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AD SIGNA!
The Newsletter of the Sixth Legion Victrix, Published on the Kalends of every month.
Volume I, no. 1. May AD 2002 / AUC 2755
Ave, comites! Welcome to the first issue of Ad Signa (“To the Standards!”), the newsletter of Legio VI Victrix. We’ve made great strides over the past few months and face a very busy schedule as AD 2002 progresses. So without further ado:
UPCOMING EVENTS:
May 11 (Saturday) – Day trip to Corona Crossroads Renaissance Festival. Legio VI participants will meet at a designated spot near the festival, probably for breakfast, so that we can caravan to the parking lot and help each other kit up and change into Roman clothing. Our aims are to introduce our membership to the re-enactment festival experience, provide us with experience in maintaining character and practical experience with our equipment. We will also be displaying ourselves to the participants of the events by our grouped presence. In the case of Corona, we will also be investigating the suitability of an encampment there for next year's event. For these reasons, these trips will require participants to attend in our minimum standard Roman kit. For the soldiers and civilian men, that means caligae, tunica, and a belt, with a pallium or toga optional. For the ladies that means long tunica, stolae or kaiten, and some form of all-leather footwear, hobnailed or not. Of course, those who have more of their kit together are encouraged to bring what they can. If you're unsure how to obtain or create your Tunica or footwear, email Caius at caiusman@earthlink.net or checkout the Legio XX online handbook at http://www.larp.com/legioxx/index.html for how-to's. There will be entry discount coupons or free gate-listing available at both events, though dues paying members will have priority for these.
May 17 (Friday)—Presentation / Demonstration at Renaissance Academy, La Canata, CA. Contact: Flavius Crispus. Depending on where you’re coming from, we’ll either meet at Flavius’ place in Valencia at 9:00 a.m. and carpool to the school, or, if you’re coming from the south, meet up at the school at about 10 a.m. If you’d like to attend, please contact Flavius at (310) 450-8634 days, (661) 753-9771 evenings or email palladium@aol.com for directions to Renaissance Academy.
This will be our first school demo as a unit, but undoubtedly not the last. We’ll be talking to kids in grades 4-7. Flavius will kit up in his Newstead lorica, Italic G helmet and accoutrements suitable to a Hadrianic soldier. He’d like at least one other legionary in Augustan-vintage lorica hamata (mail) and Gallic G helmet, which he’ll provide. We need to track down another gladius, perhaps a Mainz-style suitable for the Augustan rig. A third legionary could suit up the Late Roman gear to show the evolution of arms, equipment and dress. A female member in a proper stola would be very nice as well, to give students a view of distaff life. Flavius has done a few school demos and has a pretty good system, so we’ll let him do most of the talking. If enough fellows show up, we could demo a few simple drills and show how soldiers fought shield-to-shield. He’ll also give a slide show, followed by a Q-and-A. Be prepared to field a lot of questions. Kids will be allowed to come up and touch our stuff, try helmets on, and whatnot. They will be allowed to touch or hold weapon grips, as long as the weapon remains firmly held or sheathed. DON’T let them grab at or grip the blade.
Plan on starting at about 10:30 a.m. and finishing at about noon. If times are adjusted, all will be informed.
May 18 (Saturday) –- Fabricum at Caius’ place. Some of the fittings for the Newstead loricae ought to be available for a looking-over. Concentrate on: Finishing scutae. Finish vexillum, important for renfaire display. Finish at least one pilum. Also, we need to make an inventory of what gear we have or can lay hands on at present.
May 25-27 (Friday-Sunday) -- Static display and literature handout at the Gamex war gaming convention on Memorial Day weekend.
June 1 (Saturday) -- Group visit to Renaissance Pleasure Festival.
June 15 (Saturday) – Fabricum at Caius’ place. Water-cut sections of Newstead lorica segmentatae should be available for bending, fitting, etc.
July 6-7 (Saturday-Sunday) – Old Forth McArthur Days, presumably a multi-period military timeline. This is a good target for having our core setup (4-5 fully armed and equipped legionaries, tent, camp equipage) in place. May include 3-5 mile in-kit hike.
August – Long Beach Renaissance Arts Festival weekend encampment.
September – Appearance/Encampment at Fresno State University, perhaps in conjunction with other legions. Stay tuned.
October – Fall hike and encampment, location TBA.
December – Saturnalia party at Flavius’ place.
REPORT FROM THE PRAEFECTUS CASTRORUM, by Gaius Manlius Magnus:
I cannot
express how pleased I am that this is getting off the ground. We've needed this
sort of in-depth status and information report for some time, and here it is.
Thanks for taking point on this one, Flavius.
I hope that
all of you will make an effort to do any shopping online through this handy
portal and support our efforts to present accurate historical education.
AFTER-ACTION REPORTS, by Flavius Crispus
APRIL 20: A MARCH UPCOUNTRY
On Saturday, April 20, three stalwart legionaries, two brave matrons and a gaggle of adventurous girls collected at --- park in the Santa Clarita Valley for a hike up the scrub-covered foothills. While the intent was mainly to have some family fun while getting a little exercise, it also provided an opportunity for a little experimental archeology, one of the things Legio VI is all about.
The three legionaries comprised our praefectus castrorum, Gaius Manlius Magnus (Caius Man), Drusus Caelius Salto (Doug Kihn), and Flavius Crispus Candidianus (Dave Michaels). The matrons were our priestess of Bellona, Gaia (Gayle Lynne Gordon), and Crispus’ wife Flavia Helena (Margo Michaels). The gaggle consisted of Gaius’ daughter Griffin (age 2), Flavius’ daughters Alexandra, Arianna, and Julienne (ages 12, 8, annd 6), and a bunch of Alexandra’s pals who had just attended her Friday night sleepover party, little suspecting what hardships awaited them the following morning…
Flavius Crispus determined to make the hike in full legionary kit, including his Newstead lorica, his new Italic G helmet, tunic, caligae, and scutum (shield). Total kit probably weighed in around 40-50 lbs. Drusus also adopted legionary garb, donning the newly modified lorica hamata (chain mail shirt) over his tunic and subarmoris, along with his comfy-looking, sheepskin-lined caligae. Gaius declined legionary gear, but carrying Griffin in a backpack, probably carried a 40-lbs. load equivalent to a legionary kit.
We also brought along two new additions to our kit list: A pair of iron-and-brass legionary canteens recently acquired by Drusus. These nifty items are made by Depeeka, patterned pretty closely on similar round flasks found at several Roman legionary sites. After obtaining them from Roman Legion Quartermaster (thanks Sean!), Drusus spent an evening washing them out with boiling water and lining them with paraffin wax. On the hike, Flavius hooked one canteen over an over-the-shoulder stick (a la Trajan’s column), while Drusus passed the other around the company. In short, they worked really well. The water stayed cool, fresh and clean. A couple of the kids complained of a metallic taste, but this grunt didn’t notice anything unpleasant.
The weather was perfect—sunny and maybe 75 degrees. The hike proceeded at a fairly sprightly pace up a winding trail between two fairly steep, scrub-covered foothills, leading toward a summit of perhaps 3-4,000 feet. Caius took the point for most of the trip and kept a close eye out for Poison Oak and rattlesnakes. At one point, we passed a little stream of black, sticky stuff—crude oil!--which was literally bubbling up out of the ground, a la Jed Clampett’s “bubblin’ crude” in the Beverly Hillbillies.
The trail got steeper as we went up. About a mile and a half into the hike, we reached a clearing where most of the smaller girls decided they’d had enough. Gayle-Lynne and Margo took the kids back down the hill, while Gaius (with Griffin on his back), Drusus and Flavius decided to press ahead to the summit.
The trail proceeded through numerous switchbacks and got increasingly steeper. We passed a number of hikers and mountain bikers along the way, who were amused and impressed by encountering a couple of Roman legionaries on patrol. A few showed real interest and asked good questions, while others just seemed to shrug as if to say, “that’s California fer ya—never know what you’ll run into.”
A couple of spots along the way afforded a spectacular view of the whole Santa Clarita Valley spread out at our caligae-clad feet. No matter how high we climbed, however, the absolute summit seemed tantalizingly out of reach. Before long, Griffin started to get red-faced and cranky and we decided to call it quits and head back down. Surprisingly, despite lugging a heavy load of legionary gear (or the equivalent) up a pretty steep mountain, we didn’t quit out of sheer exhaustion. We covered about four or five miles total, up some pretty steep and rugged terrain, and could have made twice that distance without any real difficulty. Not bad for a first time out!
