It is said also that he put up some of the prisoners for
his little son to shoot in sport with javelins and arrows. However
that may be, he did not himself swear allegiance to All Gaul, nor did
he force any of the Batavi to do so. He felt that he could rely on the
strength of the Germans, and that if any quarrel arose with the Gauls
about the empire, his fame would give him an advantage. Munius
Lupercus, one of the Roman commanding-officers, was sent among other
presents to Veleda, a virgin of the Bructeran tribe who wielded a
wide-spread authority.[400] It is an ancient custom in Germany to
credit a number of women with prophetic powers, and with the growth of
superstition these develop into goddesses. At this moment Veleda's
influence was at its height, for she had prophesied the success of the
Germans and the destruction of the Roman army.[401] However, Lupercus
was killed on the journey. A few of the centurions and officers who
had been born in Gaul were detained as a security for good faith. The
winter camps of the legions and of the auxiliary infantry and cavalry
were all dismantled and burnt, with the sole exception of those at
Mainz and Vindonissa.[402]
The Sixteenth legion and the auxiliary troops who had surrendered 62
with it now received orders to migrate from their quarters at
Novaesium to Trier, and a date was fixed by which they had to leave
their camp. They spent the meantime brooding on various anxieties, the
cowards all shuddering at the precedent of the massacre at Vetera, the
better sort covered with shame at their disgrace.
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