10-13-2006, 05:38 PM
Quote:Sorry,Matthew. I may have misunderstood. I do believe,though, he very well could have been looking at auxillaries.Maybe to him anyone in the
Roman army was Roman in the same context that many peoples are lumped together by race but not necessarily nationality. I know that by the time he wrote this he should have known better but maybe he didn't think his readers would. I posted the Greek version earlier in hopes one of RAT's Greek speaking members could help with translation.
Insanely wild speculation for sure.
No apology necessary. I too am hoping somebody more learned in Greek will be able to solve this oddity. Auxillaries or Centurions would be my best bet at his stage, but then he does not make the same claim about the Cavalry... I am not even sure what would have been 'normal' for them at this point. Trajan's Column and the Column of Marcus Aurelius tend to depict the Sword on the right, regardless of whether mounted or on foot or wearing Segmentata or Hamata. I suppose it was the mark of being Roman at this time. Even so, there is the odd instance when one is depicted with the opposite configuration.
Matthew James Stanham
It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one\'s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
