Four members of Legio Decima Fretensis, IV Cohort, gave a short presentation on Roman Army military attire, as well as battle drills, at Celebrate History 1999. Other members of this re-enactment group also manned a booth at the show, displaying standards and banners, weaponry, and other items. The presentation commented on the arms and armor worn by the four: centurion, legionnaire, Praetorian guardsman, and Syrian mercenary archer. Other characters portrayed during the show included a cornu musician, a standard bearer, a Roman lady, and another civilian. The centurion Marcus Antonius Lucius (at right) hails from the years of the Republic, as seen by his chainmail shirt--although note that armor was used and re-used even though types and construction changed. You'll notice him wearing a wrist band--these were given out as decorations for bravery in battle. The legionnaire (below) comes from the early empire period, wearing the segmented armor. Answering a question form the audience, he noted that armor took about a week to make. Notice that he wears his sword on the right. The Praetorian guardsman (below), the personal guard of the Emperor and quite often the power behind placing an Emperor on the throne--or removing him, was the highest paid of the Roman Army troops. Gaius Germanicus Magnus wears parade armour of a muscled cuirass and ostrich feather adorned helmet. Differences between guard and legionnaires include the addition of fringe to his cape and wearing the sword on his left. The entire outfit weighs about 60 pounds. The Syrian archer (below) wears a conical helmet and holds a sinew and bone bow. Tests in the 1930s found that such a bow could shoot over 200 yards. Training consisted of one month of strengthening and conditioning, with gradual increases in weight by adding armor and equipment. The Romans could march at about 3 miles per hour, based on historical accounts. Note there is some translation needed to equate Roman hours (about 70 minues long in the summer, shorter in the winter, as the Romans divided the sunny part of the day into equal periods rather than have a set time period) and our own hours and a Roman mile (about a kilometer) and our own English system mile. The group's next re-enactment will be on May 21, 22, and 23, 1999 at Clarksburg, CA, just off I-5 about halfway between Sacramento and Stockton. More information about this San Francisco area-based group can be had from: fireman_bob@juno.com Back to MWAN #104 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2000 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com