Republican Army

[drsrob]

signiferi. The next sentence described the distinction of centurions.

For Vegetius we must take in count the great variety of sources, where old republic and imperial sourcesis mixed. Can be a error think Vegetius have a real idea of antesignani. Probably he think to commander and officials legionary guards (not light infantry but with lighter armour), but it is a hypotesis.

Vegetius quotes from various sources, true. Somewhere he apparantly found a reference to antesignani having lighter armour than ordinary legionnaries. That much should be certain. I don't think the text permits replacing antesignani with another category

L(ucius) VALERIUS CO
METIUS VETERA
NUS LEG(ionis) VIII AUG(ustae)
MILITAVIT ARMIS
ANTESIGNANIS
HER(edes) EX TEST(amento)
'Lucius Valerius Cometius, veteran of the legio VIII Augusta has served with the arms of the antesignani. His heirs according to the will.'[/list]

The text affirm "antesignan arms" an arm category not the arms of a corps, how Le Bohec have found in castrum III legion armouries

so there were special arms for antesignani!

The antesignani were equipped differently from normal legionnaries. According to Vegetius this equipment was lighter than that of the rest. This would mean that they were light infantry or skirmishers, which was exactly how they operated in Caesar, BC, 1.43.

But Vegetius affirm they are grave armatura, only with lighter armour.

Only when he opposes them to largely unarmoured men

V. Legem etiam iudiciariam tulit homo castus atque integer iudiciorum et iuris auctor. In quo nos fefellit. Antesignanos et manipulares et Alaudas [...] he has selected Greeks. Oh the fine bench of judges, Oh the admirable dignity of that council!"

The comparison is from "simple soldiers (gregarii) and antesignani of Alauda legion (the unit preferred by Antonius)" in this phrase probably the sense is of principalis. The same in Ceasar I.57 where the comparison is with the centurions.

Then why does he not say principales? The words are almost mutually exclusive. The most important principalis of the century was the optio, who certainly stood behind the ranks, rather than in front of them

... Superius tamen institutum in equitibus, quod demonstravimus, servabat, ut, quoniam numero multis partibus esset inferior, adulescentes atque expeditos ex antesignanis electis ad pernicitatem armis inter equites proeliari iuberet,
..........
The meaning of words changes continueously and ther is no a priori reason why antesignani should be an exception.

You translate expeditos like light armed, but the term indicate troops without impedimenta in primis (heavy or light).

No, it's translated as "most active", but that part of the translation is not mine, and is it is not central to the argument either

The procedure in march agmen is to leave heavy infantry units expedita in front or rear of army (view this in BJ, maniples expediti, cohortes expedite) like the extraordinarii in polybian army (and in effect two times in Livy text we can view probably the antesignani indicate the extraordinarii). THis is the much probable sense in of Caesar 3.75 where the fight is on the Ceasar rearguard, and is only for reference the 3.75 that in 3.84 Ceasar use again antesignani. The "ad pernecitatem armis" isn't especially typical to this troops in this Ceasar passage, can be only a temporary situation.

The latter is correct. About the rest: I'm talking about the Caesarian period and as I already indicated, I think that antesignani meant something else before and during the later empire. Therefore the fact that Livy uses it differently is IMO beside the point.