The Roman characters in “Barbarians” series from Netflix spoke in Classical Latin of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. Classic Latin refers to the form of Latin language recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It emerged around 75 BC from Old Latin and developed into Late Latin by the 3rd century AD. The Germanic tribes (actors who play the part of the local people) spoke Modern German. ***. The region of Germania, where the V

Frederick II was born in 1194, heir to the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Sicily. But he was not raised in cold German courts. He grew up in Palermo—a city where Latin Christians, Greek Byzantines, Muslims, and Jews lived side by side. He absorbed languages the way other princes absorbed flattery. Latin, Sicilian, German, Arabic—he moved between worlds. That terrified people. Frederick did not behave like a medieval monarch. He surrounded himself with scholars, physicians, falconers, and m