I stand in Forum to address the citizens of Nova Roma and those of the Provincia Nova Britannia in particular. I undertake this task as Proconsul with the knowledge that it will take a great deal of effort and working together to make it a success. I follow in the footsteps of a great and good man, an Honored Roman, and a Senior Magistrate twice over. Consul Cassius Julianus has held this Provincia as ProConsul since the inception of Nova Roma. Such a shadow will be difficult to move out of.

I hope in the next few weeks to put into execution a plan which you will see printed on the back page of the newsletter.. Already I have appointed a Legate for Massachusetts and he has developed a website for the Provincia, which is at:

HTTP://shinjikun@shinjikun.com

There have been five face - to - face meetings since my taking office, a trip to the Wooster Museum, a dinner meeting in Newport to establish this Newsletter, a trip to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, an another to The New Haven Museum of Fine Arts and finally one in Gales Ferry to further this newsletter‘s progress. There is also being planned within this province, but owing absolutely nothing to my efforts, the Annual Trip to the Yale Museum and Library for the study of Mithras--publicized as Mithracon.

I plan to make a "100 Day Report of the Province" on June 19, 2001, at which time I hope to be able to be more detailed about the Province and the organization and contact of her citizens. Meanwhile, any citizen of Nova Britannica is invited to contact me and let me know of your ideas, wishes, and comments as you are inclined:

James L. Mathews

jmath669642reng@webtv.net.

1319 Baldwin Hill Road

Gales Ferry, CT 006335-1801

USA

I thank you for your kind attention.

Valete, Respectfully;

Marcus Minucius Audens

ProConsul, Nova Britannia

- Marcus Audens, ProConsul-Nova Britannia et Caius

Minucius Hadrianus

The Provincia Nova Britannia is made up of the following States of the United States:

Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

The Provincia boasts of some of the Major cities in the United States including Boston, MA, Providence, RI, Hartford, CT, Burlington, VT, Manchester, NH and Portland, ME. It was also one of the founding provinces of Nova Roma, and at the last count has 33 cives. Nova Britannia is divided into 6 regii, each corresponding to a state, with the largest concentration of cives in Massachusetts. Nova Britannia is also home to the Corporate Headquarters in Wells, Maine.

New England was named in 1614 by the English sea captain John Smith, who was exploring the coastline for a group of wealthy London merchants. Europeans first settled the region in the 1620’s when English Puritans fleeing religious persecution settled on the coast of Massachusetts and founded the colony of Plimoth (modern Plymouth). The initially cordial relationship with the Native Americans soon deteriorated as more and more colonists arrive and began pushing into the region’s interior. The issue of European-native relations came to a head in 1675 with King Phillips War, when a large native army under the leadership of Metacom ("King Phillip"), grand sachem of the Wampanogs, was defeated by the combined colonial militias after nearly two years of bloody conflict. The war cost the lives of an estimated 600 colonists and over 3000 Native Americans, and effectively ended any resistance to further colonization of the region.

New England’s economy was originally dependent on small self-sufficient farms, but it’s largest city, Boston soon developed into a major commercial and trading hub in North America. Shipbuilding, whaling and timber also became key industries during the 18^th and 19^th centuries. New England mercantile spirit and it’s tradition of representative government let it to becoming a focal point of the colonies opposition to British tariff and trade policies in during the later half of the 18^th century, which subsequently led to the American revolution from British rule in 1775.

New England was also the focal point of social revolution in America, and gave birth to anti-slavery, child labor, educational and prison reforms. During the mid-19^th century a wave of immigrants from Ireland and Eastern Europe radically altered the regions demographics, and broke the traditional protestant monopoly of government and business. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the New England states were firm supporter of the Union, and abolitionist movement, and raised the first black regiment to fight in the war (the 20^th Massachusetts).

Today New England is second only to California’s silicon valley in the high-tech sector, and is the center of the rapidly growing biotech industry in the United States. New England is also the epicenter of higher education in the United States with approximately 260 colleges and universities, including such famous institutions as Harvard, MIT, Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown.

