Pertinax

I merely report the effulgence of HBO.

Lex, thats quite an interesting post, because I have been watching the "extras" on the HBO Romw DVD .One of the salient points made by the director and the historical advisor was , that the use of Roman extras (they filmed in Rome) gave lots of subtle veritas to the whole proceeding, in terms of gesture, deportment, emotion and "bella figura" generally.

If you cross over to the AD 43 AD 1066 thread http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showto...amp;#entry39365 I posted as regards Huscarl loyalty as Saxon "hearth troops". I think the two threads might converge sometime soon.

No Sirrah , I dispute you, an abundant supply of delicious high calorie shortbread biscuits. http://www.fortnumandmason.com/shopping/bi...ttishShortbread

Yes indeed, a bit like reading the King James' Authorised Bible and then reading a "modern" Bible: one is true and fulsome language, the other is a collection of joined-up words.

Thank you, I thought perhaps I had missed some detail from Trajans column: the scenes of the wounded and the bandaging of wounds I recall.

Good, I knew Longbow would have the information. Might I add, my understanding is that as the Huscarls were "hearth troops" with a bond of personal loyalty ,(in a reciprocal relationship of fidelity and reward) the death of Harald broke that relationship and they could honourably attend to the prestigious occupation of mercenary. One must remember that Senlach (Hastings) was a close fought battle and that these men were defeated but not dishonoured, their personal integrity would be best expressed by departing for gainful and honourable martial activity.

Is it because they eat so much oily fish and have excellent peristalsis?

You must understand that the BBC is run from a small thatched cottage in Thames Ditton (Surrey), it does not recognise any localities north of Chesham (Buckinghamshire), functions as a sort of liberal situationalist happening (on lysurgic acid) and has no concept of the Christian faith or its calendrical incantations. I therefore reinforce the remark made by AD, but with ill concealed loathing.

Gibbon is still well worth a read, I am trying to get my hands on a full secondhand set printed on quality paper at present, I first read him when I was at school and despite the "archaic" manner I found the text resonated strongly. Thats quite a while ago now, but I havent changed my mind as to the vivid immediacy of the text.

Stitching (suturing) was not , as far as I know, a popular Roman field technique. Certainly they had the ability to suture but apparently preferred to let "straightforward " flesh wounds breathe, as a good deep scab builds and pus is localised in a cleanable wound. Hydrochloric acid tends to corrode surface flesh if it spills from a wound, if it got anywhere else it would burn flesh or exposed organs, but it wouldnt in itself cause infection. Antiochus was the Dacian example form some sort of Trajanic source?

Hello Davus , and Welcome to the Forum. I hope you will find much to interest you.

The Normans of course also campaigned in , and held, parts of Ireland. The position was rather strange in that the Normans were considerably more advanced in military technology , but , as they sought to dominate and hold land with people on it as a physical power base the gaels/hebrideans just sought to control people alone as tribal power structures so a sort of uneasy stalemate existed.I presume I will now spark a USA/Vietcong analogy .

AS an aside I note that this "round hut" is still very much in evidence as a local style dwelling attached to late (3rd C AD)period forts.De la Bedoyere suggests it remained the norm for the ordinary Briton, this doesnt mean that the absence of Roman influence, but probably has quite a lot to do with a tried and trusted defence against the ghastly climate.

I am listening right now! Excellente.

You may be intoxicated.

Back to 100 BC covers a multitude of sins. Thank you for clearing up the matter. A door knob could have given me that bit of intelligence, Your Grace. Interesting , you communicate with inanimate objects? You might therefore help me find my Devonshire Arms cufflinks, they are hiding from me. Perhaps the iron age pre-invasion housebuilding scene was aware of Roman fads and sophistry, but trusted the old fashioned clachan ,as warm and reliable, if a little dowdy and dung tainted.

