Subarmalis in the literary sources

[M. CVRIVS ALEXANDER]

I am not happy with the notion that subarmalis could mean both a javelin and a protective undergarment but I am drawn reluctantly to Tomlin's interpretation.

I'm drawn in the opposite direction. I'm unconvinced that the tablet refers to a lance that can only be used under-arm (and Tomlin doesn't adequately explain how armalis indicates something to do with the arm-pit, when the obvious meaning of arma is staring us in the face).

Could you please explain why do you take the meaning of arma to be more obvious that the meaning of armus in this case?

As for their position on the tablet in between two weapons, I wouldn't like to press that argument too far. The tablet concerns the belongings of cavalrymen. There's no particular reason to suppose that only weapons could be listed. You could dig out a dozen "lists" from Vindolanda where the items appear to be haphazard. I think this is similarly "untidy".

It seems that by that logic, we lose the argument that subarmalo in the Vindolanda tablet has to do with garment simply because it is listed along with some items of clothing in the tablet. From what you say, it can be anything.

A suggestion - we may have a case of two homonyms of the word "subarmalis," separated by nearly 3 centuries and meaning different things. In case of the Carlisle tablet, it is a javelin, carried alongside (Josephus, BJ 3.96), likely below (sub) the rider's arm, and deriving from sub+armus. In case of SHA, it is a garment, deriving from sub+arma.