The stereotypical image of Barbaricum was very deeply rooted in the mentality of Roman intellectuals. In their recommendations, authors of military treatises sometimes referred to the stereotypical ethnographic image of the Rome’s opponents. Despite their application of literary topoi, the information given by the authors was largely followed by Roman commanders. At times, military treatises offer basic stereotypes, probably deeply rooted in the collective awareness of Roman intellectuals and military men alike. Notably, these stereotypes could have an impact on the practical aspects of military life. The approach towards foreign ethnic groups in Roman military treatises was twofold: in the case of regular soldiers, aversion to foreigners had to be stimulated by looking for antagonisms, whether religious or cultural. However, it was done in broad strokes, without indicating any individual national features or referring to topoi from classical literature. The situation was quite different in the sections aimed at military commanders. The strategoi needed the most accurate picture of the enemy, their habits, strengths and weaknesses, ways of fighting and even political organization. This knowledge could be used in the course of fighting, in order to gain an advantage over the opponent. Despite the obvious usefulness of these recommendations for commanders, they were not free from ancient topoi, easy to differentiate from practical guidelines. A soldier had to learn to hate his enemy; a Roman commander had to learn about the enemy, get to know them as well as reasonably possible, so as to achieve victory that much easier. This is an indication that despite clearly identifiable transcultural wars waged by the Empire, the military treatises do not place much emphasis on ethnic aspects.

The subject of this article are three cases, as reported by Late Roman historians, in which the soldiers, overwhelmed by unreasonable bravado, forced their commanders into a risky battle, against their reasonable judgment. This refers to the sortie of the Gallic legions during the siege of Amida (359 AD), described by Ammianus Marcellinus, as well as the battles of Callinicum (531 AD) and Rome (537 AD), portrayed by Procopius of Caesarea as having been forced upon the commanderin-chief, Belisarius, by the enraged soldiers. These events are analyzed in the light of ancient aretology (going back to philosophical considerations of Plato and Aristotle), distinguishing between the real fortitude and unreasonable audacity, at the same time trying to uncover the reality that stands behind the biased testimonies of the authors. On the aretological level, we see how the initial irrational audacity may transform into a real virtue, if subjected to some reasonable discipline. As for the condition of Late Roman army, we can observe here the role of strong esprit du corps, standing behind these difficult to explain cases of soldiers’ behavior.

The following text examines the role of emotion and the way it is created in contemporary British historical films about the Great War. Themes, emotions and characters are pivotal in fictional storytelling, and cinematic depiction of historical events is no exception to this. The First World War has made a significant impact on British memory, and this military conflict has been frequently presented in literature, art, theatre, and film. In this paper the author outlines the fundamental challenges associated with the analysis of emotions in film, and then go on to examine specific examples. The following films and TV series were taken into consideration: Private Peaceful (2012, dir. Pat O’Connor), Birdsong (2012, dir. Philip Martin), The Passing Bells (2014, dir. Brendan Maher), Testament of Youth (2014, dir. James Kent), Journey’s End (2017, dir. Saul Dibb) and 1917 (2019, dir. Sam Mendes). The author analyses how, in those movies, the theme of love was interwoven in the cinematic discourse about the war, how the process of identification-projection affects the viewer’s perception of the characters, and what technical nuances (shots, angles, sounds) are frequently being used by filmmakers to achieve particular emotional effect or mood.