05-04-2016, 04:01 PM
(05-04-2016, 03:30 PM)john m roberts Wrote: "iron greaves upon the right leg"? Could this be a mistranslation?
Vegetius claims that in an infantry fight, the swordsman leads with his right foot:
"But when... the fighting is hand to hand with swords, soldiers should have the right foot forward, so as to draw the flank away from the enemy lest they be wounded, and to have the right closer so it can land a blow." (I.20, Milner trans)
This resembles a modern 'fencing' stance, and is completely opposed to the older 'shield forward' style of the Roman infantry.
Unless the torso was turned in a 'contraposto', with the shield arm stretched across the body and both shield and sword used together over the right leg, it doesn't seem to make much sense.
It doesn't seem to be a mistranslation, but I do suspect that Vegetius himself might be mistaken here. Perhaps it just sounded sensible to him?
Nathan Ross
