Legionary Officers and NCOs - Late Roman Army (284 - 565 AD)

[Robert Vermaat]

Good of you to remind us Crispvs. Some parts of our history seems ages ago, but aren't.

How much compensatory body defence would he have needed, then, if survival had been the issue and not quick-replacement?

The draconaruis would not be at full front, but (like the CO's) behind the antesignani, 'those in front of the signa'. It's your guess and mine how deep these lines were, but it's a common mistake by re-enactors to place the signa behind the formation: no-one can see what the comaands are! The draconarius and his collegues are the focal points of the formation in the heat of battle, after all.

Neck and throat: I've seen on the Comitatus site an assertion that a mail coif was used by late Romans. Could that have been worn under the Intercisa type helmet?
Trunk: Mail or lamellar armour (or late-surviving segmentata)?
Arms: A target shield for the left with the standard (as with Principate signiferi) and a (late-surviving) manica or long, mail sleeve for the sword arm?
Legs: (?)

A full coif can be worn under a helmet, you just need a larger one. But just neck protection would do I think.
A long hamata or a squamata would be quite normal for the front ranks.
Small shield left, perhaps indeed a manica, no different for the other front-rankers (who had of course a large shield and a lance).
Ocrae for both legs I imagine, nothing odd there either.
I think the only difference for the draconaruis would be the armament (no lance) and defensive measures (only a small shield).

McBride's painting envisages the draconarius as being protected by a neighbour from missiles. To me, placing the standard-bearer in the front line would have the potential to effectively "neuter" his two nearest colleagues there. Surely attackers would learn to exploit these weak points? I remember reading that, in the Principate, there were "positions" of signiferi-in-waiting. These guys would jump out and grab the standard once its previous bearer had passed his use-by moment.

I think (see above) that his position would be behind the immediate front, but he would only 'fail' to protect the man on his left, himself being protected by the man on his right.
Sure, there would be men to take over I think, but who's to say how that was organized?

You say the draconarius disappeared from the Eastern Empire armies about the 6th century. Maybe a backwards look would help inferring what the draconarius' role and battlefield placement was. Were there significant changes in infantry unit organisation and deployment in that period? Do we have evidence of what kind of battlefield communication was favoured then?

The draconarius would have had a similar role to that of any signifer in the Roman army, before him and after him. After all the draco is a battle standard, like the vexillum, and the flag. Not much difference there. It's the focal point of the unit and as such I guess the role of the bearer would not change very much, even though the infantry unit around it could change in organisation and role. But I'd like to hear opinions of others about that.

I imagine Fectio has done re-enactments including Draconarii. Has the group looked at the vulnerability of the draconarius to missile fire? (How you'd do that within today's safety requirements :roll: I don't know but ....). [/b][/url]

No we haven't, that would need a group with a lot more members than we have.