12-22-2009, 11:46 AM
Matt Lukes wrote:
There's a second piece of evidence for that particular design being that of Legio XIIII Gemina - an almost identical design to Gnaeus Musius' appears on a column relief showing an ordinary legionary with rectangular shield, from Mainz 75 A.D. - when Legio XIIII was based there. ( see other thread on Legionary shields by Adrian Peterson)
As to colour, you are right that our evidence is scanty....the late Roman writer Vegetius, writing of the 'antiqua legion' says that "every cohort had its shields painted in a manner peculiar to itself. [presumably with reference to colour, with a uniform Legio design? ....but we don't know for sure.] The name of each soldier was also written on his shield [front or back? Junius Dubitatus of the VIII th legio had his on the 'umbo'...] together with the number of the cohort and century to which he belonged. Some First century gladiator 'scuta' had a solid background colour such as bright red, bright yellow and so on with a design picked out in black and white....Legions could almost certainly be identified by their shield devices, if Tacitus' anecdote of the two legionaries at Cremona in 69 AD picking up enemy shields in order to get close to enemy catapults and disable them, is anything to go by.....
Elements of roughly twenty or so Legions took part in the campaign, plus Praetorian cohorts. Some of the designs can be positively identified as Praetorian.
Quote:And there's only possibly one unit blazon known- the tombstone of GN. MVSIVS shows a particular design and being the Aquilifer, it's thought by some that his represents the Legio's (XIIII) symbology.
There's a second piece of evidence for that particular design being that of Legio XIIII Gemina - an almost identical design to Gnaeus Musius' appears on a column relief showing an ordinary legionary with rectangular shield, from Mainz 75 A.D. - when Legio XIIII was based there. ( see other thread on Legionary shields by Adrian Peterson)
As to colour, you are right that our evidence is scanty....the late Roman writer Vegetius, writing of the 'antiqua legion' says that "every cohort had its shields painted in a manner peculiar to itself. [presumably with reference to colour, with a uniform Legio design? ....but we don't know for sure.] The name of each soldier was also written on his shield [front or back? Junius Dubitatus of the VIII th legio had his on the 'umbo'...] together with the number of the cohort and century to which he belonged. Some First century gladiator 'scuta' had a solid background colour such as bright red, bright yellow and so on with a design picked out in black and white....Legions could almost certainly be identified by their shield devices, if Tacitus' anecdote of the two legionaries at Cremona in 69 AD picking up enemy shields in order to get close to enemy catapults and disable them, is anything to go by.....
Quote:Trajan's column shows something like 17 or 18 different shield blazons and yet was it only three or five Legiones took part in the campaign?
Elements of roughly twenty or so Legions took part in the campaign, plus Praetorian cohorts. Some of the designs can be positively identified as Praetorian.
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