A few observations: Wearing either the lorica segmentata or hamata presented no problems as far as weight or chafing. This is probably because both Drusus and I wore a well-padded subarmoris under our armor. While I felt the weight of the helmet in my neck after the hike, it didn’t pose any problems during and actually served to keep me cooler by keeping the sun off my balding pate. Legionaries on the march are often shown with their helmets hanging from the laces on their chests or shoulder, but I’ll bet they wore them as often as not. Holding the scutum at arms’ length in my left hand likewise presented no problems until the end of the hike, when my hand essentially went numb. We decided this is because the rim of the shield boss opening was pressing against the skin above my knuckles, cutting off circulation. My scutum is one I obtained from Matt Amt of Legio XX, and its square handle runs straight across the center of the opening. The handles of our new Legio VI scutae are rounder and a little off-center, which should correct this slight problem. A carrying strap enabling the shield to be carried on the shoulder would eliminate this problem, of course, but our experience with the hike indicates Trajan’s Column appears to be accurate when it shows soldiers on the march simply holding the shield at arms’ length.
APRIL 27: CLASSICAL RECEPTION WITH VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
One of Legio VI’s early directives was to secure an informal academic sponsorship from one or more California colleges or universities, with the aim of creating a “Classics Faire” that would attract legionary and civilian re-enactors from throughout the state. We made great strides toward this goal last weekend when three of our number attended a reception at the Kingsburg farmhouse of none other than Victor Davis Hanson, classics professor at Fresno State University and author of the seminal book on Greco-Roman combat, “The Western Way of War,” along with the current best-seller “Conflict and Carnage.” Dr. Hanson has also become quite well-known as a columnist for National Review Online, focusing on military/political issues. A link to his latest column is here: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson043002.asp
VDH, as he styles himself, invited Flavius Crispus to the reception after an email exchange regarding possible sponsorship of Legio VI and an event. The author seemed very interested in the possibility, but informed Flavius he was heading off to a yearlong sabbatical teaching military history at to the midshipmen of Annapolis, MD, starting in June. He then explained he’d be holding a reception for the entire FSU Classics department, as well as Classics students and faculty from other local institutions, on Saturday, April 27, and asked if anyone from Legio VI would like to attend “in full regalia.” Flavius, Postumus Decimus Scaevola (Ron Glass) and the lovely Ioanna (Kristin Lehere) answered the call.
Prof. Hanson lives in an 1880s-vintage farmhouse once owned by his great-grandfolks, surrounded by a nice-sized spread of vineyards, citrus orchards and other staples. Virgil would have felt right at home. I had no idea his roots went so far into the San Joaquin Valley, but here is the answer to why a scholar of his renown teaches at Fresno State University (no knock to FSU, but you’d think he’d be at Harvard or something).
Decimus and Ioanna arrived first (it’s just a short hop from Ioanna’s place in Fresno). Flavius trundled up around 12:30 and kitted up in his Newstead, Italic G, etc. Walking into the crowd of bemused students and faculty gathered on the deck, he asked “can anyone point me to the Rubicon.” Gets ‘em every time. One of the guys said, “you look like you just walked off Trajan’s column!” A high compliment indeed.
Flavius found Decimus and Ioanna already well established, he in his manly soldier’s tunic and she in a fetching aquamarine gap-sleeved tunica and saffron-colored stola. Decimus donned his new subarmoris, the lorica hamata, and Gallic G helmet to form the very image of an Augustan legionary. The three of us made the rounds and hobnobbed, answering some very good and lots of not-so-serious questions (“Aren’t you hot in that, dude? Isn’t that WAY heavy?”).
