10-20-2006, 12:05 AM
hi.
ok here is my suggestion:
look at the pics in this thread http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic.php?t=11419
on both pics it looks like the soldiers are wearing their sword on the left. when you take a look at the Adamklissi monument, for example metope XIV
http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/c ... tope14.htm
or XXVIII
http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/c ... tope28.htm
you see soldiers with their gladius clearly on the left while on XVII for example
http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/c ... tope17.htm
he is wearing it on the right.
So we know most gravestones and so on show the sword on the right. The column of Traian shows all swords on the right. Seems like this was the standard,maybe the standard order. At the same time we know all these depictions are ideals. The soldiers on Traian's column are artistically standardized. Not all soldiers wore the segmentata. actually most didn't, at least that's what I think and same might apply to the sword.
I mean think back, before you knew that most pics depict Romans with the gladius on the right, didn't you think the usual and most practical way to wear a sword is on the left because that's easier to draw it? I know there are lots of explanations about how it's as easy to use it when wearing it on the right. Well that's true, you just have to get used to it but the "natural" way to wear a sword would be opposit your swordarm. at least that's what most people would think. Well the Romans must have had their reasons to make it the standard to wear the sword on the right. Probably it was better, less dangerous to yourself or whatever and probably they all wore their swords the same way on parades or the praetorians in Rome did so and probably people on gravestones were depicted in the standardized way. I guess most gravestones were not made "in the field" or before the person's death.
What I'm trying to say:
Our modern armies are more standardized and more uniform thant the Romans were and still, look at modern soldiers, look at the troops in the field! I just remember my own time in the army:
We were all wearing our uniform and guns and knifes in perfect order when on parade or on guard at the base. When we went out into the field we wore it in a completely different way. everyone how he liked it best. we changed the lenght of the belt (is that the right word, or how do you call the belt thing on the gun whith which you hang it around your neck?sorry) of our guns so it hung much lower but it was nicer to wear it like that. not in the way all the time although it took slightly longer to bring it up. We took the knife off the right side of our waistbelt and mounted it on the left side of our chest and fixed it with a rubberband because it was easier to draw like that.we sometimes wore our caps with the front side pointing backwards underneath our helmets because it was warmer or the helmet fit better like that. we fixed our helmets behind the neck insted of under the chin because it was more comfortable while marching...and so on and no one said anything against that.
you know what I mean?
There is a standard in every army and you have to obey it in certain occasions. as I said, on parade or on guard we had to wear proper uniform and on all official pics of soldiers you will find in army mags or flyers or whatever you will ALWAYS see them wearing it standard. When you take a look at the troops when they actually have to do their job it's a completely different issue even in modern armies. The Romans were not different.
I sometimes have the feeling there is a strong tendency to see ancient cultures and people as so different, there is a certain picture of a Roman or a Greek, there is Caesar and Augustus, there are certain cultural issues but imho they were not too different from us when it comes to many things in everyday life...just take the time to read Roman grafitti or private letters or whatever. Those guys don't behave too different when it comes to things like love, hate, life. It's not all Livius, Cicero or Caesar (no offense to anyone here I'm more talking about the general opinion people often have, it's so much prejudice, hollywood, hiSTORY you come across everyday). Don't you think it possible that for example the guys in I Adiutrix or whatever thought it was maybe "cool" to wear the sword on the left or write "mama" or "meat is murder" or "F**k you" or whatever on their helmets in the 70ies or something like that?
ok here is my suggestion:
look at the pics in this thread http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic.php?t=11419
on both pics it looks like the soldiers are wearing their sword on the left. when you take a look at the Adamklissi monument, for example metope XIV
http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/c ... tope14.htm
or XXVIII
http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/c ... tope28.htm
you see soldiers with their gladius clearly on the left while on XVII for example
http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/c ... tope17.htm
he is wearing it on the right.
So we know most gravestones and so on show the sword on the right. The column of Traian shows all swords on the right. Seems like this was the standard,maybe the standard order. At the same time we know all these depictions are ideals. The soldiers on Traian's column are artistically standardized. Not all soldiers wore the segmentata. actually most didn't, at least that's what I think and same might apply to the sword.
I mean think back, before you knew that most pics depict Romans with the gladius on the right, didn't you think the usual and most practical way to wear a sword is on the left because that's easier to draw it? I know there are lots of explanations about how it's as easy to use it when wearing it on the right. Well that's true, you just have to get used to it but the "natural" way to wear a sword would be opposit your swordarm. at least that's what most people would think. Well the Romans must have had their reasons to make it the standard to wear the sword on the right. Probably it was better, less dangerous to yourself or whatever and probably they all wore their swords the same way on parades or the praetorians in Rome did so and probably people on gravestones were depicted in the standardized way. I guess most gravestones were not made "in the field" or before the person's death.
What I'm trying to say:
Our modern armies are more standardized and more uniform thant the Romans were and still, look at modern soldiers, look at the troops in the field! I just remember my own time in the army:
We were all wearing our uniform and guns and knifes in perfect order when on parade or on guard at the base. When we went out into the field we wore it in a completely different way. everyone how he liked it best. we changed the lenght of the belt (is that the right word, or how do you call the belt thing on the gun whith which you hang it around your neck?sorry) of our guns so it hung much lower but it was nicer to wear it like that. not in the way all the time although it took slightly longer to bring it up. We took the knife off the right side of our waistbelt and mounted it on the left side of our chest and fixed it with a rubberband because it was easier to draw like that.we sometimes wore our caps with the front side pointing backwards underneath our helmets because it was warmer or the helmet fit better like that. we fixed our helmets behind the neck insted of under the chin because it was more comfortable while marching...and so on and no one said anything against that.
you know what I mean?
There is a standard in every army and you have to obey it in certain occasions. as I said, on parade or on guard we had to wear proper uniform and on all official pics of soldiers you will find in army mags or flyers or whatever you will ALWAYS see them wearing it standard. When you take a look at the troops when they actually have to do their job it's a completely different issue even in modern armies. The Romans were not different.
I sometimes have the feeling there is a strong tendency to see ancient cultures and people as so different, there is a certain picture of a Roman or a Greek, there is Caesar and Augustus, there are certain cultural issues but imho they were not too different from us when it comes to many things in everyday life...just take the time to read Roman grafitti or private letters or whatever. Those guys don't behave too different when it comes to things like love, hate, life. It's not all Livius, Cicero or Caesar (no offense to anyone here I'm more talking about the general opinion people often have, it's so much prejudice, hollywood, hiSTORY you come across everyday). Don't you think it possible that for example the guys in I Adiutrix or whatever thought it was maybe "cool" to wear the sword on the left or write "mama" or "meat is murder" or "F**k you" or whatever on their helmets in the 70ies or something like that?
RESTITVTOR LIBERTATIS ET ROMANAE RELIGIONIS
DEDITICIVS MINERVAE ET MVSARVM
[Micha F.]
DEDITICIVS MINERVAE ET MVSARVM
[Micha F.]
