"Roman scutum shield designs by legion" Topic

Is there a guide online somewhere that shows which designs went with which legion (if that is even information that exists) ??

That does not exist. We don't even know for sure that there were standard legion designs.

There is the Notitia Dignitatum for the Eastern Roman Empire, but I assume you are talking about earlier legions.

Well there were some in Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome by WRG,
link

Hi Scott – yes, thanks. Mostly interested in Late Republic and Early Imperial.

There's late imperial stuff--illustrated copies of the Notitia Dignitatum, I think.
link

But the 1st and 2nd Century stuff--well, there seems to be a convention among wargamers that the surviving patterns are associated with different legions, even though we can't connect a specific pattern with a specific legion, and Tacitus describes legionaires in the Year of the Four Emperors passing themselves off as being on the other side by swapping shields. But--given we had a way to check--I wouldn't bet money against our variant shields being variants over time rather than unit. And I have never heard of a wargamer being nailed because he used a I Italica shield for IX Hispana.

I just posted some scans from a book I have here.
link
Since photobucket doesn't allow sharing any more I haven't found a new website for sharing pics.

Zinkala – those are lovely thanks!

Those are great, Zinkala, though the skeptic in me wonders how truly accurate they are. Still I like 'em!

I have my doubts too but it's the best I've come across.

I was just looking at the LBMS transfers for Caesarean Romans – wonder what this one is meant to be:

Those are some very nice graphics in the scans Zinkala linked to, but what historical information are they actually based on? I would love to believe we can be that detailed, but haven't come across anything to justify that much optimism.

I think the LBMS is a boar design. And I would say that was more for Republican rather than Caesarian Roman. For Caesarian Romans the eagle wing design should be coming in.
So from the VVv range, XX2 a mixed sheet with boar, wolf and sea-horse designs

But for Caesarian shields, eagle wings but no lighting bolts (they come later) RR12

I have a picture of what the RR12 designs look like on figures

The book I got the shield designs from was Legions of Rome: The definitive history of every imperial romsn legion by Stephen Dando Collins. I have no idea as too it's accuracy. The information on many of the legions is very sketchy and only a handful of the most famous have much detail.

Sorry but that book (legions of Rome) does not get a very good review

The contention on the jacket 'blurb' that this man has spent 30 years 'researching' the Roman Army is laughable in the extreme. Whether the book 'reads very well' (as another of the generous reviewers here has stated), is irrelevant. If the information is wrong then it doesn't matter how well it 'reads'. Rubbish is rubbish, however well you dress it up in prose.

The shield on the Fish Mosaic from Palestrina/Praeneste –

where the shield is hanging on a pillar – may be the earliest Roman legionary shield shown in colour. The date is debated, but it might be from around 100 BC.

Monuments and coins are good sources of Roman and Hellenistic shield designs. My Greek shield designs were taken from vases.

It is also possible that the only "uniform identification and/or symbol" on a shield might well be the number of the legion and the name of the cohort/centurian.

Rather strange then that shield patterns were carved on monuments. But since shields were expendable items – getting chopped up in battle. I am willing to go along with the idea of 'dress' shields and 'battle' shields.

I would agree with VVV\s posting regarding the accuracy of the book. The one and two star reviews on Amazon may be the most informative as they mention the lack of footnotes referencing sources for the information in the book. Before the eagle became the standard emblem for the legions there were a number of other animals and images used during the Republic.

The Dando-Collins shields come from the assumption that the emblem of a legion – generally a zodiacal one – was used as a large design on the shield.
There are examples where things like a small capricorn or two is shown on a shield alongside other devices. Otherwise, I don't think there is any sculptural example of one of these single large design shields. Virtually all the existing ones are the more familiar wreaths, wings, lightning etc. with a few exceptions such as the assumed ex-marine shield with dolphins. The scorpion shield is also quite different to the norm, though that wouldn't be legionary.

Shields might well have been seen as expendable but we know they were cared for with covers. The average shield probably also had a pretty long life with long periods of being carried around without anyone hitting it followed by relatively short campaigns.

My point regarding Legion numbers and/or Centurian names or cohort names/numbers, was that that was in addition to whatever device(s) may have been painted on the shield.

In other words, a painted shield with whatever devices, and then a block above the shield boss with the number/name painted on it. I seem to remember comments about Legion numbers being painted on the leather shield covers as well.

If you look at this shield, you'll notice an oblong box to either side of the shield boss. Now, the white lines painted inside them may be just decoration, but may also represent something like "III Legion, III Cohort".

The reason I consider it to be an identification rather than decoration, is that those boxes are shaped like a titulus. It's a panel that is supposed to be used as a sign,or where a message was written, like a placard.

You can see the same titulus style being carried by troops on Trajan's column, to either side of the Temple menorah and other Temple spoils being carried in the triumph. They were to let the crowd understand what was being carried, to identify the various items, units, etc.

Numerous Roman shields have these titulus to either side of the shield boss. It just seems to me that they were there for a reason, and not as decoration.