REPUBBLICAN LEGION - HOW A MANIPLE WORKED

As known, a maniple was formed by 2 centuries, 60 men each; there was the centuria prior (with red leathers, see my previous posts) and the centuria posterior with black feathers. In front of them marching and indicating the direction there were the signa.

 

When the order was given by tubae to attack, the cernturio prior (on the top left) ordered the cornicen to blow in order to make the signa move at his side, giving evidence that the maniple had to form a line.

While the centuria prior advances the signa and cornicen stay in order to move back (see bottom picture)

Meanwhile, the centuria posterior, seeing the signa going back understands to move on to flank the  centuria prior in order to pass from a sort of maniple on coloums to a maniple in line, ready for fighting. (here bottom)

Now cornicen and signa are protected by their own maniple arrayed for battle. All the men became "antesignani" (i.e. before the standard) indicating the line of impact with the enemy

ROMAN LEGION - REPUBLIC PERIOD (298 - 105 BC). LESSON Nr. 2: CORNICEN & TUBICEN

 With the term "cornicem" is it intended the men that used the "cornus", i.e. horn to give orders to the troops, under the command of a Centurio.

if we have some info about the Signiferi where they were positioned, as discussed in my previous lesson, (nr. 1), for the position of the cornicien we have even more difficulties to understand his correct position in the maniple and in the centuries.

Until the Augustus' reforms we know there were 3 kinds of musicians

- Cornicen: as in the figure above, probably 1 per maniple

- Tubicien: with a long trumbet giving orders to all the army (probably in a good numbers and next to the commander in chief)

- Bucinator: using a short horn to give orders for the shift of the guards in the night.

We want to focus here on the Cornicen and his number and position inside the legion.

Vegetius in his Book nr. 2, Chapter XXII that helps a lot in describing how these mucicians worked.

In fact it states: "tubicen ad bellum vocat milites et rursum receptui canit" i.e. the tubicen summons  to the fight the soldiers and still it sounds to the retreat; then he adds: "cornicines quotiens canunt non milites sed signa ad eorum obtemperant nutum" i.e. when the cornicines sings not the soldiers, but the standards (signa) obey to their orders.

So it is important to note that the Cornicen commanded the signa (standards) while the tubicen commanded the soldiers.

Another passage quotes: "ergo, quotiens ad aliquod opus exituri sunt soli milites, tubicines canunt; quotiens movenda sunt signa, cornicines canunt" i.e. so when just the soldiers have to get out to attend to some works, the tubicines sings. when the standards has to move, the cornicen sounds"

Finally he adds: "quotiens autem pugnatur et tubicines et cornicines pariter canunt"  i.e. when one fights both tubicines and cornicines at the same time sings.

From these passages it is clear that the cornicines commanded just the signa (standards) and that the standards were movining indipendently from the soldiers. It means that it could have given a command to blow the cornicen in order to move the signum of the maniple. From this, it is easy to understand that being just 1 signum per maniple, there was as well just 1 cornicen to command it. This all means that the soldiers and the signa moved in battle in different and authonomous way, and above all that the signa could move from one position to another position (see lesson nr.1) i.e. from the front, next to the prior centurion  to the back; once this signal given a command was given to all soldiers to move forwards, having the standard behind them (see lesson nr. 1)

For what is about the position of the cornicen, we have to consider that it took the order from the Centurio so it was next to him and next to the signum.

Some schemes to better describe what is written

The correctness of this position of the cornicen is given also by some evident problems that a different position would give.

Let's imagine that the cornicen is behind the Centurio and the signifer

It would mean that the Centurio shoud turn back, order to the Cornicen to blow and ... having his ears pierced by the sound while the rest of the centuria prior would not hear and even less the centuria posterior.

If we consider at the contrary to have at the beginning of the movement the cornicen (alongside the signifer) in front of the centuria prior, it is evident that the Centurio could have given easly the order to the cornicen; it could be possible also that signifer and cornicen where at the right of the centurio prior, but it is said that the unit advanced haveing the signa "in front"; so this is not the correct position.

Once the order was given to advance ad  bellum (to the fight) the soldiers would have seen the signa and the cornicen going back to protect and at the same time the centuria posterior to advance. In this way, the maniple totally arrayed had the cornicen at its back, easly providing his sound to everyone. See scheme hereunder:

To finish and to confort what has been said, as for the signifer, even more to the cornicen that was hampered by a cumbersome instument making him impossible to defend himself, it is evident he could not stay just behind the Centurio, easly target to wahteve attack. It means he had to be behind and protected.

Some more difficulties are given by the Tubicen

In fact, if the Cornicen is a quite obscure subject, the Tubice is even more. 

We already know from Vegetius for what they were used, i.e. for giving orders JUST to milites, (soldiers) and not to the standards, commanded instead by the Cornicen; 

This said it is hard to understand how many tehre were in a Legion or Cohor and - above all - where they were displayed in the battle.

The Tubicen used the "tuba", a sort of trumpet, with a very long neck inorder to make the sound very well understandable.

