Dissertation on Re-enactment - a plea for aid!

[Marcus Mummius]

Lot's of crests around as well.

And this is bad because? A lot of people here on RAT, I'm one of them, believe that common soldiers also wore crests, also in battle.

This is one of the examples were reenactment has been damaging to research. The Ermine Street Guard once started designating their optio by giving him a crest and side plumes. Almost every European group has copied this. Most of these reenactors really believe there is hard evidence for this. There all 'brainlessly' copying someone else's interpretation.

Whenever I put on my Gallic F with the crest and side plumes you hear people say (other reenactors): 'Look, an optio helmet'. Some of my commilitones also have a helmet with a crest and sideplumes. So to them it looks like we have several optiones. While our real optio has a helmet without sideplumes and only a crest.

But you can be sure we remember who's optio (The screaming maniac with the staff with the ball on the end) and who's not

Vale,[/img]