(01-23-2016, 02:04 PM)Nathan Ross Wrote: [ -> ] (01-23-2016, 10:51 AM)lukeuedasarson Wrote: [ -> ]There is evidence in the Notitia for three different colours of dracones.
I was looking through the images from the ND on your site for these. Do you mean the dragon or snake-like devices shown on some of the shield emblems, or are there actual depictions of standards with poles and coloured tails? Could it be that the emblems are intended to show the 'creature' itself, rather than the military standard?
No, the only standards shown in a manner that include poles, and are planted upright, and thus are "clearly" standards, are those of the Egyptian count. Others show just the decorative aspects, on shield patterns, but some can hardly be anything else. E.g. an eagle depicted perched on a cross staff (as in the
Herculiani iuniores), as opposed to on a lightning bolt, can hardly be anything other than a military
aquila. If it was "just" representing the attribute of Jupiter, a lightning bolt would presumably be expected, if anything horizontal was to go in its claws. (a wreath would be another contender, of course). Likewise the
Felices Honoriani seniores shows not only what appears to be a rectangular
imago (albeit absent the actual portrait in this particular case) plus part of the pole supporting it and the two
phalarae above and below it. Surely this can't be anything other than a military standard. Its sister unit, the
Felices Honoriani iuniores also depicts what is in all probability a standard, given the way the winged Victory holding aloft the wreath is balanced on such a small globe.
Now it is true that images like these can be found in contexts other than standards (although there is a chicken and egg problem here in that if we see an image a"ssociated" with the kind of imagery found on standards, how can we tall which copied the other?)
But the overall impression of summing these together is very strong - there is a very high number of emblems depicted in the ND that have very strong associations with military standards. So it would be odd, IMO, to conclude that the emblems shown that are emblems commonly associated with military standards are not in fact depicting standards.
In the particular case of
dracones, the way the Notitia ones are depicted argues firmly against a "creature" interpretation - every single one is shown with a cut off rectangular "body", just as you would expect for a wind-sock type standard that had to let air through it. Not a single one includes anything like legs, or even a tail. One (the
Eq. Honoriani iuniores) also has a neat rectangular portion chopped out of its "body". Exactly what this is intending to represent I am not sure (it isn't a support piece, since that would be part of the weighty head, and not the light body), but it to my mind is conclusive proof this isn't representing a "creature".
(Note that I take the opposite conclusion with the similar
Eq. Mauri Alites - I believe the two things there do depict actual creatures, or to be more exact, their heads).
The 4th century is a period of flux in terms of imagery, because Christian elements are starting to take over in many areas, and we have explicit textual evidence for this in terms of standards from e.g. the
Passio Sanctorum Bonosi et Maximiliani describing the
[/url][url=http://lukeuedasarson.com/NDherculianiSeniores.html]Herculiani seniores in 362. This unit seems to have switched between images of Hercules and Christian forms several times over the century in terms of unit standards; this is precisely why it may have adopted an eagle as a shield emblem, IMO, as a neutral compromise between the two. After all, it's presumably easier to change a single standard than to change a thousand odd shields whenevr a new emperor is installed...
(01-27-2016, 12:43 PM)caiusbeerquitius Wrote: [ -> ]Luke, are you familiar with Berger´s work?
Our analysis of the [different notitia dignitatum] documents reveals that a reliable record of the late antique objects, compositions, and spatial organization is accessible in this set of illustrations [meant is M2], for M II is based on a tracing of the Spirensis , the lost Carolingian manuscript of the Notitia. This tracing is our most important link to the late antique version.“
P.C. BERGER, The Insignia of the Notitia Dignitatum, A contribution to the study of late anti- que illustrated manuscripts, New York / Garland 1981, p. xviii.
No, I've not been able to get hold of a copy. If you have one in electronic form, I'd be most grateful for a copy!
As far as I am aware there is no evidence the M2 set were "traced" in the sense most people assume - i.e. a
direct copying through a translucent sheet; on the contrary, the evidence points to it being done indirectly. The M2 set also suffers from truly horrible inking that obscures many of the drawing lines underneath. So while it is in many ways the most reliable - for
some things - especially broad spatial details, it is demonstrably less reliable in some others, particularly in fine details.
(01-26-2016, 04:25 PM)ValentinianVictrix Wrote: [ -> ]By the reign of Theodosius the Great Imago's had been phased out as the Emperor's were no longer considered 'divine' as they had in previous times (I believe Theodosius was the last Emperor to accept the title 'Pontifex Maximus').
My view is based on the literary evidence as there is precious little artistic evidence or monumental evidence showing coloured Draco standards. The most telling was the Silvanius episode as it clearly showed that the troops who raised him to the Purple only had access to purple material via the Draco standards that they had, and enough material was gathered from them to be able to cloak Silvanius in a suitable manner.
But as Robert has already pointed out, Ammianus doesn't say "purple" - he says
purpureo, which covers a much broader gamut of coplours than our purple does. In particular, it covers colours without any blue tints whatsoever - and thus precisely the dark red colour that
vexillae are known to have been coloured for centuries.
So this is no evidence at all for purple as opposed to red standards, just standards that are dark coloured. In other words, no change at all. Now an imperial (i.e. expensive) "purple" would properly have some blue tint in it, since it was associated with
Murex snails, and in particular (putting on my chemist's hat) the dye-fixed product of 6,6′-dibromoindigo. But you wouldn't find this in military standards, that's for sure, it was much too expensive. IIRC, it's even in Diocletian's price control edict, as much the most expensive thing in it.
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