Leaving the historical view for a moment and concentrating more on the geological wonders of this provincia, the White and Green Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire provide both winter and summer sports for outdoor enthusiasts, and the many lakes and rivers, plus a long and generous Atlantic Coastline provides a great variety of aquatic activities for the residents of the Provincia. The great cities of the region provide a extremely wide variety of activities to excite and delight the visitor as well as the resident.

In coming issues of this Provincia Newsletter it will be my privilege to expand on some of the obvious advantages of this great provincia with a variety of information sources as well as hopefully input from some of the Provincial Citizens as well.

For Now, Farewell from Nova Britannia (New England) and be well!!!

Welcome to our inaugural issue of Aquilina, the Provincia Nova Britannia newsletter! Our deepest thanks to our esteemed ProConsul, Marcus Minucius Audens, for his unfailing support of this effort. We have succeeded in gathering a wonderful staff who are committed to making Aquilina the premier Provincia newsletter and the voice of the Cives it serves.

To this end, all Cives of our fair Provincia are wholeheartedly encouraged to contribute to Aquilina, on any topic and in any capacity. The primary purpose of this project is to unite and inform all residents and amicae of Provincia Nova Britannia so that we have greater involvement in gatherings and government - and just plain, good, Roman FUN!!! We also look forward to receiving your comments, opinions and suggestions regarding your newsletter. Tell us how we’re doing -- our e-mail box is always open: AquilinaNB@aol.com.

It’s been a busy and productive month in Nova Britannia. Several face-to-face get togethers, political appointments, numerous plans in the works . . . so read on, get involved and let us know how we may better serve our ultimate purpose of uniting and informing you, our fellow Cives of Provincia Nova Britannia.

Prima Lucilla Cornelia Fortunata,

Editor-In-Chief
 
 

Salve!

I am the editor pro tem, until Prima Lucilla Cornelia Fortunata is able to take back her duties - and I wish her the speediest of recoveries.

Hyapatia Asinia Margali

Editor pro tem

Ave Citizens of the great province of Provincia Nova Britannia

It is my pleasure that I have been asked to contribute to your newsletter. I just want to welcome all of you to Nova Roma. And, I wanted to give you just a brief introduction of myself. I have been with Nova Roma since She began back in March 1, 1998. As many of you know I have been very politically active within Nova Roma. I have had the honor and privilege to serve as Consul (back in 1998 with my esteemed colleague Decius Iunius Palladius Invictus) and Censor. At this current time I am working on the creation of 2 Sodalitas one focused on the study of Judiasm during the Roman Republic and Empire. The second Sodalitas focusing on the study of ancient Roman Law and Nova Roman Law. If you would like to get any information on this please feel free to contact me. It would be a pleasure for me to assist anyone.

Respectfully,

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix

Censor of Nova Roma
 
 

CALL FOR CIVES

- Prima Lucilla Cornelia Fortunata

Our distinguished ProConsul, Marcus Minucius Audens, in his efforts to unite Nova Britannia, has issued a call for all Cives of Nova Britannia to contact him. So that we may have greater participation in constructing the Provincial government and fill administrative offices crucial to the forward-motion of Nova Britannia, ProConsul Audens needs to be apprised of the following for each Civis within the Provincia:

This is your Provincia - get involved in shaping your future! Contact ProConsul Audens at: jmath669642reng@webtv.net.

NewPort Congressus

- Prima Lucilla Cornelia Fortunata

In keeping with his commitment to establishing a pro-active administration for the advancement of Nova Britannia, our esteemed ProConsul Marcus Minucius Audens hosted the Newport Congressus recently in Newport, Rhode Island. Participating in the Congressus with ProConsul Audens, which took place on March 18, 2001 CE , were Caius Minucius Hadrianus, Legatus Regio Massachusetts et Centurio, Legio VI Victrix, and Prima Lucilla Cornelia Fortunata, Virgo Maxima et Scriba Militaria, Legio VI Victrix.

ProConsul Audens led the discussions which included the identification of goals for the Provincia and resources needed to accomplish these goals. Plans were made for the provincial newsletter, Aquilina, and administration of same awarded to Prima Lucilla Cornelia Fortunata as Editor-In-Chief. Also discussed was the Plan of Action for Provincia Nova Britannia, discussed in the newsletter on the last page.. Plans of support were discussed to accomplish of the goals contained within ProConsul’s Plan, and it is expected that all points will be up and running within a month’s time.

ProConsul Audens made his first administrative appointment at this time, naming Caius Minucius Hadrianus as Legatus for Regio Massachusetts, the most populous Regio in Nova Britannia.

The Congressus celebrated its significant accomplishments over dinner before adjourning.

The Regio Connecticut is the most Westerly of the Regios of the Provincia Nova Britannia. It enjoys several large river valleys (the Thames, the Connecticut, the Housatonic, etc.) and its southern coastline bounds upon Long Island Sound. This long coastline and river access into the interior of the Regio gives Connecticut the envious designation as a thoroughly maritime area. However, she also enjoys in the Metropolitan Areas of Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport, much of the more fully developed cultural / and educational pursuits as well. In the Northwest Corner of the state are the Canaan Mountains and a large collection of small state parks / and forests exist in which to enjoy the lush natural beauty of this Regio. The whole Regio is rich with the historical features of the past 300 years, as well as several aspects of

prehistory in various museums and historical properties around the state. I will be pleased to investigate some of these aspects more fully in coming issues.

One of the Provincia's Cultural Events earlier this year was directed to the Classical Section of the Museum of History in New Haven where there is a model of a worship area devoted to the study of the God Mithras, which was an Eastern Diety adopted by the Legions of Rome and who became quite popular during the Imperial Period. There is a Mithratic Study Group who makes an annual trip to the Museum and to the Yale Library each year to pursue studies in the Mithratic Religion, and Nova Roma has been for the last three years invited to take part in that Study Group.

Respectfully Submitted

Marcus Minucius Audens

Connecticut Regio Legate
 
 

PRIMA LUCILLA CORNELIA FORTUNATA

Congratulations as well to our very own Editor-In-Chief, Prima Lucilla Cornelia Fortunata, on her appointment as Virgo Maxima. As a life-long devotee of the Goddess, Prima Lucilla proved the ideal candidate for Chief Vestal, elected by the Collegium Pontificum to fill a priesthood which had been vacant for over a year. "Vesta, most Roman of Deities, is the House of Rome. And without Her hearth fire, the house is but an edifice momentarily occupied. This is an unprecedented opportunity for us to reconstruct Her worship and restore the Religio in the hearts and minds of we, Her children, the Nova Romani."

We wish our new Virgo Maxima every success in achieving her goals, and look forward to hearing more from her in future editions of Aquilina

[Legio VI Update

- Prima Lucilla Cornelia Fortunata

Negotiations concluded recently between our very own Caius Minucius Hadrianus and Commander Aurelius Tiberius Ronanus, Praefectus Legionis of Legio VI Victrix for establishment of a sponsored Vexillation of the Victrix within Nova Britannia. C. Minucius Hadrianus is certainly to be commended for identifying the need for a military presence within our Provincia, and for almost single-handedly making this happen. "This way we have the benefit of an existing organization, with all the attendant experience and resources to draw upon.", noted Hadrianus recently.

A veteran of 8 years’ service in the U.S. Army (4 in Infantry, 4 in Armor), Caius continues to serve macronationally in the Massachusetts National Guard. Join us in congratulating Hadrianus on his appointment to the post of Centurio, Secundus Pilus Prior, with Legio VI Victrix.

If any Novae Britanniae are interested in military service, Hadrianus asks that you contact him. "If any Cives are interested and would like to join the Primus Centuria, Sec Cohors, Legio VI Victrix, please let me know and I will send you all the related information! Gratias!", Hadrianus stated. You may reach Centurio G. Minucius Hadrianus directly at: Shinjikun@Shinjikun.com.

