Remote Roman Birthday Feast

Remote Roman Birthday Feast

April 18th, 2023, 7:00 p.m. - 7:37 p.m.

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

                     A. Iulius Paterculus

                     Cn. Cornelius Lentulus

                     M. Quintius Clavus

                     A. Tullia Scholastica

   Sibylla Fulvia and I joined the call first and engaged in some pleasant conversation about our lives and farmers' markets.

   Cn. Lentulus arrived shortly thereafter. I expressed the hope that Lentulus was not too exhausted, since for him it was 1 a.m., on a weekday. He replied that while it was late, he had come because he had been invited and to honour Scholastica on her birthday. Lentulus added that he expected to leave early.

   The three of us examined the Latin translation of "Happy Birthday" Scholastica had provided to us. Sibylla asked Lentulus to share the Hungarian version of the song, which he did. Sibylla shared a verse of the SCA version.

    Quintius and Scholastica joined around that time. I pointed out that Lentulus had said he wouldn't be staying very long and suggested we jump ahead to the cake, if anyone had made one. No one had, but Sibylla did fetch and light a candle for Scholastica.

    Scholastica showed us photos of her childhood, one being carried as a baby by her mother (whom Lentulus compared to a young Queen Elizabeth), another standing outside her house on the day of her high school graduation (wearing a white gown and rose bouquet, as well as the medal she had been given), and a third sitting next to her younger brother (she was 11 & he was 8). We learned that Scholastica's mother had also been a teacher.

   Scholastica & Sibylla shared some experiences in teaching, which showed that the profession was not for the faint of heart.

   The others told of the meals they had earlier in the evening. Sibylla had enjoyed chicken, which Scholastica also planned to have that night, Quintius had eaten lamb with Greek seasoning, and Lentulus humus with pita bread with vegetables. We agreed that these dishes would likely have been recognisable to the ancients, although Quintius had supplemented his lamb with a thoroughly American side of home fries.

   Sibylla mentioned the fast food restaurant unearthed in Pompeii, and Lentulus told us of the visit he and Tita Popillia Laenas had made to Pompeii & Herculaneum the previous year. Conversation turned to upcoming trips: Lentulus to Rome, Scholastica to Budapest, and Sibylla to give a presentation in southern Connecticut. Scholastica was encountering some challenges in planning her trip. Quintius had some suggestions, but it was clear that Scholastica had research and preparations ahead.

   I told the others of the tour I would be taking of Greece in a few weeks and showed the two Roman dishes I'd prepared: olive relish & fish with cheese.

   We sang Scholastica's translation of "Happy Birthday". Lentulus fetched a candle and I a flashlight, so that Scholastica could ceremonially blow them out alongside the candle Sibylla had burning all along. Lentulus made a toast to Scholastica in Latin, and we drank to her health.

   Quintius was telling us of his intended travels, to CT Latin & Greek Day on April 27th, to Kennebunk on May 6th, and elsewhere when the call ended.

Thanks to Scholastica for feedback on the initial draft.

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.

Februarius MMDCCLXXVI – Nova Britannia Meeting & Roman Transportation Presentation

Februarius MMDCCLXXVI – Nova Britannia Meeting & Roman Transportation Presentation

Part I

Monday, February 27, 2023, 8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

M. Quintius Clavus

N. Octavius Astronomus

A. Iulius Paterculus

        During the first half hour of our meeting, I gave a presentation on transportation in the Roman world. N. Octavius Astronomus, who had not been able to join us for the first part of this meeting came on after the presentation finished, and a few of us carried on discussion of various topics for some time after that.

Part II

Wednesday, March 1, 2023 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Participants: N. Octavius Astronomus

A. Tullia Scholastica

P. Aurelius Barbatus

A. Iulius Paterculus

        I had agreed to repeat the Roman transportation presentation for N. Octavius Astronomus and A. Tullia Scholastica. We decided to have this second presentation on the “Open Forum” voice channel of the Forum Domitium and to let others on the forum know that it was taking place. P. Aurelius Barbatus joined shortly after the presentation started and left soon after it finished.

