Manius Papirius Lentulus, the last Roman soldier in Britannia

Traduzione in italiano. [A silly story I wrote over at The Critical Line, where Richard, a witty lawyer from London, entertains his guests with his vast knowledge and adorable English humour.

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Richard though has a problem.

He’s terribly profound in mathematics and so are many of his guests who seem to share the same horrible contagion.

But, it’d be fair to say, I am the one to have a big problem, and, what is this tale but a burst of frustration because of my mathematical ineptitude?]

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The Last Roman In Albion

Britannia, 526 CE, in a parallel (and almost identical) universe.

The Western Roman Empire has collapsed. Angles, Saxons and Jutes are invading the Roman province of Britannia from the East. All continental Roman soldiers have gone – but the Romano-Celtic in the West are resisting bravely. Only Manius Papirius Lentulus from Roma has stayed. He lives with the barbarians but risks nothing since he’s considered innocuous by the Angles (or Angli, as he says in his language.)

The last Roman soldier has made friends with a few of them: Richard (whom Manius sometimes calls Britannia), Dafna (happened there from a far-away land), Cheri, Mr. Crotchety and Christopher. In their abstruse language – that Manius understands a bit – they sometimes call him MoR (or, in their weird but cute Latin, Roma.)

A Melodious Sequence, 1,2,3…

A goose has just died for occult reasons MoR isn’t willing to investigate.

Manius felt sorry for the poor goose but also curious about how Cheri might prepare it for lunch.

Approaching Mr. Crotchety he told him he had been so lentulus and had forgotten he had something important to tell him.

Dafna was weirdly chanting a melodious sequence of numbers:

“1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8”

Getting closer in rapture MoR noticed Richard and Christopher approaching her as well. Her song seemed the usual diatonic scale kids learn by just pressing the white keys of a keyboard, C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C.

But MoR couldn’t figure out a kinda weirdness in that melody, so a stupid look froze in his face. Richard’s smile became sly instead. Christopher was scribbling like crazy on a roll of papyrus.

Britannia finally lost his patience and shoved an elbow into Roma’s ribs.

“Ouch Richard!! Are you crazy??”

Then it finally hit Roma. That devil of a woman!! She was chanting her sequence according to an ancient tuning!

“Yes – said Richard triumphantly – it is the Pythagorean tuning based on a stack of perfect fifths, each tuned in the ratio 3:2. The Babylonian tuning, actually, more than 1 thousand years older than Pythagoras. Starting from D for example, the A is tuned in a way that the frequency ratio of A and D is 3:2; so if D is tuned to 288 Hz, then the A is tuned to 432 Hz, the E above A is also …..”

Dafna interrupted Richard with an odd smile:

“What he means – she said – is that the Pythagorean love for proportions is evident in this scale’s construction, as all of its tones may be derived from interval frequency ratios based on the first three integers: 1, 2, 3. Isn’t that amazing?”

Surrounded, Outsmarted

Roma felt trapped.

He was surrounded by the Angli and their allies. And they were ALL mathematicians!!

He began to panic. The last Roman soldier in Britannia, outnumbered, outsmarted, began to run wildly uphill and got lost among the sheep never to be seen again.

The Legend Of Roma Continues

A legend says Roma took seven Anglia wives and mixed his blood with the natives.

“Why seven?” asked the Anglia kid to his Anglia grandpa.

The tribe was sitting before a big fire. The summer night was full of stars.

“Because seven is a magic number” replied the Anglia grandpa showily. “The seven hills of Rome, the seven wonders of the world, Jesus saying to Peter to forgive seventy times seven times.”

“But seven – added the Anglia cutie – is also the fourth prime number. It is not only a Mersenne prime (since 23 – 1 = 7) but also a double Mersenne prime since it is itself the exponent for another Mersenne prime, ie 127.”

Ψ

The Anglia grandfather paled.

It’s like he saw all his life fall apart in a second. His mind went back to the time when a Roman soldier had fled wildly uphill and had got lost among the sheep.

Even the Anglia kids!! Even THEM!!

That same feeling of panic, of claustrophobia pervaded him.

His flight had been useless.

He was trapped. Trapped forever.

La storia di Manius, ultimo romano in Britannia

Un racconto [qui l‘originale in inglese] che scrissi nel blog The Critical Line, dove Richard, un arguto avvocato di Londra, intratteneva i suoi ospiti (i frequentatori dei blog di tutti noi) con le sue vaste conoscenza condite da un adorabile umorismo inglese.

Richard però aveva (ed ha) un problema.

È terribilmente profondo in matematica e molti dei suoi ospiti sembrano condividere lo stesso orribile contagio.

