The Name Snape (was: Bartemius (was: Not So Faithful (was: Re:

[Kelley]

No: HPFGUIDX 3622

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Caius Marcius" <coriolan at w...> 
wrote:
> Its also reminiscent for ancient history fans of the Roman Emperor 
Septimus> Severus (who reigned from 193-211)
> 
> I just checked out my e-text of Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall to 
get the> dates of his reign, and, re-reading some of the text, it 
turns out my> allusion was even more apt than I first suspected.  At 
the beginning of> Chapter Six, Gibbon tells us "Severus was 
passionately addicted to the vain> studies of magic and divination, 
deeply versed in the interpretation of> dreams and omens, and 
perfectly acquainted with the science of judicial astrology...."
> 
>     - CMC

I'll have to go check out 'Decline and Fall'.  I found a little info 
on Severus that I posted on hpanon a while back, but didn't find the 
info about magic.  Here's what I posted:

--- In harrypotteranonymous at egroups.com, "Kelley " 
<SKTHOMPSON_1 at m...> wrote:
> I found a little info on the name Severus.  This may be another 
> source of his name.  Found on this site:  http://www.roman-
> empire.net/decline/sept-severus-index.html
> Some of this is a little paraphrased, but all this info comes from 
> the above site.  These are just some choice bits.
> 
> Lucius Septimius Severus, 145-211 AD, Roman Emperor.  "...he is 
> renowned for his cruelty and ruthlessness.  Severus was careful of 
> everything that he desired, but careless of what was said about 
> him.  ...in a very close fought battle, that hung in the balance for
> some time -- Severus, having been thrown from his horse, even saw 
fit to conceal his identity until matters improved."  (paraphrasing 
> here):  Severus' side won, his foe fled to Lyons where he, unable 
to escape, committed suicide.  In an act of cruelty which appears 
very descriptive of a man of Severus' nature, Severus had the naked 
body  of his dead foe laid out on the ground before riding over it 
with his horse.  His foe's name was Clodius Albinus.  Severus was not 
a man to forgive and forget.  In Rome, some 29 senators and 
equestrians lost their lives for having backed one of the losing 
sides.  The Parthians, who had supported Pescennius Niger, who lost, 
were the next to endure his punishment.  The ensuing warfare 
culminated in the fall of their capitol Ctesiphon, in AD 197-198.  
All the menfolk were killed and the women and children - some 100,000 
in total - sent into slavery.  He is also known for the 
reconstruction, in stone, of Hadrian's Wall from AD 208-211.  In AD 
211 he fell fatally ill at Ebucarum (York) where he died at the age 
of 66.  The last three years of his life were spent in Britain.
> 
> Not a nice guy.  Interesting how close Albinus is to Albus.  The 
> article has a bit more info, esp. about the battles, how he became 
> Emperor, etc.  So, does it seem this may have had any influence 
over 
> the name of Snape?  Maybe, maybe not.  And, Blaise, this sure 
sounds 
> like an origin for the word severe to me. ;o]
> 
> Kelley

We are talking about the same guy, right?  Unfortunately, this site 
didn't include the 'magic' info, at least the parts I read.

BTW, LOVED your Death Eater song-- what a brilliant twisted mind...

Kelley