Legion Equites and Singulares

[Steven James]

Does anyone know what a legion equites and singulares would look like in the principate? Or is this another unsolved mystery?

Thank you in advance

Steven

[dadlamassu]

I am not sure that this will help much.  When I was searching for suitable figures for my Roman Legion (Legio VI Victrix) project I found that there was a dearth of information on these two unit types.  I found contradictory information on numbers in the Equites Legionis.  I found a few illustrations but little actual evidence.
Graham Sumner depits a 2nd Century equites legionis as


Since my intention was to build an entire legion a 1/20 figure scale for rank and file I decided upon the often quoted (Josephus) figure of 120 giving 6 figures for the Equites Legionis.  This still left me with the problem of which model soldiers to use. 
In the end, after interminable Google searches and delving into books the best dress I could come up with was that my toy soldiers would be dressed in in a similar fashion to his footsore counterparts except that I gave them lorica hamata instead of  the lorica segmentata of the line cohorts as I thought the mail might be more suited to mounted warfare, plumed attic helmets, oval shield with the same heraldry as the footsoldiers, they all wear cloaks and I armed them with spears.  All of this was to differentiate them from my Auxiliary cavalry.  So what I have ended up with is a conjectural idea of two cavalry units in a more upmarket style of dress than the rest of the legionaries.  The yellow plumes came from my notes but I forget the sourse (Arrian or Vegetius maybe?)

My equites legionis


My equites singulares were even more problematic.  So I used the same figures, painted differently and with a different shield heraldry.

[Steven James]

Allan, thank you for your response. I have passed on the information to a 3D sculptor, and he is greatly appreciative of the information.

Alan wrote:
Since my intention was to build an entire legion a 1/20 figure scale for rank and file I decided upon the often quoted (Josephus) figure of 120 giving 6 figures for the Equites Legionis.

Had academia compiled all the cavalry data from the principate, and especially Hyginus, what would be revealed is that Josephus is incorrect. He has confused the cavalry. I put Josephus 120 legion equites in the same great blunders as Polybius’ 4,200 infantry to a legion. All our understanding of the legion has been based on incorrect data or mistakes made by the ancient sources.

I’m using 10mm 3D figures for a Mid Republican consular army. The 300 Roman legion equites converts to three stands, with each stand holding eight cavalry figures arrayed four by two. I like the mass look. Back in 2000, I started designing my own rules, which, through overzealous researching and questioning, has now turned into a four or five volume set on the Roman army from 513 BC to 410 AD, and happily near completion, and even more so, been taken seriously by some publishing houses.

Now, I have returned to redesigning my wargame rules based on my research.

Alan wrote:
So, what I have ended up with is a conjectural idea of two cavalry units in a more upmarket style of dress than the rest of the legionaries. The yellow plumes came from my notes but I forget the sourse (Arrian or Vegetius maybe?).

Now don’t be surprised if your interpretation ends up as a 3D figure.

Again, thank you for the information.

Steven

[dadlamassu]

Thanks, Steven, I look forward to seeing your Legion.

I may have to convert more Equites Legionis!

Alan

[Arius]

Any cavalrymen shown in attendance around Trajan on the column and Trajanic frieze are probably likely to be "equites singulares". Bearing in mind the usual caveats attached to interpreting these civic monuments, they are just dressed and equipped like the usual auxiliary cavalry. I suppose as an elite, they could be in more blingy kit and horse tack than your average trooper.

A crumpled shield boss dedicated by one Flavius Volusinus to the shade of Marcus Ulpius of the Equites Singulares has a little picture of a trooper riding down an enemy incised onto it. It appears to be no different from all the other "reiter" stelae from Germany.

No evidence exists for the equipment of principate legionary cavalry but there doesn't seem any reason to suppose they'd be any different from other cavalrymen.

I would imagine that a long scale shirt like the one in the painting would be awkward while in the saddle. If wearing a scale shirt at all I'd suppose it to be slit right up the sides and not much more than hip length. Vonatorix of Ala Longiniana seems to be in one of those [?] (disclaimer. I've not seem the original stone for years and I can't find really clear pics online): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...atorix.jpg A split up the front and back seems more logical but it doesn't seem to have been a Roman thing until much, much later.

The yellow plumes are mentioned by Arrian in his Ars Taktika when he is describing Roman cavalry tournaments. I imagine them as being flaxen (blonde) hair from chestnut horses rather than dyed bright yellow. Coincidentally [?] Yellow plumes are also mentioned being worn specifically by cavalrymen in the Marwanad Cynddylan (a 6th century Brythonic poem from sub-Roman Britain).

- Harry