Ma sarebbe giusto dire che sono io ad avere un problema. Per cui nella storia che segue prendo in giro gli amici anglosassoni appassionati di matematica (tutta invidia) i cui post mi hanno ossessionato per un po’.

Per la parte sui numeri mi sono documentato qua e là sul Web.

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L’ultimo romano in Albion

Britannia, anno 526 d.C., in un universo parallelo (e quasi identico) al nostro.

L’Impero Romano d’Occidente è crollato. Angli, Sassoni e Iuti stanno invadendo da est la provincia romana di Britannia. Tutti i legionari romani del Continente hanno da tempo abbandonato l’isola anche se i Romano-Celti delle aree occidentali resistono con coraggio. Dei legionari, solo Manius Papirius Lentulus è rimasto. Vive con i barbari ma non rischia nulla poiché è considerato innocuo dagli Angles (o Angli, come dice nella sua lingua).

In particolare Manius ha fatto amicizia con alcuni di loro: Richard (che Manius chiama a volte Britannia), Dafna (arrivata in Britannia da qualche lontano paese), Cheri, Mr. Crotchety e Christopher.

Nella loro lingua oscura che Manius capisce a stento essi lo chiamano ManofRoma (o, in un latino dal curioso accento, Roma).

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Una sequenza melodiosa

Un’oca è appena morta per motivi occulti che Roma non ha voglia di indagare.

Manius è dispiaciuto per la povera oca ma è anche curioso di sapere come Cheri la cucinerà per pranzo.

Avvicinatosi a Mr. Crotchety gli dice di essere stato lentulus e di aver dimenticato di avere una cosa importante da dirgli.

Nel frattempo Dafna, misteriosa, intona una sequenza melodiosa di numeri:

“1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8″

Avvicinatosi in estasi ManofRoma nota che anche Richard e Christopher stanno sopraggiungendo. Christopher scribacchia su un frammento di papiro.

Il canto della donna sembra all’inizio corrispondere alla solita scala diatonica che i bambini imparano premendo a seguire i tasti bianchi di una tastiera, do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do.

Ma ManofRoma coglie qualcosa di insolito nella melodia e non riuscendo a comprendere un’espressione sciocca gli si dipinge in volto.

Britannia alla fine perde la pazienza e gli dà una gomitata nelle costole.

“Ahioo Richard!! Ma sei impazzito??”

Fu allora che Roma, colto da folgore, comprese. Quel diavolo di donna! Stava cantando la sequenza di suoni secondo un’antica accordatura!

“Sì – disse Richard trionfante – è l’accordatura pitagorica basata su una serie di quinte giuste ognuna accordata in base a un rapporto di 3 a 2. In realtà si tratta dell’accordatura babilonese, risalente a più di un millennio prima dei pitagorici. A partire dal re, per esempio, il la veniva accordato in modo che il rapporto di frequenza tra il re e il la fosse di 3 a 2, per cui se il re è a 288 Hz, il la è a 432 Hz, e anche il mi sopra il la è …. “

Dafna interrompe Richard con uno strano sorriso sulle labbra:

“In pratica quello che Richard vuol dire – esclama – è che l’amore pitagorico per le proporzioni si manifesta con chiarezza nella costruzione di tale sequenza, le cui note son tutte ricavate dai rapporti fra le frequenze degli intervalli basati sui primi tre numeri interi: 1, 2, 3. Non è stupefacente?”

Roma si sentì in trappola.

Era circondato dagli Angli e dai loro alleati. Ed erano tutti matematici!!

Il panico lo ghermì. L’ultimo soldato romano in Britannia, inferiore sia per numero che per intelletto, prese a fuggire all’impazzata su per il dorso della collina e, smarritosi tra le pecore, di lui non si saprà più nulla.

Ψ

 

La leggenda di Roma continua

Una leggenda narra che Roma prese sette mogli Angle e mischiò il sangue con quello dei nativi.

“Perché sette?” chiese il moccioso Anglo al nonno Anglo.

La tribù era accovacciata davanti a un grande fuoco. La notte estiva era piena di stelle.

“Perché sette è un numero magico” rispose il nonno con ostentazione. “I sette colli di Roma, le sette meraviglie del mondo, Gesù che dice a Pietro di perdonare settanta volte sette”.

“Ma sette – aggiunse il marmocchio Anglo – è il quarto numero primo. Non solo è un numero primo di Mersenne (poiché 23 – 1 è uguale a 7) ma è anche un doppio numero di Mersenne, poiché è l’esponente di un altro numero primo Marsenne, vale a dire 127”.

Il vecchio Anglo impallidì.

