The Role of Battle Narrative in the Bellum Gallicum

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The Role of Battle Narrative in the Bellum Gallicum The Role of Battle Narrative in the Bellum Gallicum by David Jonathon Nolan [email protected] School of Humanities --------------------------------------------------------------------- David Nolan Word Count: 93,060 (excluding Latin passages) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania November 2014 Abstract of the Dissertation The Role of Battle Narrative in the Bellum Gallicum By David Jonathon Nolan Supervisor Dr. Geoffrey Adams This thesis examines the role of battle narrative in the Bellum Gallicum, to show that these passages, including contextual information, are fundamentally persuasive in nature as they are integrated into Caesarʼs various self-promotional aims. To date a comprehensive analysis has not been undertaken of battle, and where it has been examined by military historians, investigations have often relied on the idea that these passages are primarily designed to reconstruct the details of the historical event. The thesis instead uses case studies to show these passages are not merely an attempt to describe historical events, but are fundamentally influenced by the desire to influence the audience. This can be a simple matter of reception, whether through the building of tension in the narrative, or the creation of a compelling account of a particular battle. More often however battle is used in conjunction with the campaign narrative to create an impression, or support an argument regarding Caesarʼs interpretation of the episode, as battles are part of the interpretive structure of the text, where information conveys his self-promotional objectives. Furthermore, a major objective of these accounts is to support Caesarʼs view of the various characters portrayed, and the narrative is used to create or encourage views of the individuals and peoples involved. Unsurprisingly, the most important figure represented in battle is Caesar, and self-aggrandisement or the deflection of criticism shapes the structure and content of these narratives at a fundamental level. A detailed analysis of these passages, and their relationship to the book in which they appear shows how Caesar structures battle narrative for self-promotion in various ways. Not only does such an examination reflect on the way that battle and other military information is presented, but it enables insight into the purposes that he had while writing these passages, and the extent to which he was willing to utilise battle narrative in the pursuit of the self- promotional objectives of the work. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my colleagues and friends without whom this thesis would not have been possible. In particular, thanks are owed to my undergraduate teachers, who instilled an interest in the classics and a desire to study further. I would also like to thanks my honours supervisors, Assoc. Prof Peter Davis, Dr Jessica Dietrich and Dr Paul Burton, who gave me an appreciation for the myriad opportunities that classics offer for further research, particularly with regard to the interpretation and understanding of martial elements in Roman literature. Particular thanks go to my postgraduate supervisors Dr Geoffrey Adams and Dr Graeme Miles, who have endured with good grace the process of reading and providing feedback, in the case of Dr Adams, through multiple iterations of this thesis. I would particularly like to acknowledge the ASCS community, in particular the fine group of military historians it has been my pleasure to meet and converse with. Furthermore I would like to thank my brother Dr Stephen Nolan for his input, and more importantly his feedback during the final run of proof reading. Most importantly, I owe all this to my partner Shayne Davies. Her support kept me on track, and this thesis is a direct result of her encouragement and enthusiasm. 4 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ______________________________________________________ 7 Structure of the Thesis _____________________________________________________ 9 Methodology ___________________________________________________________ 13 Caesar and Battle in Ancient History _________________________________________ 17 The Bellum Gallicum in Modern Military History________________________________ 22 Battle and the Scholarship on Caesar ________________________________________ 25 Studies in Style __________________________________________________________ 28 Studies of the Narrative ___________________________________________________ 33 CHAPTER 1: THE CREATION OF CAESARʼS BATTLE NARRATIVES _______________ 39 Battle Narrative vs. Battle Report ___________________________________________ 40 Selection of Contextual Information _______________________________________________ 45 The Selective Reconstruction of Combat ___________________________________________ 53 Caesar the Narrator and Battle _____________________________________________ 60 The Structure of the Sabis River Account ___________________________________________ 66 Creating a Topos and the Belgic Multitude ____________________________________ 71 The Multitude and the Battle ____________________________________________________ 79 The Development of the Octodurus Narrative _________________________________ 88 Critique and Servius Galba _______________________________________________________ 92 The Narrative Pattern to Battle ___________________________________________________ 96 Elaboration in the Narrative _____________________________________________________ 98 The Description of Combat _____________________________________________________ 103 CHAPTER 2: PERSUASION AND BATTLE NARRATIVE ________________________ 112 Vengeance at the River Arar ______________________________________________ 113 Anecdote, Exemplum and Battle Narrative ___________________________________ 116 Persuasive use of Numbers and the Britanni __________________________________ 123 Campaign and the Venetii Battle ___________________________________________ 126 Campaign Objectives in the Battle _______________________________________________ 135 Ariovistus, Caesar and the Germanic Reputation in Battle _______________________ 146 Caesarʼs Assessment of the Reputation ___________________________________________ 149 Virtus and the Array of Battle ___________________________________________________ 152 The Germanic Reputation in Combat _____________________________________________ 155 CHAPTER 3: CAESARʼS CHARACTERS AND BATTLE _________________________ 162 Establishing Characteristics through Battle ___________________________________ 163 Defining the Gauls ______________________________________________________ 170 The Nature of the Belgic Multitude _________________________________________ 177 The Traits of the Aduatuci ________________________________________________ 184 The Virtus of the Nervii __________________________________________________ 192 5 Individual Credit and Responsibility _________________________________________ 205 The Behaviour of Sabinus ______________________________________________________ 209 CHAPTER FOUR: BATTLE AND THE PROMOTION OF CAESAR _________________ 214 The Centrality of Caesar __________________________________________________ 215 Thematic Placement of Caesar __________________________________________________ 220 Self-Promotion in the Sabis River Narrative __________________________________ 222 Caesarʼs Importance in the Quintus Cicero Siege ______________________________ 239 Caesarʼs Clementia and Aduatuca __________________________________________ 243 The Commander in the First Invasion of Britain _______________________________ 245 The Challenge of the Unknown __________________________________________________ 247 Knowledge of Military Affairs ___________________________________________________ 251 The Landing as Res Gestae ______________________________________________________ 254 Caesar and Vercingetorix in Book Seven _____________________________________ 260 Leadership Contrasts at Alesia ___________________________________________________ 264 Caesar and Vercingetorix in Battle _______________________________________________ 268 CHAPTER FIVE: THE DEFENCE OF CAESAR THROUGH BATTLE ________________ 277 Caesarʼs Campaign Conduct _______________________________________________ 279 Inconclusive Victory in Britain _____________________________________________ 283 The Explanation for Avaricum _____________________________________________ 291 Massacre of the Usipetes and Tencteri ______________________________________ 297 Pre-Emptive Action and the Cavalry Threat ________________________________________ 306 Germanic Perfidy and Combat___________________________________________________ 309 Caesarʼs Punitive Response _____________________________________________________ 313 Campaign References in the Second British Invasion ___________________________ 319 The Precedence of Gaul ________________________________________________________ 321 Command Qualities in the Second Invasion ________________________________________ 327 Subordinate Responsibilities ____________________________________________________ 329 Contrasts of Behaviour in Book Five ________________________________________ 335 CONCLUSION ______________________________________________________ 340 Battle Narrative not Battle Report __________________________________________ 340 The Persuasive Role of Battle ______________________________________________ 342 Caesar the Character and Battle ___________________________________________ 346 The Nature and Place of Caesarʼs Battle Narratives ____________________________ 349 In Summation
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