Arthur Imperator

by Paul Bannister

  “And when she has sent shafts left and right to her heart’s content, the huntress slackens her bow and goes to the great house of her dear father Jupiter, on the topmost ridges of Olympus, to dance with the Muses and the Graces. There the virgin goddess hangs up her cornel-wood bow and her painted quiver filled with golden arrows, and while she dances, all the other deities sing in a heavenly voice, how her mother, the Titan Leto, bore children who excel all in thought and in deed. Hail to you, child of Jupiter, hurler of thunderbolts, and of fair Leto!”

  Here all the singers raised their hands to heaven at the same time before singing the closing part.

  “And we will remember you always in this song, and in many other songs as well, our revered lady Diana!”

  Another hymn that the girls were fond of spoke of Diana’s many nymphs and her most beloved ones, including Britomartis, Opis, and Kyrene. These were the first who wore the gallant bow and arrow-holding quivers on their shoulders, according to the hymn. Their right shoulders bore the quiver strap, and their right breast showed bare always. To conclude, everyone sang:

  “Lady of many shrines, of many cities, hail! Let none disparage Diana, nor let any contend with her in archery. Neither let any woo the maiden; nor let any shun the yearly dance. Hail, great queen, and graciously greet my song.”

  In between events, the girls walked around the grounds and ran into old friends as well as cousins from other villages. Camilla was duly introduced to them, and she had a hard time remembering their names, because there seemed to be quite a few friends and relatives, and they, all had names that sounded very similar, at least to Camilla.

  When the festival came to an end, all those who had attended went back to their towns and villages. Camilla and her new friends again talked all the way. Acca asked Camilla if she knew the story of Actaeon.

  “No, I don’t think I’ve heard that one,” answered Camilla.

  “Well,” said Acca, who would one day become Camilla’s best friend and confidante. “I like that story of impiety and divine punishment, so here it goes. Once not long ago, Actaeon had gone hunting with his friends.”

  “Don’t forget to say that Actaeon was the grandson of Cadmus the Theban,” interrupted Larina.

  “I was just going to say that,” said Acca. “So, when their knotted nets and their spears were soaked with the blood of wild beasts, they decided that they had had enough for one day, and so they went home. All except, Actaeon. Instead of going back, he went for a walk in an unknown part of the woods. Soon he came to a little stream in a grove where Diana was bathing her limbs.”

  “What was the name of the stream?” Larina interrupted again.

  “I always forget, Larina, but I don’t think that it is important to the story,” said Acca impatiently. “So, to continue, the nymphs who were with her that day, Crocale, Nephele, Hyale, and Rhanis, began to shriek when they saw the hunter. They gathered around the goddess, trying to cover her with their bodies. An impossible task, because Diana was much taller than the nymphs.”

  “Yes!” Larina shouted, “by about a head or so.”

  Acca was starting to get annoyed by the constant interruptions.

  “Would you like to tell the story, Larina?” she asked.

  “Oh, no, Acca,” replied her friend with an innocent-looking smile. “You know the story much better than I do.”

  “In that case,” said Acca, “could you please stop interrupting me? Thank you. So where was I? Oh, yes, Diana turned and, not having her weapons with her, cast a spell on Actaeon, who felt horns start to grow on his head, and then his neck lengthening. His hands changed into feet, his arms into legs, and a spotted coat of hair began to cover his body.

  “Actaeon fled,” she went on, “and, coming to stream, where he beheld his image in the water, he panicked. He set off running again when one of his own dogs, Melampus, spotted him and began to give chase. Soon Ichnobates and the other dogs rushed after their prey.” Acca saw that Larina was going to say something again, and gave her an angry look, so Larina held back. “They quickly overcame him,” she continued, “and he was bitten on the back, then the shoulder. More wounds soon followed, with one dog after another burying its jaws in his body, and he was finally torn to pieces.”

  “Wow!” said Camilla. “So he paid dearly for his crime. I am sure Diana was satisfied once he was dead.”

  “Of course!” said three of the girls in unison.

  “As you probably know, her beauty is such that it should not be exposed to human eyes, unless she invites them to,” explained Acca. “She shares with whom she wishes, and punishes those who are not invited to behold her.”

  Camilla smiled to herself, for she was fortunate to have been in the presence of the goddess, who had even paid her a personal visit in the woods.

  Once back in the village, Camilla was invited to stay and share a meal with Tulla and her family, but she declined, knowing that she had quite some distance to travel. Moreover, given a choice, she preferred to eat what she herself hunted or trapped. But before leaving she remembered to hand back the robe and sandals that had been lent to her, and promised to come back before long.