Fu come se tutta la vita gli fosse crollata addosso in un attimo. La mente tornò al giorno in cui un soldato romano si era messo a correre all’impazzata su per la collina ed era scomparso tra le pecore.

Anche i bambini Angli!! Anche loro!!

Quella stessa sensazione di panico, di claustrofobia lo pervase.

La sua fuga era stata inutile.

Era in trappola. In trappola per sempre.

 

The Strange Story of Manius, the Last Roman Soldier in Britannia

Asterix Roman soldier. Click for credits and to enlarge

A silly story I wrote over at The Critical Line, where Richard, a witty lawyer from London, entertains his guests with his vast knowledge and adorable English humour.

Richard though has a problem.

He’s terribly profound in mathematics and so are many of his guests who seem to share the same horrible contagion.

But, it’d be fair to say, I am the one to have a big problem, and, what is this tale but a burst of frustration because of my mathematical ineptitude?

The Tale of Manius

English sheep. Photo by Bernard Durfee (2008). Click for credits and to enlarge

Britannia, 526 CE, in a parallel (and almost identical) universe.

The Western Roman Empire has collapsed. Angles, Saxons and Jutes are invading the Roman province of Britannia from the East. All continental Roman soldiers have gone – but the Romano-Celtic in the West are resisting bravely. Only Manius Papirius Lentulus from Roma has stayed. He lives with the barbarians but risks nothing since he’s considered innocuous by the Angles (or Angli as he says in his language.)

The last Roman soldier has made friends with a few of them: Richard (whom Manius sometimes calls Britannia), Dafna (happened there from a far away land), Cheri, Mr. Crotchety and Phil. In their abstruse language – that Manius understands a bit – they sometimes call him MoR (or, in their weird but cute Latin, Roma.)

A goose has just died for occult reasons MoR isn’t willing to investigate.

A Melodious Sequence, 1,2,3…

Manius felt sorry for the poor goose but also curious about how Cheri might prepare it for lunch.

Approaching Mr. Crotchety he told him he had been so lentus and had forgotten he had something important to tell him.

Dafna was weirdly chanting a melodious sequence of numbers:

“1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8″.

Getting closer in rapture MoR noticed Richard and Phil approaching her as well. Her song seemed the usual diatonic scale kids learn by just pressing the white keys of a keyboard, do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do.

But MoR couldn’t figure out a kinda weirdness in that melody, so a stupid look froze in his face. Richard’s smile became sly instead. Phil was scribbling like crazy on a roll of papyrus.

Britannia finally lost his patience and shoved an elbow into Roma’s ribs.

“Ouch Richard!! Are you crazy??”

Then it finally hit Roma. That devil of a woman!! She was chanting her sequence according to an ancient tuning!

“Yes – said Richard triumphantly – it is the Pythagorean tuning based on a stack of perfect fifths, each tuned in the ratio 3:2. The Babylonian tuning, actually, more than 1 thousand years older than Pythagoras. Starting from D for example, the A is tuned such that the frequency ratio of A and D is 3:2, so if D is tuned to 288 Hz, then the A is tuned to 432 Hz, the E above A is also …..”

Dafna interrupted Richard with an odd smile:

“What he means – she said – is that the Pythagorean love for proportions is evident in this scale’s construction, as all of its tones may be derived from interval frequency ratios based on the first three integers: 1, 2, 3. Isn’t that amazing?”

Surrounded, Outsmarted

Roma felt trapped.

He was surrounded by the Angli and their allies. And they were ALL mathematicians!!

He began to panic. The last Roman soldier in Britannia, outnumbered, outsmarted, began to run wildly uphill and got lost among the sheep never to be seen again.

Sheep in English countryside. Click for credits and to enlarge

The Legend of Roma Continues

A legend says Roma took seven Anglia wives and mixed his blood with the natives.

“Why seven?” asked the Anglia kid to his Anglia grandfather.

The tribe was sitting before a big fire. The summer night was full of stars.

“Because seven is a magic number” replied the Anglia grandfather showily. “The seven hills of Rome, the seven wonders of the world, Jesus saying to Peter to forgive seventy times seven times.”

“But seven – added the Anglia cutie – is also the fourth prime number. It is not only a Mersenne prime (since 23 − 1 = 7) but also a double Mersenne prime since it is itself the exponent for another Mersenne prime, ie 127.”

ψ

The Anglia Grandfather paled.

It’s like he saw all his life fall apart in a second. His mind went back to the time when a Roman soldier had fled wildly uphill and had got lost among the sheep.

Even the Anglia kids!! Even THEM!!

His flight had been useless.

That same feeling of panic, of claustrophobia pervaded him.

He was trapped. Trapped forever.