Stage summary
| Storyline |
Rufilla prepares her household, including a reluctant Salvius, to welcome her relative, Quintus. Invited to visit King Togidubnus, Salvius searches in vain for a gift as splendid as Quintus’ offering. |
|---|---|
| Main language features |
infinitive + difficile, necesse, decōrum, etc. agreement of adjectives in case and number |
| Sentence patterns |
decōrum, etc. + est + dative (+ accusative) + infinitive |
| Practising the language | clādēs Britannica An innkeeper describes the sack of London by British tribes. |
| Cultural background | The Roman occupation of Britain. |
| Enquiry question | How 'Roman' was 'Roman Britain'? |
Sequence and approach
Quintus’ reappearance here is a big 'reveal', and the tension between him and Salvius is a large plot point that will continue all the way until Stage 40. Accordingly, encourage your students to predict who the unnamed familiāris Pompēiānus may be, as his arrival brings stress to the various members of the household.
The class’s focus on this mystery is a great way naturally and implicitly to model the idea of noun–adjective agreement throughout the Stage, as noun–adjective pairs are employed throughout the Stage in reference to the as-yet-unnamed visitor (e.g. estne cīvis Gallicus? estne vir Syrius aut Graecus? on page 28). Emphasising these descriptions provides excellent reference points when that discussion becomes more explicit in About the language.
As Stages 13 and 14 first introduce students to the context of Romans outside of Italy, the idea of interacting with another culture and the tension it brings should remain at the forefront of these stories. Note that, for Salvius, even Pompeii is not completely 'Roman'. What does Agricola’s 'Romanization' look like for local inhabitants? For the Romans in charge of implementing it? What does it bring for each side? The cultural background material tackles the problematic nature of 'Romanization' and so could be studied as a way to deepen conversations of this nature as they arise during the stories.
Illustration: opening page (p. 25)
Reconstruction of Romano-British room (Museum of London, London),(in the Museum of London), since remodelled. The pottery is authentic, and the cupboard is based on a relief showing items for use by the dead in the next world, from inside a Romano-German sarcophagus. Red and black decor was high-status decoration in Herculaneum, so the room aspires to Roman elegance even in Britain.
Model sentences (p. 26)
Story
The Roman postal system is working well: Rufilla has received a party invitation, Vitellianus has been invited on a hunting trip, and Salvius is inviting Roman associates to his villa for dinner.
New language feature
Subjective infinitive with difficile est and necesse est. This extension of the use of the infinitive causes few problems and will not be outlined in a formal About the language note.
Noun–adjective pairs are modelled. Most pairs share the same declension and so have the same noun ending. However, sentence 3 displays a pair with different terminations, senātor Rōmānus, an innocuous example because of the English cognates.
New vocabulary
ab, necesse
About the language 1: adjectives (pp. 30–31)
New language feature
Adjectives: function, agreement (case and number), and position.
Adjectives are introduced step by step. The later steps, which should not be incorporated here, are:
-
agreement of adjectives of a different declension from the noun (introduced in About the language 2, on page 33)
-
agreement of adjectives by gender (introduced in Stage 18, page 120).
Discussion
Ideas such as adjective–noun agreement become much more manageable when the various dynamics of this concept are sheltered (i.e. introduced and practised in ways appropriate to the level of the learner).
Students might first be encouraged to observe how, for example, amīcus is described by callidus, how amīcum is described by callidum, and how amīcō is described by callidō. Simply put, the case of the adjective changes with the case of the noun. Practice with paragraph 3, and comment (if your students have not observed this already) how the adjective follows the noun in the sentence.
Next, identify that the same concept applies to number: amīcī callidī, amīcōs callidōs, and amīcīs callidīs. Practice this idea with paragraph 5. If students are having difficulty, help them to approach the pairing by asking questions about the meaning: Who was clever? Who was brave? Who were happy? Avoid pointing out the similarity of the word endings as a way to help identification of the pairings, students should be considering the meaning of the words, not their spelling. This will help prevent future issues where nouns and adjectives are of different declensions.
Illustration: p. 31
Outer surface of wax tablet found in a stream in London, branded with
PROC AUG DEDERVNT BRIT PROV,
meaning “issued by the imperial procurators [civilian administrators] of Britain”
(London, British Museum).
