Republican Army

[drsrob]

No but having multiple spears generally is a good indication.

The good of have lighter weapons is you can transport more. The plumbate isn't five for soldiers? If you fight behind the first acies, up and down the line, without the possibility to retake much of missiles weapons launched by the enemy, have a good numbers of yours arms in the hand is better. But this concern the complex argument of role of launch weapons in battle and everyone have is point of view, so is best leave this apart.

Normally grave stones show only a single spear or javelin. Having a bundle a javelins is in litarary sources an indication of being light infantry. So let's not leave this aside and view it as the piece of evidence it is.

I have collected most if not all of these quotes, but they are much to detailed for such early battles. And again, the earliest Roman histories were written in Greek, so terminology is always suspect.

The sources for Livy is the various Annales, all in Latin, the greek histories used is Polybius and Posidonius, but they concern the middle republican period and have contemporary roman sources (like Cato). In Greek is also the roman history of Fabius Pictor, but he write also one Annales in Latin.

The sources of Annalisti are the "Annales Maximi" in primis,the libri lintei, the archive of senatus consulta, and the private archives of senatorial families, so we have the language of sources are latin of IV century; the first 10 books have little "contamination" with greek sources. The probable principal annalist used by Livy for the "Prima deca" is Elius Tubero, the much recent annalist but famous for antiquarian studies.

The first Roman histories were written in Greek by Q. Fabius Pictor and L. Cincius Alimentus. Both dealt mainly with the foundation period and the Punic Wars. The first history of Rome written in Latin verse was that of Q. Ennius (239-169 BC), the first in Latin prose by Cato the Elder (234-149 BC). From that moment onwards the Roman histories were mostly written in Latin. The Annales Maximi were compiled in the late 2nd century BC. They did not provide much detail however, certainly not about battles and the like.
Another source for Livy is Valerius Antias though Livy himselfs observes that he often invents facts and events, both major and minor.

A good example of the unreliability of terminology in the early period is the fact that the senior magistrates are called 'consuls' from the beginning, while it is virtually certain that they were actually titled praetores.