Outcast (Sutcliff novel)
Encyclopedia
Outcast is a historical novel
for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff
and published in 1955.
It takes place in Roman Britain
and tells the tale of an orphaned Roman
child who is shipwrecked on a coast of Dumnonia
in Celtic Britain, outside of Roman rule. He is adopted by a childless couple, grows up within the tribe, eventually leaving to rejoin Roman society, and being carried along by a chain of events all the way to Rome
and ultimately back to Britain. Like many Sutcliff novels, the plot is driven by the protagonist's search for identity amidst several cultures in which he feels himself to be an outcast .
. After coming of age
, his status within their culture comes under pressure, shown in a conflict between the acceptance of the village Bard
and the condemnation on religious grounds by the village Druid
. After a bad harvest is linked to his presence, the superstitious
views of the Druid win-out, and Beric is exiled from the tribe.
He journeys to Isca Dumnoniorum
, where he falls afoul of a Greek
slave trader
, who tricks Beric and takes him as a slave. He us ultimately purchased by Publius Pio, a Roman Magistrate
, and becomes part of Pio's patrician household on the Viminal Hill
. Beric antagonizes Glaucus, son of Publius Pio, embarrassing Glaucus at a dinner celebrating Pio's election to the office of Aedile
. This scene is witnessed by Centurion
Justinius, and results in Beric being condemned to work in the salt mines, a certain slow and painful death.
Beric makes his escape from Pio's household, hiding in a disused temple of Sylvan Pan
, and making his way north on the Via Flaminia
, hoping to walk back to Britain. He is caught in the Roman countryside, condemned as a bandit, and sentenced to live out his life as a galley slave
. He works in the Rhenus Fleet, stationed in Colonia Agrippina
, living many years on the galley 'Alcestis'. His galley is eventually sent to Britain, surviving a great storm, during which Beric is thrown overboard for dead. Beric washes ashore for the second time in his life, this time to be rescued by the Roman British
household of the centurion Justinius, who had returned to his duty station after his leave in Rome.
Beric now joins in the work on the Rhee Wall of Romney Marsh
, where the Romans led by Justinius are working reclaim land from the sea
. The progress of the Rhee Wall and the lives of the workers are threatened by a great storm, during which Beric bonds with his new comrades, and after which he concludes that he has finally found a place and a people where he belongs.
Like in many Sutcliff novels, the theme of Outcast revolves around Beric's struggle to find belonging as he is caught in various degrees of acceptance and descrimination
by the various societies through which he travels. Also like in many Sutcliff novels, Outcast strongly features the celtic native hound
, with Beric's progress being paralleled by renouncing his native dog in the beginning of the novel, later adopting a mixed-breed dog
near the Roman camp by the Rhee wall, and ultimately having his break-through moment of feeling accepted when the second dog drops her newborn pup on his feet.
Richard Kennedy's cover art is in color, while the illustrations within the novel are black and white charcoal drawings.
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff
Rosemary Sutcliff
Rosemary Sutcliff CBE was a British novelist, and writer for children, best known as a writer of historical fiction and children's literature. Although she was primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults; Sutcliff herself once commented that she wrote...
and published in 1955.
It takes place in Roman Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
and tells the tale of an orphaned Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
child who is shipwrecked on a coast of Dumnonia
Dumnonia
Dumnonia is the Latinised name for the Brythonic kingdom in sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries, located in the farther parts of the south-west peninsula of Great Britain...
in Celtic Britain, outside of Roman rule. He is adopted by a childless couple, grows up within the tribe, eventually leaving to rejoin Roman society, and being carried along by a chain of events all the way to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and ultimately back to Britain. Like many Sutcliff novels, the plot is driven by the protagonist's search for identity amidst several cultures in which he feels himself to be an outcast .
Plot summary
The story is about a boy named Beric, who is raised amongst the DumnoniiDumnonii
The Dumnonii or Dumnones were a British Celtic tribe who inhabited Dumnonia, the area now known as Devon and Cornwall in the farther parts of the South West peninsula of Britain, from at least the Iron Age up to the early Saxon period...
. After coming of age
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
, his status within their culture comes under pressure, shown in a conflict between the acceptance of the village Bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
and the condemnation on religious grounds by the village Druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
. After a bad harvest is linked to his presence, the superstitious
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
views of the Druid win-out, and Beric is exiled from the tribe.
