10-25-2006, 11:27 AM
Yeah, I was reading that thread earlier on. Some really nice illustrations there.
Bear in mind, I am not saying that early Greek and Roman Light Foot fought in close combat, nor that all of them necessarily had Shields of any sort. My only concern is in drawing conclusions about them without direct evidence of their armaments. To my mind, it is entirely possible that Roman Light Foot fought only with Spears / Javelins and without Shields, but it is equally possible that they bore Shields and I think the same is likely true of Greek Light Foot.
To me, economic necessity seems like the most likely dictator of equipment for Light Foot, rather than military doctrine.
It's a really interesting issue, though, and one that goes to the heart of the difficulties of interpreting Polybius' Republican Legion and seeing it in the context of earlier and later incarnations.
Matthew James Stanham
Bear in mind, I am not saying that early Greek and Roman Light Foot fought in close combat, nor that all of them necessarily had Shields of any sort. My only concern is in drawing conclusions about them without direct evidence of their armaments. To my mind, it is entirely possible that Roman Light Foot fought only with Spears / Javelins and without Shields, but it is equally possible that they bore Shields and I think the same is likely true of Greek Light Foot.
To me, economic necessity seems like the most likely dictator of equipment for Light Foot, rather than military doctrine.
It's a really interesting issue, though, and one that goes to the heart of the difficulties of interpreting Polybius' Republican Legion and seeing it in the context of earlier and later incarnations.
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)
