07-30-2010, 05:06 PM
Avete!
There are several factors at work here. First of all, this is a HOBBY, so each person does what he or she wants. If every reenactor in the world decided that he or she just HAD to do the Paraguayan Navy from 1884 (did they have one?), I would not say that that was "too much". As it turns out, people who are attracted to Roman reenacting gravitate towards the first century AD, and I don't see any problem with that. It is what they want to do, whatever the reason. Because it's a hobby, and not always a cheap one, there is no way we can show everything! I don't think we should even try, since that courts bankruptcy, divorce, far more gear than can be transported in a minivan, etc. Okay, some of us try anyway, but that's not the point! But focusing on a single era (or a limited number of eras!) allows one to learn more about that era and do a good job about teaching the public about it.
Why first century? Well, those are the glory days! They are far better documented in certain key ways, for one thing, with lots of good surviving literature from the era, lots of good archeological information, etc. It's the time of the life of Christ, for one thing, as well as many famous Romans. Everyone's heard of Nero and Caligula, right? Granted, much popular interest comes from things like "I, Claudius", "Masada", and a bunch of other movies and such. But those spark further interest in that area which we feed off of, and in turn the popular interest feeds off of us. Even the lorica segmentata itself is an eye-catcher, as much an icon of ancient Rome as a muscled cuirass. Heck, when my friend and I were first working on Roman gear, we deliberately chose the first century and the Corbridge lorica because we'd been doing medieval reenacting for years and wanted a change from wearing mail!
Now, part of the mix is that the vast majority of easily available equipment is first century stuff. The manufacturers in India were influenced by the same sorts of popular media as everyone else, so that's what they started marketing. And we responded by helping them make better and more stuff, which made it easier for more reenactors to do that era, and it ballooned from there. They *are* making some later gear as well, but there simply is not as much demand for it. Remember, authenticity-minded reenactors are only a tiny percentage of the market for the repro makers, and to the general public, "Roman" often means an Imperial-Gallic helmet and a lorica segmentata. So that's what sells. I have been contacted by a number of people over the years who would have preferred to focus on an earlier or later era, but were limited by the availability of equipment, so they went with the first century. To those few of us who are able to make most of our stuff, that's not as much of a factor, but most reenactors have to buy their kit. Again, that's changing slowly, but it's going to be a while before we see substantial units of Punic War legionaries, for instance.
Most groups that I know of do not claim to be anything other than what they represent. In other words, they don't claim to show the whole picture, or that "this is what a Roman soldier always looked like", etc., though I suspect they only mention the differences compared to other eras if they are asked by a visitor. Granted, it *would* be good to emphasize that to the audience, and I for one will try to keep it in mind for the future. But I will say that at our last Roman Days event, our "The Evolution of the Roman Soldier" fashion show had a very good chronological spread represented, from Romulus himself (my humble self) up through the Fall of Constantinople in 1453! (A Roman soldier with a GUN, how cool is that??) But it only happens once a year.
Would I like to be able to show legionaries from a much wider time span at our events? Heck, yes! Shoot, I'd also like to do good impressions of all the non-Roman cultures that I see some other group doing badly... But if only 2 or 3 of my guys turn out, and they're all first century, I'm not about to complain. We do what we like, and we do what we can. We may only have a few minutes to stuff information into a visitor, and we just can't go into equipment that we don't have and can't show them. Bottom line, though, folks are going to go with what attracts them, and first century Rome shines very brightly.
Valete,
Matthew
There are several factors at work here. First of all, this is a HOBBY, so each person does what he or she wants. If every reenactor in the world decided that he or she just HAD to do the Paraguayan Navy from 1884 (did they have one?), I would not say that that was "too much". As it turns out, people who are attracted to Roman reenacting gravitate towards the first century AD, and I don't see any problem with that. It is what they want to do, whatever the reason. Because it's a hobby, and not always a cheap one, there is no way we can show everything! I don't think we should even try, since that courts bankruptcy, divorce, far more gear than can be transported in a minivan, etc. Okay, some of us try anyway, but that's not the point! But focusing on a single era (or a limited number of eras!) allows one to learn more about that era and do a good job about teaching the public about it.
Why first century? Well, those are the glory days! They are far better documented in certain key ways, for one thing, with lots of good surviving literature from the era, lots of good archeological information, etc. It's the time of the life of Christ, for one thing, as well as many famous Romans. Everyone's heard of Nero and Caligula, right? Granted, much popular interest comes from things like "I, Claudius", "Masada", and a bunch of other movies and such. But those spark further interest in that area which we feed off of, and in turn the popular interest feeds off of us. Even the lorica segmentata itself is an eye-catcher, as much an icon of ancient Rome as a muscled cuirass. Heck, when my friend and I were first working on Roman gear, we deliberately chose the first century and the Corbridge lorica because we'd been doing medieval reenacting for years and wanted a change from wearing mail!
Now, part of the mix is that the vast majority of easily available equipment is first century stuff. The manufacturers in India were influenced by the same sorts of popular media as everyone else, so that's what they started marketing. And we responded by helping them make better and more stuff, which made it easier for more reenactors to do that era, and it ballooned from there. They *are* making some later gear as well, but there simply is not as much demand for it. Remember, authenticity-minded reenactors are only a tiny percentage of the market for the repro makers, and to the general public, "Roman" often means an Imperial-Gallic helmet and a lorica segmentata. So that's what sells. I have been contacted by a number of people over the years who would have preferred to focus on an earlier or later era, but were limited by the availability of equipment, so they went with the first century. To those few of us who are able to make most of our stuff, that's not as much of a factor, but most reenactors have to buy their kit. Again, that's changing slowly, but it's going to be a while before we see substantial units of Punic War legionaries, for instance.
Most groups that I know of do not claim to be anything other than what they represent. In other words, they don't claim to show the whole picture, or that "this is what a Roman soldier always looked like", etc., though I suspect they only mention the differences compared to other eras if they are asked by a visitor. Granted, it *would* be good to emphasize that to the audience, and I for one will try to keep it in mind for the future. But I will say that at our last Roman Days event, our "The Evolution of the Roman Soldier" fashion show had a very good chronological spread represented, from Romulus himself (my humble self) up through the Fall of Constantinople in 1453! (A Roman soldier with a GUN, how cool is that??) But it only happens once a year.
Would I like to be able to show legionaries from a much wider time span at our events? Heck, yes! Shoot, I'd also like to do good impressions of all the non-Roman cultures that I see some other group doing badly... But if only 2 or 3 of my guys turn out, and they're all first century, I'm not about to complain. We do what we like, and we do what we can. We may only have a few minutes to stuff information into a visitor, and we just can't go into equipment that we don't have and can't show them. Bottom line, though, folks are going to go with what attracts them, and first century Rome shines very brightly.
Valete,
Matthew
Matthew Amt (Quintus)
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
