''The Silver Branch'' is a historical adventure novel for children written by

Rosemary Sutcliff Rosemary Sutcliff (14 December 1920 – 23 July 1992) was an English novelist best known for children's books, especially historical fiction and retellings of myths and legends. Although she was primarily a children's author, some of her novel ...

and published in 1957, with illustrations by

Charles Keeping Charles William James Keeping (22 September 1924 – 16 May 1988) was an English people, English illustrator, children's book author and lithographer. He made the illustrations for Rosemary Sutcliff's historical novels for children, and he creat ...

. Set in Britain in the last decade of the 3rd century, it is the story of Justin and Flavius, two cousins in the

Roman legion The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...

s who find themselves in the intrigue and battle surrounding the struggles between

Carausius Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius (died 293) was a military commander of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. He was a Menapian from Belgic Gaul, who usurped power in 286, during the Carausian Revolt, declaring himself emperor in Britain and ...

, a self-proclaimed emperor in Britain,

Allectus Allectus (died 296) was a Roman-Britannic usurper-emperor in Britain and northern Gaul from 293 to 296. History Allectus was treasurer to Carausius, a Menapian officer in the Roman navy who had seized power in Britain and northern Gaul in 28 ...

, Carausius's treasurer, and

Constantius Constantius may refer to: __NOTOC__ Roman people * Constantius I "Chlorus" (–306), Western Roman emperor from 305 to 306 * Julius Constantius (died 337), consul in 335, son of Constantius I * Constantius Gallus (325–354), ''caesar'' from 351 to ...

, emperor in Rome.www.barnesandnoble.com
/ref> The silver branch of the title is an article in the possession of Carausius's slave Cullen, his eccentric fool who calls himself Carausius's hound and who wears a dog's tail as part of his

motley Motley is the traditional costume of the court jester, the motley fool, or the arlecchino character in ''commedia dell'arte''. The harlequin wears a patchwork of red, green and blue diamonds that is still a fashion motif. The word ''motley'' is ...

. Subtle allusions to the silver branch recur in other novels in the Eagle of the Ninth series, and it presumably refers to the otherworldly musical instrument mentioned in the medieval Irish narrative

The Voyage of Bran The Voyage of Bran ( [], meaning "The Voyage of Bran [son of Febail]") is a medieval seventh- or eighth-century Irish language narrative. Source The date of composition has been assigned to the late 7th or early 8th century, and the text is kn ...

. The Silver Branch was also a symbol of authority and a temporary "pass card" used by the Celts, consisting of a sprig of

mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate parasite, obligate parasitic plant, hemiparasitic plants in the Order (biology), order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they ...

or an apple branch. ''The Silver Branch'' is second in Sutcliff's Roman Britain Series, following ''

The Eagle of the Ninth ''The Eagle of the Ninth'' is a historical adventure novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1954. The story is set in Roman Britain in the 2nd century AD, after the building of Hadrian's Wall and follows a young centu ...

'' (1954) and preceding ''Frontier Wolf'' (1980), '' The Lantern Bearers'' (1959), and ''

Sword at Sunset ''Sword at Sunset'' is a best-selling 1963 novel by Rosemary Sutcliff. One of her few historical novels written specifically for adults, it is her interpretation of the legend of King Arthur. This is the first novel that Sutcliff wrote using a ...

'' (1963).

Summary

The story is set in 3rd-century

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

, when Marcus Aurelius Carausius (Curoi), the military commander, has rebelled against Rome and named himself the emperor of Britain and northern Gaul. After a series of naval victories, he is temporarily recognized by Rome's ruler

Maximian Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocleti ...

. Justin (Tiberius Lucius Justinianus), a shy young army surgeon who had just completed his apprenticeship in

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

, is posted to Britain for the first time, although his family has been connected with the island for years. On arriving at

Rutupiae Richborough Castle is a Roman Saxon Shore fort better known as Richborough Roman Fort. It is situated in Richborough near Sandwich, Kent. Substantial remains of the massive fort walls still stand to a height of several metres. It is ...

, he meets a young

centurion In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...

called Flavius (Marcelus Flavius Aquila), who turns out to be a distant cousin, and they become fast friends. Upon overhearing a plot against Carausius by his finance minister

, they try to warn the emperor but, due to their perceived disloyalty, are instead reposted to Magnis on the Northern Wall in seeming disgrace, but confusingly combined with a moderate promotion. There, Justin and Flavius meet an exiled Dalriad hunter, Evicatos of the Spear, who tells them that Allectus promised to help the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...

against the Dalriads if they would help him overthrow Carausius. To save his own people from that danger, Evicatos urges the two Romans to write a warning letter to Carausius. On hearing that the letter was intercepted by Allectus's men, the two cousins know that they are in mortal danger, go into hiding and race south to warn Carausius. On their way they get the news that Allectus's

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

allies already killed Carausius and that Allectus is the new emperor. They now plan to go to

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

, where the junior western emperor,

, is gathering forces to overthrow Allectus. While vainly looking for a transport, they are found by Paulinus, the leader of a resistance group, who urges them to stay in Britain and help him with his work. When Paulinus is betrayed, the two young men must take over the banner of rebellion and continue his work of protecting and smuggling away people who are disenchanted with Allectus. Finally, Constantius and his aide, the

Praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect (; ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief ai ...

Asclepiodotus, sail to Britain to put an end to Allectus's misrule. Flavius and Justin assemble a ragtag group of people prepared to fight on their behalf. When they are hiding at their great-aunt Honoria's place in Calleva, they discover the lost eagle standard that was buried by their ancestor, Aquila, around which their small group rallies. Despite their looks, the new 'legion' helps the main Roman force find their way and defends the helpless inhabitants of Calleva from the fighting. In recognition of their help, the cousins are honoured by Constantius. The motifs of the lost eagle standard and dolphin signet ring reoccur in this book.

Background

The book is based around the 3rd century events of the Carausian Revolt, the subsequent life and death of

and the defeat of the traitor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Branch 1957 British novels 1957 children's books British children's novels Children's historical novels Novels by Rosemary Sutcliff Novels set in Roman Britain Novels set in the 3rd century 290s Oxford University Press books Children's books set in antiquity Works set in the 3rd century Children's books set in England