        Octavius showed Scholastica & me a virtual Rome which had been constructed in Minecraft by a dedicated community. We spent quite some time touring the city and discussing the research and effort which had been invested in it. Octavius expressed the hope that Nova Roma might undertake some project of this kind.

Hymn to Hecate

 Mistress of the triple ways

to whom the wise devoutly prays,

often armed with sword or key

to drive off ghosts or set them free,

wandering the eerie night

bearing strange aethereal light

cast by your own eternal fire,

backed by hounds and serpents dire,

triformed goddess, we who are lost

amidst dark streets or tempest-tossed

beseech you be our friend and guide

as over paths obscure we ride.

Nova Britannia Remote General Meeting: Februarius MMDCCLXXVI

Nova Britannia Remote General Meeting: Februarius MMDCCLXXVI

Monday, February 6, 2023, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Participants: N. Octavius Astronomus

A. Tullia Scholastica

Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

A. Iulius Paterculus

    N. Octavius Astronomus and I joined the meeting first. After Octavius had dealt with a minor technical issue, I asked him whether he intended to run for one of the minor magistracies being elected for the first time this year. The deadline was mentioned (February 8) as was the requirement that applicants were up to date with their Nova Roman taxes.

    The conversation then turned to MithraCon. I reported on progress for a potential Conventus in New England, specifically the need to integrate a reenactment. Sibylla suggested we contact Yale and get them involved, as well as involving Legio III Cyrenaica.

    Sibylla proposed an outing to Wesleyan during MithraCon of this year, to visit the observatory. It was stated that MithraCon would be either April 7-9 or 21-23. (Sadly, this later had to be cancelled for the year due to low attendance.)

    I thanked Octavius for recommending the ToldInStone YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@toldinstone), which was an entertaining source of previously unknown details on the ancient world. Octavius mentioned having showed some videos from this channel to Sibylla and Scholastica while staying at Sibylla’s house the previous December. I also noted that one of the videos I’d watched thus far mentioned the (historical) Legio III Cyrenaica.

    Sibylla reported giving a presentation on Mithraism the previous weekend. Someone had mentioned Apollo or Helios having a lion-headed charioteer - Sibylla asked us to be on the lookout for any information about this. Scholastica mentioned a lion-headed Hindu deity; I mentioned that Mithras had a Hindu counterpart.

    Sibylla mentioned her friend Chris LaFond (https://www.lafond.us/about/), an Astrologer who employed Medieval and earlier astrology. I requested that Sibylla persuade him to come talk to us. Octavius was going to contact him online. Sibylla said she couldn’t entice Chris to go to MithraCon, but that perhaps he might be interested if they went to the observatory.

    After a brief intermission to reconnect to Zoom, I asked whether people were going to the event hosted by Flavius Vedius Germanicus in Pennsylvania (http://www.gensvedia.org/2023/03/13/fors-fortuna-2023/).

Octavius happened to be going to a convention in Pennsylvania that very weekend and started planning how to combine the events. Sibylla was somewhat interested, but would need a ride.

    I told everyone about two books I had just gotten: Memorize the Stoics! by Kevin Vost and A Handbook for New Stoics: How to Thrive in a World Out of Your Control by Massimo Pigliucci & Gregory Lopez.

    Sibylla told us more about her Mithraic presentation. Octavius communicated with Ty Stout, who confirmed he was still interested in events (but still lacked transportation).

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.

 

New Leadership in Nova Britannia!

    Marcus Cassius Julianus, co-founder of Nova Roma, has been officially appointed as proconsul of the united province of Nova Britannia.

   Knowledge of past efforts by Cassius and the strong support of other active citizens in the province inspire confidence that this administration will be a successful one!