08-04-2008, 09:01 AM
Quote:All good and well, but you're out of the fight immediately. Same with the shoulders, if you get a hit (more than just a scratch of course) in the shins you can walk anymore, and maybe not stand. So you're out. That's why greaves are a must, at least for the left leg which is supporting the scutum.
I disagree with Matt about shields covering the leg well enough, but that depends of course on my Late Roman glasses, through which I see long spathae and hastae being aimed under shields at the feet and shins.
Quote:Yeah, a wee girl can slow a big man down if she nails him in the shins.... :wink:
Thats my point, seeing as the typical legionary was armour clad, the enemy, who mostly had celtic long sword and spears, would have go to for the next best vulnerable area, which is the shins and so on. These were not an instant kill zone, but too you out of the fight nevertheless.
