07-28-2008, 07:04 PM
Wow, that was a long thread to read. Now, I don't know Dan personally, but have had some pleasant e-mail conversations with him when we launched the Park idee. But let's leave him and others out of it.
After reading all and giving it a bit of thought, what stikes me is that it would make some sense for each group to see if they could at least put a contubernia together, lock, stock and barrel (meaning good tent and the likes). As a group grows, a second contubernia could be started. It is not so much the whole issue of HAVING to participate in a National Legion, as BEING ABLE TO. Most reenactors I have met have impressions around end first century, beginning second. There is a lot of common ground between us all, there is more that binds than devides! The public we want to entertain and educate are far less critical, a simple thing as a uniform shield makes a ragged bunch spanning (to our eye) over a century of Roman history, look like personification of the Roman legion come to life. I saw this happen at Xanten, 60 Romans working together made up quite a show!! Shields ordered in quantity are dead cheap, especialy if they are all the same, plywood fabrication and spray painted using templates. Perhaps this is the one and only thing a National Legion should have, a pickup truck full of shields, a large box full of uniform red crests and hooks and three standards. For the big event, all groups leave theirs stuck in front of their tents drawn up in Roman military precision, don the crests and presto, the Legion arises and marches as one. If you want to specialise, no problem, have archers and cavalry unite in groups around the formation.
I was very taken in with the Call on Batavians by Adrian, sharing shield designs and knowledge to all who wanted to accurately display late first century Batavian aux. It makes it far easier to put together a larger band of aux at a show, even a smallish one.
Maybe the step from small bands of individuals to one large unit is to great a leap, but perhaps we could explore and see if a series of smaller steps wouldn't bring us closer together?
PS Does anyone have some rude Latin marching tunes to go with Dex, Dex, Dex, Sin, Dex :lol:
After reading all and giving it a bit of thought, what stikes me is that it would make some sense for each group to see if they could at least put a contubernia together, lock, stock and barrel (meaning good tent and the likes). As a group grows, a second contubernia could be started. It is not so much the whole issue of HAVING to participate in a National Legion, as BEING ABLE TO. Most reenactors I have met have impressions around end first century, beginning second. There is a lot of common ground between us all, there is more that binds than devides! The public we want to entertain and educate are far less critical, a simple thing as a uniform shield makes a ragged bunch spanning (to our eye) over a century of Roman history, look like personification of the Roman legion come to life. I saw this happen at Xanten, 60 Romans working together made up quite a show!! Shields ordered in quantity are dead cheap, especialy if they are all the same, plywood fabrication and spray painted using templates. Perhaps this is the one and only thing a National Legion should have, a pickup truck full of shields, a large box full of uniform red crests and hooks and three standards. For the big event, all groups leave theirs stuck in front of their tents drawn up in Roman military precision, don the crests and presto, the Legion arises and marches as one. If you want to specialise, no problem, have archers and cavalry unite in groups around the formation.
I was very taken in with the Call on Batavians by Adrian, sharing shield designs and knowledge to all who wanted to accurately display late first century Batavian aux. It makes it far easier to put together a larger band of aux at a show, even a smallish one.
Maybe the step from small bands of individuals to one large unit is to great a leap, but perhaps we could explore and see if a series of smaller steps wouldn't bring us closer together?
PS Does anyone have some rude Latin marching tunes to go with Dex, Dex, Dex, Sin, Dex :lol:
