02-15-2014, 01:04 PM
Quote:.............
Well, not trying to burst the bubble, but we quite regularly find that when training on a windy day, the normal noise of shields and weapons knocking against other equipment and the jingling of equipment is multiplied by the wind, which also buffets shields around, often noisily. Even when we are marching in close formation and the centurio (who has a strong voice which generally carries well)is just a few feet away, his shouted commands are often difficult to make out clearly, carried away by the wind and further obscured by the increased level of noise. That is my own experience of shouted commands on a windy day. A trumpet with a standardised set of calls gets around this problem.
Crispvs
Not at all, but I think you are missing an important element - and this, for perfectly valid reasons is one of the things re-enactors miss.......the fact that they shouldn't consider themselves alone!
The really important orders are all given at a level above the century - whether they be:
- march towards the enemy
- halt
- open ranks and have the velites (sic) retire
- close ranks
- advance/retire the rear centuries
- open the maniples
- form testudo to receive arrows
- and all the rest
They are all given to a whole line of centuries fighting/moving side by side - not to individual ones. Once formed up for battle - very few orders will be given directly by the centurion - and those he can shout. The furthest he will ever be is around 10 paces away - and only the front ranks have to hear him, the rest can follow what the others do.
Context is everything. :wink:
