AD SIGNA!
To The Standards!
The Publication of the Sixth Legion Victrix.
QUARTERLY EDITION - Winter AD 2003 / AUC 2756
Volume II, no. IIII.
Editor’s Note: Welcome to the fifth expanded issue of Ad Signa (“To the
Standards!”), the publication of Legio VI Victrix. The Quarterly Edition,
which features a calendar of upcoming events, recaps of past events,
articles, reviews and special features, is published between two and four
times per year in conjunction with our regular, monthly short-form edition.
This expanded edition reviews what has been, by far, the busiest season in
Legio VI’s brief existence. Enjoy!
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS
2003
December 12-14 (Friday-Sunday) - Recreation of Ancient Bethlehem. A
Westlake Presbyterian Church has asked us to provide a Roman presence at its
Christmas season Bethlehem recreation (we would play a belligerent occupying
power, of course). This is an evening drive through vignette arrangement that
culminates in a nativity scene. About 200 costumed performers operate the
miniature village in character and interact with the audience. The Romans serve
as a police force, tax collectors and census takers. This looks to be a paying
gig. Details will follow in the December edition, or contact the Centurio.
December 13 (Saturday) - Fabricum at the home of Gaius Manlius Magnus in
Stevenson Ranch. 11 AM until 5 PM. The address is 25722 West Hammet Circle,
Stevenson Ranch, CA. To get here, take Interstate 5 north to the Santa Clarita
Valley (where Magic Mountain is) and exit McBean Pkwy. Go left to Hemingway Ave
and make a right. Make another right on Webster Place and another immediately
onto Wordsworth. From there the only way to go is to make a left onto W. Hammet
Cir. Go to 25722 W. Hammet and look for the open garage with the red vexilum out
front.
December 13 (Saturday) - Annual Saturnalia celebration. This year’s
Saturnalia will be held in conjunction with the SCA Barony of Altavia. They’re
doing their Yule observance this year as a Roman Holiday and asked us to join
them, to share the season and to add some seasoned “Roman-ness” to their event.
The event is Pot Luck, with a preference for Roman dishes. Who’s bringing the
dormice in garum? Roman clothing is strongly encouraged, of course. Armor or
“Off Duty” for the milites. Spouses, dates, and children are welcome. The
location is the Schuyler House in Burbank, contact the Centurio for directions
or stay tuned for details in the December brief addition of Ad Signa.
December 28 (Sunday) - Monthly fitness hike. Time and location TBA, check
the Yahoo group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/legiovi .
2004
January 10 (Saturday)- Legion Six Historical Foundation Annual Meeting at
2 PM in the home of Gaius Manlius Magnus in Stevenson Ranch. Directions are
above in the December 13 Fabricum notice. The house will open at 1 p.m. for
socializing and to meet any new attendees, who are welcome to come. We will seek
to wrap up by 6 or 7 p.m. and will retire to a purely social meal at a nearby
restaurant of some type. Please dress casually and bring snacks and note taking
supplies. An agenda will follow in the December Ad Signa. Agenda submissions
should be sent to the Centurio at
caiusman@earthlink.net
no later than the December 5th.
January-February - Film shoot for the History Channel. This time, we go
Greek, recreating the Macedonian phalanx of Alexander the Great. Details are
being worked out and equipment is being assembled as you read this. More
information will be forthcoming as it becomes available.
February - Our target date for completing the second century impressions
for sake of a photo shoot. We want to get some completely period photos of our
unit for sake of improving the website and for use in promotional and
educational literature.
March-Early April - Film shoot for the Discovery Channel. More Greek, but
much earlier—Bronze Age, even! Trojans versus Greeks, as in Achilles, Agamemnon,
Paris, Helen and the like. Again, more information when we nail it down.
April and May (Weekends) - Koronaburg Crossroads Renaissance Festival.
We’re in negotiations to build a permanent fort at this six weekend long event.
Stay tuned.
July 5-7 (Friday-Sunday) - Old Fort MacArthur Days, Fort MacArthur
Museum, San Pedro, CA. The biggest multi-period military timeline event on the
West Coast. We have already put in a request for a much expanded encampment for
next year, and will establish a checklist of needed items. The Centurio talked
to Lou Lopez, the event coordinator, at Marching Through History and began
discussions about our site. We may be allowed to dig an entrenched marching camp
this year!
REPORT FROM THE CENTURION
By G. Manlius Magnus
Avete Omnes!
What an exciting time to be a Legionary. We’ve had an incredible year. And the
end of the year is resulting in so much interest for next year that we’ll nearly
have the option to be Roman every weekend. We’ve been invited to so many events
next year we’re going to have to turn
some down. Not bad for an ancient period group only a couple of years old.
We’re also in negotiations with two production companies for our use in
documentary projects thanks to our professionalism and polished image on
shows like “Conquest” and “Mail Call.”
