09-24-2013, 08:19 AM
Hello Charles,
Not much details are known about this.Vegetius mentioned that centurions crests were silvered but problem is that Vagetius was late Roman 4/5 century writer and moreover he was not soldier but a mere amateur and compiler of many older military books which not preserve to our time so we can't be sure if he is right and in what era were those crests silvered because Vegetius often mix in his description situation of the late roman army with high imperial and possibly with republican as well and only very scarcely mentions it.
The other problem is what exactly he meant with silvered crest-Plumes(feathers)itself or just a crest holder?
I recommend you books From Raffaele D'amato about Centurions:
Roman Centurions 753-31 BC:The kingdom and the age of Consuls
Roman Centurions 31 BC-AD 500:The Classical and Late Empire
D'amato also notes that more then one different pre-imperial(I think even pre- republican)representations of the person who were probably of centurion rank(although not necessarily and directly Roman-it is Etruscan)having their transverse crest repeatedly in white with red endings schema like reenactor in this photo:
Not much details are known about this.Vegetius mentioned that centurions crests were silvered but problem is that Vagetius was late Roman 4/5 century writer and moreover he was not soldier but a mere amateur and compiler of many older military books which not preserve to our time so we can't be sure if he is right and in what era were those crests silvered because Vegetius often mix in his description situation of the late roman army with high imperial and possibly with republican as well and only very scarcely mentions it.
The other problem is what exactly he meant with silvered crest-Plumes(feathers)itself or just a crest holder?
I recommend you books From Raffaele D'amato about Centurions:
Roman Centurions 753-31 BC:The kingdom and the age of Consuls
Roman Centurions 31 BC-AD 500:The Classical and Late Empire
D'amato also notes that more then one different pre-imperial(I think even pre- republican)representations of the person who were probably of centurion rank(although not necessarily and directly Roman-it is Etruscan)having their transverse crest repeatedly in white with red endings schema like reenactor in this photo: