The Eagle of the Ninth - Rosemary Sutcliff

If you travel in the wilds of Northumberland, just south of The Wall, sooner or later someone will tell you that it's "probably around here somewhere that the Legion went missing". No-one knows for sure; in fact no-one knows for sure if the Legion ever got that far north…or even if it actually 'went missing' at all. What is known is that in AD117 the Ninth Legion of the occupying Roman army was despatched from Eburacum (now York) to deal ...
...Did they march north into the mists to be slaughtered by rampaging tribesmen? Did they disgrace themselves again (having already been largely responsible for the debacle against the Iceni) such that they were disbanded and expunged from the record? Did they desert, fed up of the northern English weather and their (unjustified) reputation? Did they simply get gradually eroded as their men were co-opted by other garrisons for more urgent duties en ... more

If you travel in the wilds of Northumberland, just south of The Wall, sooner or later someone will tell you that it's "probably around here somewhere that the Legion went missing". No-one knows for sure; in fact no-one knows for sure if the Legion ever got that far north…or even if it actually 'went missing' at all. What is known is that in AD117 the Ninth Legion of the occupying Roman army was despatched from Eburacum (now York) to deal with a tribal uprising in the north. There is no further record of them.

Did they march north into the mists to be slaughtered by rampaging tribesmen? Did they disgrace themselves again (having already been largely responsible for the debacle against the Iceni) such that they were disbanded and expunged from the record? Did they desert, fed up of the northern English weather and their (unjustified) reputation? Did they simply get gradually eroded as their men were co-opted by other garrisons for more urgent duties en route? Or is it simply that it is the records of their subsequent actions that have been lost and not the Legion itself at all?

We will never know.

Rosemary Sutcliff's book is not an attempt at a serious consideration of the likely explanations. It is a flight of fancy, based upon the myth of the missing Legion, which she ties to an excavated wingless "Eagle" found at Silchester. She supposes that this desecrated standard originally belonged to the Ninth Legion and spins a tale as to how it may have come to rest where it lay: it is a plausible tale, but an improbable one.

"The Eagle" centres on the youthful Marcus Flavius Aquila, posted at own request to England, where he hopes to learn something of his father's disappearance: his father had led the lost Legion. The early chapters serve to depict Marcus as the open, eager, loyal, young soldier - who cares about 'right' as much as 'rule'. Very shortly, defending Isca Dumnorium against the British, he shatters his leg - a wound so badly doctored that he finds himself "with a lame leg, and no money and no prospects". He is out of the army - "the only kind of life he had ever thought of, the only kind he had any training for" - and a long way from home.

Fortunately, under the narrative imperative of the genre, he has an uncle who has retired from the army & has elected to remain in Britain. He goes to recuperate at this uncle's house at Calleva (Silchester). Whilst there he is taken to the Saturnalian games, where he meets the beautiful flame-haired Cottia (who will provide the requisite chaste love-interest) and demands mercy for the proud Esca (son of Brigantian clan chief, now a gladiator) who will not beg on his own account. Esca will accompany Marcus on the quest to come, and Cottia will wait for him.

The quest, of course, is to discover what happened to the Ninth Hispana ~ and in particular his father. Rumours reach the house at Calleva that the Legion did indeed pass beyond the wall, that they were involved in a battle for their honour… rumour enough to stir the young soldier to need to know the truth about what happened. Although in explaining it to others, especially non-Roman others, Marcus tells them that it is about his father, but that is only part of it. It is clearly also about pride and honour, which for him are tied up in the emotional connection to Rome and the army. He seeks not only the truth of what happened, but if at all possible to trace the Legion's standard, the lost "Eagle" and bring it home.

Gaining official sanction for his mission, Marcus and Esca (clan-noble, gladiator, slave, and now freed-man) set off on a trail that will take them beyond the Wall, beyond the one-time Roman lands of Valentia (between the walls of Hadrian & Antony), into the wild tribal lands of Caledonia.

~

The Eagle of the Ninth was first published in 1954 and began a sequence which included "The Lantern Bearers" for which the author won the Carnegie medal.

It is written for 'young people' - one of those meaningless phrases that indicate that one should not seek sophistication in its pages. It is indeed simply written, but not detrimentally so. The imagery is strong: "No braying war-horn, but a clearer, higher note that seemed perfectly akin to the pale feather hanging remote in the evening sky". The detail is fascinating: pony bridles enriched with "silver and bronze and studs of coral and red Hibernian gold"; "bracelets of silver and copper and blue Egyptian glass…Above all she was the proud possessor of a large bronze cauldron". The plot, however improbable, is strong enough to engage the reader in wanting to know the detail of how it plays out. It is a pity that the author's own foreword which tells of the relic found at Silchester undermines any suspense that a reader might have had about the general outcome. Her words would have served better as an 'afterword'.

Characterisation is variable. The central players of Marcus and Esca are believable as individuals, with moods and motivations. Many of the others - Cradoc and Guern who may both be seen as pivotal - even Cottia - are mere cyphers. They carry the archetype mantel and move the action on but elicit little in the way of the reader's engagement, sympathetic or otherwise.

More powerful are the evocations of time and place, and the juxtapositions of the British and the Roman. Esca compares the flowing Celtic decorations on a British shield boss, with the tight formal patterns on the Roman dagger-sheath 'You cannot expect the man who made this shield to live easily under the rule of the man who worked the sheath of the dagger'. The contrast is well made, and perhaps heightened by the choice of the shield for the Britons as defenders and the dagger of the Roman invaders. The contrast between form and freedom follow more forcibly in the battle sequences with the marauding tribes against the tight Testudo (though there is humour enough to suggest this resembles a giant woodlouse rather than the tortoise for which it is named). Yet there prove to be similarities too ~ amongst the tribes a 'New Spears' ceremony reminds Marcus strongly of the customs of his homeland. Whilst the gods served by the Roman and the Brigantine differ in name they converge in essence.

Sutcliff has clearly researched both cultures well, but her historical accuracy (in all but plot) is not laboured. It is woven into the background with a touch sure enough to register, but light enough to absorb. Above all the details are not explained…they are allowed to simply sit there tempting the curious among her young readers to seek out explanations for where these Roman-named places are now (a map & glossary are provided to assist), or how Egyptian glass came to be on the arm of an isolated tribeswoman, or who Mithras was or the Horned One.

~

It is, then, an old-fashioned quest-story. An adventure story that explores the nature of friendship, cultural differences and the difficulties but possibilities of integration.

This reviewer's rating of the book is based on initial instinctive response to having read it without the insight's provided by Kevin Crossley-Holland's "Introduction" and with no fore-knowledge of the author nor of the intended age of the reader. I make a point of always reading the book before the "introduction" as I don't want the story spoiled. On the basis of subsequent analysis it perhaps warrants a higher rate, especially if viewed specifically as a children's book.

~

The edition reviewed is different from that illustrated. The reviewed book is the hardback edition published by The Folio Society in 2005
pp231 including glossary
Introduction by Crossley-Holland
Suitably dark illustrations by Roman Pisarev
Cover price £21

[Paperback editions are also available with cover prices of approx £5.]

~

hiker@Ciao!
31.12.05
 

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