- Prima Lucilla Cornelia Fortunata et Caius Minucius Hadrianus

In keeping with our esteemed ProConsul Audens’ Plan for Nova Britannia, a lunch gathering was held on the 3^rd week of June, at a lunch in Gales Ferry. The Proconsul desires that these gatherings will occur every three months.

These gatherings will be called, appropriately, the Prandium. Upcoming Prandiae will be held in a different Regio at the invitation of each regios Legatus on the appropriate date so that all Regii of Nova Britannia will have an opportunity to host a quarterly gathering in addition to other activities within our Provincia.

Nova Britannia’s next Prandium in the third week of September at 12:00 noon will be hosted by C. Mincius Hadrianus in our fair Regio of Massachusetts.

Roman cooking isn‘t just peacocks tongues in pastry, or barley gruel. Granted, there is only one surviving cookbook - but food is discussed in poetry, histories and daily accounts.

In Roman cooking, we have a few ingredients that are not common today, and some you may have heard of but have no idea where to get them or what to substitute.

Caroenum: Boiled must, you have to boil the new wine or grape juice until it is only half the amount you started with. Try for something other than concord grape juice, which is a modern grape. You can get sneaky and use the grape juice concentrates from beer and wine hobby shops as a substitute.. Try for an Italian grape like a barberonne.

Defritum: Either thick fig syrup, or must that's boiled until you have only a third of the amount with which you started. This is a bit tricky. I have cheated and used dried figs as a base, by cooking them in a fair amount of water and straining the resulting syrup. It should be the equivalent of a maple syrup in consistency and overall sweetness.

Lovage: In Latin it is called 'levisticum officinale'. It's an umbelliferous plant with yellowish flowers. Its dried roots are used as spice. It can be replaced by the leaves at the tops of celery stalks in a pinch. I have seen it in health food stores as a loose tea, or in tea bags.

Liquamen: a salty fish sauce. Most of the time you can replace it by salt. Many people swear by nuc mom, a thai fish sauce, and I have hears of a British product I would love to try called ‘anchovy paste’ which seems to be a concentrated version that might work out well.

Passum: Very sweet wine sauce, made by boiling the must (new wine or grape juice) to thicken it. I have used the vintners grape concentrate with a bit of honey.

Saturei: Savory. In Latin it's called 'satureia hortensis'. It's a violet or white flowered kind of labiate plants which grows mainly in Southern Europe. It's used as a spice plant, especially for bean dishes; in Germany it is called the 'bean herb'.

Silphium: This poor little plant was harvested into extinction by about 80 C.E. or so. They substituted a near relative called ’laser’ but modernly we substitute ‘asa foetida'. I've noticed that it's also called 'hing' in the Indian cuisine. It should be used rather sparingly because of its very strong taste and smell. I have found it in middle eastern groceries, and you could probably get it online. There is no replacement for it, and the food just doesn’t taste right without it..

Rue : Ruta Graveolens is not commonly used in modern cooking, as it is in large quantities an abortificent [as is oregano] and does require a bit of care in using it if one of your diners may be pregnant and very sensitive to the active ingredient. It can be found occasionally in health food stores in the herb section, and you can buy seeds online.

Pernam

Book VII, Chapter IX

"The ham should be braised with a good number of figs and some three laurel leaves; the skin is then pulled off and cut into square pieces; these are macerated with honey. Thereupon make dough crumbs with flour and oil. Lay the dough over or around the ham, stud the top with pieces of the skin so that they will be baked with the dough and when done, retire from the oven and serve."

In Rome and Greece of the time, names for things were not always what we currently use. Ham has long been an alternate name for a haunch or thigh of an animal. It does not always mean cured with salt as our ‘boiled’ or cured hams are today. For this recipe I use a picnic shoulder. Laurel leaves are called Bay leaves now. Figs are a small Hershey’s kiss shaped fruit that can be found fresh in season or dried.

