12/17/2022 0 Comments Asterix charactersUderzo got to choose where the village would be on the map. This also gives you the history behind that map that appears at the front of all the albums. It’s a small fact that Caesar leaves out of his self-written history book (which is a real thing, by the way), which forms the basis of book #37, “ Asterix and the Missing Scroll.” The exception in Goscinny and Uderzo’s world is the one village of Gauls with a magic potion that helps them out again an army of Romans. In volume 17, “ The Mansions of the Gods,” the tale looks a bit more somber, though it’s told from Caesar’s point of view, so that makes sense:Įither way, historically speaking, Caesar wins. It’s also how “ Asterix and the Chieftan’s Shield” (volume 11) opens: And, in fact, that’s how “ Asterix the Gaul” (volume 1) opens: Rene Goscinny, in describing the origins of Asterix, said that his series with Albert Uderzo is what happens if Vercingetorix had thrown his sword ON Caesar’s foot, instead. Everything else in the painting is a muted earth tone, except the sky which is bright enough to let you see what’s going on in front of it. Nice painting trick with color here: The two biggest areas of contrast in the painting are the white of the horse framing Vercingetorix, and the almost shocking red of Caesar’s outfit, setting him apart from everyone else. This is him on his horse in the painting, a manly mustache protruding from either side of his face. “Vercingetorix” is a heck of a tongue twister to say, by the way. What is the Drunk Trying to Say?Īs you may have guessed: “Vercingetorix” ( Here’s how to pronounce “Vercingetorix.” I go with the hard “G” sound, for what it’s worth.) The books of “Asterix” begin two years later. Their leader, Vercingetorix, rode his horse into Caesar’s camp and, with a great dramatic flourish, removed his armor and weapons, laid down his sword at Caesar’s feet, and surrendered to the Romans. Long story short: by 52 BC, the Gauls failed. The Romans created a doughnut to fight out of, which is a funny enough picture.īut that doughnut split the Gauls in half. Vercingetorix called for backups to come in, so the Romans built another set of walls facing outwards. Caesar’s forces surrounded Vercingetorix’s folks and built big walls to strike from above. With the Belgae out of the picture, a tribal chieftain by the name of Vercingetorix united a group of the remaining tribes to rise up against Caesar.įor various reasons, it didn’t work out. It was time for one last stand against the Romans by the Gauls. The Belgae missed an opportunity to stop Caesar. His supply lines held up long enough to outlast the Belgae and take them over. Yup, this is the origin of Belgium’s name.Ĭaesar, though slowed, eventually defeated them, too. He had some opposition in the north, though, with a group of tribes who united together to become known as the Belgae. Slaves, in particular, brought in a good amount of sestertii.Ĭaesar played a magnificent and nasty game of war. Some villages surrendered before an arrow was launched.Īnd he profited from all of it. He pitted tribes against each other, even paying some of them to strike against other tribes who thought they were on the same side. He marched his army across the continent, defeating village after village and conquering all of it. All that bread and all those circuses ain’t cheap. Attaining his position of power and renown took an awful lot of money, both in parties and bribes. It also, perhaps more importantly, helped him with the issues he had with owing lots of people LOTS of money. It helped him back home, politically, with the Senate to show his strength with the army and conquer new lands. Julius Caesar wanted it all under his control. Gaul is an area of Europe that includes France, but also Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as parts of Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Here’s the legal mumbo jumbo:īy Caesar_campaigns_gaul-fr.svg: historicair 14:51, 8 July 2007 (UTC) derivative work: Sémhur, via Wikimedia Commons This is a map of Caesar’s campaigns during the Gallic Wars of (roughly) 58 BC – 50 BC. What is that name? Why is it relevant? And how did it lead me into researching French history to help explain the origins of the Asterix series, as a whole?Īnd how cool is the history of the Roman empire, anyway? Where is “Gaul”? In “ Asterix and the Golden Sickle,” the town drunk who spends most of his time in prison thanks to his Roman hosts, is constantly mispronouncing some long Gaulish name. For example, it’s the famous Vercingetorix painting that we have to blame for the entire Asterix series.
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