The Silver Branch

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The Silver Branch

• Background and setting
• 1. What is the time period of the novel?
• 2. What was the political situation at the
  beginning of the novel?
• 3. How large was the empire at the time and what
  problems did it face?

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Answers

• 1. The novel takes place in the time period
  between 200-300 AD
• 2. Rome was beginning to seriously crumble due to
  failing leadership, overtaxation, and attacks by
  barbarians (in this book, the Saxons)
• 3. Formerly the largest empire on the planet, the
  Roman empire was rapidly shrinking due to
  constant barbarian attacks.

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• 4. Where do the two heroes travel during the
  course of the novel?
• 5. What are the features of these locations?

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• 4. Mostly, Justin and Flavius travel to Rutupiae,
  Magnis on the Wall, Calleva, and Portus Adurni.
  The book ends with the two boys in Londinium.
• 5. Rutupiae is a typical army holdout, with a
  castle to house the caesar, which is luxurious a
  hospital area for the wounded, and guards to keep
  watch for attacks. Magnis on the Wall is a dirty,
  chaotic British holdout that houses many
  disheartened soldiers. Calleva is the family farm
  where Flavius grew up and was raised by his
  great-aunt Honoria, and Portus Adurni is a small
  village, which, like most of Britain, is
  constantly under threat by the Saxons.

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• 6. Which details help to evoke a sense of the
  time period---housing, food, clothing, means of
  travel, weapons, entertainment?

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• 6. Housing The housing is typical of the Roman
  era. The Romans were very advanced for their
  time. An example of this in the book, though not
  well-explained, was the hypocaust, a central
  heating system housed underneath the houses. Many
  Roman houses also had indoor plumbing.
• Food is well-described in the novel, and very
  different from what we eat today! Mostly you
  probably noticed how very little most people had
  to eat.
• Clothing was not well-described in this book,
  although you may have noticed that the
  higher-ranked politicians and soldiers dressed in
  finer fabrics and had more decorations. Most of
  these men also were very picky about their
  appearance. The lower classes, such as Evicatos,
  wore rough and undecorated fabrics, and sometimes
  even animal skins.
• The means of travel was primarily on foot and
  horseback, and sometimes by carriage, but this
  was reserved mostly for the wealthy.
• Weapons were still fairly simple bow and arrow,
  spears,catapults, etc.
• The primary form of entertainment, besides
  drinking in a pub or wine-house, was the
  gladiator, who was forced to fight in front of
  thousands of spectators, with wild animals,
  usually to their death.

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• 7. What is the central conflict and how is it
  resolved?

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• 7. The central conflict is that Justin and
  Flavius discover Allectuss traitorous plot to
  kill Carausius and become caesar. They try to
  warn Carausius to no avail. They eventually join
  a small army of rebels who help to fight off the
  Saxons and capture and execute Allectus, which
  allows Constantiuss army to continue to fight
  successfully.

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• 8. How does the writer blend history and fiction?
• 9. What themes are developed?
• 10. Does the writer use foreshadowing and/or
  flashbacks?

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• 8. The writer blends history and fiction in this
  novel using real and fictional characters that
  take part in both historical and fictional
  events. For example, the burning of the Basilica
  at Calleva is real, but the two boys are
  fictional people.
• 9. The main themes of this novel are the strength
  of friendship, the importance of loyalty, and
  doing whats right.
• 10. The writer does use foreshadowing and
  flashbacks. Examples of this She spends a lot of
  time at the beginning of the book on Allectus,
  his appearance and personality, and he turns out
  to be the main conflict of the book. Licinius
  flashback at the beginning of the book serves to
  give us an idea of what kind of leader Carausius
  is, and allows us to feel sympathy and positivity
  towards him throughout the book.

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• 11. Who are the central characters?
• 12. What are their motives---are they political,
  pure, self-serving?

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• 11. The central characters are Justin, Flavius,
  Allectus and Carausius.
• 12. Justin and Flavius are young and pure of
  heart. They truly love their country and emperor
  and are loyal. They are also best friends and
  cousins, and have a very strong bond.
• Allectus, of course, is corrupt and cares only
  for himself and growing his own power. He will do
  anything to become more powerful, including
  murder and betray.
• Carausius is a young, but a good emperor. He is
  worried about the empire and truly wishes to save
  it. It seems that he may be too young or simply
  too nice to do this effectively.

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• 13. Who are the other characters, and when and
  where do they appear?

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• 13. Other characters
• Licinius, a centurion we meet right at the
  beginning. He is important because he has a high
  opinion of Justin and vouches for him before and
  during the final battle.
• Honoria, Flaviuss great aunt. She helps the boys
  quite a bit and offers shelter for them during
  very dangerous times.
• Evicatos of the Spear, a hunter the boys meet in
  Magnis on the Wall. He knows of Allectus and his
  plot, and helps the boys to formulate a plan to
  alert Carausius and gives them the courage to
  fight him.
• Paulinus, who knows of Allectus and is organizing
  to overthrow him. Although he gets killed, he is
  really the reason that the rebel legion gets
  organized and is able to finally overcome
  Allectuss army.
• Cullen, formerly Carausiuss loyal hound who
  sticks with the boys.
• Phaedrus, captain of the Berenice, the ship that
  is helping rebel soldiers escape to Gaul to save
  their lives. He also joins the rebel army.
• Pandarus, the gladiator who dies during the final
  battle.