Asterix is a British cartoon character...I've not seen it before however, Professor Stephen Oppenheimer compliments the author for his exactness to detail in his book, Origins Of The British.
Posted on 09/01/2007 7:55:57 PM PDT by blam
Revealedix: the Gaul of Asterix was no joke
By Justin Stares in Brussels, Sunday Telegraph>
Last Updated: 12:17am BST 02/09/2007
Fighting with his bare fists, and massively outnumbered, France's cockiest Gaul, Asterix, led a brave rebellion against the Roman occupier.
Not only was his little village encircled by Julius Cæsar's troops, it was up against an expanding empire - unequalled in the art of warfare and determined to civilise a backward people who worshipped druids and believed in magic potions. Or so it was thought until now.
But a discovery in central France has led to a significant reassessment of the Gauls, who were, it transpires, much more advanced than previously thought.
Rather than the random gatherings of rudimentary thatched huts illustrated in the Asterix books, first published in 1961, archaeologists now believe the Gauls lived in elegant buildings with tiled roofs, laid out in towns with public squares or forums.
They also crafted metalwork just as complex as anything produced by the Romans, even before the Roman invasion in 52BC.
The findings have been made at a dig in Corent, near Lyon, where archaeologists have uncovered what they believe is the palace of Vercingetorix, the last military leader of all Gaul.
After the Romans arrived, Vercingetorix, a prince who also appears in the Asterix volumes, was taken prisoner, held in a prison in Rome and garroted several years later to celebrate Caesar's triumph.
"What we have found here proves that the Gauls were much more civilised than we thought," Matthieu Poux, the archaeology professor who is heading the dig, told The Sunday Telegraph.
"The Asterix albums will need to be completely rewritten, as they are based on the typical image of the Gauls which has been passed down through the centuries, one of a prehistoric man who lives in the forest. We have discovered that they had not only complex military structures, but civilian and trading structures too.
"Until now Gauls for the French were people who lived in huts among the trees, frightening people. Parents would threaten to send their children to the Gauls if they did not go to sleep.
"But we have discovered large buildings and public spaces which prove there were Gauls of considerable social standing.
"Very high magistrates or nobles lived here, possibly even Vercingetorix. We think we are working on the site where he was given leadership over all of Gaul in order to fight the Roman invasion."
Mr Poux's team has uncovered previously unknown building techniques, elaborate foundations and tiled roofing which together suggest that the architecture in Gaul was just as advanced as that in Rome around 80 to 70BC.
Evidence of a Roman-style forum for public gatherings and a gallery housing boutiques and workshops has also been discovered, together with ironmongers' tools, coins and scales. The dig, which has until now concentrated on small, localised sites, will now be expanded by several miles in the hope of unearthing an entire city.
Gaul's leaders, it would seem, were a far cry from the buffoon cartoon character Abraracourcix (Vitalstatistix in the English version), the chief of Asterix's tribe. His main worry, other than finding food, was that the sky would fall on his head.
However, perhaps not surprisingly, there is resistance to the idea of revising the Asterix stories to reflect the new historical findings.
"I have read about the new discoveries, but to be honest I don't think we will be reworking the Asterix stories," said Florence Richaud, a spokesman for Albert René, publishers of the series of albums. "The illustrator Albert Uderzo did try to make it authentic, but rather than educational material these are stories designed basically to make children laugh."
Mr Uderzo, 80, who has illustrated all of the Asterix adventures, is working on his memoirs and has no plans to give new life to his ferocious, moustached creation.
I just ordered 15 Axtrix books today. Just for my 12 year old son. Well maybe I read a few too.
1. Druids were priests not gods. They were not worshiped but honored.
2. Romans believed in magic potions too.
3. Asterix is a comic book character.
Asterix is a British cartoon character...I've not seen it before however, Professor Stephen Oppenheimer compliments the author for his exactness to detail in his book, Origins Of The British.
I had always heard of their sophisticated metalwork, chariots, etc. and their mania for fashion and hygiene, but I thought everyone was agreed that they built exclusively in wood and thatch.
Now if they could rediscover the formula to that legendary potion...
Leave it to Historius Revisionix to ruin all our fun.
Their problem was they they fought each other as readily as they fought Romans or Germans.
Their problem was they they fought each other as readily as they fought Romans or Germans.
What I thought was really cool was how they sacrificed people on the solstices. The smell of burning meat is cool.
"The Adventures of Asterix (French: Astérix) is a series of French comic books by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations)." (Wikipedia)
Of course the Gauls were a strong, civilized people. It’s only in the last century that the French have become weak, smelly, cheese-eating surrender monkeys.
Hasn’t this been known since the 19th century? The Gauls were much more sophisticated than other barbarians in Europe at the time. They had a thriving agriculture, could field massive armies, kept up good communications under the Roman assault, had large towns with sophisticated wooden defensive systems (sadly for the Gauls, they had few stone defensive structures), etc.
Next thing they’ll tell us is that Obelix didn’t carve lots of menhirs! Through them, I learned so much about the countries Asterix visited (at least as they were in the 1970’s when the books I have were printed) - they may have stereotyped the countries, including the Gauls, but sometimes the stereotypes were very close to the truth!
Soccer fans even then seem to have been a problem . ..
A good friend of mine used to give me Asterix comics to try to get me to learn French. I just bought the English translations! They are full of puns which of course don't translate well, but the English version substitutes others, just as awful as the originals . . . .
Okay, I stand corrected. My only exposure was from the book I previously mentioned...I thought it was British. My mistake.
A French Asterix in the footnotes of history........
...archaeologists now believe the Gauls lived in elegant buildings with tiled roofs, laid out in towns with public squares or forums. They also crafted metalwork just as complex as anything produced by the Romans, even before the Roman invasion in 52BC.I smell the distinctive odor of BS.
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http://www.answers.com/topic/vercingetorix
http://www.the-romans.co.uk/julius.htm#alesia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alesia
http://cultureetloisirs.france2.fr/patrimoine/dossiers/15922193-fr.php?page=12
http://www.answers.com/topic/battle-of-alesia
“At one point in the battle the Romans were outnumbered by the Gauls by five to one. The event is described by several contemporary authors, including Caesar himself in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico... The refusal of the Roman senate to allow Caesar the honour of a triumph for his victory in the Gallic Wars eventually led, in part, to the Roman civil war of 50–45 BC.”
Have read about Vercingetorix for years. However I have never heard the name spoken. Could someone post the phonic spelling?
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