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Roman Shield Emblem/ Heraldry
#1
Hello

I am curious about the amount of deviation between shield emblems found in the Roman Army during the Imperium. I have seen countless books, videos, models, etc depicting the lighting bolts but of late I have seen other depictions such as a Capricorn on the Legio XIV GMV or a Wreath on II Adiutrix (I believe it was them I saw).

Just curious but was there a lot of variety amongst the emblems of legionaires shields during this time period?

Thank you
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#2
I think that for the period up to the later 4th c. we don't have much information about legionary shield designs or the colours.
Robert Vermaat
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)
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#3
Thank you for that Robert. I was under the same impression as well but there are a lot of people on the internet who seem pretty convinced there is. I certainly haven't read anything definitive or come across anything myself. It's almost like some of these guys are out there trying to make the case that Roman shields depicted which legions the legionnaires belonged to much like US Army divisional patches signify which units soldiers belong to today. It certainly makes for some interesting conjecture. While I feel the Roman army tried to maintain uniformity as much as possible, I don't think it was ever 100% achieved.

Best regards
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#4
(09-25-2018, 08:23 PM)Currahee Chris Wrote: Capricorn on the Legio XIV GMV

As far as I know, the only early imperial shield design that can be tied to a particular legion is the winged thunderbolt emblem on the shield of Gnaeus Musius, Aquilifer of Legio XIV Gemina. Even there, we don't know if the same emblem was carried by the whole legion!

The thunderbolt does seem to have been used pretty widely in the 1st-2nd century. It appears a lot on Trajan's Column, sometimes with a whole unit carrying the same emblem (as in this testudo scene). The wreath design also appears on the arch.

An earlier relief from Glanum in Gaul shows a group of legionaries with what appear to be different designs on their shields. We have no way of knowing whether they represent men from different units (perhaps one emblem from each of the legions participating in the campaign?), or from the same legion and there was no unit homogeneity in shield design.

The 'twin capricorn' design comes from the Arch of Orange (in the centre here) - it's often attributed to II Augusta, I think because the town was originally a colony of the second, or because whatever campaign the arch is supposed to commemorate featured that legion - but it seems a bit tenuous!
Nathan Ross
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#5
I thought i read somewhere that each cohort had the same shield design, not legion wide. But I don't remember where i saw that.  And I am sure that was in relation to the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.  I use a design for my art of the 1st Adiutrix legionaries as a blue background and a Capricorn with lightning bolts.  No historical basis for it, other then symbols related to the history of the Adiutrix.
Daniel DeVargas
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