Dreaming the Bull (55 page)

If we believe Tacitus that Claudius did, in fact, pardon Caradoc, then the question remains as to why a man who so clearly enjoyed the slow death of his enemies might choose to do so. It is possible that Caradoc simply presented one wholesome speech and so won the life of himself and his family but not likely. The answer, I feel, lies in Claudius’ overwhelming need to survive and for this there must have been some threat, real or imagined, by which Caradoc bought his life. It may not be as I have written it but it makes sense within the context of this fiction.

It should be remembered, above all, that this is fiction. The skeleton of known fact is very thin and disjointed and the fantasy woven around it is designed to fill in those gaps in as compelling a way as possible. Don’t take any of it as sworn fact. It won’t be.

The language of the pre-Roman tribes is lost to us; we have no means of knowing the exact pronunciations although linguists make brave attempts, based on known living and dead languages, particularly modern and medieval Breton, Cornish and Welsh. The following are my best attempts at accuracy. You are free to make your own. The names of characters based in history are marked with an asterisk.

*
Breaca
—Bray-ah-ca. Also known as the Boudica, from the old word “Boudeg” meaning Bringer of Victory, thus “She who Brings Victory”. Breaca is a derivative of the goddess Briga.

Bán
—Breaca’s half-brother, son of Macha. The “á” is pronounced rather like the “o” in bonfire. Without the accent, it means “white”.

*
Caradoc
—Kar-a-dok. Lover to Breaca, father to Cygfa and Cunomar. Co-leader of the western resistance against Rome.

Cunomar
—Koon-oh-mar. Son of Breaca and Caradoc. His name means “hound of the sea”.

Cwmfen
—Koom-ven. Warrior of the Ordovices. Lover to Caradoc before Breaca, mother of Cygfa.

Cygfa
—Sig-va. Daughter of Caradoc and Cwmfen, half-sister to Cunomar.

Airmid of Nemain
—Air-med. Frog-dreamer, former lover to Breaca. Airmid is one of the Irish names of the goddess.

*
Amminios
—Ah-min-i-oss. Elder brother to Caradoc, now dead.

Ardacos
—Ar-dah-kos. She-bear warrior of the Caledones. Former lover to Breaca.

*
Cunobelin
—Koon-oh-bel-in. Father to Caradoc, now dead. Cun—“hound”, Belin, the sun god. Hence, Hound of the Sun or Sun Hound.

Dubornos
—Doob-ohr-nos. Singer and warrior of the Eceni, childhood companion to Breaca and Bán.

Eburovic
—Eh-boor-oh-vik. Father to Breaca and Bán, now dead.

Efnís
—Eff-neesh. Dreamer of the Eceni.

Gwyddhien
—G-with-i-enne. Warrior of the Silures, lover to Airmid.

Luain mac Calma
—Luw-ain mak Kalma. Elder of Mona and heron-dreamer. A prince of Hibernia.

Macha
—Mach-ah. The “ch” is soft as in Scottish “loch”. Bán’s mother, now dead. Macha is a derivative of the horse goddess.

Iccius
—Ikk-i-ooss. Belgic slave-boy killed in an accident while enslaved by Amminios. Friend and soul-mate to Bán.

Latin is rather closer to our language, although we would pronounce the letter “J” as equivalent to the current “Y”, “V” would be “W” and “C” would be a hard “K” in all cases. However, this is so rarely used that it is simpler to retain standard modern pronunciation of these letters.

Julius Valerius
—officer in the auxiliary cavalry, originally with the Ala Quinta Gallorum, later the Ala Prima Thracum.

Quintus Valerius Corvus
—prefect of the Ala Quinta Gallorum.

*
Longinus Sdapeze
—officer with the Ala Prima Thracum.

*
Publius Osterius Scapula
—second governor of Britannia,
AD
47–51.

*
Marcus Ostorius Scapula
—his son.

*
Aulus Didius Gallus
—third governor of Britannia,
AD
52–57.

*
Quintus Veranius
—fourth governor of Britannia,
AD
57–58.

Marullus
—centurion with the XXth Legion, later with the Praetorian Guard in Rome.

Umbricius
—actuary with the Ala Quinta Gallorum.

Sabinius
—standard-bearer with the Ala Quinta Gallorum.

Gaudinius
—armourer with the Ala Quinta Gallorum.

*
Emperor Tiberius Claudius Drusus Caesar
—emperor of Rome.

*
Agrippina the Younger
—his niece, also his fourth wife, mother to Nero.

*
Germanicus,
a.k.a.
Britannicus
—son of Claudius by Messalina, his third wife.

*
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus,
a.k.a.
Nero
—son of Agrippina the Younger and Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus.

In addition to those books mentioned in the first volume, the following were particularly useful:

Tacitus,
The Complete Works
(Modern Library College Editions, Random House, 1942).

Suetonius,
The Lives of the Twelve Caesars,
ed. Tom Griffith (Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1977).

Claus, M.,
The Roman Cult of Mithras,
trans. Richard Gordon (Edinburgh University Press, 2000).

Cunliffe, Barry (ed.),
Rome
(Oxford Archaeological Guides, Oxford University Press, 1998).

Farvo, D.,
The Urban Image of Augustan Rome
(Cambridge University Press, 1996).

Holder, P.A.,
The Roman Army in Britain
(B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1982).

Holland, R.,
Nero, The Man Behind the Myth
(Sutton Publishing, 2000).

Linderman, Frank B.,
Pretty-Shield, The Story of a Crow Medicine Woman (University of Nebraska Press, 1932).

Paolis, U.E.,
Rome, Its People, Life and Customs
(Longman Group, 1958).

White, M.A.,
SPQR, The History and Social Life of Ancient Rome
(Macmillan, 1965).

Manda Scott is a veterinary surgeon, writer and climber. Known primarily as a crime writer, her first novel,
Hen’s Teeth,
was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. Her subsequent novels are
Night Mares, Stronger than Death
and
No Good Deed, for
which she was hailed by the
Times
of London as “one of Britain’s most important crime writers.” Born and educated in Scotland, she now lives in Suffolk.