  Camilla’s visits became frequent, and her new friends soon became really interested in her way of life. So much so that Camilla began by teaching them how to shoot with bow and arrow and how to stay safe in the woods. She also had to teach them how to skin and cook their prey, just as her father had taught her when she was still very little. She was especially interested in showing them how to turn the skins into a number of useful items, such as clothing and bedding.

  Then the girls decided to emulate Diana in other ways as well. First they agreed to dress like her, in a short tunic and sandals, on a daily basis, not just once a year for the festival. In a way they were relieved that they no longer had to wear their long robes, which were uncomfortable, especially in the summer, and that sometimes made them trip. Finally Camilla decided it was time to tell her friends about her connection to Diana. She told them how, shortly after she was born, her father had saved her life by tying her to a spear and sending it flying over the swollen Amasenus River, and at the same time he had devoted her to the goddess.

  “To make a long story short,” she continued, “since I am her votary, I not only need to honor her all the time, but also, in a way, I need to be Diana. Of course you all know what this means. Diana is a huntress and a perpetual virgin. I, therefore, am a huntress and will remain a virgin too.”

  The girls’ admiration for Camilla was by now great, and they already thought the world of the Goddess, so they didn’t take long to make a decision.

  “Tulla, Tarpeia, Larina, and I,” said Acca, acting as spokesperson for her friends, “want to become Diana’s devotees as well. Please tell us what we have to do.”

  Camilla was happy to help her friends, although there wasn’t much to it. All the girls had to do was make a small blood sacrifice to the goddess, stating their intention, then devote each one of their tasks and endeavors to her, and vow to refrain from having more than superficial interactions with men, for the duration of their lives. They already knew how to use her favorite hunting weapons, and now all that was left was for them to say farewell to their families and make the forest their new home.

  Camilla welcomed them to the spot where she had lived with her father all those years. Very soon the girls fell into a routine. They got up early, invoked the goddess and took turns reciting a prayer; then they set out to hunt after making a small sacrifice to the god Silvanus, as Camilla’s father had taught her. Some days were better than others for, although they were good at hunting, game was not always plentiful, especially when it got so hot that every living creature wanted nothing more than to spend the whole day hidden away in a shady place; or, conversely, when wintry clouds hid the stars and it was so cold that the animals also decided to hide somewhere, in order to keep warm. Occasionally the girls had to trap scorpions and small prey, as Camilla used to do when she and her father
found hardly any game. At the end of the day, after they had eaten their dinner and were exhausted from their activities, they would sit around the dying embers of the spit and share some of the tales that one or the other had heard while growing up.

  One of the first stories they remembered telling after moving to the forest was about the fleet-footed Thracian huntress Harpalice. Like Camilla, her mother had died when she was born, and her father had been exiled. Taking his daughter with him, the King went to live in the woods and nursed his infant daughter with the milk of wild mares and cows. He also trained her in the use of bow and arrow, as well as horse-riding, all of which came in handy when her father, many years later, tried to take back his throne. Father and daughter went from town to town gathering an army, with which they managed to regain his dominions, in large part thanks to Harpalice’s bravery and her skill as a commander. But when he died, a coup d’état sent her fleeing to the woods. She lived there for a few years, hunting with her bow, but then decided to become a brigand as revenge against her people. The lambs they kept in barns became Harpalice’s game. Finally she went back to the woods again.

  Table of Contents

  I Bear

  II Deva

  III Garrisons

  IV Cavalry

  V Sentenced

  VI Execution

  VII View

  VIII Council

  IX Raiders

  X Yr Wyddfa

  XI Frisia

  XII Grimr

  XIII Equus

  XIV Taken

  XV Channel

  XVI Bolted

  XVII Rescue

  XVIII Obsidian

  XIX Magi

  XX Corvus

  XXI Candless

  XXII Piddock

  XXIII Aqua

  XXIV Hemlock

  XXV Parthian

  XXVI Muirch

  XXVII Chart

  XXVIII Javelin

  XXIX Eidyn

  XXX Skegga

  XXXI Hibernia

  XXXII Concrete

  XXXIII Frozen

  XXXIV Prepare

  XXXV Thames

  XXXVI Severn

  XXXVII Caria

  XXXIII Invasion

  XXXIX Hilltop

  XL Convert

  XLI Siege

  XLII Raid

  XLIII Heart

  XLIV Defected

  XLV March

  XLVI Humber

  XLVII Firedrake

  Historical and other notes:

  Arthur and Carausius: legend and links

  Map of Arthur’s Britain

  Extract from Roman Arms: Huntress by Ingrid de Haas