Hastati, Principes and Triarii

[louisxyz]

Hi, I was just looking for clarification of exactly how the three pre-Marian ranks were divided. I understand it was based on experience, i.e the Triarii were the most experienced, then the Principes etc., but i was just wondering whether this was a formal system, i.e after you've served x many years to become a princeps etc. or a more ad hoc affair. gratias ago

[Forty-One]

It seems to have been based purely on age and experience, and appears to have been somewhat formal, although exact details are lacking. The allocations being made at the time the legions were raised:

"[T]hey choose the youngest and poorest to form the velites; the next to them are made hastati; those in the prime of life principes; and the oldest of all triarii, these being the names among the Romans of the four classes in each legion distinct in age and equipment." - Polybius, "Histories" 6.21

"[The] front line in the battle contained the flower of the young men who were growing ripe for service. Behind These came a line of the same number of maniples, made up of men of a more stalwart age; these were called the principes; [...] the triarii [were] veteran soldiers of proven valour" - Livy, "The History of Rome", 8.8

Polybius also says that each class was "ordered" to procure for themselves a specified set of equipment, those who were worth more than 100,000 asses were supposed to wear a mail shirt.

No further details of the system of allocation into the four classes are known.

[louisxyz]

ah ok yeah that's the kind of thing i imagined, but is there any evidence of the actual ages when you might be moved between the ranks?. I thought i read somewhere that once you had served a veles for two years you would move up to be a hastatus, or something along those lines but perhaps thats wrong

[Sean Manning]

ah ok yeah that's the kind of thing i imagined, but is there any evidence of the actual ages when you might be moved between the ranks?. I thought i read somewhere that once you had served a veles for two years you would move up to be a hastatus, or something along those lines but perhaps thats wrong

As far as I know, there is no evidence for a formal system to reassign men to new units on campaign. What Polybius describes is men being assigned to a unit each time a new army is raised (so if Marcus fights a three-year war as a veles, then is called again up two years later, he might be selected as a hastatus or princeps). The same for reinforcements: as far as I know there wasn't a standard system to reinforce existing legions as they lost men. Nathan Rosenstein suggests that velites were typically teenagers, principes in their early 20s, and triarii over 25.

[Marcus Velius Avitus]

I have always been curious about this topic too. It may have just been a "common practice" thing as suggested above. When a young man was called up, depending on his level of equipment and age and experience, he would be placed accordingly. In a subsequent "call up" he might enter another class? I am not sure who would make that determination. Maybe more than age, wealth and quality of equipment may have been a larger determining factor?

[Matthew Amt]

Avete!

Age and experience determined the status (hastatus, princeps, triarius), while wealth determined the equipment. There would be principes in mail, and triarii in pectorals, as well as the other way around. Wealth, or rather lack of wealth, seems to have figured at least partly/sometimes for determining who was in the velites. The wealthiest men went to the cavalry, of course!

Matthew