08-12-2008, 08:23 AM
Hi,
Thanks for the responses so far. David, I think the point you raise is an interesting one - the development that during the late republic legions were being raised by individual commanders and therefore may have used imagery that may have been associated with them individually. My research up to this point has mainly concerned the "imperial" era, after the Augustan reforms, so I'm less familiar with the earlier appearance of the roman army, hence my question.
What I know in regards to the use of standards is represented by - for example- the content on this page: http://www.legionxxiv.org/signum/
So, I'm aware of "animal imagery" for units, but less so their association with commanders. Up to this point I didn't think it existed, and that carrying a "personal banner" into battle was a post-roman development.
I'm interested to hear about coin evidence, or any acheological evidence that points to the "inspiration" of the heron standard. But this to me is just an example of the question as a whole. Too specific? Then I would welcome suggestions for books that deal with the appearance of the republican army.
I look forward to more comments.
Cheers,
Geert
Thanks for the responses so far. David, I think the point you raise is an interesting one - the development that during the late republic legions were being raised by individual commanders and therefore may have used imagery that may have been associated with them individually. My research up to this point has mainly concerned the "imperial" era, after the Augustan reforms, so I'm less familiar with the earlier appearance of the roman army, hence my question.
What I know in regards to the use of standards is represented by - for example- the content on this page: http://www.legionxxiv.org/signum/
So, I'm aware of "animal imagery" for units, but less so their association with commanders. Up to this point I didn't think it existed, and that carrying a "personal banner" into battle was a post-roman development.
I'm interested to hear about coin evidence, or any acheological evidence that points to the "inspiration" of the heron standard. But this to me is just an example of the question as a whole. Too specific? Then I would welcome suggestions for books that deal with the appearance of the republican army.
I look forward to more comments.
Cheers,
Geert
