Monday, September 24, 2007

Praetorian Guard

Preliminary research for a story I'm planning to write... more to follow...

From Wiki:

"The group that was formed initially differed greatly from the later Guard, which would assassinate emperors."

"Through the machinations of their ambitious prefect, Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the Guard was brought from the Italian barracks into Rome itself. In 23, Sejanus convinced Tiberius to have the Castra Praetoria (the camp of the Praetorians) built just outside of Rome. One of these cohorts held the daily guard at the imperial palace. Henceforth the entire Guard was at the disposal of the emperors, but the rulers were now equally at the mercy of the Praetorians. The reality of this was seen in 31 when Tiberius was forced to rely upon his own cohors praetoria against partisans of Sejanus. Although the Praetorian Guard proved faithful to the aging Tiberius, their potential political power had been made clear."

"Lucius Aelius Seianus (20 BC – October 18, 31 AD), commonly known as Sejanus, was an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. An equestrian by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, of which he was commander from 14 AD until his death in 31.

While formally established under emperor Augustus, Sejanus introduced a number of reforms to the Praetorians which saw the unit evolve beyond a mere bodyguard into a powerful and influential branch of the government involved in public security, civil administration, and ultimately political intercession; changes which would have a lasting impact on the course of the Principate.

During the 20s, Sejanus gradually accumulated power by consolidating his influence over Tiberius and eliminating potential political opponents, including the emperor's son, Julius Caesar Drusus. When Tiberius withdrew to Capri in 26, Sejanus was left in control of the entire state mechanism as de facto ruler of the empire. For a time the most influential and feared citizen of Rome, Sejanus suddenly fell from power the same year his career culminated with the consulship in 31. Amidst suspicions of conspiracy against the emperor, Sejanus was arrested and executed, along with his followers."


From: ttp://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/praetorian.htm
An excellent article that explains the nuts and bolts of the Praetorians...

"The Praetorian Guard was formed by the emperor Augustus to help prevent assassins from reaching the emperor and murdering him as Brutus and his companions had murdered Julius Caesar. It was called by that name in imitation of the Praetoria Cohors, or select troop, which attended the person of the praetor or general of the Roman army. This cohort is said to have been first formed by Scipio Africanus out of the bravest troops, whom he exempted from all their duties except guarding his person.

Emperor Augustus made the praetorians a standing force after the battle of Actium in 31 BC. He divided them into nine cohorts (groups) of 500 soldiers each, just as with the regular legions. Augustus, in accordance with his general policy of avoiding the appearance of despotism, stationed only three of these cohorts in the capital, and dispersed the remainder in the adjacent towns of Italy. Before 2 BC each individual cohort was lead by a tribune of equestrian rank. Afterwards, Augustus created two posts for overall command of the guard, the Praetorian Prefects.

The primary role of the Praetorians was to act as a bodyguard to the emperor and serve as a police force in the city. However, they did take to the battlefield when the need arose. Members of the guard received much higher pay than other soldiers. The scorpian appears as a symbol on much of the Praetorian equipment, possibly due to the fact that the birthsign of emperor Tiberius was scorpio. In the city, they wore no armor and carried no shield. They wore a plain tunic and carried a sword. On the battlefield they were outfitted with the same equipment as the normal legions.

Tiberius, under pretence of introducing a stricter discipline among them, assembled them all at the great Praetorian Camp [the Castra Praetoria] in Rome. In AD 23 this huge and strongly fortified camp was established in the eastern suburbs of the city by their notorious commander, Lucius Aelius Sejanus. Tiberius gradually gave much of his power to Sejanus, the commander of the Praetorian Guard. Sejanus used his position to murder his enemies, accusing them of plotting to assassinate the emperor and other acts of treason. Caligula, who succeeded [and may have assasinated] Tiberius, paid the Praetorian Guard one thousand sesterces each which was bequeathed to them in Tiberius’ will, but Cassius Dio claims that a generous amount was given to them out of the pocket of Gaius himself probably for the purpose of maintaining their loyalty.
Caligula became so dangerous and unstable that he was in turn murdered by a detachment of the Praetorian Guard. Caligula was assassinated because he had made a mockery of the military and alienated the leaders of the Guard.

