Marching With Caesar: Conquest of Gaul (107 page)

Glossary of Terms

Commonly Used Terms

Bracae-
Essentially a pair of trousers, favored by Gauls and adopted by the Romans for use in cold weather.

Cac
- Unsurprisingly, this is the slang term for shit.

Conquistore
- A minor official charged with the raising of a Legion, once a
dilectus
was called by a Praetor, Consul or ProConsul. In the Imperial period, these positions were much sought-after because of the opportunity for enriching oneself through bribery. During Caesar's time, when the raising of Legions was much less formalized and haphazard, the position was temporary and not as lucrative.

Dilectus
- The actual call for enlistment of a Legion. During the early Republican period, Legions were enrolled for single campaign seasons, a practice that soon fell by the wayside as Rome's expansion became more aggressive. Very quickly, the term of enlistment expanded from four, to six, then ten and finally, sixteen years. Although there is no definitive evidence for when this actually began, in Marching With Caesar, the assumption is made that it starts with the first Legion raised by Gaius Julius Caesar, and that was the 10th Legion. This is because the subsequent Legions raised by Caesar, starting with the 11th Legion, were enlisted for a term of sixteen years. Also, it was almost exactly sixteen years after their formation that the 10th mutinied because their discharges were due.

Edepol
- An exclamation of surprise, used by Roman males.

Gerrae
- Similar to
Edepol
, but was not commonly used by the upper classes. This term is similar to the American Northeast "Get the fuck outta here".

Gregarius-
This is the shortened version of the rank
Miles Gregarius
, the first and lowest rank in the Roman Legion. It is akin to the modern day Private.

Immune
- An
immune
was a Roman Legionary with a particular skill that was deemed vital to the running of a Legion. Unlike their modern counterparts, a Roman Legion was required to be self-sufficient as much as possible, needing only the raw materials to make the implements and weaponry needed to wage war in the Roman fashion. An example of an
immune
would be an armorer, or a leather worker. This was a rank immediately above that of
Gregarius
.

Intente
- The Latin command for "Attention", the military command to assume a position of alert readiness for the following command.

Numen
- A disembodied spirit or force,
numen
were perhaps the most ancient supernatural form, and as such were much more simplistic and primeval.

Paludamentum
- The scarlet cloak worn by Roman commanders of at least Legate rank.

Porro
- The Latin command that signals a Legion to begin the assault.

Praetorium
- Both the headquarters tent in a Roman military camp, and the residence of the Praetor of a province. In camp, the
Praetorium
is the first tent erected, in the center of the camp, and all the dimensions of the camp were measured from the
Praetorium
.

Probatio
- The status for those who have enlisted but not yet started the training in the Legion. While a minor distinction, it was an important one, and represents the need for some sort of hold over a recruit during the period of time it took them to travel to wherever the Legion was being trained, then waiting for the training to begin. This is supposition on my part, but is based on my experience as a recruiter in the Marine Corps. Fundamentally, the reason is pretty simple; while needing to retain some sort of hold over new recruits, it wasn't very likely that they would be subjected to the harsh discipline of the Legions right away, when they were being escorted to their training camp.

Quaestorium
- Next to the
Praetorium
, the most important location of a Roman military camp, as it held the quartermaster. It was located next to the
Praetorium
.

Salve
- Common form of (formal) greeting. Equivalent of "Hello".

Silete
- Latin for silence, this is the more polite way to ask someone to be quiet.

Tacete
- The Latin equivalent of "Shut the fuck up".

Tirones-
This is the term used for recruits enlisted in the Legions who have actually begun training. This is a distinctly different class than
probatio
, and assumes that the recruit has actually begun the training that was required to become a member of the Legion.

Vitus
- The twisted length of vine stick that was a symbol of the Roman Centurion. Even out of uniform, Centurions would carry the
vitus
to let others know their status.