06-22-2014, 07:21 PM
Quote:I could imagine a servant for a centurion, but am more likely (like in Scarrow's novels) to believe in a clerk per century instead.
I wondered about that here. It seems that, rather than there being something like a cornicularius for the centurion, the signifer acted as clerk at century level.
Quote:A centurion... also had his own slave to take care of all these things.
As did other soldiers, it seems - perhaps in spite of regulations! Martin of Tours (St Martin) joined a cavalry unit of the imperial bodyguard as a young man in the mid 4th century. It is reported by his biographer that he was so ascetic that he made do with the services of only a single slave. He would also regularly swap roles with his slave, cooking for him and cleaning his boots...
Nathan Ross
