I've been planning to start a late roman group in the near future (as a part of Legio VI Ferrata), and I've been working on a late Roman Handbook of equipment and suppliers, with the intent for it to be used in a way similar to the Legio XX handbook. However it is far from complete, and I'm looking for more suggestions of what to buy/what not to buy, places to buy it, places to avoid purchasing from, etc. etc. So far I think I've got a pretty good base, but I still need to know what to avoid.
I know I used SOTW a lot in my links, but that's because I'm Legio VI . I am of course open to all manufacturers and suppliers. It's okay if they don't ship overseas - this is something for Europe to use as well when its finished.
I'm working on the links and appreciate ones to custom blacksmiths as well - I have a few to our friend Robert Wimmers, and plan on adding links to other blacksmiths who offer late roman products.
I also request that if the site is not in english you provide a translation and make sure the link is directly to the product.
Thanks guys!
EDIT: Forgot something
EDIT 2: Can't upload a word document, will convert to PDF shortly.
Good work on assembling this. Seems like good advice and good equipment choices. Not sure about the lack of shoulder doublings, but that's a group choice, isn't it?
I wonder if the lack of shoulder doublings in the late era is due to the change in fighting tactics where the Spatha became the standard sword, and there was greater distance between soldiers instead of shoulder to shoulder fighting as with the Gladius.
Well the shoulder doubler was used to protect against different enemies - a falx or sica could go through a shoulder doubler, and so could some celtic weapons, but in the late era the Dacians and Celts were no longer around. They had no need for shoulder doublers, so they got rid of the extra weight. Same reason you don't see that re-enforcing ridge the Itallic Helmets had, on Late Roman Helmets. They didn't need it anymore.
OK, then, how does the shoulder seam work on this armor? The scales on the front and back point down, so what happens when they meet at the top of the shoulder?
Thanks for naming me as a potential supplier in your Handbook. However, the Noviolocus website will soon be going down indefinitly, so best contact me direct through r.p.wimmersAThotmail.com for things like spatha, spicula, several types of Late Roman and early Frankish knives and forged plumbata heads. Wel, lots of items, really. I hope to get my own site up in a while.
Perhaps I should point out that Miks gives three spatha types for this era, the Illerup Whyl, one he calls the Asiatische or Asian type and the whopping wide Osterburken-Kemathen. I think most people would prefer the Illerup Whyl, of which there are three variaties. Another nice thing about the Illerup Whyl is that it has a good few with the metalic components of the handles preserved. Not all swords of this type were pattern welded, some were monosteel, others had what is called Streifendamast (basicly long strips welded together) and a few had the torsion type, what we now all call Damascus steel.
A lot of representations I've seen show scales being laid out in a circular pattern, possibly on a leather backing, like the "oyster" layout I think its called. I should research it more either way.
Robert, thanks for that, I'll be sure to add the other spatha types, and change the links. The Streifendamast technique is one I have heard referred to multiple times regarding Roman blades. When you get your own site up, link me to it :wink:
This is the "Finalized" Version of the Handbook - it will never truly be finished, and will continue to receive updates, and I will have it posted on LudusMilitis.org.
If you have any continued reccomendations for improvement, just let me know.
Added some Archery Information, a guide on measurements (Metric to Imperial) and currency rates (US to Euro and US to Pound). Added some more supplier links and made Jewelry a section, including Cloissonne (I couldnt find any links to that), normal jewelry, and fibulae/brooches.
If you make other amendments, then please add a 1.1 or something, so those of us who download it can keep it separate from the previous versions. Good work! Keep it up!
I'm curious about your translation of Felices Iuniores Gallicia Placidi Valentiniaci as "The Senior Revellers of Galla Placidia and Valentinian”.
For a start, shouldn't it be 'junior revellers'? And I would guess that Felices derives from one of the legions originally called Felix - many later Roman military unit titles seem to link back to older names in this way, Fortenses being another example - rather than being a name in its own right.
Are you drawing on somebody (AHM Jones?) for the translation? Luke Ueda-Sarson suggests that the "Felices iuniores Gallia Placidi Valentiniaci" (not Gallicia) were named for Valentinian and Placidia - but the name was Galla, not Gallia, surely? The Felices iuniores Gallicani would seem to be derived from a unit called Felix stationed in Gaul...
. I am of course open to all manufacturers and suppliers. It's okay if they don't ship overseas - this is something for Europe to use as well when its finished.
