03-23-2014, 03:14 PM
Evan wrote:
Their names really say nothing about what kind of troops they were. The Lanciarii were heavy infantry, Legio Palatina; so were the Mattiarii. Both of them were front-line units.
Why would anyone send heavy armed infantry to act as scouts? Doesn’t seem tactically logical. The hastati were missile armed infantry but they also fought close combat. In comparison to the velites, the hastati were heavy armed infantry. In comparison to the principes, the hastati are light-armed infantry. I have not seen any evidence to suggest that the Roman army, and I also mean the Late Roman army did not consist of two troop types. One of them must be more missile armed than the other. The battle of Strasbourg shows this to be so.
The question I am asking is are the Mattiarii armed with the lead weighted dart (Vegetius 2 15)?
Their names really say nothing about what kind of troops they were. The Lanciarii were heavy infantry, Legio Palatina; so were the Mattiarii. Both of them were front-line units.
Why would anyone send heavy armed infantry to act as scouts? Doesn’t seem tactically logical. The hastati were missile armed infantry but they also fought close combat. In comparison to the velites, the hastati were heavy armed infantry. In comparison to the principes, the hastati are light-armed infantry. I have not seen any evidence to suggest that the Roman army, and I also mean the Late Roman army did not consist of two troop types. One of them must be more missile armed than the other. The battle of Strasbourg shows this to be so.
The question I am asking is are the Mattiarii armed with the lead weighted dart (Vegetius 2 15)?
