Ancient Roman military maneuvers maniples (Manipulum)

[Mark Graef]

Robert wrote,
At the risk of using modernisms, I'd say that an order given needs to be short, sharp and easily understandable.

I agree, except that this principle is not exclusively modern. Asclepiodotus (XII 11) and Aelian (LII, LIII) noted this very thing.

Therefore, when looking at the Ludus set of commands (great research chaps, btw), I would hesitate to use both 'clina' and 'clinate'.

Thanks! The LM Tactica may drop clinate and a few other plural imperatives in the next edition. When we wrote the drill we felt that some command words needed the extra syllable both to be performed properly, especially while marching, as well as to differentiate them from similar stationary commands. This was based somewhat on experience from drill of other eras. However, we decided not to march in lockstep or call cadence, because we could find no direct evidence for this, and we used the open interval depth of 4 cubits or 6 Roman feet for most evolutions. We found that without the need to “execute” commands on a particular foot, that shorter and sharper commands worked better than longer and drawn out ones, and there was no need for an extra “te” at the end. Also, the context of commands seems to be enough to distinguish how to perform them differently, the milites “get it.” We may hold on to “Depone / Deponite” because they are used for several movements which are rather different.

Also, the Ludus Militis seems to favour the use of 'contum' and 'scutum' over the use of 'dextra' and 'sinitra', which are also use in the same souce (Maurikios) for a change of direction (in the commands depone ad dextra / depone ad sinistra). Not meaning to criticise, why was this choice made? In my own opinion (which is just that), if you have both words use, why not choose the more simple one?

We considered this issue carefully. The “depone” movement in battle would be used primarily for flanking, or for refusing a flank. In most cases this would involve several units of different types (i.e. light & heavy infantry, cavalry, mounted archers) making up a reserve line, each unit manevering individually to “set up” (the likely sense of “depone” in this use) or “change front” (the sense of the Greek “metathesis.”) We felt that dextra and sinistra in the Strategikon was for general directional commands, applicable for larger mixed formations; blocks of infantry are almost always combined or interspersed with cavalry according to the illustrations and descriptions therein. (Maurikios says cavalry directional commands to the left are “to the rein” rather than to the shield.)