VDH made his appearance and seemed quite pleased with our showing up, in his quiet, erudite sort of way. He introduced the contingent to several members of the FSU Classics faculty. Chief among them was Bruce Thornton, Ph.D., the professor of latin linguistics and head of the Classics department during VDH’s sabbatical. Dr. Thornton was very pleased to meet us and was greatly interested in the prospect of having Legio VI come up for a full-scale demo this fall, perhaps in conjunction with a Classics Dept.-sponsored guest speaker this September. We discussed the possibility of starting out with a basic demo and expanding the event into a full-scale “Gathering of the Legions” (perhaps drawing members of Legio IX Hispana in San Diego and Legio X Fretensis up in Vallejo). Drs. Thornton and Hanson were keen on the idea, noting that a Renaissance Faire is staged every year at FSU and that this might be seen as a Greco-Roman counterpart to that. Thornton added that the college would probably be willing to grant some kind of stipend to the Legion and pay for our travel expenses and accommodations.
Of course this is all very preliminary, and Drs. Thornton and Hanson cautioned that state college bureaucracies can be maddening things when it comes to obtaining approval for events such as this. But he pledged to start blocking out some possible times for our event and to supply Flavius with information on when the guest speaker is scheduled for September. We agreed that the full scale Gathering might be tentatively targeted for Spring, 2003, perhaps April or May, as a climax to the academic year.
We also met Dr. Brian Rutishauser, the Classics professor at Fresno City College. He was a very nice, soft-spoken guy who seemed very interested in our gear and our organization. He also expressed an interest in having us come up for a “demonstration or other activity,” and emailed me afterward to follow up. FCC also stages a Renaissance Faire on the campus grounds every year, so here’s yet another possibility for a corresponding Greco-Roman event.
We shared a marvelous luncheon—great slabs of meat and chicken charbroiled on the barbecue, plus heaps of salad and dessert. After answering lots more questions and taking a tour of the premises, we bade our farewells. As a parting note, Flavius dared suggest a topic for a future column. “A lot of people are comparing the United States in the present day to the Roman Empire. But to carry the parallel forward, at what point are we in the Empire’s history—the beginning, middle, or toward the end?”
“Ah,” answered VDH. “That’s the $64,000 question, isn’t it?”
And as a postscript, the following morning I flipped on Fox News Sunday and saw none other than Victor Davis Hanson onscreen, offering Tony Snow his expert opinion on developments in the middle east. As one of the FSU classics students might say, “way cool, dude.”
ARMS AND THE MAN:
NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE QUEST FOR THE ‘TRUE” NEWSTEAD LORICA
The so-called Newstead version of the lorica segmentata, a form of Roman body armor using articulated metal plates, has been the subject of a lot of controversy. In the late 1960s, the great H. Russell Robinson based his reconstruction on this form of body armor on fragmentary remains found at the Newstead fort along the Antonine Wall in Northern Britain. These pieces were much less extensive than the two complete kits of armor found in a chest in Corbridge, along Hadrian’s Wall; consequently, a lot more guesswork was involved in recreating the armor in its final form. Based on the fragments and his own work, Robinson concluded the Newstead was much simpler and more robust than the earlier Corbridge lorica, lacking all of the fancy hinges, straps and buckles, and composed of fewer overall segments. Robinson supposed the Newstead type began to replace the Corbridge lorica toward the end of the first century AD, and is the type of cuirass most represented on Trajan’s column.
In recent years, Robinson’s conclusions have been called into question. Mike Bishop, the new British guru of Roman arms and armor, believes the Newstead came in later than Robinson envisioned, probably late in Hadrian’s reign or even that of Antoninus Pius, and that Trajan’s column shows a simplified form of Corbridge cuirass. He further questioned some of the details of Robinson’s reconstruction, including the rigid chest section and the collar-to-girdle connections.
Legio VI has a particular interest in this controversy, since unlike most Roman reenactment groups, which portray legions of the first century AD or earlier, we portray a legion of the very era when the Newstead cuirass was introduced. We plan to make this our standard cuirass, and of course, we want to get it right, as far as the latest scholarship is concerned.
Fortunately, in recent years new pieces of Newstead-type loricae have been coming to light, including exciting finds at Carlisle in England, which might include one or more complete Newstead cuirasses (they’re all encased in hardened mud now, and are being carefully cleaned and conserved), and at Stillfried, Austria, which includes a complete left and right girdle sections.
Mat Amt’s Legio XX site has an excellent page devoted to the Newstead, accessible here: http://www.larp.com/legioxx/newstlor.html. While many of Robinson’s conclusions have been vindicated (the hook-and-loop connections between the girdle and chest, for example, and the way the chest pieces fit together), others need revision. Matt states: “Robinson's core idea, which is still being repeated today, is that the Newstead lorica was a "much simplified and strengthened" improvement over the previous hinged Corbridge style. But finds at Carlisle and other sites make it clear that the Newstead lorica was anything but simplified. Large lobed hinges were indeed still in use. The hinged strap and buckle fittings seem to be gone, but there are thin brass plates, often with decorated edges, around various slots and holes all over the armor, as well as brass edgings on some parts.” So Robinson was right on the “strengthened” part—the Newstead definitely looks to be more robust than the Corbridge cuirass, with bigger hinges and stronger hook-and-loop connections in place of the old strap and buckles. As far as “simpler” goes, the Newstead looks like it requires about the same amount of time and skill to assemble as the earlier Corbridge types, if not more.
The Stillfried girdle plates seem to show that a new method of fastening the left and right sections was employed. On the Corbridge cuirass (and on Robinson’s version of the Newstead), leather lacing was passed through loops attached to either plate and tied with a bow. The Stillfried find indicates at least one type of Newstead cuirass used rectangular, brass-lined slots on one side of the girdle plates, which fitted precisely over little horizontal brass loops on the other side, and that the plates were secured together with a doohicky much like a modern cotter pin. Presto—no more fussing with laces or worrying that a sword slash might expose your midriff! On the downside, though, this would seem to make for a much more rigid middle section. And if a legionary had a bit too much to eat for breakfast, there was no way to “let out the lacings” in his cuirass…
This brings up another point, or rather requires us to revisit an old one. I’ve always thought it unusual that many of the loricae worn by the legionaries on Trajan’s Column seem to show this very type of fastening system for the girdle plates. Particularly when seen from the back, many of the cuirasses show one set of plates overlapping the other, with a little rectangular slot on each plate—no loops or laces. So… could at least some of the cuirasses on Trajan’s Column be of the Newstead variety after all?
Legio VI plans to use Mike Bishop’s latest pattern, modified where necessary, to produce its versions of Newstead lorica segmentatae. We will thus become the first legionary reenactment unit to be so fitted out, and in so doing, will contribute to the body of knowledge on how Newstead-equipped legionaries fought and functioned in the field.
A TASTE OF ANCIENT ROME
Recipes from Apicius as interpreted by Drusus Caelius Salto (Doug Kihn)
Roman Fish Knish
Here's a personal favorite of mine that has received rave reviews [most recently at the Ides of march party—ed]:
2.5 lbs of fish pieces (small "whitebait" is preferred, but any ocean fish will do) 2 large leeks, chopped 1 cup cabbage, chopped Olive oil, 6 tbs Anchovies, 1 small tin Dry white wine, 6 tbs Pepper, oregano, parsley, generous amounts Eggs, beaten, 10 Ricotta cheese, 1 tub Water as needed
Put the fish and vegetables in a pan just large enough to hold them. Add the wine and water, enough to almost cover the fish and vegetables.
Mash all the other ingredients together and add a little liquid from the pan. When the fish and vegetables are almost done, add the mixture. Brown on both sides. Serve with sprinkled pepper on top.
Enjoy!
ROMAN REENACTOR MACELLUM, by Flavius Crispus
What’s new and good (and not so good) on the Roman militaria scene.
Albion’s New Website: Albion Armorers, a Wisconsin-based firm which has rapidly risen to become the Roman re-enactor’s best friend, has recently revamped its website. You can visit it at http://www.albionarmorers.com.
Albion offers the more accurate helmets made by the Deepeeka group of India (in fact Albion, along with Dan Peterson and Matt Amt, was instrumental in getting Deepeeka to upgrade its gear to make it re-enactment quality), a very decent Corbridge A lorica segmentata by International Steelcrafts of India, plus a line of very nicely made custom swords and accoutrements. Their swords—Mainz, Fulham and Pompeii-style gladii and a couple of spathae-- are marvelous to behold and wield, but on the expensive side ($400 and up), and the price does NOT include a scabbard.
The new Albion website is fairly easy to navigate, although the weapons section is a bit confusing—rather than simply giving a list of products offered, you first have to choose between the “Albion Mark Forged Line,” the “Albion Mark Hand Made Collection,” the “Peter Johnsson Collection,” the “Albion Del Tin Collection,” and “Del Tin Antiche.” Whoa, man, I don’t know Peter Johnsson from Del Tin from Albion Mark. I’m just lookin’ for a good Roman sword, know what I mean?
An interesting aside is that Albion apparently intends to publish a quarterly print magazine called Warrior/Film Swords. The cover of one of the editions pictured on the site is headlined “Roman Reenactment: Special Issue.” Don’t know about you, but I sure want a copy! The “subscribe now” number is 1-888-806 HELM.
Museum Replicas: I have to admit having a soft spot for this Atlanta-based outfit—after all, they were really the first company to offer any kind of quasi-replica Roman arms and armor for mass consumption in the United States. Of course, their early stuff seems laughably farby now. The problem is, most of the stuff they continue to offer is laughably farby—and now they have no excuses.
A case in point is their new catalog, which arrived in my mailbox with a thud last week. It’s a big, glitzy production with lots of nice color photos and quasi-scholarly write-ups. Three whole pages are devoted to Roman-gear, one of them for a new line of gladiatorial hardware (perhaps inspired by a certain movie a couple of us may have seen).
Most of the old, awful stuff is back, including the clunky sorta Newstead cuirass, the “Roman troopers helmet” now making a regular appearance on ebay, with the soldered-on eyebrows and the smooth lobster tail neckguard that bears only a superficial resemblance to anything the Romans produced. In addition, though, they now offer a “Crested Roman Officer’s Helm” which appears to be a fairly accurate Imperial Gallic G or H in brass, but with a humungous metal post about as thick as a lipstick tube fixing the transverse red horsehair crest to the helmet. See what I mean? Why go through all the trouble of making a fairly accurate helmet, only to screw with up with such a ridiculous crest attachment. Anyway, the whole rig is made by Museum Replica’s standard Indian contractor, Windlass Steelcrafts (which has been around a long time but has obviously been leapfrogged by Deepeeka when it comes to accuracy and price), and costs $361.95 plus shipping.
Even more hilarious, from the standpoint of sloppy scholarship, is another new offering: the “Imperial Gallic-type H Helmet.” This is another Windless Steelcrafts product which ought to look very familiar to a couple of us Legio VI members—standard Imperial-type form, steel cross-braces over the top, crescent-shaped brass appliqués—hey, wait a minute, isn’t this an Imperial Italic G helm? Uh, yes, it is. So why are they calling it an “Imperial Gallic-type H,” which it resembles not a bit?
Anyway, the helmet, which doesn’t look too bad from the accuracy standpoint (except for what looks like a flat, adonized finish) sells for $225 plus $10.95 shipping and handling. Not too horrible, compared to the $275 Albion charges for their unlined Italic G helm (Roman Legion Quartermaster charges $205 for the same thing), but since that Deepeeka product is more of a known quantity, and Windlass’ products are uneven at best, I’d stick with Deepeeka for now.
The gladiator gear I won’t comment on, except to note that the kinda neat-looking “manica” arm covering, which might have been a useful piece of legionary gear, is a fairly farby kludge, with a mail section at the elbow.
The one decent value Museum Replicas continues to offer is their standard “Butted Mail Shirt,” a hip-and-shoulder length hauberk that can easily be modified into a proper Roman lorica hamata. MR has goosed the price up to $250, plus $21.95 shipping and handling (which seems excessive, though the thing IS heavy at 23 lbs); I bought mine two years ago for $195 plus shipping.
In addition, they’ve added a couple of other items to their mail shirt line—a “brass plated mail shirt” for $306, a “flattened ring mail shirt” for $350, and a riveted mail shirt for $709.95. Now I try to give Museum Replicas a break, I really do, but this kind of offering is enough to make you smite your head with the flat of a gladius. “Brass plated”? Can you imagine how that’s going to look after the plating starts to wear off (which it certainly will with only light use)? Why not just make a shirt of brass rings? “Flattened rings” would look great—except they’re galvanized! Likewise the riveted mail shirt! Why go through all the trouble of making an “authentic” riveted mail shirt—then destroy the whole effect by galvanizing it? Sigh. |
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