This year, we have had the good fortune and pleasure of sharing a number of
events with the good people of Queen Mebd’s Encampment, Inc., a local group of
early Celts. While the focus of their encampment is more geared to the
recounting of Irish and proto Scottish folk heroes and their stories than solid
history, their hearts are definitely in the right place. I have rarely seen or
worked with a more dedicated group of educators. The
knowledge contained in each of their membership regarding the tales and oral
histories of their impressions is simply astounding. We heartily look forward to
further collaboration with Kate and her organization.
Our non-profit public benefit corporation status is proceeding well. We’ve got a
Federal Employer Identification number now and a corresponding tax account. The
Legion Six Historical Foundation, Inc. is a registered California Public Benefit
Corporation and our Federal Tax exempt status is
pending, but in no doubt. The next step is to start the preliminary trolling for
grants. Having a substantial grant or donation would be the next major
springboard for our educational outreach. We could build an accurate castra or
insula reproduction as a study and teaching aid. Or, we could build the ballista
we all want to see.
There are also the brass tacks requirements that we need to accomplish, like a
storage and transport trailer for the Legion’s ever-expanding
encampment props and pila range equipment. Or the assembly of a mobile kitchen
to provide more cohesive and period accurate meals at events.
As always, there are dozens of side projects keeping us all busy too. My own
lorica squamata project is plodding along. At least five of our members are in
active production of Newstead loricas. Our auxiliaries are working on a number
of archery impressions. Our Medicus is making a go at forging bronze surgical
instruments. Tents are to be ordered for the contruburnia and the principa. And,
Flavius and I are debating reconstruction of the 12th century BC
Dendra panopoly as part of our timeline display for schools and camps. It could
plausibly be the “armor of Aeneas,” hero of the Roman cultural epic the Aenid.
It’s almost too much to recount in this humble journal. And that’s doubly true
with only Flavius and I involved in its production. Please feel free
to send in articles to add to our endeavor. You will be fully credited and will
help us to publish on time.
Si vales valeo,
Gaius Manlius Magnus
Centurio Principes Prior Cohors I Legio VI Victrix Pia Fidelis Castra
Eboracum
AFTER ACTION REPORTS
”Conquest” Film shoot,
June 27-July 1, 2003
By T. Flavius Crispus
In June of this year, Legio VI was invited by producer Brian Thompson of to
participate in the shooting of two episodes the History Channel TV series
”Conquest,” starring Peter Woodward. Peter, an English actor whose credits
include “The Patriot,” also happens to be a formidable expert on weapons and
armor of all ages. Our two episodes examined both Roman and Barbarian weapons,
armor and fighting tactics in-depth.
The four-day shoot took place at Sable Ranch in the Santa Clarita Valley under a
blazing sun. One of our number, Praetor Gaius Darius Valerianus
(Gil Whitley), served as a “ringer” on Peter’s six-man Conquest team as they
learned the basics of Roman war fighting, marching long distances in
heavy kit, digging entrenchments, employing the various weapons, etc. At a key
point in the team’s training, 10 members of Legio VI marched in and took charge.
Acting Centurio T. Flavius took the combined formation through a tough series of
marching drills, culminating in the formation of a 16-man testudo
(tortoise). We also performed several attack scenarios ad expeditio (without
body armor), perfecting the technique of accurately throwing pila by ranks,
closing in at double-time, drawing swords, and charging the “enemy” (actually, a
stand of hay bales). On succeeding days, we engaged in several hard-fought
battles with our Celtic brethren of Queen Mebd’s Encampment, employing actual
pila, steel weapons, darts and arrows (OK, these last items had leather or
rubber points, but they still hurt when they hit!).
Throughout, Peter Woodward proved a knowledgeable, gracious, and hard-working
host, even running water up the steep hill to legionaries
sweating buckets in the 95-degree heat. Quietus Germanicus (Jeff Lutz) of Legio
X Fretensis joined us for two days, enabling us to field 10
legionaries on Saturday and 12 on Sunday, our biggest turnout to date. All in
all, this was a fantastic week’s work for all concerned, and our
knowledge of Roman weaponry and fighting techniques was enhanced immeasurably.
We ended up acquiring several new members and the use of a considerable stash of
loaner equipment, not to mention having the pleasure of watching ourselves
perform brilliantly in the two episodes, which aired in late August and
September. The full story of our “Conquest” experience is told in a 60-image
photo essay on our website,
www.legionsix.org.
Old Fort Macarthur Days
July 5-6, 2003
By T. Flavius Crispus
The weekend following the Conquest shoot, Legio VI put in its annual appearance
at this excellent military timeline event held at Fort MacArthur
military museum in San Pedro. The days leading up to the event were crammed with
feverish preparations at Gil Whitley’s garage workshop (with Gil putting in most
of the labor), including the painting of at least eight new scuta, completion of
several sets of armor, and a whole bunch of spanking new pila.
We erected a full encampment, utilizing Leonidas’ A-frame tent, our homemade
contuburnium tent, a heavy-duty practice post, a pilum range, and
a sacred precinct centered on an impressive (and heavy) legionary altar
constructed by our own Diogenes Draconius Syracusius (Arik Greenberg). We
marched out in the opening parade on Saturday with 11 legionaries in full kit;
by Sunday, our ranks had grown to 14, a seven-fold increase over our 2002
presence! We played host to hundreds of spectators both days, the pilum range
and practice post proving particularly popular. Saturday evening, we gathered
around our flaming tripod brazier to dine, drink, swap stories and read passages
from the Aenid. Very moving! After Sunday’s march-out, we joined Legio IX
Hispana to form a 20-man testudo. The 25 soldiers we were able to field between
Legios VI and IX over both days (two members of NorCal’s Legio X Fretensis did
double duty, switching between Legios IX and VI on alternating days) was a
record for Roman soldiers at a timeline event in the USA.
We picked up several new members as a result of Fort Mac,
most of whom have proven very committed and turned out with us at subsequent
events. We’ve set our sights on even bigger things next year for what will
probably always be the central event on our calendar.
Long Beach Renaissance Arts Festival
August 23-24, 2003
By T. Flavius Crispus
Here, we joined Queen Mebd’s Encampment for a weekend’s fun and frolic (along
with our usual compliment of drill and education). Again, we set up our full
encampment, complete with altar and practice post. Led by our Prefect, Julius
Avisianus (J. D. Fiegelson), ably assisted by flamen
Diogenes Draconius Syracusius (Arik Greenberg), we performed a morning service
honoring Jupiter Optimus Maximus and our beloved emperor, Hadrianus Augustus.
Queen Mebd and her retinue joined us for these proceedings, and we reciprocated
by attending oblations honoring her Celtic gods and the deity of the Christian
folk among them. A particularly moving part of this service involved special
prayers for the strength and health of an ailing member of Queen Mebd’s clan,
longtime Celtic stalwart Fergus (who remains in all of our prayers).
Legio VI fielded eight legionaries (including two members
recruited at Fort Mac), along with our lone civilian, the lovely Ioanna Prima,
over the two days and gained quite a few admiring looks during our frequent
marches around the site and sparring sessions in the central arena. We also
gained one highly committed new member and made numerous contacts. Our presence
proved so popular that the organizers of the festival made a point of asking us
to return next year! Overall, we experienced a relaxing and highly enjoyable
weekend.
Las Vegas Age Of Chivalry Faire
September 7-8, 2003
By G. Manlius Magnus
Our Long Beach experience was repeated two weeks later in the blazing desert of
Las Vegas, where once again we joined Queen Mebd’s Encampment in forming an
“ancient British” enclave in the midst of the “Renaissance.” This turned out to
be a huge event, covering about 40 acres of densely packed encampments and
merchants. Four of our number made the long journey, where they were joined by
the commander of our sister unit, Legio II Trajana, based in Las Vegas. There
was even a member of Legio XXIV Media Atlanta who dropped by the encampment and
offered his services and those of another young milite when we campaign in the
spring. We also met a group of theatrical Gladiators doing a stage show at the
event. Their hearts were in Rome, even though their equipment was straight from
Hollywood.
We made an excellent impression as a group here and had
guests and participants from all over the site practically begging for history
lessons and equipment demonstrations. We began the Empire’s ambassadorial
relations with the royal courts of England and Scotland in this new and unusual
time. Again, an enjoyable weekend that cemented old friendships and forged new
ones.
Marching Through History Exposition
November 15, 2003
By T. Flavius Crispus
Legio VI had the honor of being the first pre-Revolutionary War reenactment unit
invited to attend the Marching Through History military timeline
event, held at Lake Prado Regional Park in Chino. Familial and other commitments
limited our participation to a single day (Saturday), but we
still fielded seven legionaries and set up an impressive encampment nonetheless.
Again, Ioanna showed up in her stola and made a great
impression as Prefect Julius’ escort. Dozens of spectators (and many fellow
reenactors portraying other eras) donned lorica segmentata and helmet, and took
turns thrusting at our practice post with a rudius (wooden sword), leaving it
nicely notched up by day’s end. Again, the pilum range proved popular with the
crowd.
Late Saturday afternoon, six legionaries performed an
impressive tactical demonstration, culminating in a full pilum-and-gladius
attack on a row of hay bale enemies (similar to the drills we ran through for
“Conquest”). We topped it off with a charge at the assembled spectators, despite
having to dodge an unexpected mortar attack from the Great War Society
Doughboys. The finale was a demonstration by Postumus Decimus Scaevola (Ron
Glass) and Varius Trajanus (Trevor Magson) of the murderous Dacian falx against
a perfectly innocent gourd (carved up to look like a human head). Our presence
seemed highly popular with attendees and participants alike. We are highly
honored by our invitation to set up at Marching Through History and look forward
to making this a central event on our yearly schedule.