It is out of any doubts that the maniple could have one; so the more probable unit to posses one (or more?) was teh Cohors. Keeping in mind that the ordered the attack and the retreat (as said by Vegetius) we have another passage where it is spoken about the Tubicen; 

Sallustius in his Bellum Iugurthinum (chapter 99) quotes: "Marius ... omissis ... item cohortium turmarum legionum tubicines ominis signa canere ... iubet" i.e. Marius then ordered the tubicines of the cohors, of the turma's (i.e. cavalry) of the Legions to sing with all the signs/sounds (at the same time); this was done in order to frighten the enemy and wake them suddently.

It must be paid attention to the translation, where the Latin text says "legionum", i.e. "of the legions, because some translations I found are wrong, (they are not specialized in military) and they add an "and" so sounding the tubicines of the cohors, or the turmae AND of the Legion; while the text says the tubicines of the cohors of the legions and the turmae of the Legions.

So the Tubicines were present at level of Turmae and of Cohors. This said this passage clarifies also their power: if their sounds together were able to frithen and ware up the enemy in their camp (so very distant) it means that the sound was really acute and strong.

Moreover, considering that they simply ordered to the milites to attack or to retreat, it is clear that this is a general order, played 1 time and by acies, it means: once to order the Velites to retreat, another to order the Hastati to attack, another to order the Hastati to retreat and so on, until the Triari.

This is very important: their function was to organize and decide when an acies (i.e. line) of hastati or principes etc. should attack or reform retreating. This means that the Tubucines gor order directly from the Tribune commanding the Legion and hence they were positioned close to him. I also think that there were 3 per cohor, 1 tubicen for hastati, 1 for principes and 1 for the triari. We have confirm of that from the furneray inscriptions where it is quoted that the dead was a tubicen of a cohors (later are just mentioned the legions).

So we have to think that every cohors had 3 tubicenes arrayed behind the acies that was to be commanded, otherwise it would have generated a total confution to whom should attack and who should retreat. There cannot be a doubt then that the tubicines (3 per cohors) were behind the acies that had to attack, giving orders to the Velites to retreat and giving order to the Hastati to attack.

 This is the scheme:

I am also convinced (and the quotes above confirm) that there were also tubicines at legion level. So the orders would have been in this sequence

a) the Tubicenes of the Legion give orders to the maniple (Velites advance/retreat & Hastati/Principes advance/retreat)

b) Tubicines of the Maniples repeated the orders directly to the maniple from behind.

c) once the order to attack is given the Centurio Prior order the Cornicen to give order to the Signifer to go to the back of the Maniple, meanwhile the Centuria posterior gets in line with the Centuria Prior; the falling back of the signa means authomatically that the Centuria Posterio has to advance.

So it was a chain of command, clear in the battle: 

- Tubicines of the Legion

- Tubicines of the Maniples

- Cornicenes of the Maniples

Also the logic helps: how could in fact a single centurio decide when to attack, when to call back men? Imagine 1 acies where every centurio does as he wants. So all the decisions must have been well coordinated in order to make work the triple acies.

Schemes:

THE CAPACITY OF THE SOUND OF THE TUBICEN  

PASSAGE OF ORDERS THROUGH TUBICENES

A)

PASSAGE OF ORDERS THROUGH TUBICENES

B)

MANIPLE EXECUTING ORDERS PASSED BY TUBICENES OF THE MANIPLE

1632 BATTLE OF LUTZEN YELLOW BRIGADE - PICTURES

 Time ago I was wondering about the Yellow Brigade at the Battle of Lutzen in 1632.

I prepared some templates, 

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3755658264788069799/2327466852317935793

I printed them, trimmed, glued, put the magnet underneath.

Finally today I decided to post some pictures of them, just to give idea how from a pictures you can obtain a papersoldier.

ROMAN LEGION - REPUBLIC PERIOD (298 - 105 BC). LESSON Nr. 1: THE SIGNIFER

I always wanted to postpone this topic, in order to have 1 legion at 1:1 ratio to show. But I think this is a long time ahead and I cannot resist to share with you what I have learned from my researches. Above all, because Italian books on this topic are far better and better detailed - as you will see in the next lessons - than the English written books.

I am indeed preparing a "Polybian" Legion (Polybius was the Greek writer, contemporary to the Republican Legion that better described how a Legion worked) at 1:1 ratio, but my numbers are still very small (I am preparing at the same time the 3rd Battle of Ramla and the Battle of Turin 1706); so I need a lot of time to complete my purpose.

The first point to be pointed out immediatly is that no one ever described precisely how a Republican Legion actually worked. There are theories (mostly wrong) about the triple acies, but it is not clear how it actually worked, as said.

The Italian books that I will quote are the unique indeed that with a comparision of different passages (quoted in Latin or Ancient Greek) are able to give an idea of the way it worked. This will solve one an for ever the numbers of a Legion and a lot of other problems. The rest will be up to me and to my 1:1 ratio papersoldier Legion.

