08-15-2014, 02:53 AM
This is another Lorica Segmentata thread. Most people agree the Lorica Hamata(Mail) was more expensive than the LS. Reasons to explain this is that the wire to make mail is required to be high quality and the process is all those links is time consuming. Counter arguments of the LS being more expensive were that is was plate armor-ish and making large sections of plate plus the articulation of uniform is expensive and phased out due to its costs. But most people agree the Hamata was more expensive.
However the Hamata seems to be capable of mass production due to mail being well fitting, good to transport, and reliablity. This is proven in the Late Roman Fabricae in the 4th century. I have a question...was scale armor more or less common?
My main question is asking why was the Lorica Segmentata phased out right when state-run fabricae came along? Shouldn't the cheaper scrapier armor be more effective for mass production and fielding? (like the Ridge helmet for example compared to the Gallic helmet). My original guess that the LS was taylor made to fit well.(modern reinactors found it difficult to wear unless they customized it themselves.) Plus individual soldiers paid for the labor costs in their base manufacturers in the 2nd century when the Lorica Segmentata got damaged, rather than the state. Soldiers serving in the Principate under Trajan served only 25 years before being discharged, while in the 3rd and 4th served more, meaning soldiers in the 2nd century can buy their armor easily with a cheap price, while the state in the 4th century needed a worthy investment they didn't have to be maintained as much and lasted longer.
Others say the LS is like munitions armor designed to be mass produced. The Romans simply phased it out because it was not as effective as the LH, as it didn't cover the whole body, unreliable, and hard to repair etc.
What was military spending like the Principate and the Late Empire? And what was the economy and wealth of individuals like? And the resources to make these items?
How much armor did the Late Empire wear compared to the Principate? Ammianus says that Romans were very heavily armored , while Vegetius say some did not wear armor at all. My guess was Comiatenses were heavily armored but the Liminatei and Foedereti were not.
However the Hamata seems to be capable of mass production due to mail being well fitting, good to transport, and reliablity. This is proven in the Late Roman Fabricae in the 4th century. I have a question...was scale armor more or less common?
My main question is asking why was the Lorica Segmentata phased out right when state-run fabricae came along? Shouldn't the cheaper scrapier armor be more effective for mass production and fielding? (like the Ridge helmet for example compared to the Gallic helmet). My original guess that the LS was taylor made to fit well.(modern reinactors found it difficult to wear unless they customized it themselves.) Plus individual soldiers paid for the labor costs in their base manufacturers in the 2nd century when the Lorica Segmentata got damaged, rather than the state. Soldiers serving in the Principate under Trajan served only 25 years before being discharged, while in the 3rd and 4th served more, meaning soldiers in the 2nd century can buy their armor easily with a cheap price, while the state in the 4th century needed a worthy investment they didn't have to be maintained as much and lasted longer.
Others say the LS is like munitions armor designed to be mass produced. The Romans simply phased it out because it was not as effective as the LH, as it didn't cover the whole body, unreliable, and hard to repair etc.
What was military spending like the Principate and the Late Empire? And what was the economy and wealth of individuals like? And the resources to make these items?
How much armor did the Late Empire wear compared to the Principate? Ammianus says that Romans were very heavily armored , while Vegetius say some did not wear armor at all. My guess was Comiatenses were heavily armored but the Liminatei and Foedereti were not.