Dr. Fales Documentary Project
By T. Flavius Crispus
Throughout the year, Legio VI has participated in the filming of Dr. Richard
Fales’ documentary, “The Eagle, the Cross and the Tomb.” Dr. Fales
is a noted expert on Biblical archaeology, a founding member of the Biblical
Archaeological Society of America, and an expert on the Roman
military. When completed, his hour-long program will trace the Roman legions’
presence in Judaea from their arrival under Pompey the Great in 63
BC, focusing on the lifetime of Christ, through the destruction of Jerusalem by
Titus in AD 70. Dr. Fales has done some impressive things with our footage so
far and we can’t wait to see the finished product.
Monthly Hikes
By T. Flavius Crispus
Thanks primarily to the diligence of our fitness coordinator, Drusus Caelius
Salto (Doug Kihn), Legio VI has kept up a rigorous regimen of
monthly fitness hikes in full kit. Most of these hikes have taken place at
Griffith Park, which offers a wide range of scenic trails. A notable
departure was our August “Beach Hike,” which took us from Santa Monica to Venice
Beach and gave us the opportunity to test out our gear in and around the salt
water / sand condition one might encounter in an amphibious landing. One note:
Enclosed shoes (calceae) tend to get filled with water and sand quite readily,
resulting in an uncomfortable, mushy tread, unless one provides drainage holes
along the soles. Good old caligae, on the other hand, dry out remarkably
quickly. The natives proved quite friendly, and we hope to repeat this as an
annual event.
THE HANDBOOK PROJECT
Articles from the forthcoming revised legionary’s handbook
In the next several issues of Ad Signa, we will present updated versions of
sections of our impression handbooks that will be of interest to anyone
interested in reenacting Imperial Rome in the reign of Hadrian. Basics like
clothing, naming conventions and daily salutation will be covered to help
with impression building for new, veteran and prospective Romans alike. Without
further ado:
TUNICA
By G. Manlius Magnus
This is the single most common garment in the ancient world. Nearly every
citizen, slave, or other resident of the Roman Empire, or many surrounding
nations, would wear some form of this very basic clothing. Senators and
businessmen wore them under their Togas, slaves wore them to work, and women
wore longer versions of them. And, of course every soldier wore one, of a very
specific type that will be discussed below.
The Roman mindset rejected tailored or fitted clothing as “barbaric,” preferring
to wrap cloth about themselves in artful folds and drapes. Likewise, leg
coverings were traditionally eschewed as “feminine” and barbaric, since women’s
garments were ankle length and the Celtic and
German tribal hordes wore trousers. Thus the ubiquitous bodily covering of Roman
culture was a large, untailored shirt long enough to cover only part of the legs
when belted up to blouse about the waist. For women, the same applied, except
that the length was such that with extensive folds and draping it would fall to
the ankle.
Blousing the tunic up is achieved via the use of a simple linen or wool strip
used as a belt to hold the folds. It appears that the concept of a
leather belt with a clasp or buckle was reserved for soldiers, who used them
decoratively and would likely still have used a cord for hitching up tunics
under armor. Exact size and extent of the blousing would depend upon the status
and occupation of the wearer. It seems likely that finer materials and more of
it would be a natural display of wealth, as it is in most cultures. However, at
various periods the
Romans regarded such displays as pompous and unmanly; sumptuary laws were even
passed to restrict the wearing of fine and / or richly decorated fabrics. The
mere fact that these laws were passed at regular intervals indicates they had
little or no effect on those wealthy enough to afford such garments.
We know that soldier’s tunics were worn fairly short, ending above the knee or part way up the large muscles of the thigh. This was to facilitate freedom of movement in combat and manual labor. The same or similar size can be construed for most professions requiring regular activity. We also believe that tunics were worn fairly long, to mid calf or so, with the Toga. Though too much length, and the wearer is unable to handle biological disposal chores without assistance or dropping the Toga.
The material for a tunic can be nearly any found within the Empire, though wool
is the most common by far. Linen was available throughout the Empire as well as
was cotton or raw silk for those who could afford Egyptian or Indian imports.
Twills and simple woven patterns were common, as were vertical stripes called
clavii. Clavii were usually woven into the fabric as it was being made, but may
also have been dyed into the finished garment or added via petit point or
embroidery. These stripes ran vertically from the shoulders, at the edges of the
neck hole, to the hem front and back. It was a sign of distinction, and a point
of law, that Senators were allowed to wear palm-wide clavii of purple and that
members of the Equestrian rank could wear a stripe two fingers wide.
Aside from the limitations on purple dye, the tunic of a civilian in the Empire
could be any color for which a dye existed, with clavii of
contrasting or complimentary color. For this, common sense will again need to be
exercised, along with old-fashioned research. Determining what dyes were
available to the Roman textile trade is a doctoral thesis in its own right. Thus
the re-enactor is forced to make educated guesses as to weather a specific color
is authentic, and weather the audience will perceive it as such. Brick or blood
red can be obtained from iron oxides or a number of plant bases, like madder
root. Brilliant “Cardinal” red was obtained in the fourteenth century by letting
a specific species of beetle run about on the fabric and squishing it in the
right place to make a tiny dot of bright red. Twenty thousand beetles later,
you’d have one fast fading, light sensitive Cardinal’s robe. Obviously, one dye
is within the grasp of the masses and one should be reserved for the Curia
Hostila in Roma Mater.
The Romans regarded white clothing with some ceremony. As
white was considered a color of purity or cleanliness, it is often associated
with religious ceremonies and events of governmental concern. Candidates for
political office did their campaigning in tunics and togas that had been rubbed
with chalk to present an image of stark whiteness and “purity” (in fact the term
“candidate” derives from the Latin candidati—one dressed in a pure white
garment). This sort of packaging and image control once again demonstrates that
modern politics are descended from the Roman example. There are arguments for
the existence of undertunics, though little documentation from the period.
Julius Caesar’s great enemy Cato made a point of going about in a toga with no
tunic underneath, in the manner of the “good old days.” That Cato was regarded
as an extreme reactionary indicates almost no one followed his example. Wearing
an undertunic for comfort is certainly reasonable in cold situations or where
wool allergies are present. Such a tunic should be un-dyed or natural linen and
in all other respects just like a top tunic. Wearing just the linen tunic in
very hot weather or for sports would be occasionally acceptable to avoid
overheating.
Soldiers’ Tunica The tunica of Roman Legionaries and Auxiliaries require some
special notes. The size of these tunics is, as noted, somewhat smaller than
their civilian counterparts. The width should be about the distance between the
wearer’s triceps bases with outstretched arms, and the length should come just
below the kneecap when un-corded. Short sleeves were common amongst Auxilla and
equally rare among Legionaries.
Soldiers’ tunics should be of fairly coarse wool, but need not be blanket weight
or “homespun” in quality. Even soldiers could afford well-loomed
fabric light enough to resist heat fatigue. Linen undertunics are acceptable and
usable alone in extreme heat situations. Embroidery should
be fairly limited or non-existent on most soldiers’ garments, and clavii should
generally not be used under armor (although by the mid-second century, a
soldier’s off-duty tunic would likely have had clavii).
The issue of the color of legionary tunics is one of the most intensely debated issues in the world of Roman study. The topic is addressed at length in Graham Sumner’s recent books Roman Military Clothing Vols. 1 and 2 (Osprey, 2002 and 2003). After presenting reams of often contradictory evidence, Sumner suggests that soldiers possessed at least two tunics—one for wear under armor, at least one other for everyday wear, and possibly more for formal occasions. The everyday tunics were likely white or off-white, while the under-armor tunic was possibly a shade of red. Special units such as the Marines and Praetorian Guard may have adopted other colors (Sumner suggests blue for the Marines, as stated by Vegetius, and green for the Praetorians, based on a wall painting from Nero’s Golden House). As uncertain as that sounds, it is the best we can do for the moment.
After our own extensive debate and study on this topic,
the Senate of Legion Six has decided to follow Sumner’s lead— namely, that
legionaries in our group will wear brick or wine-red wool tunics under armor,
and natural off-white wool or linen tunics (possibly with clavii) for work
details, off-duty and ceremonial purposes. This is, of course open to later
modification if archeologists uncover a centuria of legionaries frozen in the
Alps or some other solid evidence to the contrary. For our Auxiliary infantry or
mounted infantry who portray the Cohors I Vardullorum Millaria, our primary
Auxiliary unit, dark primary blue tunics based on a woad dye are the standard.
Sleeves that run to just below the elbow are preferred, but not required, on
tunic bodies the same size as the Legionary ones.
How Tunica were made
The basic garment is made of two rectangles of cloth sewn
or pinned together along the sides and across the top. These should be wide
enough
and long enough to be bloused appropriately for your intended impression when
belted with a fabric cord. Between 28” and 42” in width and between 30” and 48”
long as a rule of thumb for men and up to 80” long for women. If desired, short
sleeves about 6” long and 12” high may be incorporated, but sleeveless tunics
appear to have been more common in the early Empire.
Round necklines are known, but apparently the usual neck hole was a slit about
20” long, made simply by leaving most of the shoulder seam unsown. For heavy
work the right arm can be slipped through this neck slit. To close up the neck
slit so that the tunic will stay on your shoulders, gather a “knot” of slack
fabric at the back of the neck and tie a cord or thong around it. Or, just pin
the slit shut with a couple of fibulae, the Roman style safety pin, which will
be discussed in the Jewelry article.
Alternately, women’s tunica can have the whole top seam be made of knots or pins
in order to produce a scalloped effect across the shoulders.
Sewing a tunic is very simple, and knowing how it should be done will assist
with purchasing a correct one if you don’t wish to make your own.
