Legion and Cohort battle standards

[Lothia]

Ave Civitas,

I know the roman legion had, as its standard, the Signum, the battle standard.
At the top was the eagle.
What was below it?
In some images I see a metal plaque with the legion number on it, sometimes it is a flag. Sometimes a plaque or banner with SPQR.
The banners seemed to be held to the signum by a cross bar and attached by top rungs.
Below that were the unit awards, embossed rounds.
Is that a standard standard? What would a battle standard most likely look like in the late 4th century?

Then, what did the subordinate or independent cohorts carry as their battle standard?
Were their standards the same?

Again, thanks in advance for your help.

[Sextus Saturninus]

The standard that was under the Eagle, which represented the whole legion, was the Signum, which represented a cohort. The Signum was made up of a whole bunch of disks with decorations on the top. In the late fourth century, the Signum had completely disappeared. The cavalry dragon standard, called a Draco, had been adopted by the infantry as well and was the standard of one whole ordo. The standard with the flag is called a Vexillum, and every century had one.

[Bryan]

Signum info

[antiochus]

According to “A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890),” Cicero says, de Orat. 45, 135) a vexillum was the oldest standard of the Roman army.

I have looked into this sometime ago and only found this. Addressed to Marcus Brutus 45: “For how was it that Axilla was made Ala, except by the flight of the larger letter? And so the elegant usage of Latin conversation takes this letter x out of maxilla, and taxilla, and vexillum, and paxillum.”

Do I have the wrong reference as I cannot find anything supporting the claim Cicero believed the vexillum was the oldest standard of the Roman army? In fact it cannot be the oldest standard. The oldest standard would be the century standard or the maniple standard (bundles of hay).

The vexillum organisation is Pythagorean and represents the Pythagorean octave, the ratio 2:1. By the time of the principate, the movement of the Pythagorean cosmos has moved a greater distance than the octave (756,000 stadia), and is in the seventh tone (as Pliny mentions) so the ratio is 1:1 and represents unity. However, during the early republic, when the Romans determined the Pythagorean cosmos had a slight flaw, after the adjustments were made, the vexillum organisation was changed and represented both the ratio 2:1 (the octave), and the ratio 3:2, or the perfect fifth. The ratios are determined on the number of skirmish infantry (rorarii) to light-armed infantry and to the heavy armed infantry within a vexillum.

[Lothia]

Thank you guys very much.

As always, a great help.

Tom

[Renatus]

According to “A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890),” Cicero says, de Orat. 45, 135) a vexillum was the oldest standard of the Roman army.

I have looked into this sometime ago and only found this. Addressed to Marcus Brutus 45: “For how was it that Axilla was made Ala, except by the flight of the larger letter? And so the elegant usage of Latin conversation takes this letter x out of maxilla, and taxilla, and vexillum, and paxillum.”

Do I have the wrong reference as I cannot find anything supporting the claim Cicero believed the vexillum was the oldest standard of the Roman army?

The reference in either Smith or Perseus is wrong. It should be Orator ad M. Brutum, 45, 153. And it is not Cicero but Smith who is saying that the vexillum was the oldest standard. What Cicero is saying in that passage is that, on the analogy of axilla being contracted to ala, maxilla, taxillus, paxillus and vexillum were similarly contracted.

[antiochus]

Michael wrote:
And it is not Cicero but Smith who is saying that the vexillum was the oldest standard.

If that is the case then it is badly written by Smith and he is wrong about the vexillum being the oldest standard. It is the century and the maniple.

[Nathan Ross]

What would a battle standard most likely look like in the late 4th century?

Ammianus, I think, mentions eagles still being used in 4th century (assuming this isn't part of his anachronistic 'high style'!), as does Vegetius (with similar caveats). The gravestone of Lepontius shows some sort of standard, but with a cockerel instead of an eagle...

The column bases on the Arch of Constantine (probably from an earlier tetrarchic monument) show standard bearers carrying images of Sol Invictus and Victory, and portraits on tondos mounted like earlier phalerae on the pole. These were possible portraits of the four tetrarchic emperors.

The most common 4th C unit standards (shown together on the Arch of Galerius) would appear to be the draco - a cohort standard, according to Vegetius - and the vexillum.

[ValentinianVictrix]

I'm of the opinion that the Eagle standard still existed up to the reign of Theodosius the Great but with the large intake of Gothic Foederates into the Roman army at that time the Eagle fell out of use as the Legions were replaced by other units. Curiously, there are only Vexillum standards depicted on the captured spoils from Gainas' troops on the pen & ink drawings of the Column of Arcadius, there are no Eagle's or Draco standards on those drawings at all. This suggests that Gainas' troops, a mixture of 'Roman' and Gothic infantry and Cavalry, may have just been given Vexillum standards to denote that they were in Roman employment.

[Renatus]

If that is the case then it is badly written by Smith

Not if you read the words in parenthesis separately from the main clause. The main clause reads, "Vexillum was the oldest standard of the Roman army." The words in parenthesis, taken separately are, "diminutive of velum, Festus, p.377; or perhaps velum may be a contraction of vexillum, as Cicero says, de Orat. 45, 135".

[antiochus]

Michael wrote:
Not if you read the words in parenthesis separately from the main clause.

Fair enough... I stand corrected about Cicero.

[Bryan]

Plutarch says a pole with a handful of hay tied to it was the standard back in the days of Romulus, which later was the reason for the name of the maniple (handful). (Plut., L of Rom, 8.6) That might qualify as the oldest Roman standard.