10-06-2014, 07:47 PM
All of this is great information! I knew within about five minutes of posting my last post that a landowner wouldn't be able to pass off a slave to fill a quota, and that freedmen were exempt from serving. Fair enough. Let' try some alternatives.
My slave guy is a cattle herder, a pecuaris. It's not necessary for him to be a soldier, per se, as he experiences a different side of the army than that. I think I like the idea of him being a calones. Let's say the son of the farmer is conscripted and takes a slave with him. There was a rank of circutor, I think, where you could begin immediately as a circutor if you brought two horses, or a horse and a slave. Circutor was kind of an unknown rank, though, it was apparently a rank for doing rounds to inspect sentries?
The slave character would care for his master's horse(s) and would have knowledge of cattle herding. I was playing around with the idea that he catches the eye of a veterinarii because of his skill with animals, and could become a pecuaris medicus, an assistant to the vet. He starts learning vet care, which makes him fairly valuable.
Couple of questions, though. First, is any of this plausible? Second, could the slave be sold to the vet because of his skill? Would the son of the farmer have rights to sell his slave, or would he write his father? (I would assume selling a slave to buy better armor and equipment would be tempting.) And what would happen to a calones if his master dies on the battle field?
My slave guy is a cattle herder, a pecuaris. It's not necessary for him to be a soldier, per se, as he experiences a different side of the army than that. I think I like the idea of him being a calones. Let's say the son of the farmer is conscripted and takes a slave with him. There was a rank of circutor, I think, where you could begin immediately as a circutor if you brought two horses, or a horse and a slave. Circutor was kind of an unknown rank, though, it was apparently a rank for doing rounds to inspect sentries?
The slave character would care for his master's horse(s) and would have knowledge of cattle herding. I was playing around with the idea that he catches the eye of a veterinarii because of his skill with animals, and could become a pecuaris medicus, an assistant to the vet. He starts learning vet care, which makes him fairly valuable.
Couple of questions, though. First, is any of this plausible? Second, could the slave be sold to the vet because of his skill? Would the son of the farmer have rights to sell his slave, or would he write his father? (I would assume selling a slave to buy better armor and equipment would be tempting.) And what would happen to a calones if his master dies on the battle field?
Laura
