Request for Reference Pictures?

[Dogote]

I dont know if this is the proper place for this thread.. so feel free to correct me if it isnt..

I'm looking for reference pictures for a personal art project and wanted to know if any of you might have something in particular that would be useful in the way of photos or just knowledge on this sort of thing. I would greatly appreciate it and would be happy to give you credit once its finished.


Ignore the messy guidelines....Its still in its infancy and anything is subject to change if it needs changing. this is just a cropped version of a bigger picture.
i've used so many different references that its ending up as mongrel example of Roman uniforms and horse tack(in my opinion). the actual poses i got from modern day horse people riding or dismounting. the setting in the picture is winter, some place where it snows... a lot.... but so far i havent found much in the way of Roman reenactment in winter, especially in snow and the only thing that comes to mind is the Gladiator film. and we all know how accurate movies are :roll:
Its a personal project but i do put a lot of effort into the research behind something like this. i would LIKE for it to be as accurate as possible because i'm a stickler for that sort of thing. Sure, i could use my imagination and common sense but i would rather it be as accurate as possible. I would also prefer to get permission to use someones picture, not just assume its free for the taking because its on the internet! and aside from that, most of the pictures i did find were very small... which makes it difficult to use because i love the small details. those tend to disappear in small photos! and i would also like to know the pictures are as accurate to time period as possible... but i dont know HOW possible that is.. i'm still new at this.

Anyway, Short list of what i would like to know -
where/how did they hang their shields when they were riding?
any particular weapons used with cavalry? swords, spears? anything else?
did the armor change with the time period? some of the pics i found had horses covered completely, and some didnt.. but again those were small images!
any particular style of armor depending on what period/legion/location?
any particular style of headstall/bits/straps etc to contrl the horse and hold the saddle in place?
were the stirrups just added to the average Roman saddle or was a new saddle created?
as you can see, one rider hasnt got any pants on... how differently did they dress when it was snowing vs warmer seasons? did they have leggings or any particular kind of socks, boots etc?
And lastly.... how do i distinguish rank?

Thank you in advance. i've hit a dead end with that short list...... these are somewhat difficult to find out when you're just looking at a picture. and besides that i would LOVE to do more paintings like these in the future. This one is my first :oops:
Are there any books or websites WITH LOTS OF DETAIL you can recommend to me? i'm drowning in websites right now.... quite honestly i'm tired of weeding through all the information out there. i just want THOSE specific questions answered without spending a week trying to find the answers.

[Justin of the New Yorkii]

Go to Amazon.com and type in "Osprey men at arms series."

[John Conyard]

Try looking at http://www.comitatus.net/cavalryhome.htm and follow the links.

[Dogote]

Thanks, i have one of those similar to that series, infantry though. But i've already several others to my amazon list just now

[Neuraleanus]

First of all, there should be no heels on the boots, the heel did not come into fashion until near modern times, and no stirrups. Which period are you looking to portray? For 1st century, besides caligae, there is evidence of soft fully enclosed boots, enclosing the toe and laced up the ankle with straps, having been worn by cavalry:
[url:1ghtfjil]http://img292.imageshack.us/i/mainz2007152ke5.jpg/[/url]

[Dogote]

First of all, there should be no heels on the boots, the heel did not come into fashion until near modern times, and no stirrups. Which period are you looking to portray? For 1st century, besides caligae, there is evidence of soft fully enclosed boots, enclosing the toe and laced up the ankle with straps, having been worn by cavalry:
[url:1taa6myj]http://img292.imageshack.us/i/mainz2007152ke5.jpg/[/url]

that was partly left over from the guidelines of a man dismounting a horse and partly because i didnt know when boot heels came into being. Thank you for the picture by the way
As for the time period, i've narrowed it down to somewhere between 450 and 500 AD simply because it seemed like stirrups had been invented by then and were being used, but apparently not by Romans?
It looked a certain way in my head and i was trying to create that but still want to be as accurate as possible.

[Marcus F.]

i've used so many different references that its ending up as mongrel example of Roman uniforms and horse tack(in my opinion). the actual poses i got from modern day horse people riding or dismounting. the setting in the picture is winter, some place where it snows... a lot.... but so far i havent found much in the way of Roman reenactment in winter, especially in snow and the only thing that comes to mind is the Gladiator film. and we all know how accurate movies are :roll:

<!-- l <a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/viewtopic.php?p=224462#p224462">viewtopic.php?p=224462#p224462<!-- l (maybe he has more photos like that)
For Roman cavalry in general (including late Roman period):
http://www.amazon.de/Reiter-Roms-Reise- ... 82&sr=1-13
http://www.amazon.de/Reiter-Roms-Tln-milit ärische-Einsatz/dp/3805311397/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247046091&sr=1-6
http://www.amazon.de/Reiter-Roms-Zubeh ör-Reitweise-Bewaffnung/dp/3805312881/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247046091&sr=1-7

[Dogote]

the last two didnt work, and one of those books i found in amazon - the warrior series - cost $50!! i have the infantry book from that series which costs somewhere around $5.... so i dont understand why the cavalry book is so bloody expensive! :x