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+--- Thread: Auxilia vs. Boudica (/showthread.php?tid=13475)
Auxilia vs. Boudica - Severus - 08-27-2008
I have a question about the Auxilia that Paulinius used in his final battle against the British.
Tacitus tells us which legions took part but no mention of which auxilia units were there. Are there any facts or theories about them?
my second question is what type of cavalry was available in Britain at that time?
Tacitus says "while the cavalry with extended lances broke through all who offered a strong resistance."
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/pt ... ;loc=14.36
Would this make them contarii or cataphractarii or just "regular" (alarii?) using their spears to charge?
I am pretty uninformed about auxilia so any thing you can share would be helpful.
Matt Webster
Re: Auxilia vs. Boudica - Nicholas Gaukroger - 08-27-2008
To your second question I'd bet that the latin original for "lance" would be "lancea" which is just the usual Roman cavalry spear but often translated as "lance" for obvious reasons. IIRC the first contarii are raised in Trajan's reign and catafractarii later.
Re: Auxilia vs. Boudica - Peroni - 08-28-2008
Batavian auxiliaries were likely a large part of the auxiliary forces that went with Leg II and XIIII as part of Claudius' invasion. It is most likely that the Batavians attached to the XIIIIth legion were present at the final battle with Boudicca.
We have accounts of their tactics from a few sources..
"... The barbarians thought the Romans would not be able to cross this [the River Medway] without a bridge, and as a result had pitched camp in a rather careless fashion on the opposite bank. Aulus Plautius, however, sent across some Celts who were practised in swimming with ease fully armed across even the fastest of rivers. These fell unexpectedly on the enemy, ..."
Cassius Dio ' The History of Rome'.
The auxiliary troops who crossed the Menai Straits onto the Isle of Anglesey to destroy the Druid stronghold there were in all likelihood Batavian units. It is thought that in the army of Plautius there were eight Batavian units, each five-hundred strong; Cohors I-VIII Batavorum
"... He therefore prepared to attack the island of Mona which had a powerful population and was a refuge for fugitives. He built flat-bottomed vessels to cope with the shallows, and uncertain depths of the sea. Thus the infantry crossed, while the cavalry followed by fording, or, where the water was deep, swam by the side of their horses."
Cornelius Tacitus 'The Annals of Imperial Rome'..
Re: Auxilia vs. Boudica - Severus - 08-31-2008
Thanks for the answers. The Batavians seem like they have a good reputation for being warriors.
Tacitus uses the word "Hastis" in his text. http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/tacitus/tac.ann14.shtml
No takers to explain how these Auxilia would use their spears while mounted? Would they just mill about and stab?
Matt Webster
Re: Auxilia vs. Boudica - D B Campbell - 08-31-2008
Quote:Tacitus says "while the cavalry with extended lances broke through all who offered a strong resistance."It's just an ambiguous translation. Tacitus actually says "sticking their spears out", probably to indicate that they weren't throwing their spears.