07-07-2014, 08:47 PM
Beside the "tactical principales", as Domaszewski called the optio, the signifer and the tesserarius (if really a principalis), we have some more principales. There are senior principales in a legion like the cornicularius and several beneficarii. And we have some junior principales, even if it is disputed, if they were just immunes or more. Lots of librarii, the custos armorum, some special optios and more.
All these guys were on the payroll of a century. They were still soldiers of this century, even if they worked all day long for the legate, a tribune or the praefectus castrorum. But where did they sleep? I don't know of additional tents for the staff of the legion.
So perhaps in this "NCO-Barrack" of the century, lived more than just 2-3 principales. And this leads to the next question. If all these staff-principales were supernumerarii, than we need more tents in the camp. If not, we need less than 10 tents for the ordinary legionairs.
And whats about all the principales working in the headquarter of the governor, the procurator and the governor of this other province in the neighbourhood, which had no legions? Again a lot of beneficarii, librarii, commentarii, speculatores and others. Supernumerarii or not? We know from daily reports, that a lot of soldiers were commandeered to the headquarter and elsewhere. But they have been still on the legions / centuries payroll. A lot of barracks have been most probably pretty empty. Enough space for an exclusive principales-barrack amongst the known 10 barracks per century.
Finally I guess, there was enough space for everyone in the standard camp. On the other hand, the number and size of barracks does not tell us that much. 80 men in 10 barracks including all principales plus a centurio in a separate barrack was perhaps the max size of a century, if everybody was at home. But that was never the case, even not if a legion went on a campaign. Too many legionairs and especially principales were busy with administration elsewhere. Regardless if there was a war or not.
All these guys were on the payroll of a century. They were still soldiers of this century, even if they worked all day long for the legate, a tribune or the praefectus castrorum. But where did they sleep? I don't know of additional tents for the staff of the legion.
So perhaps in this "NCO-Barrack" of the century, lived more than just 2-3 principales. And this leads to the next question. If all these staff-principales were supernumerarii, than we need more tents in the camp. If not, we need less than 10 tents for the ordinary legionairs.
And whats about all the principales working in the headquarter of the governor, the procurator and the governor of this other province in the neighbourhood, which had no legions? Again a lot of beneficarii, librarii, commentarii, speculatores and others. Supernumerarii or not? We know from daily reports, that a lot of soldiers were commandeered to the headquarter and elsewhere. But they have been still on the legions / centuries payroll. A lot of barracks have been most probably pretty empty. Enough space for an exclusive principales-barrack amongst the known 10 barracks per century.
Finally I guess, there was enough space for everyone in the standard camp. On the other hand, the number and size of barracks does not tell us that much. 80 men in 10 barracks including all principales plus a centurio in a separate barrack was perhaps the max size of a century, if everybody was at home. But that was never the case, even not if a legion went on a campaign. Too many legionairs and especially principales were busy with administration elsewhere. Regardless if there was a war or not.
Ut desint vires, tamen est laudanda voluntas
