Saluting?

[M. Demetrius]

Thanks! What a great source book!

[Praefectusclassis]

Cool! It does have some of the exercises, but if I recall correctly Speidel - by adding more fragments, was able to extend that part.

[Matt Lukes]

The bit indicated is for cavalry so I don't know how valid some may consider the comments about manoevers to be: "Indeed the more complications (that) are added, the less impressive it appears."

The next line is actually pretty interesting too: "Of the difficult manoeuvres you have completed the most difficult of all, throwing javelins while wearing metal corslets..." Not only does this clearly include throwing javelins as a 'manoeuvre'- so not just wheeling, etc., but that perhaps cavalrymen wore more rigid defense than mail- would it be something to comment on the difficulty of to throw a javelin wearing mail? I wouldn't have thought so... but that's another thread :wink:

[Magnus]

Interesting but a very valid point where Hadrian states:

"Indeed the more complications are added, the less impressive it appears."

Seems to indicate that the Roman Army kept things simple..at least for appearances sake (though more likely for practical as well).

[derek forrest]

I appreciate your point of view Magnus.If you look at our leather tents you will see that we have have no means of tying the tent door flaps together .The reason none have been found. They must obviously have existed but to the purist it would be heresy to fit them.Fortunately we do not sleep in our tents!

In like vein Magnus' legion would amble onto the parade ground perform some vague silent maneuvres and then amble off again with the commentary that as we know nothing of Roman fighting/drilling we are not able to show anything!

I can hear the "Don't call us we will call you "now.

Undoubtedly we import too much of our own experience military or otherwise into our displays .Maybe if we were starting now we might be less martial but' after 30 odd years 'we have created a perception of what Roman soldiers looked like. A perception we are stuck with ;a perception which is perpetuated by every TV production and film.
We can gradually change things at the edges but radical rethinks would be unwelcome to the Public who pay for our attendance.

My concern at the moment is not to throw out the command book but to make it understandable to all participants and ensure that international displays look as good as those by individual units.

When we find the Infantry Century in Battle I shall be only to happy to conform but until then "Sen Dex for ever"

[Magnus]

In like vein Magnus' legion would amble onto the parade ground perform some vague silent maneuvres and then amble off again with the commentary that as we know nothing of Roman fighting/drilling we are not able to show anything!

Yeah, but like farts we're silent but deadly. :lol: