the names, both Latin & English, of the numerous birds visible from Sibylla’s back window. I told Cassius, Vedius, and Octavius about the activities which P. Aurelius Barbatus, the new governor of America Cismississippiana, had been organizing.

We were so caught up in our conversations with one another, that we lost track of the activities we had planned. However, consul Scholastica eventually noted that time was growing late and called everyone’s attention. We all gathered in the living room, where Scholastica gave a few opening remarks followed by a short lesson drawn from Chapter 1 of Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency by John C. Traupman.

 

Figure 1: Scholastica gives a lesson

After the lesson, we had a Zoom meeting in which we were joined by two friends from abroad, Cn. Cornelius Lentulus in Hungary & D. Claudius Aquilinus in Germany. This meeting was recorded and can be seen at https://youtu.be/9cur16B-6PQ. During the course of that call, I handed out pilei which I had brought. Callidus had to leave around that time.

After the meeting, Vedius donned his augural garb and offered a sacrifice of wine and incense to Saturn.

 

                One of the items included in this ceremony was a Nova Roman banner, which was supplied by Scholastica and which had been blessed by Lentulus in Rome. Cassius discussed the issues which made it prohibitively expensive to print high-quality Nova Roman flags with Octavius and Vedius, suggesting that ordering just one such flag for the province as a whole would be a good solution.

                We then went to the dining room, where we enjoyed a meal of bread, chicken, stuffing, sausage, polenta, as well as the remnants of the Roman snacks which we had been enjoying in the living room. Dessert was cheesecake provided by Quintus.

                After dinner, we took a group photo.

                Vedius had to leave to travel back to New Jersey, so Cassius took this opportunity to give him, and the rest of us, a set of gifts: a Saturnalia card, a medallion bearing Nova Roma’s logo, and a Byzantium Novum coin. Vedius showed Cassius the medallion he was wearing, which Cassius had struck in commemoration of Nova Roma’s founding years ago. Vedius had found this shortly before the meeting, which Octavius suggested might be an omen that this was a new beginning for Nova Roma.

                After Vedius departed, we had a presentation from Sibylla about the Roman spice trade. Sibylla listed specific spices traded from various regions of Asia along with their uses. A book with maps of these trade routes was passed around for our consideration. It was also mentioned that silphium plants, previously thought to have gone extinct during the Roman period, may have been located. In the living room, Sibylla set up a variety of the spices referenced in her presentation for us to smell, including nutmeg, long pepper, galangal, mace, frankincense, and myrrh. A highlight was comparison between cassia (the cinnamon with which we are more familiar today) and true (Ceylon) cinnamon. Sibylla provided plastic bags and invited us to take a sampling of spices as a Saturnalia gift.

                Astronomus, Sibylla, Cassius, and I all signed up to give presentations in 2023. A variety of topics were suggested by the four of us, and each of us chose one or a few topics at random.

                Cassius, in his capacity as governor of Nova Britannia, appointed Octavius as Praefectus Regionis Montis Viridis (organizer and point of contact for Vermont), agreeing to follow this up with an edict to the same effect on Main List.

                Scholastica gave a presentation on clothing in ancient Greece & Rome. Wearing examples of each as she described it, Scholastica told us about the Doric peplos, Attic peplos, and palla; a few examples of men’s clothing were also included in the presentation. She also had recreations of ancient jewellery to pass around and gave each attendee a print of a picture she had drawn herself of a woman wearing a Doric peplos.

                Many thanks to M. Quintius Clavus and Fl. Vedius Germanicus for the beautiful pictures included in this report. Thanks also to Q. Valerius Callidus, Vedius, and A. Tullia Scholastica for reviewing this report: any lingering mistakes are of course my own.

 

After Action Report: August 2021 Remote Nova Britannia Chat

August 23, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Participants: Gaius Claudius Quadratus

                       Aula Tullia Scholastica
                       Aulus Iulius Paterculus (Host)
   Once everyone had convened, there was some small talk, particularly about Hurricane Henri, which we suspected of having prevented at least,one additional person from joining us.
   Quadratus started off the Roman discussion with a review of the Arx Mercatura online store. He warned that the goods which they sold took an unreasonably long time to arrive, and in some cases were not even fabricated until they had been sold. He did say that the finished items were of fine quality, however, and showed us an acerra and lararium he had purchased from them in the past.
   Scholastica reported on the status of the election for Nova Roma's Board of Directors. She also reported having received an update on the castrum project undertaken by D. Marcius Vulpes in Maine.
   I asked whether anyone had recently done any interesting research. Quadratus answered that, while he had not recently done much research on Rome, he had done some on World War II. Quadratus summarized an insight or two from this reading, including the conclusion that most Germans were aware of the extent of Nazi atrocities before the end of the war.
   Scholastica stated that two sodalitates were up and running, while another two waited only for new pictures to be added to their front pages. Quadratus asked what would be necessary to form a Sodalitas Numismaticae - Scholastica referred him to the Lex Cassia de creatione sodalitatum, but summarized that a set of internal rules and a method of selecting leaders was needed.
   Scholastica commented on the fact that Quadratus had been instructed to learn a set of Latin texts as part of his augural duties, and offered help in studying if needed. Quadratus stated that his Latin skills should be up to the task, as he had translated the Res Gestae alone, but that he was still waiting to receive the texts in question.

After Action Report: Remote Nova Britannia Chat

May 24, 2021, 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Participants: Marcus Quintius Clavus (Host)

                     Aula Tullia Scholastica

                     Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   Once all of us had succeeded in joining the call, the conversation started, mainly on personal topics.at first. Scholastica told us about some of the things which were keeping her busy, including the ongoing Senate session and the conclusion of her current Latin class.

   Scholastica pointed out that her students were getting a college-level education for free, and that the curriculum had been designed by the renowned Latinist Avitus, who was now adding to his impressive collection of languages by taking Sumerian, Akkadian, & Hittite as part of a Master's degree in ancient Middle Eastern studies.

   Quinius commented that Akkadian was the diplomatic language of the Bronze Age.

   I asked whether Sumerian was language of the Epic of Gilgamesh; Quintius confirmed that the earliest of several versions was in Sumerian. Quintius recalled having heard a man reading his own translation of the Babylonian version one day at the Worchester Art Museum.

   Scholastica asked whether Quintius was doing any re-enacting. Yes, even in 2020, he replied. Quintius also mentioned seeing some Medieval re-enactors at Fort 4.

   Scholastica said it seemed re-enactment was in decline, with the discontinuation of Roman Days being a prime example. Quintius pointed out that this was partly due to venue issues and that Legio XX had been focusing more on activities with the Virginia Junior Classical League. Quintius & Andy of Legio III had each submitted videos for the Virginia Junior Classical League's last meeting, which took place remotely.

   Scholastica remembered the Conventus in Rome, with Lentulus acting as a tour guide. Scholastica herself had provided translations of the inscriptions beneath some statues of Vestals for the benefit of some other attendees.

   Quintius then shared with us a book that he'd been reading, The Last Assassin by Peter Stothard. It was a nonfiction account of the hunt for the last of the

conspirators who had joined in the murder of Julius Caesar. Quintius was enjoying it up to that point, and said that it had a more journalistic than scholarly approach to the topic.

   Scholastica asked whether it was true that Julius Caesar's assassins had stabbed him with their styli because weapons were forbidden in the Senate House. Quintius answered that he was certain Julius Caesar had defended himself with his stylus, as he had no other weapon.

   Scholastica asked whether we knew the origins of the word "assassin" - "hashish". I pointed out that the Spanish version of the word was "sicario", which as Quintius recalled was from the Roman dagger sometimes used by gladiators.

   I asked what kind of gladiator used the sicarius, and Quintius replied that it was often the Thracian. Quintius shared that he had recently purchased a Hellenistic gladiator's helmet, as well as a Roman cup from The Ancient Home. He was going use these as part of a display when he showed a Hellenistic civilian re-enactment on which he was working.

   We talked a little about the evolution of pottery during the Hellenistic Period. Quintius said that it became popular for the wealthy to dine off precious metal and that clay was sculpted rather than painted (as in Classical Greece) partly in imitation of sculpted metalware.

   The meeting had to come to an end, but we all agreed we should try to arrange another soon.

After Action Report: Remote Saturnalia

 Sunday, December 20th, 2020

Participants: Marcus Quintius Clavus (Host)
                     Gaius Claudius Quadratus
                     Aulus Iulius Paterculus
    The meeting started with a few technical difficulties, as I was unable to join the meeting by phone and had to communicate with the other participants by text chat.
    Once it had been established that was how the conversation would proceed, the conversation began with a discussion of the activities of Legio III Cyrenaica, which were at that time being shown on Facebook. Quadratus lamented that no such re-enactment groups were active near Montreal, and he an Quintius discussed whether Quadratus might join some of Legio III's activities in his augural garb. Quintius stated that, unlike some other re-enactment groups, Legio III was very open to those who wanted to portray civilian roles, and both confirmed that it would make sense for an augur dressed in his civilian religious garb to accompany a legion, either to take auspices
before battle or to participate in a parade. Quintius mentioned one past event held by Legio III at which a sacrifice to the gods had opened the day's presentations.
    Speaking of augury, Quadratus brought up the ongoing conjunction of Saturn with Jupiter, which he held to be a very favourable omen, particularly since its most dramatic manifestation would take place during Saturnalia and the Solstice. He stated that this should be visible on the night of the 21st by looking West just after sunset, and that the two planets should appear to be a single object in the sky, except perhaps to someone using binoculars or who already knew them to be two planets and looked very carefully. Quintius commented that light pollution would likely make this impossible for him to spot, and I concurred, saying that we had been told that the Northern Lights would be visible in the state of Connecticut earlier in the year, but had been foiled in spotting them by all the terrestrial lights. Both Quintius and Quadratus recalled past sightings of the aurora borealis, which for Quadratus had been quite frequent and spectacular, as he had lived even farther North at a time when sunspot activity was at a peak.
    Quadratus then redirected the topic to dates, pointing out that many people who should know better - including authors of history books and museum curators - failed to measure the time between B.C. and A.D. dates correctly. Instead of simply adding the dates together, it was necessary to subtract one year to account for the fact that
there was no year zero.
   There was a brief discussion of the suggestion to form a study group in the new year. I asked what topic we should study, and it was agreed that a list of proposals should be sent to the forum to see what garnered the most interest.
   Quadratus and Quintius then moved on to a discussion of Numismatics. Both were collectors of ancient coins. Quadratus showed off two art pieces he had created with ancient coins in poor condition, while Quintius described a coin in his possession which showed an unidentified emperor, including his upper torso (whereas most coins showed the emperor only from the neck up). Quintius agreed to send a picture of this coin to Quadratus by email for a second opinion. We all speculated on the reasons fewer bronze coins had survived to the modern day from Roman times than silver ones.
   This lead to mention by Quintius of the fact that coins containing copper had been located at the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, and a discussion of the early shifting of blame by several senators near the time of that event from Varus to the common soldiers, something which Quintius blamed partly on the close relationship Varus had with the imperial family.
  Shortly thereafter, we all signed off, with a "Io Saturnalia!" from each of us and a resolution to hold another such meeting before too long.

Solsitium 2772 - December 21st, 2019

Attendees:
Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia (Hostess)
Marcus Quintius Clavus
Aulus Iulius Paterculus
Cindy (Arrived Later)

        Around noon, Sibylla, Quintius, & I met at Sibylla's house. For the first part of the meeting, we sat by the fire discussing Roman topics. On the table in front of us were a number of snacks, including hard-boiled eggs, dried fruit with nuts, bread, and assorted olives.
        Quintius presented his collection of Ancient History magazines to us, including issues on Africa, ancient cities, and the Etruscans. He shared the steps which had to be taken to obtain copies, as they are published in Europe, and some of the features which made them such valuable reading. In particular, he pointed out that they do not recycle old artwork, as many publishers do, but instead commission new art to the highest standard of historical accuracy. Sibylla and I were temporarily distracted from the conversation by looking over these beautiful magazines with interest.
        Sibylla outlined the progress of her various theses on Mithraism, of which her article for the American Meteor Society in particular had advanced a great deal since we last met and was basically ready for publication. In connection with this topic, I asked two questions: firstly whether we were in touch with the creator of the
mithraism.info website. Secondly, I asked whether the fact that the Mithraic Liturgy had been scribed by a man for his daughter, as I had recently heard, had any bearing on what we should think about the gender-exclusivity of Mithraic rites, as what this document meant overall. Sibylla answered that she had not looked at the Liturgy in
depth, but that other Mithraists used it, including Patti, an attendee of MithraCon. Quintius mentioned a recent post by Patti on Roman Army Talk concerning the Roman Mithras as opposed to the Zoroastrian aspect of the god.
        Cindy, a friend and housemate of Sibylla, arrived at the house and joined us by the fire for a time. She opened a discussion on the presentation of the ancient world, as well as medieval times, in film. As it happened, one of the articles in the magazines Quintius had brought turned on this very topic, and we thought over what it had to say as well. Quintius commented on the excellence of the film Alexander, partly due to the creation of new period-appropriate props rather than recycling items from other movies of approximately (meaning "within a thousand
years") the same time period, one of the flaws the article had pointed out in the film it reviewed.
        We then went into the dining room for the main meal of the evening. In addition to all the items remaining from the spread by the fire, there was ham provided by Sibylla, and a kind of casserole made of eggs, vegetables, garum, and asafoetida made by Quintius. After that we served a nut tart with honey which I baked the night before. At the table, Sibylla and Quintius discussed events by the Society of Creative Anachronism, particularly a craft contest of which Sibylla was to be a judge. CT State Latin Day was also brought up.
        After dinner, Cindy retired for the night and the rest of us returned to our places beside the fire. We discussed ecological depletion in the Roman empire: the extinction of the European lion, of silphium, etc. We also brought up Cato the Younger, on whom there was a bit of disagreement. Quintius argued that he took political obstinacy to an
extreme and was himself partly responsible for the end of the Republic. I found him to be an admirable figure, although perhaps one whom it would be difficult to live with in practice. Both of us recommended the biography Rome's Last Citizen to Sibylla, who was not as familiar with this particular figure.

