Roman Shield Insignia

[Gatorsailor]

I'm probably going to start a bar room brawl with this question, but here goes anyway. :twisted:

According to most of what I have reearched, and correct me if I'm wrong, each legion had it's own distinct insignia on their shields to help it's legionaries and others to identify it on and off the field of battle.

The Pratorian Guard had their insignia as well, the wings and lightning bolts.

As far as we know, only the Legion XIIII GMV was awarded the privilage of carrying the 'wings and ligtning bolts' on their shields. An honor bestowed on them by Emporer Nero.

Why do a majority of reenactment groups, mostly not related to Legion XIIII GMV, and claiming to be historically accurate, have the 'wings and lightning bolts' on their shields?

Let the brawling begin. :woot:

[jvrjenivs]

Well, first of all, we don't exactly know if we can identify an emblem with a certain legion. This is a modern assumption, but based on the sources nevertheless. One of these sources is the 'Notitia Dignitatum', a medieval copy of a late Roman army book with lists of all units and painted shield blazons. Furtheremore we've some different blazons from the finds on Dura Europos.

However, when we look at Trajans column and other monuments we see lots of different designs, where a fair number of schields indeed have wings and bolts.

To get a good overview on emblems that are known, one best get the book called 'The Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome' by Phil Barker (Illustrated by Ian Heath).

[Nathan Ross]

each legion had it's own distinct insignia on their shields to help it's legionaries and others to identify it on and off the field of battle.

Probably - as Jurjen says, there are plenty of different examples on Trajan's Column, which may have connoted the different legions involved in the campaign. Or maybe not...

An incident during the second battle of Cremona, as decribed by Tacitus, is often used as evidence: two soldiers picked up enemy shields as a disguise and used them to infiltrate the Vitellian lines and disable a catapult. But the two men concerned were quite possibly praetorians of the 'old' Neronian guard...

The Pratorian Guard had their insignia as well, the wings and lightning bolts.

Various praetorian insignia are suggested in Roman art: moons and stars, scorpions, lightning. We don't know if any of these were particular to the guard though. The shape of the shield may have been more immediately distinctive than what was on it!

As far as we know, only the Legion XIIII GMV was awarded the privilage of carrying the 'wings and ligtning bolts' on their shields. An honor bestowed on them by Emporer Nero.

Where did you read that? Sounds like one of those Dando-Collins inventions! :-)

[Tarbicus]

Take away the wood of the shield, and the legionary is grasping Jupiter's thunderbolts and lightning, directed at the enemy. Possibly a powerful symbol to the superstitious.

Just rambling. Carry on :wink:

[M. Demetrius]

Right. Or perhaps a bolstering thought that Jupiter stands before the soldier.
BTW, I think I'd probably want to keep the wood of the shield as intact as I could.

Maybe my faith i Jupiter's protection is weak. :-|

[Gatorsailor]

I agree with you, Demetrius. A little extra wood protection never hurts anyone!

[Tarbicus]

I wasn't suggesting anyone face celts with just some thin bits of metal attached to an umbo :whistle: ;-)

[M. Demetrius]

I knew that. :woot: