Off-Duty Protectores et Domestici

[Holtingar]

If I were a protector domesticus at Trier during Gratian's reign, where would I go to play dice when I'm off duty? I'm writing a scene that fits the above description right now, and I just realized that I'm not exactly sure where something like this would take place.

Also, if anyone has some good links regarding the palace complex at Trier I'd love to check them out. I've done a few google searches and looked around on the forum but haven't found much more than superficial descriptions.

[Nathan Ross]

The only surviving part of the palace complex, as you know, is the famous basilica. There was, however, a suite of rooms discovered beneath the apse of the later Roman cathedral, later replaced by the 'Dom' - this is where the famous painted ceiling was found. Church history claims that the cathedral was built on the site of the 'house of Helena', and whether this was Constantine's mother or Crispus' wife, it probably refers to a wing of the imperial palace later set aside for the use of this lady. I have seen a plan of these rooms somewhere, but as I recall they weren't very different in layout to those in larger Roman villas of the period - the nearby villa at Nennig (possibly an imperial property) is similar, and there are plans and models of this online.

So we can assume that the palace complex extended northwards from the rear of the basilica, towards the approximate site of the later cathedral. The rectilinear plan of the city further suggests that the palace occupied a large rectangular enclosure, probably with a central colonnaded garden at the rear of the basilica and a wing of lavish residential buildings at the northern end on the site of the cathedral. There were presumably other wings of buildings around the sides, and minor courtyards flanking the basilica itself (as shown on various plans and reconstructions online).

If we can assume that the imperial family occupied the residential wing to the north, on the cathedral site, the rest of the complex would have provided accomodation for the sizeable imperial retinue - including the corps of notaries, the assorted scrinia, houses for the magistri, some sort of headquarters for the agens in rebus, and I would imagine a barrack of some description for the Protectors and any other bodyguard troops.

So your off-duty Protectors may well have remained in the palace, within their own quarters. By this date, though, soldiers and citizens mixed quite freely, so quite probably they would have gone out into the city itself for their recreation...

If you can get hold of a copy, Edith Wightman's Roman Trier and the Treveri is a rather old book (1970), but provides a reasonable English summary. Going into German titles might provide some more up-to-date maps and plans though.

[Holtingar]

Thanks! That was a great response.
Sounds like I was thinking along the right lines. I had originally set the scene in the Protectors' quarters at the palace, but then I started wondering if that would be correct. When I started looking through my research notes, I realized that I knew almost nothing about the palace complex in Trier, except for the basilica.

The biggest difficulty I've found in writing a story set during the 4th century lies in defining the limits of available information. Sometimes there is simply nothing recorded about this or that aspect of daily life. Other times there is recorded evidence, but it's just difficult to find. And that's where the headache comes in: If I invent something in the absence of solid evidence, there is a possibility that a reader somewhere will know something that I didn't, and it can ruin the story for them.

[Nathan Ross]

The biggest difficulty I've found in writing a story set during the 4th century lies in defining the limits of available information. Sometimes there is simply nothing recorded about this or that aspect of daily life. Other times there is recorded evidence, but it's just difficult to find. And that's where the headache comes in: If I invent something in the absence of solid evidence, there is a possibility that a reader somewhere will know something that I didn't, and it can ruin the story for them.

My suggestion - read as much as you can, and carry off the rest with bravado!

Seriously, if you can read and digest AHM Jones' Later Roman Empire, you've probably got most of what you need on a technical level - or at least, most of what your educated reader would recognise! A general primer of aspects of life in the earlier empire will fill in a lot of gaps and allow you to extrapolate. Beyond that, I would suggest a good sourcebook - Maas' Readings in Late Antiquity is satisfying huge and packed with juicy snippets. That should give you enough material to create a sense of time and place, and give your inventions some firm (or firm-looking) foundations.

The later empire can be tricky in another way though - readers might be more familiar with earlier practices, and assume you've got things wrong. For example, many people know that the Romans divided up the calendar differently to us - the months had calends, ides and so on... However - by the early third century the seven-day week had been introduced (from Egypt, according to Dio), and by the fourth it was in common use. But the average Roman-enthusiast reading a novel in which characters mention Sunday and talk about doing things next week would probably recoil in harrumping derision - this writer clearly hasn't done his research! And yet it would be entirely accurate... hock:

[Holtingar]

That's a pretty good suggestion.

AHM Jones' work is an amazing resource. It's staggering to imagine the work that went into writing something like that. I've been reading and re-reading it for the past three years.

I've got Mixed feelings about Maas. Sometimes I'll look up a topic only to be given a the exact same snippet of Ammianus that I'm trying to flesh out. Don't get me wrong though, it is an excellent book, and terribly fun to thumb through at random. The best thing about it is that all of the entries are taken from primary sources, so you never have to guess how much of a given paragraph is the author's interpretation.

Have you ever read The Two Eyes of the Earth by Matthew Canepa? I came across it while I was looking for good descriptions of late imperial court ceremony. It's contains some very impressive work. I thought the author's style was overly abstract at times, but the book is dealing with some pretty abstract ideologies, so I guess it's par for the course.

I also found The Roman Empire of Ammianus by John Matthews to be an excellent companion to Ammanius's history. It really helps bring Ammianus' times to life.

I've been reading late antiquity as an enthusiast for almost sixteen years (half of my life at this point), and I always thought I knew a lot about the era. Writing about it has made me revise that viewpoint. It also heightened my respect for authors like Jones. Since I started working on my book in 2010, I've read a pretty significant stack of books. I just hope that when all is said and done, people will want to read the significant stack of pages that I've turned that research into. I'm learning that historical fiction can be a tough genera.

[Nathan Ross]

Have you ever read The Two Eyes of the Earth by Matthew Canepa?

I haven't, but it looks very interesting. Thanks for the recommendation - I'll add it to my (rather lengthy) 'to be read' list! :grin:

[Robert Vermaat]

I've been reading late antiquity as an enthusiast for almost sixteen years (half of my life at this point), and I always thought I knew a lot about the era. Writing about it has made me revise that viewpoint. It also heightened my respect for authors like Jones.

Indeed!