Preparing to march on York!
Hooray! Last weekend, after all the doubts about it happening, the festival celebrating Roman York was back. Romans everywhere, including a march through the city, kids staring goggle-eyed, adults fascinated by weapons, surveying, dyeing, medical practice, letter writing, cooking – all in the Roman way. And the sun shone on us.
Two days of fun, and two days of remembering the enormous impact of Roman life in Britannia. And two days of getting a hint of a glimpse of how it might have been.
And, of course, the authors returned… We had classical Roman fiction with battles and spies, the adventures of a grumpy Roman medic and his British girlfriend, tribes vs. Romans, a Roman innkeeper tackling murder mysteries, Roma Nova alternative fiction(!), life during the Roman period non-fiction, and the post Roman Britain world and beyond.
Left to right: Simon Turney, Paul Chrystal, Alex Gough, Nancy Jardine, me, Ruth Downie, Jane Finnis, Edwin Price (Clive Ashman not pictured) Photo courtesy of Tracey Turney
I took most of these photos before the public came in on the Saturday – it wouldn’t have been possible to get clear shots otherwise, as it became very busy both days.
We even made it into the local press: https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/20236510.legions-return-york-eboracum-roman-festival/
The overwhelming feeling over both days was one of joy as smiles of recognition were exchanged between ‘Romans’, friendships renewed and a fascinated and often knowledgeable public engaged. The craft displays, weapons, expertise and enthusiasm of the Roman village inhabitants were unparalleled and the dedication to the Roman way was clear.
In the bookroom, once I had explained my appearance – I was dressed as a 21st century Praetorian officer of Roma Nova – I had some wide-ranging conversations about the possibility of a part of Rome surviving into the 21st century and hopefully intrigued new readers.
I know my author colleagues had an equally fabulous time back amongst the readers, chatting, exchanging and bantering with them – the place we love to be.
Roll on Eboracum 2023!
Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers – INCEPTIO, CARINA (novella), PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO, AURELIA, NEXUS (novella), INSURRECTIO and RETALIO, and ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories. Audiobooks are available for four of the series. Double Identity, a contemporary conspiracy, starts a new series of thrillers. JULIA PRIMA, a new Roma Nova story set in the late 4th century, will be out on 23 August.
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I love Roman festivals. We have some here in Spain as well. I think there is a bit of Roman in all of us.
We had a terrific time, as you can gather. Yes, we still think about the impact of Rome, even on our lives today.