Pre-wash your fabrics, hot wash/cold rinse/machine dry for linen, cold wash
gentle/cold rinse/line dry for wool. Iron well. Place the front and back
panels together inside out, sew the sides and top, and then turn right side out.
We generally machine sew the seams and do the hems by hand, but doing the whole
thing by hand is certainly a worthy option. Running stitches (in-and-out) are
fine for seams and hems. For hems on linen especially, it is best to turn under
a very narrow strip of edge to hide the cut edge completely before stitching.
Iron these folds down before you stitch, to make hemming much easier. Linen
unravels easily, so if the cut edges inside a linen tunic are whip stitched or
machine zigzagged, the finished garment
can be machine washed when dirty in warm or cold water. Otherwise, and for wool
tunics, simply squish into a bucket of cool, soapy water, let sit a while, then
rinse and line dry. The Romans used the ammonia in urine and sulfur smoke to
bleach white clothing!
Sources
In the event that you do not wish to make your own, the most obvious place for a
Legion Six participant to obtain a tunica is to contact our textrix,
Ioanna, and have her custom make it. If you wish to buy one online, we like the
wool ones from
www.lawrensnest.com,
if you specify them with unstitched hems so that these can be hand sewn latter.
To get materials to make your own, you can cruise your local fabric store in the
fall or winter and select from their 100% wools, but be cautious of colors.
There are also several stores in the Garment district in downtown Los Angeles
that specialize in wool and 100% linen materials. To hunt material online try
http://store.yahoo.com/phoenixtextiles/ and point to their Woolens
page and their 100% Linen page.
ARMS AND THE MAN
The Bishop-Model Newstead: A Progress Report
By T. Flavius Crispus
This year, 2003, has seen the completion of Legio VI’s first three Newstead-type
lorica segmentatae fully in keeping with the latest
archaeological research, primarily by M.C. Bishop in England. As these are the
first three cuirasses built to this pattern anywhere in the world, Legio VI’s
experience with this price of equipment is of considerable scholarly interest.
This article is a preliminary report on our experience
with the Newstead; a more thorough treatment, with contributions from several
re-enactors, will be included in a future edition.
There are many major differences between the venerable H. Russell Robinson
reconstruction of the Newstead, which has been widely reproduced over the past
two decades, and the M. C. Bishop model, as detailed in his book "Lorica
Segmentata Vol. 1: A Handbook of Articulated Roman Plate Armor.” From the scanty
archaeological finds available ca. 1970, Robinson envisioned a greatly
simplified cuirass, without the hinges, brass tie loops and decorative bosses
found on the earlier Corbridge models. Important finds in subsequent years,
particularly a complete girdle section
from Stillfried, Austria, have added considerably to the knowledge base
available to Robinson. Bishop’s new model incorporates these new finds, and
reveals the Newstead to be at least as complex as, but well as far more robust
than, the older Corbridge. It utilizes large hinges to hold the collar section
and upper shoulder guards together, a turnkey system to hold the upper left and
right collar sections together, brass hooks and eyelets to hold the collar
section to the girdle section, and an entirely new system of closing the girth
hoops utilizing cast loops on one set of girth hoops
which fit through brass-rimmed slots on the other set, held in place by a brass
“split pin.” While an obvious improvement on Robinson’s foundational
reconstruction, Dr. Bishop’s work raised some questions. For example, on first
glance, the new girth hoop closures seem likely to result in a very rigid girdle
section and make it virtually impossible for a soldier to don the cuirass
without help from an “arming buddy.” Would these factors make the cuirass
difficult to put on and / or uncomfortable to wear? Only a full-scale
reconstruction could answer this and other questions.
Arik Greenberg (aka Darius Draconius Syracusius) completed the first of Legio
VI’s new Newsteads in April of this year. His girdle section was
based on Bishop’s original drawings, which were in turn copied from a set of
plates comprising one half of a girdle section found at Zugmantel,
Germany. This consisted of six curved plates, all getting slightly larger as
they descended, culminating in a bottom plate about twice the width of
the top one. Details of Arik’s construction of his Newstead can be found in his
excellent article in the Spring edition of Ad Signa (and destined for
the scholarly journal ARMA), now permanently posted on the Leg VI website under
the “Equipment” heading.
Arik’s first attempts at donning his Newstead cuirass proved a little daunting.
Getting the two sides of the cuirass onto his body, then
overlapping the turning pins on the upper section and the tie-loops over their
corresponding slots on the girth section, required several minutes of exacting
effort from Arik and at least one companion. The girdle section provided the
biggest challenge, as the natural tension of the metal and the
tightness of the overlap between the upper and lower plates made for a lot of
frustration. Once the loops were all fitted into their correct slots and the
split pins inserted into the loops, however, Arik reported that the armor felt
fully flexible, functional and even comfortable. He was even able to bend over
at the waste and touch his toes.