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1934-1210-100.
familiāris advenit (p. 32)
Story
Salvius, Rufilla, and Vitellianus welcome their guest (Quintus!) to their house with dinner and then show Quintus to his elegantly decorated bedroom so that he may get some rest after his travels.
Illustrations: p. 32
Oysters and other shellfish were a popular delicacy. Shown with Romano-British dish and spoon (St Albans, Verulamium Museum).
About the language 2: more about adjectives (p. 33)
New language feature
Agreement of adjectives and nouns with different declensions.
Discussion
Lead the students through paragraphs 1–2, using the language of the student text, e.g.: “We saw in the first About the language section that the endings of the noun–adjective pairs looked the same because, for example, puellam laetam not only were the same case and number, but they were the same declension. What if the puella is sad, though, because trīstis is a third-declension adjective? That’s okay, because the two words do not need to look the same, they just need to agree in case and number. So, in Latin, a “sad girl” is puella trīstis.”
If students show anxiety or confusion, point out that they have already successfully read and understood many examples of adjectives which agree with their nouns, although the endings do not look the same (e.g. estne cīvis Gallicus? estne vir Syrius aut Graecus? on page 28). Even the first example in this Stage, diem nātālem meum, in model sentence 1 did not (hopefully!) cause them difficulty. You can even remind them that they’ve seen and understood examples of this going as far back as Stage 2, when the students worried that Grumiō was anxius over the dinner he cooked for Caecilius and Barbillus (model sentence 17 on page 23 of Book 1).
Proceed through paragraph 3 with your students to reinforce this point. Use sentences e and f to remind students that adjectives indicating size or quantity come before the noun.
tripodes argenteī (pp. 34-35)
Play
In preparation for a visit to King Togidubnus, Quintus selects two silver tripods as a gift. Salvius tries to outdo him but can find nothing better than an antique bronze urn.
Illustrations
p. 34
Left: one of seven cups from the Hockwold treasure, Norfolk, England, first century AD, showing that good-quality Roman silver was in use in Britain at the time of Salvius (London, British Museum) https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1962-0707-3
Right: gilded statuette of Hercules, c. 2nd century AD, found in Birdoswald Fort, Cumbria. (London, British Museum) https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1895-0408-1
p. 35
Tripods and jug. Tripods were often fitted with a tray or bowl at the top and were frequently used in religious ceremonies to make offerings of food and wine to the gods or to burn incense.
Practising the language: clādēs Britannica (pp. 36–37)
Story
An innkeeper describes the sack of London by British tribes.
This story can be used as a progress check of several recent language items:
noun–adjective agreement:
taberna plēna (line 1)
urbem meam (line 4)
clādem terribilem (lines 5–6), etc.
infinitive phrases:
difficile est mihi urbem meam commemorāre (line 4)
Boudica tōtam urbem dēlēre volēbat (lines 13–14)
nāvēs tempestātem ēvītāre possunt? (line 16)
nautae perterritī in marī perīre nōlunt (lines 23–24)
the conjunction -que:
fēminae īnfantēs portābant līberōsque per viās dūcēbant (lines 12–13)
domōs tabernāsque incendēbant (line 18)
ego per ruīnās flammāsque currēbam (line 20)
Illustrations: p. 37
This Roman ladder dates from the mid 1st century AD. It was found in 1953 during the preparation of the foundations for the Bank of London and South America building which now stands on the site. Fourteen Roman and eleven medieval and post medieval wells were found on the site, and this ladder was discovered in one of the square Roman wells near the northern edge of the site. The ladder was originally longer, but due to the building contractors’ schedule and their digging around the area, it was recovered in two sections with a small middle part missing. These two were joined together to create the ladder as it is today.
Reviewing the language
If students are ready to consolidate their learning, exercises for this Stage can be found on page 220.
Adjectives 1: Students choose the correct form of the adjective to complete each sentence, demonstrating an understanding of agreement (focusing on case) as well as proper noun–adjective word order. Students then translate each sentence.
Verbs 1: Students choose the correct form of the imperfect tense of esse from the box to complete each sentence, demonstrating an understanding of subject–verb agreement. Students then translate each sentence.
Cultural background (pp. 38–47)
Content
Students learn about the Roman military dominance and 'Romanization' of Britain (this term is now largely discredited, but you may still see it in some older books); Agricola and Tacitus; trade and communication; and how domestic space evolved in Roman Britain.