1 pork picnic shoulder/fresh pork ham of about 4 lbs, 1 lb dried figs, coarsely chopped, 3 bay leaves placed in a pot just large enough to comfortably hold them.

Just enough water to come about one third to one half up the sides of the pot. Place in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 2 hours covered. After 2 hours, remove and let cool.

Remove the fat and skin [what you see in the first picture laying on top of the meat. This one averaged a good quarter of an inch thick to half an inch thick.

Reserve the braising liquid - remove the cooled fat from the broth and simmer until slightly thickened. Force through a sieve to puree and put back into the pot. Add a dash of garum [fish sauce] and black pepper to taste, and simmer for another 15 minutes or so. This is not mentioned in the recipe, and there are other sauce recipes in Apicius’ cookbook but I hate wasting perfectly good sauce ingredients!

Above, the slab of fell [fat and skin layer] is shown on the right of the pork [the outside has picked up a little color from the figs in the pot. In the rear you can see the braising liquid as a medium brown liquid with solidified fat [after cooling down to make it comfortable to handle.]

Take the fell and cut it into squares, and marinate for at least an hour in good honey.

Above, there is the marinating fell, and a dough made of about 4 large handfuls of flour. You can use regular flour, I used spelt, which is actually a form of wheat used by the Romans. You simply add olive oil in small amounts until it makes a dough about the consistency of buttermilk biscuit/scones.

I make a small one third of an inch oval of the dough [sized to fit the roast] and then make a larger sheet to drape over the top. I use some more oil to moisten the edges to seal them together. Then you take the little pieces of fell and stud them over the dough.

Bake the resulting lump in a sort of slow oven, for modern terms about 300 degrees Fahrenheit until the dough has browned nicely, and the fat is mostly rendered out of the fell [like modern ‘cracklings’ for American southerners.] Crack the dough off after picking off the pieces of fell. Slice into fingers of meat, garnish with the pieces of fell [and in this picture I added almond stuffed dates and although it doesn’t mention doing so, a simple sauce of simmered down braising liquid with a dash of garum and some black pepper added.]

Pernam.
 
 

http://www.novaroma.org/main.html The Main Page of Nova Roma.

http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/home.html Bill Thayer’s website has about the best assortment of links on Classical Rome around. If I have anything to research, I tend to go here first.

http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=archeoring&list This is the start page for the Archeology Web Ring. Just spend hours daisy-chaining around history!

http://www.julen.net/ancient/ This is the Ancient World Web, another site with a wild array of information on the Ancient World.
 
 

Hundred Day Report

Honored Consuls, Censors, Senators, Magistrates, Citizens of Nova Britannia Provincia, and Citizens of Nova Roma;

I beg your leave, most humbly, to make the "100 Day Report For Provincia Nova Britannia". This report reflects the activity undertaken in the first 100 days of the appointment of ProConsul Marcus Minucius Audens as

Governor and ProConsul of Province Nova Britannia by the Senate of Nova Roma, in association with the Provincia Staff as appointed:

Earlier in the year I submitted a Plan of Action consisting of 19 Points to the Honored Consuls for their approval. They have very graciously agreed to let me proceed with the plan as presented and have additionally provided me with advice on my procedure for which I am most

grateful. The below report will be centered around that proffered plan:--

General:-- In the period of 100 Days, some of my plans have been interrupted by personal situations which have arisen, both with some of those whom I was privileged to have with me and some from the lack of time at home due to my Reenactment endeavors. For these disruptions I

beg you very kind indulgence:

Obtain a List of the Citizens f Nova Roma:--

I have obtained this list on 30 March from Censor Sulla. I thank him most sincerely for his efforts.

Establish a Nova Roma Website:--

The excellent legates of Regio Massachusetts and Regio Maine have already taken care of that item and the Website is on line. The address is directly below:

shinjikun@shinjikun.com

Contact all Regio Legates and confirm their appointments:--

The following appointments have been made or offered:

-----Legate Hadrianus--Regio Massachusetts--accepted / appointed;

-----Legate Julianus--Regio Maine--accepted / appointed;

-----Former Legate of Rhode Island--made the offer, no response;

-----Former Legate of Vermont (Acting)--made a special offer, no response;

-----Legate of New Hampshire--no candidate, (I have sent out one

questionnaire);

-----Legate Marcus Audens of Regio Connecticut--reconfirmed -- Pro Tem until another candidate requests consideration.

