Narrated by traveling bard, Sebastian Lockwood, author of
the acclaimed The Trickster's Tongue.
Showing posts with label Gladiator's Pen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gladiator's Pen. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Gladiator's Pen: The Briton and the Dane: Second Edition gets Audible
Gladiator's Pen: The Briton and the Dane: Second Edition gets Audib...: Historical fiction author MarryAnn Bernal's epic tale The Briton and the Dane is now available in audio-book. About The Briton and the Dane
Sunday, February 16, 2014
DID YOU KNOW: The armor used in Gladiator was made of rubber covered with leather to make it malleable while shooting fight scenes.
Many thanks to author and fellow history buff, Elise VanCise, for stopping by. I just love this stuff - thanks, Elise.
Gladiator trivia: film vs. history
By Elise VanCise
Often filmmakers and even authors blur the lines of history
to make a story work. Nothing wrong with that; fiction is supposed to be made
up, filled with adventures that perhaps historic figures might cringe at in
real life. It’s fun to go back and compare some of these retellings with actual
facts. Here are some fun trivia facts to
go with the fiction of one of my favorite films Gladiator.
Modern day athletes often do product endorsements. Ancient
Roman gladiators actually did this also. The producers of the film considered
including this in the script but discarded the idea as unbelievable.
During the opening battle we see roman soldiers marching to
meet the barbarians in open combat with their pilas, today we call them javelins,
in hand as if they were spears. In actual Roman battle, they were thrown at the
enemy before the two sides would meet. A pilum was too fragile to be used as a spear
because the tip was designed to break off and bend after contact to disallow
the enemy to throw them back at the legionaries.
Before the opening battle in the film we see Maximus with a
‘pet’ wolf who accompanies him in battle. The fierce Roman army was known for
intimidation tactics. At the forefront of the ranks an individual known as a
Signifier was placed. It was a position of honor, and he carried the standard
that displayed the legion’s honors. Over the Signifier’s helmet and armor, he
would wear an animal skin, often a wolf, in order to make a fierce impression on
the enemy.
When Commodus goes with Lucius to meet Maximus at the
Colosseum, he tells Maximus that Lucius insists Maximus is Hector reborn. Then
Commodus asks Lucius, "Or was it Hercules?" The real emperor Commodus
believed he was Hercules reborn.
The short sword used by the Roman army, the Gladius Hispaniensis,
is seen being used by many gladiators in the film. The version used in the
arena in the film is accurate as it was often shorter than the military
version. The use of the common use of the gladius in arena battles is actually
the source of the word "gladiator".
The real Commodus actually fought several times in the arena
as a gladiator.
Unknown to the Gladiator Emperor Commodus, the soldiers
would weaken his opponent by stabbing the gladiator in the back to prevent harm
to their liege but also to ensure their emperor won.
In the film, Maximus kills Commodus in the arena. In life,
the emperor was strangled in his dressing room by a man named Narcissus.
Narcissus was a Roman wrestler employed as Commodus’ sparring partner at the
time.
I hope you enjoyed this little bit of Roman trivia. I’ve
always had a fascination with this period of history and its people. Could be
why I named my blog Gladiator’s Pen. Stop
by anytime for stories, guest authors,
tips posts, and of course a little history now and then.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Gladiator's Pen - Noir Reading Challenge 2014 Are you ready to slip into the darker side of fiction?
Noir Reading Challenge 2014 Are you ready to slip into the darker side of fiction?
http://networkedblogs.com/SBFF9
Welcome to the first reading challenge sponsored by Gladiator’s Pen.
http://networkedblogs.com/SBFF9
Noir: crime fiction featuring hard-boiled cynical characters and bleak sleazy settings
I have had a love of this dark genre for a long time. Noir is the underbelly of fiction, the place where darker themes are explored. I can sit and devour hours watching The Maltese Falcon, The Long Goodbye, Casablanca , Detour, City That Never Sleeps and so many more. (Thank you God for Netflix!) Though, Noir is much more than film.
There are some fantastic books with hardboiled detectives, grifters, sexy molls, tragic cops and femme fatales that will fuel your imagination and make you crave more. So I’m going to challenge you to grab a book and step into the shadows just out of the streetlamp’s reach and join me in reading as many of these fantastic stories as we can in 2014.
How it works:
The Challenge begins January 6, 2014 and runs through December 31, 2014 . You can join the challenge at any time between those dates.
1. Sign up with the Inlinkz tool below with a link to your acceptance/announcement post. Stating the challenge and what goal level (listed below) you are going for.
2. There will be a new inlinkz tool posted on the challenge page of Gladiator’s Pen once a week (hopefully up by each Monday) so you can add the url to the post with your progress, book review, or talk about something Noirish. Post at least once a month and link back to the challenge page so we can help each other gain new readers/followers as well. Even better, if you would like to embed the linky list onto your post there will be a link available so you can pick up the code.
If you don’t have a blog, that’s okay too. Just post to your Facebook, G+ or Twitter with a link back to the challenge page for others to join in and find some great new books and authors too.
Challenge Levels
Read 1-5 books Grifter
Read 5-10 books Cool Cop
Read 11-15 books Hard Boiled Detective.
Read 16-20 books Femme Fatale
Read 20+ books Sam Spade
Here are a few suggestions for some great Noir reads to get you started
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
The Black Dahlia (#1 in the L.A. Quartet series) by James Ellroy
Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell
He Died With His Eyes Open by Derek Raymond
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Joyland by Stephen King
Gold Coast by Elmore Leonard
Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher
If you can, try to post your reviews to Amazon or Goodreads also or even give the books you enjoy some stars to support a great author. Thanks for being a part of our first reading challenge here on Gladiator’s Pen and I hope you enjoy your journey into the darker side of the streets. :)
Do you have a favorite Noir film or book?
Click the blue add your link button to submit the URL to your challenge acceptence/announcment post. Please direct to post links only, no homepages.
| 1. | Glaidator's Pen |
Link tool by inlinkz.com
Click here to get the InLinkz code to embed the list on your blog.
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