The Praetorians soon became the most powerful body in the state, and like the janissaries at Constantinople, frequently deposed and elevated emperors according to their pleasure. After the Praetorian Guard murdered Caligula, they made a significant contribution to the imperial appointment of Claudius, who was the first of the Caesars who purchased the submission of the soldiers with money. Even the most powerful of the emperors were obliged to court their favor; and they always obtained a liberal donation upon the accession of each emperor.

The Praetorian Guard's number was increased by Vitellius to sixteen cohorts, or 16,000 men. Vitellius transferred many experienced soldiers into the Guard in 69 but they were generally recruited from among the young sons of the landed Italian gentry. By the reign of Domitian the praetorian guard had been increased to ten cohorts, each structured like the primary cohort of a legion (i.e. containing five double-strength centuries).

In A.D. 193 the Praetorians assasinated the emperor Pertinax, who had ruled for eighty-seven days after the assasiantion of Commodus. Thus ensued a most disgraceful business and one unworthy of Rome. For, just as if it had been in some market or auction-room, both the city and its entire empire were auctioned off to Didius Julianus, a wealthy member of the Senate. Didius Julianus ruled only sixty-six days, and upon his assasination he was replaced by Septimius Severus (A.D. 193-211).

Septimius Severus disbanded the Praetorian Guard as unreliable and seditious, on account of the part they had taken in the death of Pertinax, and banished from the city. The emperors, however, could not dispense with guards, and accordingly the Praetorians were restored on a new model by Severus, and increased to four times their ancient number. Until the reign of Septimius Severus, only soldiers recruited in Italy could serve in the guard. Instead of being levied in Italy, Macedonia, Noricum, or Spain, as formerly, the best soldiers were now drafted from all the legions on the frontiers; so that the praetorian cohorts now formed the bravest troops of the empire.

Instead of protecting the emperor from assassination, many times the Praetorian Guard were the very ones to murder an emperor, especially during the political chaos of the Third Century.
After the murder of Severus Alexander in 235, the empire entered a period of almost continuous civil war and campaigns against barbarian attacks which lasted until Aurelian restored order between 273 and 275. Some emperors held the throne for a few years, some only for a few days, and often the Praetorian Guard would put one of its favorites on the throne only to become dissatisfied with him later and choose another candidate. This pattern of murder and military rule by the Guard continued until the reign of Diocletian.

The Guard's effective destruction came at the battle of Milvian Bridge in AD 312. Constantine finally disbanded the Guard for good, deeming it more a dangerous nuisance than imperial protection. In its place, he instituted the SCHOLAE PALATINAE, or palace guard. They were organized differently and better regulated than the Praetorian Guard.

The Praetorian Guard has become a byword for any military force which is used to prop up a ruthless regime."

Labels: Rome

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Saturday, April 14, 2007

Phraseology: Card Sharp vs. Card Shark

Okay, I've probably read too many Regency romances. I tend to use the term "card sharp." Apparently that's a more British version of the phrase, which is more commonly used as "card shark."

This website has a very enlightening entry on the phrase. In part it says: "'Card-sharp', which is sometimes spelled either 'card sharp' or 'cardsharp', might be thought by some to be a misspelling of 'card-shark'. This is the more commonly used of the two synonymous phrases, especially outside the UK which is one of the few countries to prefer card-sharp' to 'card-shark'...'card-sharp' appears to be the older term."

Even more interesting, they think the terms evolved independantly: "The reason for thinking that 'card-sharp' and card-shark' may be independent coinages is the existence of the two much earlier words 'sharping' (swindling or cheating - circa 1692) and sharking' (cheating, stealing or sponging - circa 1608). These terms for deceitfulness have been adopted in to other phrases, for example, 'sharp practice' and 'loan shark'. Tricksters were called both 'sharps' and 'sharks' well before the 19th century, which makes the separate coinages entirely plausible."

I've also seen the phrase "Captain Sharp" used sort of snidely in dialog in Regency romances, in particular. They'll have one character referring to some rogue's luck with card game by saying something like "He's a regular Captain Sharp."

