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.