05-06-2014, 11:50 AM
1. When I ask for a source for a claim which I am pretty sure is incorrect, a Wikipedia article won't change my mind. Don't trust Wikipedia on anything academic.
2. That being said, one of the articles does give references to academic work. However, these references are, for as far as I can see, not relevant for your statement concerning the distinction in the eyes of the Romans between a 'scutum' and a 'clipeus'. The reference to Bishop and Coulston concerns the edging of shields, and not anything remotely related to terminology. The reference to Elton I could not check, but I presume that it is given to support the claim that during the 3rd century all troops adopted the oval shield, and not to prove that it was called a clipeus.
The article about the scutum hasn't got any footnotes.
3. The Wikipedia article about the scutum itself refers to an "oval scutum", depicted on the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus, so it doesn't support the "scutum = rectangular shield"-claim at all, and I will quote the very first paragraph:
4. To come back to Bishop and Coulston being referenced, I read on page 61:
2. That being said, one of the articles does give references to academic work. However, these references are, for as far as I can see, not relevant for your statement concerning the distinction in the eyes of the Romans between a 'scutum' and a 'clipeus'. The reference to Bishop and Coulston concerns the edging of shields, and not anything remotely related to terminology. The reference to Elton I could not check, but I presume that it is given to support the claim that during the 3rd century all troops adopted the oval shield, and not to prove that it was called a clipeus.
The article about the scutum hasn't got any footnotes.
3. The Wikipedia article about the scutum itself refers to an "oval scutum", depicted on the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus, so it doesn't support the "scutum = rectangular shield"-claim at all, and I will quote the very first paragraph:
Quote:Scutum (/ˈskuːtəm/; plural scuta) is the Latin word for "shield", although it has in modern times come to be specifically associated with the rectangular, semi-cylindrical body shield carried by Roman legionaries.
4. To come back to Bishop and Coulston being referenced, I read on page 61:
Quote:The curved oblong legionary shield (often called the scutum, although this term was used for all shields) was...
Valete,
Titvs Statilivs Castvs - Sander Van Daele
LEG XI CPF
COH VII RAET EQ (part of LEG XI CPF)
MA in History
Titvs Statilivs Castvs - Sander Van Daele
LEG XI CPF
COH VII RAET EQ (part of LEG XI CPF)
MA in History