Enquiry
How 'Roman' was 'Roman Britain'?
Stage 14’s Enquiry question asks students to ascertain just how far Roman culture permeated Britain and how much change the Romans introduced.
Illustrations
p. 38
Map of Agricola's campaigns in Britain
p. 40
Top right: Elaborate tombstone found at Arbeia at the eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall with two inscriptions. The larger one is in Latin and reads: ‘To the Spirits of the Departed. Barathes of Palmyra buries here Regina, a freedwoman and his wife, a Catuvellaunian by origin, aged 30’. (Arbeia South Shields Roman Fort, Newcastle) https://blog.twmuseums.org.uk/the-regina-tombstone/
Bottom right: Chains for enslaved people found in Britain
p. 41
Writing tablet with letter: A writing tablet with a a letter from a woman named Claudia Severa inviting her friend Sulpicia Lepidina to a birthday party found at the Roman fort of Vindolanda. (British Museum, London) https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1986-1001-64 p. 42
Theatre at Roman Verulamium (modern St Albans). Built in about 140AD, from about 180AD the stage came to be used more and the auditorium was extended. By c. 300AD, it could seat 2000 spectators. Nearby are a row of shop foundations, a Roman Villa and shrine, all dating to 1st century AD. p. 43
Aerial view of Watling Street as it passes through modern Hockliffe in Bedfordshire.
p. 44
Top left and right: Reconstructions of British roundhouses at Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire, southern England. The left image shows the possible layout of a small settlement. Butser is a site used for experimental archaeology, and was designed so that archaeologists could learn more about the agricultural and domestic economy in Late Iron Age and Roman Britain.
Bottom left: Detail of wattle and daub, Butser Experimental Ancient Farm, Hampshire, England
Bottom right: Inside a roundhouse. Status is demonstrated by well-crafted objects rather than the functional architectural style. The entrance usually faced southeast to make the best of the morning sun and offer protection against cold north winds. A coracle (boat made of animal skins) hanging on the wall and a clay oven in the middle of the floor in addition to an open hearth. Separate rooms for different purposes, e.g. bedrooms, could have been made by hanging leather or cloth between the uprights and the outer wall. The smoke from the fire would serve a useful purpose in smoking joints of meat and keeping down vermin in the thatch. If well-seasoned wood was burned on the hearth the amount of smoke would have been tolerable.
p. 45
Top right : Reconstructive drawing of a typical early villa in Britain
Bottom right: Drawing by Alan Sorrell of Lullingstone Roman villa as it may have appeared in AD 360. At top centre is a temple-mausoleum, at top right a round temple. Salvius’ villa is imagined as that at Angmering near Worthing (now covered up) which excavation showed to be unusually elaborate for the first century, with planning and craftsmanship surpassed only at Fishbourne.
p. 46
Amphorae
p. 47
Map of Roman settlements
p. 48
Detail from tombstone of Longinus Sdapeze, officer of the First Squadron of Thracian cavalry from Bulgaria (Colchester, Castle Museum). The full image portrays him on his horse riding over the cowering, naked figure, of an enemy. A similar motif can be found on tombstones throughout the Roman Empire. The spiky hair of the victim is based on a hairstyle in which the hair was possibly stiffened with lime. For an image of the full tombstone and details of its inscription see: https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/201 and http://roman.archeurope.com/tombstone-of-longinus-sdapeze/
Vocabulary checklist (p. 48)
- adveniō is the first of many compounds of core vocabulary which are formally introduced in Unit 2 (note that revenit was glossed as far back as Stage 3), and so it is useful to help students observe the connection between “to come (veniō) to (ad)” and “arrive.” Note that this may be helpful with redeō as well.
- attonitus is the perfect passive participle of attonō, attonāre meaning “to strike with thunder.” Thus, attonitus comes to mean “astonished, stunned, senseless.”
- iste is used throughout the CLC after the manner of Classical usage which often implied a pejorative sense to it, and you can point to its use in Stage 13 on page 6 (Salvius īrātus clāmāvit, “iste servus mē vulnerāvit!”) as an excellent example.
- num is treated as a vocabulary item only and no further explanation is given.
- Note that -que has the unique feature of connecting the word to which it is connected with the previous word (e.g. servī ancillaeque, on page 8). This also pertains to clauses (e.g. also on page 8: deinde Salvius ex equō dēscendit uxōremque salūtāvit.).