Form a Provincial Council--All Legates and Staff;

The Provincial Council has not yet been formally established. I plan to do so when all citizens have been contacted, when all have had a chance to join the Provincial Staff and when my "100 Day Report is issued. At that time I will formalize the Council.

Review "Limes Incorp." for possible involvement;

The Limes Corporation being an organization of Provinces and Prov. Governors within NR who have established some guidelines for mutual assistance along those lines.

Since the writing of this Plan another organization of Proconsuls and ProPraetors has come into being, which has been a source of new ideas as well. I have not had the leisure to investigate "Limes Incorp." as yet, but I have several good recommendations for doing so, and I will presume to contact them when I have formalized the Prov. Council.

Offer a "Provincial Brotherhood Alliance" to neighboring / adjoining provinces;

The brotherhood Alliance was an idea arising out of the possible sharing in events / activities in adjoining provinces.

Planned after formalizing Prov. Council.

Establish a Monthly Newsletter for the Eagle;

The newsletter is for the support of the NR "Eagle" newsletter and for the advertisement of this province. This idea is undertaken as a "product" of the Provincia Nova Britannia. The next thing, as it were, to a face-to-face meeting. I had recruited an excellent Editor for the above newsletter (PrimaLucilla Cornelia Fortunata) and she had produced a rough copy of it and sent it to me in a format that I could not read. I have just recently found out that she is recovering from a serious operation, and will not

be able to rejoin the Provincia for some time.

I have in the mean time, contacted another lady (Hyapatia Asinia Margali) who is willing to fill-in until the Editor returns, as Editor Pro-Tem. There are also three members of the Newsletter Staff, previously recruited, to recontact and bring up to date on this situation. I am currently waiting to hear from these three Staff Members.

The Provincial Staff is currently researching a suitable Logo for the Provincial Newsletter.

Make Formal Edicta Regarding Appointments;

I have placed on the Main List my Formal Edicta for the following appointments:

-----Legate of Massachusetts-Hadrianus;

-----Legate of Maine-Julianus;

-----Librae-Major Nerva;

-----Scribae Quintillianus;

-----Editor Pro-Tem Margali.

Establish a Formal Provincial Recognition Program;

The purpose of this program would be to show the appreciation of the Citizens of this Provincia for those who have labored to bring the Provincia to it's present level of organization, and to carry on with the plans for further organization in the future.

No action. My Staff will address this item after the formalization of the Provincial Council.

Establish and Publish a Provincial Budget;

A sum of $20.00 has been donated to the Provincia for General Use. When the sum reaches $100, it is my intention to establish a Budget and appoint a Financial Scribae to take care of it.

Prepare and deliver a "First 100 days Provincial Report" on or before June 19, 2001;

Issued.

Contact all Citizens in the Provincia upon receipt of the Citizen List;

Libreii Major Nerva, Scribae Quintillianus and myself have completed that effort. Libreii Major Nerva has reported his 15 notifications complete with the two failed E-Mail addresses reported to the Censors. I am notified that the second half of the 32 members of the Provincia have

also been contacted. If there is any member of the Provincia who has not received a personal notification from myself or my staff please contact me directly. This project has been completed.

Contact other Nova Roma Governors and ask for Program suggestions and ideas;

I have contacted several other Governors, and have saved their ideas and responses in my Provincia File (hard copy), for further review following this report.

Begin preparations for a Provincial Annual Report;

The "100 Day Provincial Report" is my preparation at this point.

Develop a Provincial Brochure and Handout;

This idea was that the provincia should have it's own brochure to place in local libraries, bookstores around the NE. Northeasterners are proud of their region and are on the lookout for something familiar and something they can identify with.