I used the phrase "card sharp" in my original draft of King of Swords, but alas, after reading all this, I'm going to change it to the more common "card shark." This sort of things happens to me a lot. For some reason, I always tend to use the more obscure form of these kinds of phrases. *sigh*

Labels: phraseology

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Monday, March 26, 2007

Arcana - Playing Cards

Bear with me as I try to figure out some history about playing cards and tarot cards. I've heard lots of explanations through the years about how the four suits (hearts, clubs, diamonds, and spades) of our modern playing cards correspond to the four suits of the tarot (cups, wands, pentacles, and swords). I'm writing a series based loosely on certain aspects of the tarot deck and need a place to gather information. Voila! Welcome to that place. ;-) If you have any information on this subject you'd be willing to share, please post a comment!

Here are some sites I've found that have good information:

http://www.woodenhorsebooks.com/Playing-Card-Names.html - gives names of historical figures associated with certain playing cards in table form.

http://www.gambling.freegames.eu.com/playingcards/index.html - I think this site has some interesting information, including the following sections:

"It is likely that the ancestors of modern cards arrived in Europe from the Mamelukes of Egypt in the late 1300s, by which time they had already assumed a form very close to those in use today. In particular, the Mameluke deck contained 52 cards comprising four "suits": polo sticks, coins, swords, and cups. Each suit contained ten "spot" cards (cards identified by the number of suit symbols or "pips" they show) and three "court" cards named malik (King), nā'ib malik (Viceroy or Deputy King), and thānī nā'ib (Second or Under-Deputy). The Mameluke court cards showed abstract designs not depicting persons (at least not in any surviving specimens) though they did bear the names of miltary officers. A complete pack of Mameluke playing cards was discovered by L.A. Mayer in the Topkapi Sarayi Museum, Istanbul, in 1939; this particular complete pack was not made before 1400, but the complete deck allowed matching to a private fragment dated to the twelfth or thirteenth century."

"The cards manufactured by German printers used the suits of hearts, bells, leaves, and acorns still present in German decks today used for Skat and other games. Later Italian and Spanish cards of the 15th century used swords, batons, cups, and coins. It is likely that the Tarot deck was invented in Italy at that time, though it is often mistakenly believed to have been imported into Europe by Gypsies. While originally (and still in some places) used for the game of Tarocchi, the Tarot deck today is more often used for cartomancy and other occult practices. This probably came about in the 1780s, when occult philosophers mistakenly associated the symbols on Tarot cards with Egyptian hieroglyphs."

"The four suits (hearts, diamonds, spades, clubs) now used in most of the world originated in France, approximately in 1480. The trèfle, so named for its resemblance to the trefoil leaf, was probably copied from the acorn; the pique similarly from the leaf of the German suits, while its name derived from the sword of the Italian suits. It is not derived from its resemblance to a pike head, as commonly supposed. In England the French suits were used, and are named hearts, clubs (corresponding to trèfle, the French symbol being joined to the Italian name, bastoni), spades (corresponding to the French pique, but having the Italian name, spade=sword) and diamonds."

Surfing further on that site, I find they get their information from Wikipedia. Hmm. Of particular intrest to me is how the modern suits correspond to tarot suits. See the chart here: http://www.gambling.freegames.eu.com/playingcards/suits/index.html, or here's the nitty-gritty:

spades=swords
hearts=cups
clubs=wands
diamonds=pentacles

Continuing, they identify some of the names that correspond to the court cards:

"Rouen courts are traditionally named as follows: the kings of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs are David, Alexander, (Julius) Caesar, and Charles (Charlemagne), respectively. The knaves (or "jacks"; French "valet") are Hector (prince of Troy), La Hire (comrade-in-arms to Joan of Arc), Ogier (a knight of Charlemagne), and Judas Maccabee (who led the Jewish rebellion against the Syrians). The queens are Pallas (warrior goddess; equivalent to the Greek Athena or Roman minerva), Rachel (biblical mother of Joseph), Argine (the origin of which is obscure), and Judith (of the Apocrypha). Parisian tradition uses the same names, but assigns them to different suits: the kings of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs are are David, Charles, Caesar, and Alexander; the queens are Pallas, Judith, Rachel, and Argine; the knaves are Ogier, Le Hire, Hector, and Judas Maccabee. Oddly, the Parisian names have become more common in modern use, even with cards of Rouennais design."

I think I'll stick with the originals and use the Rouen designations:

King of Spades/Swords=David
King of Hearts/Cups=Alexander
King of Diamonds/Pentacles=Julius
King of Clubs/Wands=Charles

Queen of Spades/Swords=Pallas/Athena/Minerva
Queen of Hearts/Cups=Rachel
Queen of Diamonds/Pentacles=Argine
Queen of Clubs/Wands=Judith

Knight of Spades/Swords=Hector of Troy
Knight of Hearts/Cups=La Hire
Knight of Diamonds/Pentacles=Ogier
Knight of Clubs/Wands=Judas Maccabee

Also interesting:

"The Joker was an American innovation. Created for the Alsatian game of Euchre, it then spread to Europe from America along with the spread of Poker. Although the Joker card often bears the image of a fool, which is one of the images of the Tarot deck, it is not believed that there is any relation."

But what if there were? Hmm. Something to ponder for future use.

For right now, my first Arcana story will be titled King of Swords and will feature a warrior named David. Coming from Phaze in May 2007 as part of the Fortune's Fool anthology.
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Sunday, November 19, 2006

Dante's Plane


The character Dante, first introduced in Lords of the Were, has the latest in learjets. Isn't it pretty? The details can be found here: http://www.flexjet.com/pdf/l60xr_fact_sheet.pdf

There's also an interesting article here: http://www.aero-news.net/news/commbus.cfm?ContentBlockID=0faa63d9-b8e5-4832-b979-079f3e8d6624&Dynamic=1
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Friday, June 23, 2006

Some Facts About the 13th Century

So, I'm writing a vampire story. Vampire stories -- any kind of immortals really -- are great opportunities for exploring history. So I decided I wanted my vampire to be born in 1232. No real reason, I just liked that number. But it worked out really well. I was able to create a fascinating backstory for him with the help of some history research. Take for example the following short entries form HistoryCentral. com:

1270 AD Louis IX Dies- Louis IX died in 1270 while on the Eighth Crusade. His reign was marked by a huge expansion of royal power. The King's power increased at the expense of both the Church as well as local communal movements. The royal justice system was also greatly expanded. This was a period marked by material and cultural advances in France.

1271 AD Marco Polo- In 1271, Marco Polo -- accompanied by his father -- set off for China. They arrived in the court of the Great Khan, where Khan took the European visitors into his service. Polo became intimately acquainted with all parts of China. When he returned to Europe after 15 years of service to the Khan, he wrote the Book of Various Experiences about his time in Asia, that garnered wide readership in Europe.

Starting with those tidbits, I did a little further digging to uncover the fact that Louis IX died of some sort of stomach flux that was running rampant through his forces at the time, as they lay seige to Tunis. I also learned that Marco Polo traveled the Silk Road to China and faced much disbelief over his tales right up until the day he died.

Voila! I now have a very interesting backstory for the main character in a novella I'm writing for inclusion in a Valentine's anthology. More to come as my research leads me elsewhere...
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Thursday, May 18, 2006

More Moon Musings

http://paganinstitute.org/PIR/lunar_info.html has the following fascinating facts about the moon:

Lunar phases occur because our Moon revolves around the Earth and one side of the moon always faces the Sun. Everyone on earth sees the same phase of the moon.

New Moon - The Moon's dark side faces Earth, rendering the Moon invisible (except during a solar eclipse).

Heliacle New Moon - The Moon's first visible crescent appears just above the setting Sun in the west. This may occur as early as 18 hours after the astronomical "new moon." It is this first crescent which is counted as the "New Moon" in ancient Greece, Rome, the Middle East and Celtic countries. Even today, the lunar calendars of Judaism and Islam use the first visible crescent as the New Moon...Many times, reflected Earth shine will reveal the dark side of the Moon; in poetry and folksong, this is referred to as the "New Moon with the Old Moon in Her arms." The ancient Greeks called this day the Noumena, and in Athens it was so sacred that no other festival could ever supercede it. The ancient Romans called this day the Calends, from which we get the word "calendar."