The advantages over the older Corbridge-style cuirass, held together with
leather straps, buckles and ties, were immediately apparent. Despite its
flexibility, the Newstead has a much more solid, robust “feel” than the
Corbridge. Once inside it, there is very little shifting of the plates
relative to one another, and the overlap of the girdle section makes it
particularly resistant to blunt force or penetrating blows. The use of turn
keys, hooks, and the new girth-fastening system meant there were no leather
straps or ties vulnerable to slashing, cutting or snapping under the stress of
hand-to-hand combat. However, balanced against this was the apparent difficulty
in putting on the Newstead relative to the Corbridge, which can be laced up in
the back, then pulled on like a vest and quickly laced up the front. Although
having an army buddy helps speed things along, a Corbridge can also be donned
with no outside help.
As time went on, Arik and his helpers became much more adept at donning and
removing his Newstead, cutting the required time to around 2-4 minutes.
Experienced Roman soldiers, who must have put on their cuirasses daily, often
during strenuous pre-combat conditions, no doubt became even more expert at the
process and cut the time down further. Still, the inability for Arik to put on
his cuirass without substantial outside help left us all wondering if there was
some other factor or technique relative to the Newstead that we had yet to
discover.
Legio VI member Jeff Bielor (Caius Marius Saturnius) completed his Newstead
cuirass in September of this year. His upper section was
fundamentally the same as Arik’s, however, his girth section was modeled on the
Stillfried girth section, which employed seven girth hoops of the same
width, instead of steadily increasing in size as on the Zugmantel find. The
result was a notable improvement in the ease of donning the cuirass,
particularly the girth section. With plates all the same width, it proved
much easier to overlap the ends and fit the brass loop on one side into its
corresponding slot on the other. Still, Jeff required an arming buddy to
help him put his cuirass on. Did the Romans simply accept this as a
limitation with the Newstead type, or did they consider it a limitation at
all? After all, in legionary camp, there were plenty of helping hands
available from among a soldier’s tent-mates.
I completed my own Newstead conversion early in November. I had actually
started with an already finished cuirass made by Blacksword Armory to the
old H.R. Robinson model Newstead. Since this already fitted my body rather
closely, I used it as a prototype to determine whether it was feasible to
turn the old Robinson Newstead into a more accurate Bishop model. I undertook the work in two phases, first disassembling the old
riveted-together collar section and reassembling it with all the proper
hinges and turnkeys in place. I wore the corrected upper section along with
the old lace-up girth hoops for a few months as sort of a “Bishop-Robinson
hybrid” before tackling the girdle section in October.
The girdle section was already midway between the Zugmantel and Stillfriend
plates, with five sets of plates of the same width and a double-width
bottom plate. Just to add a little more variety to our look, I based my
girdle section on a single plate found at Iza, Bulgaria, in which the
entire end of the slotted “female” iron girth hoop was covered by a brass
plate (versus smaller rectangular brass plates surrounding the slots of the
Stillfried find).
Upon completion of my girth section late one night, I was faced with the
prospect of trying to put on my completed cuirass without the skilled help of
any of my
fellow soldiers, who had gained plenty of experience helping Arik and Jeff
into and out of their cuirasses. I was excited by having a finished product and
certainly didn’t want to wait until help became available. I remembered an idea
suggested by Dr.
Bishop in his book that most re-enactors had dismissed out of
hand—that is, that the cuirass might be put on over the head in the same
fashion of a mail shirt. It seemed a far-fetched notion that a rigid armor
cuirass could be donned in the same fashion as a flexible mail shirt, but
it was worth a try.
I fastened the back of the cuirass up on a bench, slipping turnkeys through
slots on the collar section and slots over hoops on the girdle section,
inserted the split pins into the turnkeys and hoops. To provide a little
more flexibility, I left the front unfastened. I donned my padded
subarmalis, then put my arms over my head, bent over, dove into the
cuirass, stood upright, and left it slip down my body. As my head passed
inside, I had a flash of insight that this was a foolhardy enterprise, that
I could easily get hopelessly hung up halfway in, and that I lacked any
plan to extricate myself if I got stuck, aside from screaming for help from my
neighbors.
To my surprise, my arms easily found their openings and my
head popped out of its hole with almost no effort. After that, it took an
estimated 30 seconds to fasten up the front and slip the split pins into
place. The whole process took a maximum of one minute.
Thus did I learn that it is possible for a lone soldier to put a Newstead
cuirass on by himself, although having a comilito nearby in case something
goes wrong is certainly a good idea!
After putting on my Newstead, I was immediately struck by the same
sensation reported by Arik and Jeff—a feeling of solidity, almost
invulnerability, far greater than experienced wearing a Corbridge cuirass
or the earlier model Newstead. I felt like a walking Abrams tank. Yet there was
still plenty of flexibility where it was needed. I wore my Newstead for an
entire day at the following weekend’s Marching Through History event and
felt no discomfort while wearing it, nor any special aches or pains after
taking it off.
