name & layout

the devil's still in the details

Name
This fanlisting was originally named "Nerone" - very boring, very predictable. I decided that along with a general revamp, it needed a new namesake. And so, I chose "the Libertine". How's it defined? Check out what Merriam-Webster's dictionary has to say:

: lib·er·tine
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English libertyn freedman, from Latin libertinus, from libertinus, adjective, of a freedman, from libertus freedman, from liber
Date: 1577

1 usually disparaging : a freethinker especially in religious matters
2 : a person who is unrestrained by convention or morality; specifically : one leading a dissolute life
Nero is known (affectionately and otherwise) as a playboy, a profligate. Ultimately, a libertine - basically, someone that the conservative Senatorial class loved to despise. In stark opposition to his great-grandfather Augustus, Nero had little genuine interest in running the state, instead expending far more energy and money upon partying and other elements of a carefree and extravagant lifestyle. Hence, the choice in new title for this site.

Layout
As you can see, the current layout is basically in the collage style, using images of the emperor. The lyrics featured so prominently here are from a song by Coldplay that you have very likely heard (many times), called "Viva La Vida". From the point of view of a deposed ruler, it talks about the speaker's fall from grace and power - due, it seems, from his own misdeeds committed in the name of greed and self-interest. The exact identity of the ruler in the song is not known (at least to my knowledge), but Nero is among the most popular possibilities. Based upon what history tells us about his troubled reign, it's not difficult to understand why he is favored as the song's subject.

In any case, the song is terribly fitting (and catchy!), and I felt like it went well enough to be featured in the new layout.