03-21-2011, 12:38 PM
This question was brought up in some Rome vs Medieval argument I was having earlier.
What would be an appropriate comparison between Roman and Medieval/dark age militaries in terms of equipment?
The position was that a hypothetical battle should involve a large number of well-equipped legionaries against mostly unarmed peasants with only a couple of knights or well armed individuals. But would this view be justified by anything other than the fact that the Roman Empire had a much larger population and a much larger economy than the average Medieval kingdom?
If you were to take a random sample of Roman society and a random sample of a medieval kingdom of say, 1000 people each, who would have the most well-equipped individuals? Would the proportion of legionaries be overwhelming or would they more on par with the number of housecarls or knights?
Though I realize that it's sort of a broad question and the answer might vary greatly depending on the era of Roman or Medieval history as well as the medieval kingdom in question, so it might be better to look at specific times.
What would be an appropriate comparison between Roman and Medieval/dark age militaries in terms of equipment?
The position was that a hypothetical battle should involve a large number of well-equipped legionaries against mostly unarmed peasants with only a couple of knights or well armed individuals. But would this view be justified by anything other than the fact that the Roman Empire had a much larger population and a much larger economy than the average Medieval kingdom?
If you were to take a random sample of Roman society and a random sample of a medieval kingdom of say, 1000 people each, who would have the most well-equipped individuals? Would the proportion of legionaries be overwhelming or would they more on par with the number of housecarls or knights?
Though I realize that it's sort of a broad question and the answer might vary greatly depending on the era of Roman or Medieval history as well as the medieval kingdom in question, so it might be better to look at specific times.
Henry O.
