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CAUDINE FORKS (Furculae Caudinae)

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Originally appearing in Volume V05, Page 556 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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CAUDINE FORKS (Furculae Caudinae) , a pass in Samnium, famous for the disaster which befell the See also:

ROMAN

Roman See also:

army in the second Samnite See also:

War (321 B.C.). See also:

LIVY [Thus L1v1us] (59 B.C.—A.D: 17)

Livy (ix, 2) describes it as formed by two narrow wooded See also:

GORGES, SIR FERDINANDO (c. 1566-1647)

gorges, between which See also:

lay a See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain, grassy and well-watered, but entirely enclosed by mountains. Through this plain the road (later the Via See also:

APPIA, VIA

Appia) led. The See also:

Romans, marching from See also:

CALATIA

Calatia to the See also:

RELIEF

relief of Luceria, entered the valley unopposed, but found the exit blocked by the enemy; on marching back they saw that the entrance and the hills surrounding the plain were also occupied, and there was no way of See also:

ESCAPE (in mid. Eng. eschape or escape, from the O. Fr. eschapper, modern echapper, and escaper, low Lat. escapium, from ex, out of, and cappa, cape, cloak; cf. for the sense development the Gr. iichueoOat, literally to put off one's clothes, hence to sli

escape. The plain which lies See also:

west of Caudium (Montesarchio) seems, despite the older views, to be the only possible site for such a disaster to an army of as many as 40,000 men; and there is no doubt that the Romans wished to leave it by the See also:

DEFILE

defile on the See also:

east, through which later ran the Via Appia to Beneventum. The existence of three See also:

ancient See also:

bridges on the See also:

LINE

line of the See also:

MODERN

modern road renders it impossible to suppose that its course can be essentially different from that of the ancient, though Hulsen makes the two diverge considerably after passing Montesarchio. There are, however, two possible entrances—one on the See also:

north by Moiano, and one on the west by Arpaia; the former seems to See also:

ANSWER (derived from and, against, and the same root as swear)

answer better to Livy's description (via See also:

CILIA (plural of Lat. cilium, eyelash)

cilia per cavam rupem), while the latter is the shortest route, having been, later on, followed by the Via Appia, and See also:

BORE

bore the name Furculae Caudinae in the See also:

MIDDLE

middle ages. See C. HQlsen in Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopadie, iii.. (18o2). (T.

End of Article: CAUDINE FORKS (Furculae Caudinae)

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