Eagle in the Snow (ISBN 1590710118) is a modern classic of historical fiction. Written in 1970 by Wallace Breem, the novel is set in Britannia and Germania in the late 4th and early 5th Century, and centers on the Roman general Paulinus Maximus, a pagan in an age of Christianization. Maximus and his friend Quintus command the defence of Hadrian's Wall, but when news comes of an impending Germanic invasion across the Rhine, Maximus is promoted to 'General of the West' and reassigned to Moguntiacum, where he and his one legion are tasked with defending the entire border between Germania and Gaul. A historical novel is a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, where the time the action takes place in predates the time of the first publication -- distinguish and contrast the genre of alternate history. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Wallace Breem (1926–1990) was a British librarian and author, the Librarian and Keeper of Manuscripts of the Inner Temple Law Library at his death, but perhaps more widely known for his historical novels, including the classic Eagle in the Snow (1970). ... Britannia, the British national personification. ... In the Roman era Germania was the Latin name for a geographical area that stretched from the west bank of the Rhine to a vaguely-defined eastern frontier with the forest and steppe regions of modern Russia and Ukraine. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Europe in 450 The 5th century is the period from 401 - 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Paulinus/Paullinus is a Roman cognomen that can refer to: Gaius Suetonius Paullinus, general who defeated Boudica Marcus Iunius Caesonius Nicomachus Anicius Faustus Paulinus, consul in 298 Sextus Anicius Faustus Paulinus, consul in 325 Amnius Manius Caesonius Nicomachus Anicius Paulinus, consul in 334 St. ... Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning a country dweller or civilian) is a blanket term which has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions, as opposed to the Abrahamic monotheistic religions. ... St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen Ansgar, the 9th century apostle of the North in an 1830 drawing. ... Pieces of Hadrians Wall remain near Greenhead and along the route, though large sections have been dismantled over the years to use the stones for various nearby construction projects. ... Loreley At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (Dutch Rijn, French Rhin, German Rhein, Italian: Reno, Romansch: Rein, ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ... Map of Germany showing Mainz Mainz (French Mayence) is a city in Germany, which is the capital of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin Gallia, Greek Galatia) was the region of Western Europe occupied by present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ...

As he is carrying out his duties, more and more of his allies—including those who were once his enemies—try to persuade Maximus to seize the Western Emperorship for himself. Despite the tempation of the Western throne, Maximus remains true to his sense of honor and duty. In a cruel twist, Maximus finds himself fighting for an empire rapidly converting to Christianity where his traditional pagan beliefs are only reluctantly tolerated.

The character of Maximus is loosely based on the real-life Marcus, who was declared Emperor of the West by his legions in Britannia but was soon executed. The Germanic invasion that Maximus defends against was the real Germanic invasion of Gaul in AD 406. Marcus is the name of a little-recorded pretender to the throne of the Roman Empire during the early 5th century AD. He was a soldier in Roman Britain who was proclaimed emperor by the the army there some time in AD 406. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin Gallia, Greek Galatia) was the region of Western Europe occupied by present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... Events December 31 - Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia Roman legions in Britain mutiny against the Roman Emperor and select Marcus as new Roman Emperor. ...

The characters of Maximus and Quintus provided inspiration for the characters of the same names in the movie Gladiator (2000), and the battles between Maximus' legion and the Germanians at Moguntiacum were the basis for the opening sequence of Gladiator. ^{[citation needed]} The Eagle in the title is, of course, the aquila of the Roman legion. Gladiator was a popular movie that appeared in 2000, directed by Ridley Scott, and starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The signa militaria were the Roman military ensigns or standards. ... A modern reconstruction of a roman centurion around 70 AD The Roman legion (from Latin , from lego, legere, legi, lectus — to collect) was the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army. ...