Curio Cabinet

History can be stranger than fiction. With Gladiator II in theaters now, it’s only natural to wonder about the real Colosseum where they fought. While the movie takes some artistic liberties, some of what it portrays isn’t far from reality. Before the construction of the Colosseum, gladiatorial battles were fought in the forum, the same public space where processions, speeches, and other events were held. Such open displays of violence were not only common, but widely celebrated in Rome. By modern standards, it would be a bit like a sanctioned knife fight right in the middle of Times Square. Hollywood didn’t invent the idea of over-the-top displays, like flooding the Colosseum to hold naval battles. Such events really did take place; they were called naumachiae, and enslaved fighters were forced to battle to the death on actual ships. A naumachia was held during the Colosseum’s infamous inaugural games in 80 C.E., to celebrate the arena’s opening. The games went on for 100 days straight, serving as a display of Roman military might in addition to entertainment. While most gladiators were enslaved and forced to fight, they weren’t exactly dying in droves. Unlike other fighters in the arena, gladiators were specially trained to fight using specific types of equipment, and they were more about showmanship than killing. Only about five percent of gladiators actually died in the arena, and fights usually ended in a draw. Gladiators were expensive to train, house, and feed, so losing one was always a financial setback for the Colosseum’s managers. Some gladiators even managed to achieve celebrity status, earning fans and endorsement deals much like modern day athletes. Some of them were famous for their looks, earning the adoration of female fans. Even millennia ago, some ladies couldn’t help but be drawn to bad boys.

 
[Image description: A photo of the colosseum, a large, partially intact amphitheater in Rome.] Credit & copyright: Urse Ovidiu, Wikimedia Commons. The copyright holder of this work, releases this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide.

If you’re only going to write one book, make it count. That’s exactly what 19th century British author Anna Sewell did with her one and only novel, Black Beauty. Published on this day in 1877, the book was a critical and commercial success. Written from the perspective of a horse, the story follows the titular character as he experiences increasing hardship under different owners. The book features vivid descriptions of inhumane treatment of horses, which was sadly common at the time of its publication. However, the novel actually helped bring an end to at least one cruel practice in addition to changing children’s literature forever.  
Born on March 30, 1820 in Norfolk, England, Anna Sewell’s early life was difficult. Growing up in poverty, her family moved frequently, and the Sewell children (Anna and her brother) sometimes stayed with relatives. When she was 12 (or possibly 14), Anna broke both of her ankles after slipping and falling. Her medical treatment was inadequate, leaving her with lifelong mobility issues. Anna’s mother was a prolific author of religious children’s books, as well as books on social issues like abolition and temperance. In her adolescence, Sewell began helping her mother edit her manuscripts. However, it wasn’t until her fifties that Anna began work on a book of her own. The story was inspired by the very animals that her injury forced her to rely upon: horses. Unable to walk without pain and with her condition worsening over her lifetime, she was more dependent on horses than most people. Perhaps owing to her own injury and chronic pain, she developed a deep empathy for the animals. By the time Sewell published her book, she was 57 and in failing health. Just five months after Black Beauty was released, Sewell passed away from what was likely tuberculosis.
 
Sewell’s novel follows Black Beauty—a highbred male horse—throughout his life from his perspective. As a foal, he lives on a farm owned by kind masters who treat him well. He lives with his mother, Duchess, and half-brother, Rob Roy. After he is trained to be ridden and pull carts, Black Beauty is sold to another master, who also treats him well. During his time with his second masters, Black Beauty makes friends with his master’s other horses. However, his circumstances change for the worse when his owner’s family moves out of England and he is sold yet again. Black Beauty is separated from his friends, and his new owner is not as kind to him. One day, the new owner rides him while drunk, injuring him in the process. The injury is accompanied by a disfiguring scar which renders him unfashionable to ride, and he is sold once again, this time as a work horse in industrialized London. In the city, Black Beauty experiences increasing hardship as he is forced to perform grueling labor. Eventually, he is purchased by a kindly cabdriver, but is sold again after three years. During that time, he encounters one of his old friends, whose health and body have been ruined by years of hard labor and neglect. Later, Black Beauty himself collapses while attempting to pull a crowded cab. He is then purchased by a farmer who restores him to health and later sells him to a couple of old ladies who treat him well. After a long and difficult life, Black Beauty is able to live in quiet and peace once more.
 
Sewell’s novel was not only a hit, it contributed greatly to the banning of bearing-reins, a piece of horse harness that forced the animal’s neck back to create a more upright posture. The use of bearing-reins (also called checkreins or overchecks) was common before the book was published, and often caused debilitating injuries to horses. Black Beauty was heavily promoted by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for its sympathetic portrayal of horses and their combined efforts helped end the use of bearing-reins in England. In the literary world, Black Beauty ushered in a new type of novel, in which animals could literally tell their stories. Children’s classics like Charlotte's Web might not exist if not for Black Beauty. Young readers (and horses) would do well to thank Anna Sewell!

 
[Image description: The cover of the 1877 first edition of Black Beauty. The cover is green with gold flowers and the black head and neck of a horse.] Credit & copyright: London: Jarrold and Sons, Wikimedia Commons. This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of 70 years after the work was made available to the public.

This is one of the rare instances when talking the talk is walking the walk. Safeguarding communications between allies was a crucial challenge during both World Wars, but the U.S. had a secret weapon: Native American codetalkers, who used their indigenous languages to thwart enemy codebreakers. Although the codetalkers of WWII are the better-known examples, the practice of employing Native American codetalkers started during WWI. During that war, a number of servicemembers from various tribes used combinations of English and their own languages to send coded messages, with the most famous example being the Choctaw Telephone Squad. The practice became even more widespread during WWII. In the European Theater, soldiers from the Cherokee and Comanche tribes, among others, served as codetalkers, including during the D-Day landings in Normandy. On the other side of the world in the Pacific Theater, Navajo codetalkers speaking Diné also proved invaluable. Most notably, Navajo Marines sent 800 coded messages without error during the Battle of Iwo Jima. After the battle, signal officer Major Howard of the 5th Marine Division stated, “Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima.” Meanwhile, the enemy was well aware of how valuable the codetalkers were, and made them prioritized targets. Thus, being a codetalker was incredibly dangerous. Still, they were extremely successful, in large part because of the obscurity of their languages outside the U.S. There were few people even within the U.S. who could speak the languages without being part of the tribe, and even if someone could speak them, the codetalkers also used coded words and invented completely new words that didn’t exist in their languages. For example, since there was no word for submarines in Diné, the Navajo codetalkers called them “besh-lo,” or “iron fish.” By the end of the war, they had developed 411 such words, adapting to changing needs. Sometimes linguistic skill and innovation are the best weapons.

 
[Image description: An American flag on a wooden flag pole.] Credit & copyright: Crefollet, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.