The Very Old Folk. Roman Provincial Administration, Vascones, and Epigraphy in H. P. Lovecraft

Abstract

On November 3, 1927, H. P. Lovecraft sent a letter to his friend Wandrei. He related a dream that had impressed him with its vivacity, about a threat haunting the mountains of the Vascones. Lovecraft as a quaestor, the provincial officials and a cohort of the Twelfth Legion were in the city of Pompelo to face it. The story allows an interesting analysis from multiple points of view: the choice of the names for the characters, the chosen date, the description of the celestial vault, the peculiarities of the Vascones or a real ancient inscription that could be behind the whole plot of the dream.