After Action Report: Saturnalia 2018

Saturday, December 22nd, 2018
Participants:
Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia (Hostess)
Marcus Quintius Clavus
Marcus Cassius Julianus
Gaius Claudius Quadratus
Aulus Iulius Paterculus
Phone-in Participant: Jonathan Sibley (Brother of Sibylla)
        Quintius and I arrived by car a little after 10 a.m. Along the way, we had been talking about various topics, including the birth narratives of Jesus Christ, Alexander the Great, and Augustus. In this last case, I had argued that there was some plausibility to future greatness being forecast for the son of a prominent Roman, but Quintius pointed out that the Julii had not been one of the leading
families for some time by the time Octavian was born, although acknowledging that they were patricians.
        Sibylla welcomed us into her home with coffee and tea; Cassius and Quadratus were already present. I handed out candles, a traditional Saturnalia gift. We sat at the dining room table and discussed, over our hot beverages, research that Quadratus had done some time ago showing that the four Minoan palaces on Crete were aligned to the same midpoint between Crete and the Libyan coast. Quintius commented that modern people still do not give the ancients enough credit for what they were able to figure out; on the other hand, he stated that certain people underestimated the currency of superstition during ancient times. This kicked off a short discussion of superstition in general.
         Quadratus gave everyone physical copies of the 2019 edition from his intensively researched Roman calendar.  Quintius showed off a 2019 calendar he had created himself on Vistaprint, using art relating to Achilles, Patroclus, and Alexander from DeviantArt (an art sharing website where artists, visual mostly but also written, share their art).  The two of them discussed the possibility of adding some of these professional-looking design features to Quadratus’s calendar in the future.
         There followed a brief interlude. Quintius began cooking his dish (a savillum/Roman cheesecake) in the kitchen. The rest of us helped set a bedframe back in order, after which Sibylla showed off her home library and Cassius discussed with Quadratus the minting of new Roman-style coins.
          We then retired to the living room for a while. Sibylla lit the hearth, using a Cape Cod lighter. I did a short presentation on the women of early Rome (women who appeared in Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita from Lavinia to Lucretia). Quadratus asked about other notable women from the end of this time to Cornelia mother of the Gracchi. I mentioned Cloelia, who was given as a hostage to the Etruscan king Lars Porsenna and managed to escape, winning such respect from the king in the
process that he voluntarily released half his captives. Since Cloelia is a gens name, we checked on the Album Civium to see whether there were any Cloelii in Nova Roma - there were not, although it was an option on the list of gentes. (Future citizens take note - you could be the first to take up this famous name, present on the Senate rolls since the conquest of Alba Longa!)
          There followed a discussion of activities that we could undertake in the coming year. We considered the proposal for a volunteerism-oriented event which had been raised online. Cassius
argued that many groups were too quick to embrace causes other than their own, leaving no one to defend their original mission. However, he did speak in favor of activity which had both a Roman and charitable dimension. Quadratus mentioned the assistance of homeless veterans as one that we might adopt. The overall consensus was in favor, but that the details still needed work.
          We returned to the dining room for the feast. We lit one of the small candles before each of us and one of the two tapers in the middle of the table at the start of the meal. Statues of the Leontocephalus and either Bacchus (with grapes held high) or Attis (judging from his garb) were placed at the head of the table; Cassius said a short grace. Sibylla had prepared roast rabbit with mushrooms in a cream sauce. Quintius had brought pesto parmesan bread and fine Greek wine. We also had olives, olive bread, and stuffed grape leaves.
           After the main part of lunch we had dessert: globuli (balls of curd cheese fried and rolled in honey) which I had made, as well as the savillum made by Quintius, fresh from the oven. The savillum was quite different from the version we had eaten on a prior occasion (although at least as good); its texture was soft, almost like a bread pudding, its flavor was extremely sweet, and it was topped with poppy seeds which added an interesting variation to both.
           Sibylla laid a collection of ancient artifacts which she had purchased on the table for display.
           Still at the table, Quintius gave a presentation on the various confrontations between the Roman army and Macedonian-style phalanxes, running from the Pyrrhic War to the defeat of Perseus. In addition to describing the equipment and fighting style of the Macedonians, Quintius outlined some of the history of the wars involved and developments in the Roman army itself, particularly the cavalry. Sibylla shared some illustrations of Roman cavalry running down enemy
soldiers just as Quintius described and Quadratus told us that this was a common motif on coins beginning with Constantius II.
           Sibylla’s brother Jonathan, who is very knowledgeable about pipe organs, and owns a 3 manual Wurlitzer, called in and shared with us a fact about pipe organs (also known as hydrauli): that they had been banned in Calvinist England because organ music had accompanied the execution of Christians in the arena. This started a conversation about music both ancient and modern, to which Cassius contributed by finding the music of a reconstructed Roman organ on the internet.
            We had another discussion about organizational issues. Planning for the tasks ahead of us naturally lead to thoughts of the extremely valued member lost this year, Marcus Minucius Audens (James Matthews), who would have been the first to pitch in had he still been present.
            We paused to dedicate a toast to him.
            The continuing planning session took a lively turn when a list of citizens, which Quadratus had out to note information for Quintius, caught fire. Quadratus assured us that any ill omen involved was nullified by the very positive omen that we had all survived.
            We ended the night by playing the free printable version of Card-Tamen, a game invented by Classicists as an educational tool. In keeping with the holiday, we worked out a method of playing for chocolate coins.

After Action Report drafted by A. Iulius Paterculus, with additions and corrections by Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia and Marcus Quintius Clavus

Roman Day 2018

  Marcus Audens has written up the following minutes for a meeting taking place in Nova Britannia. A few minor modifications have been made by me based on comments made by Sibylla A. Fulvia and myself on the draft sent by M. Audens:
Pictures and Minutes - The Roman Day's Event was held at the Home of  Sibylla A. Fulvia in Haddam, CT.
Purpose of the Meeting was Roman Presentations , and a discussion on Nova Britannia Business.
Lady Sibylla A. Fulvia was the hostess. 
Attendees were:
  - Lady  Sibylla A. Fulvia;
  - Lady Valentina
  - Lady Mathews (visitor);
  - Senator Marcus Cassius Julianus;
  - Master Paterculus;
  - Consul Gaius Claudius Quadratus;
  - Optio, Quintius Johanson, Legio III (Cyrenaica);
  - Home Owner,Nelson Struck (visitor);
  - Senator Marcus Minucius Audens.