He journeys to Isca Dumnoniorum
Isca Dumnoniorum
Isca Dumnoniorum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia and the capital of Dumnonia in the sub-Roman period. Today it is known as Exeter, located in the English county of Devon.-Fortress:...
, where he falls afoul of a Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
slave trader
Slavery in ancient Rome
The institution of slavery in ancient Rome played an important role in society and the Roman economy. Besides manual labor on farms and in mines, slaves performed many domestic services and a variety of other tasks, such as accounting...
, who tricks Beric and takes him as a slave. He us ultimately purchased by Publius Pio, a Roman Magistrate
Roman Magistrates
The Roman Magistrates were elected officials in Ancient Rome. During the period of the Roman Kingdom, the King of Rome was the principal executive magistrate. His power, in practice, was absolute. He was the chief priest, lawgiver, judge, and the sole commander of the army...
, and becomes part of Pio's patrician household on the Viminal Hill
Viminal Hill
The Viminal Hill is the smallest of the famous seven hills of Rome. A finger-shape cusp pointing toward central Rome between the Quirinal Hill to the northwest and the Esquiline Hill to the southeast, it is home to the Teatro dell'Opera and the Termini Railway Station.At the top of Viminal Hill...
. Beric antagonizes Glaucus, son of Publius Pio, embarrassing Glaucus at a dinner celebrating Pio's election to the office of Aedile
Aedile
Aedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order. There were two pairs of aediles. Two aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and the other...
. This scene is witnessed by Centurion
Centurion
A centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army .Centurion may also refer to:-Military:* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy...
Justinius, and results in Beric being condemned to work in the salt mines, a certain slow and painful death.
Beric makes his escape from Pio's household, hiding in a disused temple of Sylvan Pan
Faunus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus was the horned god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan....
, and making his way north on the Via Flaminia
Via Flaminia
The Via Flaminia was an ancient Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to Ariminum on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had for travel between Etruria, Latium and Campania and the Po Valley...
, hoping to walk back to Britain. He is caught in the Roman countryside, condemned as a bandit, and sentenced to live out his life as a galley slave
Galley slave
A galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley. The expression has two distinct meanings: it can refer either to a convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar , or to a kind of human chattel, often a prisoner of war, assigned to his duty of rowing.-Antiquity:Contrary to the popular image of the...
. He works in the Rhenus Fleet, stationed in Colonia Agrippina
Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium
Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium was the name of the Roman colony in the Rhineland out of which the German city of Cologne developed.It was the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and the headquarters of the military in the region. With the administrative reforms under Diocletian,...
, living many years on the galley 'Alcestis'. His galley is eventually sent to Britain, surviving a great storm, during which Beric is thrown overboard for dead. Beric washes ashore for the second time in his life, this time to be rescued by the Roman British
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
household of the centurion Justinius, who had returned to his duty station after his leave in Rome.
Beric now joins in the work on the Rhee Wall of Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 mi ² .-Quotations:*“As Egypt was the gift of the Nile, this level tract .....
, where the Romans led by Justinius are working reclaim land from the sea
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
. The progress of the Rhee Wall and the lives of the workers are threatened by a great storm, during which Beric bonds with his new comrades, and after which he concludes that he has finally found a place and a people where he belongs.
Like in many Sutcliff novels, the theme of Outcast revolves around Beric's struggle to find belonging as he is caught in various degrees of acceptance and descrimination
Social distance
Social distance describes the distance between different groups of society and is opposed to locational distance. The notion includes all differences such as social class, race/ethnicity or sexuality, but also the fact that the different groups do not mix...
by the various societies through which he travels. Also like in many Sutcliff novels, Outcast strongly features the celtic native hound
Irish Wolfhound
The Irish wolfhound is a breed of domestic dog , specifically a sighthound. The name originates from its purpose rather than from its appearance...
, with Beric's progress being paralleled by renouncing his native dog in the beginning of the novel, later adopting a mixed-breed dog
Mixed-breed dog
A mixed-breed dog, also known as a mutt or mongrel, is a dog whose ancestry is generally unknown and that has characteristics of two or more types of breeds. A mixed-breed may be a cross-breed dog, a random-bred dog, or a descendant of feral or pariah dog populations...
near the Roman camp by the Rhee wall, and ultimately having his break-through moment of feeling accepted when the second dog drops her newborn pup on his feet.
Richard Kennedy's cover art is in color, while the illustrations within the novel are black and white charcoal drawings.