Standard frontage allotted to a single legionary?

[Robert Vermaat]

Hi Sean,

Robert, are you sure? Round and oblong shields are rarely wider than 90 cm, so normally if you have significant overlap between shields you are closer than 2 cubits per file.

Indeed, when they are overlapping you are in synaspismos, very close order. I don't think that Vegetius had that in mind: close order sure, but not as packed as it would get with overlapping shields.

(Incidentally, that translation of Vegetius has a misprint; he says that one thousand six hundred and sixty six men fit into a mile. One Roman mile is 5,000 Roman feet, and 3 x 1666 = 4998).

Well spotted! My Milner indeed has 1666. I was in a hurry and did not do the math.

I'm not sure if I agree that shields, in general, are designed to overlap; do you mean late Roman shields?

Indeed, Late Roman shields, which I think were designed to overlap.

Of course these numbers are approximate- soldiers probably measured the right space by eye and by using their arms as two-cubit measure- but they work as rules of thumb.

Vegetius as well as Maurice are of course writing a treatise (although Maurice had experience in the field, which shows), but you are correct - a lot would have been different in practice.