Waxing Crescent - The Moon appears to be partly but less than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is increasing.

First Quarter - One-half of the Moon appears to be illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is increasing.

Waxing Gibbous - The Moon appears to be more than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is increasing.

Full Moon - The Moon's illuminated side faces Earth. For 3 days Moon appears to be completely illuminated by direct sunlight. The Moon is opposed to the Sun, and rises about sunset.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon appears to be more than one-half but less than fully illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing.

Last Quarter - One-half of the Moon appears to be illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing.

Waning Crescent - Rising late at night, the Moon appears to be partly but less than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing. The Moon disappears in the brightness of the rising Sun and will be unseen for 3 days.
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Friday, April 21, 2006

Full Moon Names

Wolf Moon - January. Amid the zero cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. It was also known as the Old Moon or the Moon After Yule. In some tribes this was the Full Snow Moon. Most applied that name to the next moon.

Snow Moon - February. Usually the heaviest snows fall in this month. Hunting becomes very difficult, and hence to some tribes this was the Full Hunger Moon.

Worm Moon - March. In this month the ground softens and the earthworm casts reappear, inviting the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signals the end of winter, or the Full Crust Moon because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. This is also the Paschal Full Moon - the first full Moon of the spring season.

Pink Moon - April. The grass pink or wild ground phlox is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names were the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and -- among coastal tribes -- the Full Fish Moon, when the shad came upstream to spawn.

Flower Moon - May. Flowers are abundant everywhere. It was also known as the Full Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.

Strawberry Moon - June. Known to every Algonquin tribe. Europeans called it the Rose Moon.

Buck Moon - July. When the new antlers of buck deer push out from their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, thunderstorms being now most frequent. Sometimes also called the Full Hay Moon.

Sturgeon Moon - August. When this large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water like Lake Champlain is most readily caught. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because the moon rises looking reddish through sultry haze, or the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.

Harvest Moon - September. Traditionally, this designation goes to the Full Moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal (Fall) Equinox. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but every third year it occurs in October. At the peak of the harvest, farmers can work into the night by the light of this moon. Usually the full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice -- the chief Indian staples -- are now ready for gathering.

Hunter’s Moon - October. With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt. Since the fields have been reaped, hunters can ride over the stubble, and can more easily see the fox, also other animals, which have come out to glean and can be caught for a thanksgiving banquet after the harvest.

Beaver Moon - November. Time to set beaver traps before the swamps freeze to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Beaver Full Moon come from the fact that the beavers are now active in their preparation for winter. Also called the Frosty Moon.

Cold Moon - December. Among some tribes, the Full Long Nights Moon. In this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and the nights are at their longest and darkest. Also sometimes called the Moon before Yule (Yule is Christmas, and this time the Moon is only just before it). The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long and the Moon is above the horizon a long time. The midwinter full Moon takes a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite to the low Sun.

Blue Moon. Occurs when there are two full moons in one month. The second is the Blue Moon.

A great site for alternative moon names in chart form: http://www.fabandpp.org/cotm/moons.htm

Another great site listing other cultures' names for the various full moons: http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonnames.htm

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---------------oOo--------------- Wiccan Sabbats

Many neopagans in the Northern Hemisphere recognize the following Sabbats:

Samhain - New Year - the start of the Pagan year, on or near October 31 or November 1 or when the sun reaches 15 degrees Scorpio

Yule - Winter Solstice - occurs when the sun reaches its southernmost point, between December 20 and December 23

Imbolc (also know as Oimelc, Brigid, or Candlemas) - February 1 or 2 or when the sun reaches 15 degrees Aquarius

Ostara - Vernal or Spring Equinox - when the sun crosses the equator moving northward, occurs March 20-23

Beltane - May 1 or when the sun reaches 15 degrees Taurus

Midsummer or Litha - Summer Solstice - when the sun reaches its northernmost point, June 20-23

Lammas - August 1 or when the sun reaches 15 degrees Leo

Mabon - Autumnal Equinox - when the sun crosses the equator moving southward, September 20-23

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