 ochoin  | 17 Sep 2014 3:50 a.m. PST |
I'm currently working on Late Roman & Saxon armies for SAGA. Clearly you don't need flags & standards for this game but adding them is all part of the 'cool' factor. So: draco standards. I have plenty. Did infantry use them as well as cavalry? How about Saxons? And finally, is there any evidence of what colour the "wind sock" should be? |
| williamb | 17 Sep 2014 4:52 a.m. PST |
It was also used by the infantry of the Late Roman Empire. The only color mentioned is purple when the emperor was in command.
see
link |
| goragrad | 17 Sep 2014 4:59 a.m. PST |
Most of those I have seen with reenactment groups, in publications, or painted up with armies tend to be red. As only one(?) head has been found with no 'body' it is all speculation. Been thinking of alternative schemes. |
| Grelber | 17 Sep 2014 5:09 a.m. PST |
There's a nice website about how to make a draco here (no, I haven't tried to make my own): link I got a newscast about the upcoming election in Scotland laying with the draco article in the background, so here's what they have to say: "The ‘Draco' was a Roman military standard. Initially used by the cavalry, its use eventually spread throughout the army. It consisted of a dragon head made of a copper alloy, held in the air on a pole, and with a body/tail made of fabric, which would blow out behind the head when carried on horseback. We also know from written sources that the draco made a noise. This noise is perhaps the most intriguing feature of the draco. Despite the fact that we know from the written sources that the draco was a common standard, very few clues survive about how they were constructed. The best example was found at Neiderbieber in Germany, but even there, all that survives is the copper ‘head' of the draco." According to Armies of the Dark Ages by Ian Heath, Saxons used draco standards in the 700s, and had probably adopted them from the Late Romans, so they would have beeeen around and in use much earlier. As to color, Heath mentions that several of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 700s had golden dragon standards, so perhaps gold cloth for your top leader and other colors for sub-leaders? Grelber |
| Griefbringer | 17 Sep 2014 10:18 a.m. PST |
I would suggest that the chieftains might have preferred to use as colourful and impressive looking cloth for their dracos as they could find. After all, those items were intended to impress other people. |
| TKindred | 17 Sep 2014 3:54 p.m. PST |
But it would have had to have been silk or some other light material in order to "fly" or "float" behind the head. It's also possible that instead of a single tube-like cloth body, there might have been a ring of cloth with streamers floating out behind, perhaps of different colors, or alternating colors, maybe pointed, who knows? But my own thought is that a set of streamers would be easiest to make and probably function best, but that purely my own personal interpretation. |
| Druzhina | 17 Sep 2014 7:00 p.m. PST |
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| ochoin | 18 Sep 2014 1:41 p.m. PST |
Thanks for the informative replies. |
| Crumple | 18 Sep 2014 5:46 p.m. PST |
The second dragon banner on the Tapestry is just in front of the other, but on the ground as if dropped by the falling Saxon. |
| Druzhina | 19 Sep 2014 5:05 p.m. PST |
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| TamsinP | 20 Sep 2014 8:34 a.m. PST |
Back in 2005 Time Team had a go at making one. I've found this link to how it was made: link The link to the episode doesn't seem to work. I've looked on YouTube, but it's coming up as "not available in your country". It may be available outside of the UK. It is episode 4 "Fighting on the Frontier", |
takes a look at flexible roads made from long-lasting flexible resin.