07-29-2008, 06:11 PM
Quote:Greaves dropped out of fashion for the rank and file because they had to wear their armor on the march! They marched frequently, while battles were quite rare. Plus the scutum, even in its shortest form, protects the legs quite well if necessary against most weapons. In short, greaves were not worth their weight to most Romans.
Solid vambraces can be documented as late as maybe the 4th century BC, strictly for aristocrats. Just skip them for legionaries altogether, I beg you. The leather ones are a particular invention of Hollywood, which apparently has a taboo against showing the male wrist. Yes, you see all kinds of Greek and Roman reenactors wearing them, and they're always wrong. Really, no evidence.
As other folks have said, greaves and the manica come back into use in the 2nd century AD, possibly as a reaction (at least partly) to the Dacian falx. But there doesn't seem to be any proof that ALL legionaries wore them. And they show up in areas where the falx was unknown.
Manica is fine, but please, don't use solid vambraces! "Logic" and "makes sense" and other sorts of speculation and rationalization will only lead you astray from the True Path. Stick to the evidence, and you can't go wrong.
That said, I don't think greaves are *wrong* for a first century legionary, it just seems pretty clear that they were rare at best.
Valete,
Matthew
Thanks Matthew.
I know vambraces are a hollywood invention, I just wanted to know if there was any evidence or written evidence about them.
As for the greaves, what you said has made sense. I know it would not be 'standard issue' as the lorica, hamata, and so on, but soldiers could opt to wear them if they wanted, only it would come out of their pay like everything else.
As long as the public are informed of this, I don't think it would be an issue. There is always the chance they could mistake him for an officer when really all he is doing is being more safety conscious, or perhaps he doesn't mind deducting part of his pay for the extra protection.
