English Translations: Anthea Bell & Derek Hockridge
Copyright © 1968 Goscinny & Uderzo
Abstract
An ailing Vitalstatistix is sent to a health farm, near the scene of the Gauls triumph at Gergovia. When Asterix & Obelix annoy the local Romans, Caesar decides to hold his own triumph on a famous Gaulish shield. If only he can find it in the coal cellars...
Table 11.1. Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield - Annotations
| Page, Panel | Comment |
|---|---|
| Page 1, Panel 1 | See Vercingetorix entry under section Historical Dramatis Personae in the Characters Chapter and Alesia under Cities and Countries in the Geography Chapter. |
| Page 1, Panel 5 | Ruber et Niget = Rouge et noir. A card betting game. Needed: two packs of 52 cards; a player gets 5 cards, and bets whether he/she will get more black or more red cards. If the first four cards are two red cards and two black cards, he/she can double his/her stake. |
| Page 1, Panel 6 | Diem perdidi = I have lost a day (Emperor Titus 39-81 AD) |
| Page 1, Panel 7 | Quo vadis = where are you going? |
| Page 1, Panel 8 | O tempora! O mores! = O the times! O the morals! From Cicero's first oration against Sergius Catilina. |
| Page 3, Panel 12 | Aquae Calidae = hot water. Vichy, a town near Arvenia. |
| Page 5, Panel 6 | "use a little wine for thy stomach's sake" = "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities." (I Timothy 5:23) |
| Page 5, Panel 7 | "Let good digestion wait on appetite" = "Now good digestion wait on appetite, and health on both!" (Shakespeare, Macbeth III.iv.38) |
| Page 8, Panel 2 | Archimedes discovered the principle of a body displacing its equivalent mass in water |
| Page 11, Panel 3 | Vade retro = get back.
Audaces Fortuna juvat = "Audentis Fortuna iuvat": fortune assists the bold (Virgil, Aeneid x.284) |
| Page 13, Panel 1 | A refernce to the British Value Added Tax (VAT)??? |
| Page 13, Panel 3 | Bangers = sausages to the British. |
| Page 13, Panel 9 | Caesar was originally defeated by Vercingetorix at Gergovia |
| Page 14, Panel 1 | Veni, vidi, vici: I came, I saw, I conquered (Julius Caesar) |
| Page 14, Panel 3 | Ab imo pectore = From the bottom of the heart (literally: the chest). A phrase attributed to Julius Caesar |
| Page 14, Panel 6 | Amongst the loot Caesar appears to have a pyramid, the Sphinx and a typically tacky seaside souvenir from Britain. The Swiss are famous for their watches and clocks (including cuckoo clocks). |
| Page 14, Panel 8 | Caesar's commentary on the Gallic Wars |
| Page 15, Panel 2 | "Vade retrom, Satanas" = Latin version of Matthew 16:23 - "Get behind me, Satan" |
| Page 15, Panel 3 | Puy de dome = mountain in Chaîne des Puys, a volcanic range in South Central France. The Puy de Dome is the youngest volcanic features and last erupted about 5760 BC |
| Page 22, Panel 8 |
Sol lucet omnibus = the sun shines on everyone (Petronius, Satyricon, 100).
'Hic! Haec! Hoc!' = This is in Latin. Hic is Masculine. Haec is Feminine, and Hoc is Neuter. |
| Page 25, Panel 3 | This is equivalent to a modern-day "typing pool". |
| Page 26, Panel 2 | Carpe diem: Seize the day |
| Page 27, Panel 8 | Demobbed: retired from the army |
| Page 30, Panel 9 | Bread & Circuses = Panem et circenses, from Juvenal, Satires x.80 60-130 AD) |
| Page 31, Panel 9 | Roman roads featured mile stones. But why 'CXV' on the mile stone??? |
| Page 38, Panel 1 | NCO = Non-commissioned officer, i.e. legionary, decurion or centurion (modern-day would be private, corporal, sergeant). |
| Page 40, Panel 7 | (biblical reference) "Let he who hath not sinned cast the first stone" (John 8:7) |
| Page 42, Panel 9 | Bis repetita don't always placent = Things said twice don't always please. [Meaning:] It is unpleasant to have to repeat things. [The classical proverb is "bis repetita non placent" (Horace, Ars Poetica, 365).] |
Table 11.2. Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield - Names