11-22-2011, 08:15 AM
Hi everyone, i'm new here so likely going to put my foot in my mouth ... Strangely enough, I have been thinking about this question for awhile before finding you guys. In the movies and pictures I've seen of Roman re-enactment formations, the shields are edge to edge, but this seems wrong to me. I can't quote Vegetius, but when I was younger I fought in many SCA battles, often on the shield wall. One thing I noticed then was this: a close formation with no space between shields blocked the use of weapons. It made a nice wall defensively, but counterattack with hand weapons difficult.
So I thought about the Roman Army and wondered how they would cope in battle. It seems to me that that a small space between shields would protect the legionary but also allow a space through which to stab, that being the main attack of the gladius. Also, consider close order drill...When forming for battle, it would be essential to form quickly and uniformly. When I did close order drill in the navy, we stuck out our right arm and spaced ourselves an arms length from the man on our right. A cubit is the distance from elbow to the tip of the fingers straight out. Counting shoulder, an arms length is about 2 cubits.
It is my theory that Roman Legionaries, would have formed quickly and uniformly by simply sticking an arm out to the shoulder of the man next to him and in seconds you have formation. put your arms out in both directions, and you have 4 cubitts or about 6 feet. Both easy and fast measurements.
The Romans were practical and efficient, they wouldn't have wasted time looking to see how far apart they were, not when stick and arm out and you know... So if you stand in formation in that manner, you have a small space between shields, enough room to stab through but not so far apart that an enemy can squeeze through and attack the man behind or next to you. In trying to do so though, he exposes his abdomen to your waiting gladius, a sweet target.
Whats nice too is that this method of measurement is completely consistent with the 2 cubits/4 cubits formation spaces. QED that is quite possibly how they did it.
So I thought about the Roman Army and wondered how they would cope in battle. It seems to me that that a small space between shields would protect the legionary but also allow a space through which to stab, that being the main attack of the gladius. Also, consider close order drill...When forming for battle, it would be essential to form quickly and uniformly. When I did close order drill in the navy, we stuck out our right arm and spaced ourselves an arms length from the man on our right. A cubit is the distance from elbow to the tip of the fingers straight out. Counting shoulder, an arms length is about 2 cubits.
It is my theory that Roman Legionaries, would have formed quickly and uniformly by simply sticking an arm out to the shoulder of the man next to him and in seconds you have formation. put your arms out in both directions, and you have 4 cubitts or about 6 feet. Both easy and fast measurements.
The Romans were practical and efficient, they wouldn't have wasted time looking to see how far apart they were, not when stick and arm out and you know... So if you stand in formation in that manner, you have a small space between shields, enough room to stab through but not so far apart that an enemy can squeeze through and attack the man behind or next to you. In trying to do so though, he exposes his abdomen to your waiting gladius, a sweet target.
Whats nice too is that this method of measurement is completely consistent with the 2 cubits/4 cubits formation spaces. QED that is quite possibly how they did it.
Caesar audieritis hoc
