Julian\'s guard

[Robert Vermaat]

Thank you gentlemen! Some very interesting suggestions.

Hi Paul,

An alternative emblem is the Apis bull from Egyptian mythology, also shown on his coins, so presumably of religious importance to him?

Thanks for that suggestion, that bull may be something the author can work with.

Hi Mark,

Have you looked at David Woods article: Julian, Arbogastes and the signa of the iovani and herculani? This relates to whether the chi-rho was carried on certain standards during Julian's reign but may be useful to you.
Please PM me if you need a copy....

Thanks for the offer! I have it and I'll have a look at it.

Hi Graham,

On the topic of Julian's guards the following mention of white clothing might also be of interest.

Ammianus Marcellinus XXV 3. 6.

quos cum Iulianus cavendi inmemor diffluxisse trepidos, elatis vociferando manibus aperte demonstrans, irasque sequentium excitans, audenter effunderet semet in pugnam, clamabant hinc inde candidati, quos disiecerat terror, ut fugientium molem tamquam ruinam male conpositi culminis declinaret, et — incertum unde — subita equestris hasta, cute brachii eius praestricta, costis perfossis haesit in ima iecoris fibra.

Or, in English:
Julianus, careless of his own safety, shouting and raising his hands tried to make it clear to his men that the enemy had fled in disorder, and, to rouse them to a still more furious pursuit, rushed boldly into the fight. His guards, who had scattered in their alarm, were crying to him from all sides to get clear of the mass of fugitives, as dangerous as the fall of a badly built roof, when suddenly — no one knows whence — a cavalryman's spear grazed the skin of his arm, pierced his ribs, and lodged in the lower lobe of his liver.

Also worth looking for are two articles by M.P. Speidel:
'Late Roman Military Decorations, 1. Neck and Wrist bands',
'Late Roman Military Decorations, 2. Gold-embroidered capes and tunics,
Both published in the journal Ant Tard 4 & 5, 1996-97.

Are these large articles, or could I perhaps get a copy?

Hi Paul,

Forty 'scholares' were called 'candidati', and were selected to form the Emperor's personal bodyguard, possibly for their bright white tunics, but possibly because being close to the Emperor, they were candidates for High Positions following service as an intimate of the Emperor, or even both.

So we’re looking for the shield design of the candidati. The scholae seem to have had different shield patterns, so my guess would be that the guards with the chi-rho, represented nowhere in the Notitia Dignitatum, could indeed represent the personal bodyguard.

I think that, although Julian was fairly tolerant towards Christians, I doubt that he would have suffered their symbols on the scuta of his personal guard. It was not uncommon for the army to still carry non-Christian symbols around, as can be seen with the revolt of Arbogast (troops bearing depictions of Hercules or Jupiter) a few decades later.

Some evidence for the 'white clothing' hypothesis may be provided by the attached mosaic of Justinian and his Guards though their accoutrements suggest that the white-robed attendants are priests. By his reign the title was purely an honorific, which Justinian cynically sold to 'upwardly mobile' young noblemen. There was panic on one occasion when it was proposed to actually send Justinian's 'candidati' on campaign......

The scholae had been replaced by the excubitores by the time of Leo I, although they continued indeed into at least the later 6th century.
As you say, sometimes they were frightened by a call to arms, but this had a financial background: in order to spare the exchequer the cost of their pay, from time to time they were threatened to accompany real armies into battle. To stay at home the scholae then agreed to be fined several months’ pay…