Today was actually a really interesting day in history. We actually started Rome. Anyway, so we got a brief overview of the linguistic and racial differences of Europe as originated by the Rhine-Danube border between Roman civilization and Germanic/Celtic barbarism.
The teacher mentioned how the Romans tried to invade across the Rhine but how they didn't succeed. Inquiring minds want to know, of course, so he was requested to explain some of the theories why they failed.
Amusingly, the first theory he trotted out before us was that which can best be summed up by the Roman mindset of, "Real men wear skirts." Apparently, and unsurprisingly, the Romans continued to wear their man-skirts, cold metal armor, and hobnailed sandals as well as build in their traditional Roman style, which is very much designed for the hot Mediterranean climate, even in the forests of northern Germany and in their stations along Hadrian's Wall in England. Additionally, at least early on before the Roman armies consisted mostly of barbarian auxilliaries, they were Romans unused to the cold. Long story short: they froze. And so the barbarians who were used to the cold could defeat them.
One girl then pointed out that the 'barbarian' Celts also wore kilts. The teacher acknowledged this point.
MEANWHILE, my mind jumped to this fanart:
It's Thorin Oakenshield as a Celt, for those of you who haven't seen it yet on Tumblr or Pinterest. (Oh, goodness, Pinterest is a bottomless pit, too...)
DO YOU KNOW HOW DISTRACTING THIS MENTAL IMAGE WAS?????
Let's just say my mental composure was shot for the rest of the hour.
In Pace Christi,
Elyse
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