Cataphracti and Clibanarii

[Alanus]

Robert,

I think the Loeb edition did miss the Parsi, since I only recall "they." Is it possible that clibanarius was simply an Asiatic term while cataphract was European?-- two names for the same cavalryman. As for stabbing out to the side? Wow, at 20 to 40 miles-per-hour, you would be unseated, on the ground, and running for the nearest shield-man.

In these ancient illustrations, we see all forms of poor perspective. As an artist, I'm well aware of it. Perspective, without accurate measurement, becomes sometimes bizzare-- too long a contus, too small an equus. We might look to John Conyard, who actually totes these things, for a definitive, perhaps between 12 and 14 feet long. Wolfram says 12, as if it were the norm. Certainly it was held with two hands, the horse controlled by foot movements just as the steppe archers did.

Poor perspective, as to length, is not just found in graffiti, but in professionally executed paintings I've examined in Rome, Pompei, and Heraculum-- people's heads indicating perhaps midgets, ships with giants lumbering their decks, and fisherman with crowbars. Personally, my length is not always correct either... as attested by three ex-wives.

Apollo-geticallly,

Alanus
A.J. Campbell, artist, horsebow nut, and curmudjeon