08-20-2011, 09:20 PM
Now that the 2012 RAT Conference seems to be set for early March next year, I feel able to post details of this event in the knowledge that they will not clash. It is not re-enactment but this seems as good a place as any to post them. If this should be elsewhere, perhaps the mods could move it.
The Roman Army School is a course on the Roman army held annually in Durham, England, at around Easter-time. The first was in 1970 and it has been held virtually every year since then. Originally, it was conducted under the auspices of the Extra-Mural Department of Durham University but now it is run by the Hadrianic Society. It is organised by Dr Brian Dobson, a highly respected scholar of the Roman army and an authority on Hadrian's Wall. The School is open to anyone with an interest in the army and consists of a series of lectures, mostly by recognised professionals. I say "mostly" because unusually, if not uniquely, for many years ordinary members of the course have been encouraged to deliver lectures on aspects of the subject that interest them. I have done so on a number of occasions and will be speaking again next year (now there's an incentive - either to attend or to stay away!). Many students, like me, return year after year. Adrian Goldsworthy, who has been one of the regular lecturers for some years, regards the School as unique for its longevity and the degree of knowledge accumulated by those attending, and speaks highly of it in his blog. Not that anyone should feel intimidated from attending; some knowledge is assumed but no more than can be obtained from reading a general book on the subject.
The School is held over five days, beginning on Saturday evening and ending at lunchtime on Wednesday. There are two lectures in the morning, two in the afternoon and one in the evening. Monday afternoon is generally free, allowing students to go into Durham to visit the bookshops or the cathedral, to travel up to Hadrian's Wall or to conduct research in the University library, which will admit those not studying at the University upon production of ID. There is a social gathering on the Tuesday evening, misleadingly called a "wild party". There is ample opportunity to discuss points of interest with the lecturers at mealtimes, between lectures or in the bar in the evening, although other commitments mean that some lecturers are not there for the whole time. Inevitably, most of those attending are from the UK but one long-standing student comes over from the States each year and another comes from Germany (incidentally, both have been invited to speak next year), while one of the professional lecturers also comes over from Germany.
Next year's School is to be held from Saturday, 31st March to Wednesday, 4th April 2012 at Collingwood College, Durham. This represents a change of venue (for many years, it has been held at St Aidan's College), so I cannot comment upon the facilities or the likely cost. When full details are announced, I will post them. In the meantime, anyone interested will find such information as is currently available, as well as information about the Hadrianic Society itself, on the Society's website (www.hadrianicsociety.com). I hope that this post has aroused your interest and that those of you who can do so may be moved to attend the 2012 School. I am sure that you will find it a stimulating experience. New blood is always welcome and it would be interesting to be able to put faces to the noms-de-plume.
The Roman Army School is a course on the Roman army held annually in Durham, England, at around Easter-time. The first was in 1970 and it has been held virtually every year since then. Originally, it was conducted under the auspices of the Extra-Mural Department of Durham University but now it is run by the Hadrianic Society. It is organised by Dr Brian Dobson, a highly respected scholar of the Roman army and an authority on Hadrian's Wall. The School is open to anyone with an interest in the army and consists of a series of lectures, mostly by recognised professionals. I say "mostly" because unusually, if not uniquely, for many years ordinary members of the course have been encouraged to deliver lectures on aspects of the subject that interest them. I have done so on a number of occasions and will be speaking again next year (now there's an incentive - either to attend or to stay away!). Many students, like me, return year after year. Adrian Goldsworthy, who has been one of the regular lecturers for some years, regards the School as unique for its longevity and the degree of knowledge accumulated by those attending, and speaks highly of it in his blog. Not that anyone should feel intimidated from attending; some knowledge is assumed but no more than can be obtained from reading a general book on the subject.
The School is held over five days, beginning on Saturday evening and ending at lunchtime on Wednesday. There are two lectures in the morning, two in the afternoon and one in the evening. Monday afternoon is generally free, allowing students to go into Durham to visit the bookshops or the cathedral, to travel up to Hadrian's Wall or to conduct research in the University library, which will admit those not studying at the University upon production of ID. There is a social gathering on the Tuesday evening, misleadingly called a "wild party". There is ample opportunity to discuss points of interest with the lecturers at mealtimes, between lectures or in the bar in the evening, although other commitments mean that some lecturers are not there for the whole time. Inevitably, most of those attending are from the UK but one long-standing student comes over from the States each year and another comes from Germany (incidentally, both have been invited to speak next year), while one of the professional lecturers also comes over from Germany.
Next year's School is to be held from Saturday, 31st March to Wednesday, 4th April 2012 at Collingwood College, Durham. This represents a change of venue (for many years, it has been held at St Aidan's College), so I cannot comment upon the facilities or the likely cost. When full details are announced, I will post them. In the meantime, anyone interested will find such information as is currently available, as well as information about the Hadrianic Society itself, on the Society's website (www.hadrianicsociety.com). I hope that this post has aroused your interest and that those of you who can do so may be moved to attend the 2012 School. I am sure that you will find it a stimulating experience. New blood is always welcome and it would be interesting to be able to put faces to the noms-de-plume.
Michael King Macdona
And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
