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+--- Thread: Legionary Equipment During Reign of Marcus Aurelius (/showthread.php?tid=30727)
RE: Legionary Equipment During Reign of Marcus Aurelius - Robert Vermaat - 02-04-2019
Very nice.
Well, 'the third century' ws a period of transition and at the same time, there was not really a 'standard army outfit'.
So yes, this could be considered poerfect. Or an oval scutum. Or the spatha on the left hip. Or a Buch helmet. Or. Or.
RE: Legionary Equipment During Reign of Marcus Aurelius - Nathan Ross - 02-04-2019
(02-04-2019, 08:16 PM)Valerian Wrote: However, would the tunic have had long sleeves? ... would the sword have been worn on the right? The magazine "Ancient Warfare" depicts legionairies wearing their sword on their right in one picture, but on their left in another.
I would argue that the long sleeved tunic (as discussed on a previous thread) was not general wear for Roman legionaries until some time around AD220
![[Image: wink.png]](https://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/images/icons/wink.png){kind=icon}
However, we know that various barbarian types were wearing long sleeves long before this, so unless there was some regulation that legionaries could not dress like barbarians (and some of them appear to have done so on occasion!) we probably couldn't rule it out.
The sword was probably still worn on the right in the Antonine era, as it was still the shorter style. I think in the last AW illustration the senior officers and the cornicens are carrying weapons on the left, and the legionary in the foreground is a vexillifer - these men would not have carried shields, so would not have needed to use the 'right side' draw method. It's arguable whether legionary soldiers who did not use shields would have changed the side on which they carried their swords though...
RE: Legionary Equipment During Reign of Marcus Aurelius - Valerian - 02-04-2019
Thanks Nathan. I was under the impression that Septimius Severus specifically introduced the wearing of the spatha on the left side as one of the many privileges and concessions to the soldiers, as he attempted to consolidate power (among allowing soldiers to marry and live off-fort, wear rings, etc). The long sleeved tunic is, I think, a Dalmatian fashion that did not take hold until the 3rd century. Or so I thought. Looking at a source from Bishop, he seems to suggest the short sleeve tunic was still being worn during the Antonine period.
RE: Legionary Equipment During Reign of Marcus Aurelius - brennivs - tony drake - 02-08-2019
Valerian the wide baldric was in use by 197 AD. So you could have either, by the 3rd century is where the wide one is the one only showing on sculptures. The pictures you have shown are all in essence a good base to work from.
Regards Brennivs
