05-04-2005, 12:26 AM
Hi Paul,
Very nice work! That is a very good photo!
Theo, it seems that the shoulder baldrics were not used quite as much in the late period as they were previously (although narrow ones were still used occasionally), but they were suspended from straps that attached the scabbard to the rings of the wide late Roman belt, just as Paul illustrates in his photo. I also think the focale was definitely still in use, and remained almost a "permanent fixture" of the Roman soldier for centuries. It was used not only for preventing armour from chafing one's neck, but also for warmth in the winter, or to wipe sweat in the heat, or even to prevent sunburn on the neck. I wear one as well, and have a brown wool one for colder weather and a red linen one for hot weather. As for the greaves, I will let Paul explain that one, as I don't know that much about them in our late Roman period, although I have heard that they were still used. Paul, can you elaborate on them a bit?
Paul's photo does an excellent job of illustrating what a late Roman infantryman would have looked like. :wink:
Very nice work! That is a very good photo!
Theo, it seems that the shoulder baldrics were not used quite as much in the late period as they were previously (although narrow ones were still used occasionally), but they were suspended from straps that attached the scabbard to the rings of the wide late Roman belt, just as Paul illustrates in his photo. I also think the focale was definitely still in use, and remained almost a "permanent fixture" of the Roman soldier for centuries. It was used not only for preventing armour from chafing one's neck, but also for warmth in the winter, or to wipe sweat in the heat, or even to prevent sunburn on the neck. I wear one as well, and have a brown wool one for colder weather and a red linen one for hot weather. As for the greaves, I will let Paul explain that one, as I don't know that much about them in our late Roman period, although I have heard that they were still used. Paul, can you elaborate on them a bit?
Paul's photo does an excellent job of illustrating what a late Roman infantryman would have looked like. :wink:
Lucius Aurelius Metellus
a.k.a. Jeffrey L. Greene
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a.k.a. Jeffrey L. Greene
MODERATOR