   The Meeting was brought to order at about 10:00 A.M. and the first Presentation given by Master Paterculus, its subject being the Greek Philosophy of Plato's "Republic".  His presentation was to present to the members the factors of the Greek Philosopher Plato in regard to the philosophy of complete control of all phases and activities of normal like by an all-powerful ruler, and gain from those present their views and ideas about such a government.

  The second presentation was provided by Senator /NR Co-Founder Marcus Cassius Julianus.  His presentation was entitled "The Kingdom of Soissons."  Handouts of the  historical information regarding the subject were distributed to all present (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Soissons).

  The third Presentation was concerning a large variety of spices.  Lady Sibylla A. Fulvia had a large container of each spice , and she passed each spice around the group for anyone to smell and taste as desired while the lady gave the details about how the spice was used, the origin, and other useful information about each spice.

   The fourth Presentation was given by Senator Marcus Audens entitled "Ancient/Medieval Maritime Merchant Routes and Ships."  The presentation was accompanied by  fifteen of the presenter's ship drawings , and five maps showing maritime merchant routes.  The presentation encompassed ship styles, ship sail rigs, hull construction, and primary use of various style of ships in different marine settings and places.

   The fifth presentation was by Consul Quadratus about his coin collection from two distinct Roman periods; 1.  The Second Triumvirate; 2. The Year of the Twelve Caesars.

   The sixth Presentation was by Lady Sibylla A. Fulvia and was entitled, "Leonotcephalus, and how Mithras was sent in a meteorite to a lower plane,"  The presentation was in regard to the God Mithras, and the showing of a statuette of his messenger from Heaven to Earth, by using a key to unlock the celestial globe, and allow Mithras to pass through encased in a meteor in order to reach earth.  The presentation included details and other lesser Gods and goddesses and their participation in the religous story of Mithras.

   There was also a display, of Roman Coins and artifacts provided for viewing by Senator Marcus Cassius.

   Following  the first  few Presentations the group was called to a very nice Roman Dinner, which featured Roast Chicken, Olives, Figs, Apricots, Loaf Bread, Garbanzo Bean/Pomegranate Salad, Deviled Eggs, Ancient Roman Cheese Cake, Lemonade, and Red Wine.

  Following the last presentation the group came to the discussion period.  The first item brought by Consul Quadratus, was the desire to conduct some kind of quiz on the NR Communication network.  The problem was that any simple quiz questions regarding the Roman Republic and Early Empire would be easily answered using one of the Computer answering services (Wiki, Google, etc.)  The question regarding the quiz, recieved one answer from Marcus Audens.  The contest would be to write the ending to one of several one page stories.  The best ending would be the winner!  Other suggestions included writing an essay or short story as a team.

   This discussion evolved into the question about what is needed if anyone in Nova Britannia wished to create a Roman Event.  After some discussion a simple set of suggested requirements for putting together an event,   These requirements were studied, questioned, adjusted, and finally voted upon and accepted unanimously.   It was strongly suggested that the subject of any quiz or contest be limited to a High school level of information, and that the set of suggested requirements should be sent to the NR Communication network on a cycle of somewhere in the vicinity of a three-to six month period. This list of requirements will be furnished for the Event minutes review By Senator Marcus Cassius.

The pictures of the event are as follow:

1. Consul Quadratus and Lady Sibylla A. Fulvia;

2. Paterculus, Lady Sibylla A. Fulvia, Nelson Struck (Home Owner/Guest), Optio, Quintius Johanson, Legio III (Cyrenaica);

3. Paterculus, Optio, Quintius Johanson, Legio III (Cyrenaica);

4. Lady Sibylla A. Fulvia,  Consul Quadratus, Senator Marcus Cassius, Paterculus;

5. Lady Sibylla A. Fulvia, Lady Valentina, Paterculus, Marcus Audens;

6. Lady Sibylla A. Fulvia, Consul Quadratus;

7. Statuette - Leontocephalus;

8. Senator Marcus Cassius.

Respectfully Submitted.
  Marcus Audens