09-11-2014, 12:44 PM
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it usual to take and improve existing technology and learn from neighbors?
The Roman Legionary was not a Celtic idea; the Republican Legionary was a citizen soldier from one of the better possible economic backgrounds in Rome and so able to afford the weapons and armor in question and when conscripted would be expected to fight as the Republic had voted led by the magistrate who was voted into office.
There are some similarities to Celtic culture but correct me if I'm wrong most Celts couldn't afford armor.
That would indicate to me there was a very real class difference between the Roman Legionary and much of his Celtic enemy army; not to delve into Marxist thought but the influence for a Roman Legion I think is much more Greek. They to drafted better off men into being soldiers, they to expected citizens who could afford it to fight as the city had voted and they to would have had armies of landowners. What the Romans did differently was ditch Greek gear and tactics; but I think the legion had more in common with Greeks as opposed to Celts despite the well known technology and gear influences they took from the Celts.
The reason I am mentioning this is just as a reminder that the cultural ideas that made up a Legion wasn't taken from the Celts like the technology; I don't mean in any way to diminish the importance of Celtic weapons or armor development or the importance of Romans taking it on for themselves and improving it into what we see as the classic legionary. I find what the gear could tell us fascinating; particularly when it comes to the metallurgy.
The Roman Legionary was not a Celtic idea; the Republican Legionary was a citizen soldier from one of the better possible economic backgrounds in Rome and so able to afford the weapons and armor in question and when conscripted would be expected to fight as the Republic had voted led by the magistrate who was voted into office.
There are some similarities to Celtic culture but correct me if I'm wrong most Celts couldn't afford armor.
That would indicate to me there was a very real class difference between the Roman Legionary and much of his Celtic enemy army; not to delve into Marxist thought but the influence for a Roman Legion I think is much more Greek. They to drafted better off men into being soldiers, they to expected citizens who could afford it to fight as the city had voted and they to would have had armies of landowners. What the Romans did differently was ditch Greek gear and tactics; but I think the legion had more in common with Greeks as opposed to Celts despite the well known technology and gear influences they took from the Celts.
The reason I am mentioning this is just as a reminder that the cultural ideas that made up a Legion wasn't taken from the Celts like the technology; I don't mean in any way to diminish the importance of Celtic weapons or armor development or the importance of Romans taking it on for themselves and improving it into what we see as the classic legionary. I find what the gear could tell us fascinating; particularly when it comes to the metallurgy.
Dan
