VEXILLVM, how many?

[Chuck Russell]

simple questions.

was there only 1 per legion? or 1 for the legion and 1 for each coh?

kinda confused a tad. if a Coh had one, would it just say coh and the number? or would it include the legion name as well?

[Chuck Russell]

[url:2jl80vfr]http://home.armourarchive.org/members/wolf/images/roman/VEX.jpg[/url]




red linen with off white wool fringe

[Matthew Amt]

As I understand it, the vexillum was used for any part of a legion off on detached duty, or as a standard for a cavalry unit. There was not a single one for the legion itself, nor is there any indication that each cohort had a specific standard of ANY sort. Each century had a signum, and the legion had the eagle. So if 2 centuries or 3 cohorts are heading out somewhere, there would presumably be a vexillum at their head.

Yours looks good so far!

Matthew

[Tib. Gabinius]

By the way, the word vexilum comes from "velum", and this means just something out of textile, like its used by ships or to spend shadow. And a vexillum was used by the admirals to show which was the "flagg ship" and later by the generals to show their position (in geographical like social).
Then i seemed to become a sign for detachments or cav. while last one also seemed to use the draco.

[D B Campbell]

I'm no expert on vexilla, but here are one or two thoughts that spring to mind.

Vexillum ... was there only 1 per legion?

As the detaching of vexillations was very much an ad hoc business, it seems unlikely that legions had a set number of vexilla. Probably, they were manufactured as required.

This theory might gain support from the fact that, in AD 69, the vexilla of Vitellius' legions at Aquileia actually carried the emperor's name (Tac., Hist. 2.85: vexillis nomen Vitellii praeferentibus, "the banners bearing the name of Vitellius"), so they must have been manufactured fairly recently. Likewise, the Moesian vexillation at Aquileia put Vespasian's name on their banners (Suet., Vesp. 6: nomenque eius uexillis omnibus sine mora inscripserunt, "they inscribed his name on all the banners").

If a Coh had one, would it just say coh and the number? or would it include the legion name as well?

The only surviving example of a vexillum has no wording. It simply shows a figure of Victory standing on a globe.
Also, as far as I remember, the Dura wall-painting showing the vexillum of cohors XX Palmyrenorum doesn't have any writing on it.
However, other evidence (including the Tacitus and Suetonius references above) suggests that there was normally writing on a banner. For example, sculptural representations of vexilla often show the legion's name.

Where a cohort or cohorts were detached from a legion, we cannot say for sure what their vexillum looked like. Perhaps it simply stated the parent legion. Perhaps it also carried the emperor's name (if this wasn't just a feature of the chaotic situation in AD 69).

[Tib. Gabinius]

The only found shows a beauthful Victoria, but nothing more, just to mention it.