To summarize, the Bishop-model Newstead presents no problems relative toconstruction, wearability, flexibility and comfort. Arik experienced a few
minor problems in the first instance trying to come up with a quick andeasy way to put his cuirass on. Time and experience solved this difficulty,
and Jeff’s Stillfried-based girdle section proved much easier to put on
from the outset. Finally, my own experience established that, if needed, a
soldier could put on his own Newstead without outside help.
Furthermore, our experience with the Newstead relative to the Corbridge
points to why the Romans evidently considered it a superior evolution of
the earlier type. The Newstead provides a greater sense of strength and
invulnerability, and seems to be less susceptible to the snapped straps and
popped hinges that surely plagued the earlier Corbridge and Kalkriese
models. As more Bishop-model Newsteads come into use in Legio VI and we gain
more
experience in their use in the field, we will publish additional articles
relating our observations. Until then, vale!
AD LIBRIS- BOOK REVIEWS
By T. Flavius Crispus
Several excellent new books on the Roman Army and its equipment have become
widely available in recent months. Herein are two capsule reviews:
”Weapons of the Romans” by Michel Feugere (Tempus, 2002). This
book should actually be titled “Weapons, Armor and Equipment of the
Romans,” as it is a comprehensive treatment of virtually all aspects of
Roman equipment from the Republic through the Late Empire. Packed with
photographs of actual artifacts and reconstructions, detailed
line drawings, and crisp, succinct analysis, it is by far the best
single-volume treatment of the subject aside from Bishop and Coulston’s
”Roman Military Equipment.” This book was actually first published in
France in 1993, which means some of the very latest data (i.e. the Bishop
reconstruction of the Newstead cuirass) is missing, but this is but a minor
quibble. Freugere (and his translator David G. Smith) packs an
awe-inspiring amount of information into the book’s 210 pages, and the text
is everywhere easy to follow and easy to read. The numerous
black-and-white illustrations are well reproduced and are a superb resource
for anyone desirous of reproducing Roman swords, helmets, fittings,
military decorations, shoes, etc. Available for under $25 from Oxbow /
David Brown Book Company, this book is an absolute must for any and every
Roman reenactor, not to mention anyone interested in the evolution of the
Roman army.
”Eagles Over Britannia: The Roman Army in Britain” by Guy de la
Bedoyere (Tempus, 2003). Another outstanding Tempus title, this book traces the
presence of the Roman army in Britain from the Claudian invasion in AD 43
to the twilight of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century AD. Author
de la Bedoyere gives the subject both a chronological and thematic
treatment; i.e., he takes the story forward through a certain period, then
goes back over the same period for a closer look at cultural details, i.e,
commerce, manufacturing, art, religion, etc. This leads to some duplication
of data, and in some cases rather important and dramatic events, such as
Queen Boudicca’s revolt and its aftermath, are given rather short shrift.
Another complaint involves some of the photographs chosen to illustrate
Roman armor. Color plate 3 and black and white photos 39 and 47 show a
reconstructed lorica segmentata displayed at the Leicester City Museum
which fits no known archaeological find, be it Kalkriese, Corbridge or
Newstead (the shield in the color plate is also clearly upside-down!). For
a helmet, color plate 18 shows someone holding aloft a version the
infamously inaccurate “Trooper” helmet sold by Museum Replicas and other
outlets. Why the author chose these examples over the highly accurate
versions displayed at numerous other museums is difficult to fathom.
Furthermore, some of the coins illustrated are of such poor quality that
the designs can barely be made out, when far better examples are widely
available. These quibbles aside, “Eagles Over Britannia” still represents a
valuable resource on the Roman Army in Britain and a good value at around
$24. Available via Oxbow Books / David Brown Books Company.
NOTICES
Submissions to Ad Signa! are encouraged from all members and readers. Send
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so that he can wedge them in where they fit. Send pictures to Magnus
(caiusman@earthlink.net)
so they can go into the print version where they
fit.
Freeman & Sear
P.O. Box 641352
Los Angeles, CA 90064-6352
Phone (310) 450-9755 / Fax (310) 450-8865
www.freemanandsear.com
Offers the finest in AUTHENTIC Roman coins and artifacts.
Contact us now to obtain a copy of Fixed Price List 7, Summer/Fall 2002.
Also check our new website:
www.freemanandsear.com
”Ad Signa!” is the monthly newsletter publication of the Legion Six
Historical Foundation and is published in house. Editor-in-Chief is Dave
Michaels, aka Titus Flavius Crispus. Electronic and postal
distribution occur on the nones or ninth of each month. Postal subscription
requires Associate or Participating membership in Legio VI Victrix.
Electronic distribution requires that you ask to be added to our email
list. For information on either, contact the Centurion, Caius Man, aka
Gaius Manlius Magnus, at
caiusman@earthink.net
or the Optio, Dave
Michaels, aka T. Flavius Crispus, at
Palladium@aol.com.