No action. I plan to submit this item to my staff for ideas after the Provincial Council is formalized

Develop a Provincial Outreach Program in accordance with Sodalitas Egressus;

Sodalitas Egressus is currently undergoing an election. When the election is over I will contact the Egressus to inquire about the possibility.

Establish a Permanent Provincial Annual Program;

Three sites in Nova Britannia have been identified as possible areas to visit:

--Museum of Art in Boston;

--Museum of Antiquities in New Haven;

--Museum of Arms in Wooster;

There may well be more, and the appointed Legates are working on identifying further possibilities. Then there is a possibility of Annual Meetings together with the above cultural meetings, both of which have been enjoyed in this province in past years. A rough plan of three events per year is proposed, with an Annual Meeting, a Cultural Meeting, and Roman Days. A fourth possibility would be one of the two events currently being planned in New York and Canada. These options will be offered when the Prov. Council is formalized.

So far this year, there have been three cultural opportunities (Wooster, Boston, New Haven), one face-to-face dinner meeting, and the Roman Days in Maryland, all of which were significantly attended from Citizens of this Provincia. A second planned face to face luncheon meeting between

myself and Mistress Margali took place on Friday, June 15th.

Develop a Provincial Military Program in accordance with the Sodalitus Militarium;

No Action. I plan to submit this item to the Militarium Staff after the formalization of the Provincial Council.

Contact other Sodalitas with a eye to establishing Provincial activities relating to the various aspects of these other organizations;

No Action. I plan to submit this item to my Staff for ideas after the formalization of the Provincial Council.

I fully realize that this is an ambitious program, but it encompasses the elements that I feel need to be immediately addressed in the Provincia. WE shall undertake to complete this outline to the best of

OUR ability, and WE pledge to keep the Senate and Senior Magistrates

appraised of OUR progress during the year.

Very Respectfully Submitted;

Marcus Minucius Audens

ProConsul -- Provincia Nova Britannia -- Nova Roma

Fair Winds and Following Seas!!!
 
 

Trip to Higgins Armory

-- C. Mincius Hadrianus

Nova Britannia kicked off the 2001 provincial event calendar on Saturday, March 17^th with a field trip to the Higgins Armory Museum of Worcester, Ma. Wealthy industrialist John Woodman Higgins founded the Higgins Armory in 1929, as a non-profit educational institution devoted to the study and display of arms and armor from around the world. The collection includes over 5,000 weapons and pieces of armor, ranging in period from ancient Greece all they way through to renaissance Europe. The museum also includes a significant collection of non-western artifacts from Africa, India, Japan and the Middle East. The Museum is open from Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 12 noon to 4 p.m. For more information go to their website at www.higgins.org.

Our group met in the Armory parking lot at 11:30, and included myself, Consul Marcus Cassius Julianus, his wife Quaestrix Patricia Cassia, Virgo Maxima Prima Lucillia Cornelia Fortuna (who drove all the way from New Jersey!!), along with an assortment of Non-Nova Roman friends. After a brief discussion, we decided to grab some lunch first and take time to get acquainted. We descended en-masse on a local eatery, and after a spirited meal (where such weighty topics as the formation of a Nova Roma Air Defense Corps were discussed…) we headed back to the Museum for the main event.

Despite the Museum’s lack of a significant Roman Collection, it still proved to be a fascinating experience. The interior of the building is of a mediaeval gothic décor, and the main hall, with its arched cathedral ceiling was quite stunning. The collection was organized by period and region, was well displayed, and accompanied by ample documentation. After our extensive self-guided tour (guided tours are available), we attended a presentation in the Armory’s auditorium, which gave a brief history of the development of arms & armor from Rome to the advent of firearms. We wrapped up or visit to the excellent gift shop, where several of us were encouraged to part with our money (I ended up with a nifty pewter gladius letter opener) and a group photo in the lobby. I would have to rate the trip as a resounding success, and I hope it is a sign of things to come in Nova Britannia!