I was reading only a few days ago that the biggest contemporary source of the transmission of iatrogenic infection in British hospitals is still a failure by Doctors to wash their hands ( not nurses or cleaning staff being "dirty"-Lister, in his day,was responding to the apalling practice of moving from mortuary to delivery room without ablution. Gut wounds-as far as I know the best policy is nil by mouth , perhaps wetting the lips to ease discomfort.

Back to 100 BC covers a multitude of sins.

Typical provincials, no style.

A few themes brought up from Lex's post: The medical equipment and procedure that we have looked at as a "standardised" procedure for the Augustinian (and later ) Legions cant have sprung from the Earth fully formed, and as he says it is most reasonable to interpolate a thorough working knowledge of dealing with basic wound types.Id just like to see more Republican Medicus kit! The Romans had no germ theory , (but then many people still dont) but they knew that washing and cleansing a wound ( and the surgeons hands) was needful. As ive said elsewhere acetum is superior to carbolic acid (Lister) in germicidal properties, and strong lavender "water" will make you wince if placed on a wound ( as say raw Tea Tree (manuka) oil would do). They understood that honey suffocated "bad humours" , but a peripheral wound is a more basic proposition than any intestinal damage, peritonitis is a huge risk if faecal matter is impacted .I would also mention that then as now a punctured lung is a very tricky thing m you might get away with it but you could have complete collapse of one lung. I think pain killing would not be so basic though, Henbane and Opium were known and used though skill is needed to dispense. Speed of treatment is the key, and speed of casualty retreival and wound cleansing. Modern casevac is speed and plenty of plasma, the latter not available at all in days gone,( however arterial clamps were). A good wet scab is still the best dressing- keep it clean and wipe pus away or gauze very lightly over a burn and get a neutral refrigerant on and its the speediest way to mend flesh. Lex as an aside do you have knowledge of any "local" herbal remedies used by Native Peoples or early Settlers in SA in relation to wounds and fevers? I ask in relation to a specific discussion between myself and Spurius on wound treatments outside the Roman sphere.

The region was not a creation of the Normans , I think the church province of Rouen was co-terminus (more or less).The area had been basically gallo-roman with a few franks thrown in , the difference though was substantial in migration by Vikings -when consolidated by Rollo as a recognisable entity ,the area kept in close trade contact with Scandinavia and Northern Britain. Its history is an attempt to centralise a very warlike aristocracy by a series of "strong men". Of course I am now treading towards the topic of Normans as Byzantine elite troops.....and their impact on that Empire.....

Ironic you should ask. My main interest is Roman , but I am studying Islamic practice from later periods and have some workable knowledge regarding medieval Japan. You will also have noticed I gather what information I can on Celtiberian and Hellenistic medicine from the "ancient " periods where I suspect cultural crossover to Rome. Most of my contacts are predominantly Roman , but I have extended an invitation to Celt re-enactors asking for comment on ritual/magic/medicine , the problem here is one tends to drift into Druidic enthusiasts who are less inclined toward the study of actual medicaments. I would be keen to discuss Assyrian medicine if any information is available and the American Civil War . Please pm if you have a specific period or technique in mind.

The Normans were "in France" as we know it today , but their racial identity is derived from more Scandinavian roots. They could perhaps be charachterised as the first "modern" nation state builders , with Britain , Siculo-Norman Sicily and the Principality of Antioch as examples of their skill. I conjecture that the profound difference between Roman and Norman invasive presence, was that Roman material wealth as an expression of culture (and concepts of justice and legitimacy) were woven deep into the Tribal Brythonic natives psyche and these tribes were like tiny petty kingdoms , minnows swallowed by a whale -The Normans were a quick,violent takeover bid at the top of an established corporate entity.

The dedicated surgical equipment for specific wound types was certainly in place ; arrow removal pincers for plain or barbed arrows : http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=911 here we see the pincers rotated to mask the barb. Probes and pliers for deep ballistic wounds: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=910 here we see long nosed pliers probing for sling ammo. deep trauma and broken bone as posted previously in the thread.