Let's start from the number and position of the "Signum" (insign), plural "Signa" inside the maniple. And let's start from the Osprey "Roman Republican Legionary - 298 - 105 BC"

As it happens sometimes with Osprey  the lack of space in details creates some problems in explaining well the topic. As usual pictures are superbe, but something with "Signa" is wrong.

At page 23 it is reported (please read underlined in red): "each century carried ist own standard (signum) ...omissis ... each centuroi was supported by four subordinates, a second in command (optio) a standard-beared (signifer) ....omissis Polybios says the Centurions choose from the ranks two of their bravest men to be the standard-beares for each maniple. AS THERE WAS ONLY ONE SIGNUM PER MANIPLE ....

 

So the text contradicts itself in few rows: at the top it say that every century had a standard. Though a maniple was formed by 2 centuries it means that every maniple (2 centuries) had 2 signa; but later, just few rows down it states (correctly) that there was only 1 signum per maniple, so 1 every 2 centuries. This points out very clearly the mistake the Author incurred in this case.

As it will better related later, it is correct that every maniple carried its own signum, also because the century (centuria in Latin) was just an administrative unit and not a fighiting unit. The 2 centuries (Centuriae plural in Latin) were differentiated as Centuria Anterior (front Century) and Centuria Posterior (Back Century); in between them there was the "Signifer" (from signum-ferre i.e. the transporter of the signum); in fact the legionaries in the front century were called "Antesignani" i.e. "those that are before the signum and the legionaries in the back century were called "Postsignani", i.e. those that are bihind the signum. 

It is correct that the Signifer had an auxiliary, had he some troubles or dies in battle.

It is true I don't have a complete Legion 1:1 but I do have a complete maniple pf Princepes to show the structure and where the signum was put.

 Every Centuria is 10 men wide per 5 rows deep (normal Legion); even though again reading from Osprey it seems that there were 2 tubincen (musician) it is clear there was just 1 that had to give orders to the troops according to the Centurio Prior's command.

My main sources for this "problems" are two books in Italian:

This one, written by Dario Battaglia and Luca Ventura through the analysis of ancient text and critics to old theories opens a new light on the real working of a Legion in the Republican period.

The second one "L'esercito Romano Armamento e Organizzazione" Author Giuseppe Cascarino:

Coming back to the topic of this post, i.e. the Signifer, it is interesting to compare this 2 execelent works (a must to be bought books I would say) on this.

So in the book "L'Esercito Romano" of Giovanni Brizzi, the Signifer is on the right (Nr. 3) just behind the Centurio Prior

The version of De Rebus Militum differs a lot: it moves the Optiones in the front, puts the Centuriones or the right (prior centurio) and on the left (posterior centurio) of the maniples, but in this in does not clarifies were exactly the Optiones should stay (in front behind the Centuriones, on the back?)

Moreover  in does not specify where the Signifer stays, but it expalins that there were antesignani and postsignani legioniers, supposing hence to have the "signa" in between the 2 centuriae.

The version of De Rebus Militum, that I will explain later in a next lesson is quite complicated even though very well conceived.

On this site, 

https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/blogs/gary-brueggemans-the-roman-army-ancient-warfare/legion_formations_update?srsltid=AfmBOoqWlcXIjxzcRGKqBAGqyOll1Dq4vWRMslTpi5azYSpIlzP0mbuI

it is discussed - among other - the position of the signifer, with 2 different options:

1st Option:

As the Author says "The location of the signifer is a matter of discussion. Some put the signiferi behind the formations, others seem to think the standards were right up front, leading the way. There seems to be some indirect evidence for locating the standards in the front insofar as it is clear that they were rallying and assembly points. However, it seems unlikely that the most prized possession of the century would be put in the front. It seems almost incredible that the century would go into battle with a man in the foremost ranks who could not fight, could not even protect himself. Somehow it makes much more sense to locate the standard somewhere behind the century. If the standards were in this position it would make it easier for dispatch riders from the general or tribunes to find the appropriate units."

So the more probable position could be this

With the Centurion inside the century. This last position of the Signifer would match with the idea of De Rerum Militum, where it states of the Antesignani and Postsignani. Just in this last case it is not well expressed, when the 2 centuries are lined up, where the Signifer would stay. It is my personal opinion that it would stay behind the Maniple (formed by the Centuria Posterior + Centuria Prior) making of all the soldiers "Antesignani", that it would mean the front line of attack. 

So I intended to try to explain how it worked a maniple (on 2 centuries) when deploying for battle:

Still this position of the Signifer gives me some troubles:

a) it is written that the mayor close fighting were around the Signifer to defend and to conquer it. So I wonder if it was just put in the 3rd or 4th row, in order to be protected bt the "antisignani" but still visible from behind the unit to indentify the front of attack;

b) if the Signifer had to transfer the orders of the Centurio it should be in line with him or just some very few staps behind, as Caesar writes in his De Bello Civili.

This doubt is confirmed by a passage of Vegetius where he speaks of the past, and states that "cum centeni milites sequerentur non solum VEXILLUM sed etiam centurionem" i.e. "so that 100 soldiers follow non only the standard but also the centurion".  But his passage (Book II - chapter XIII) must be well read: it is said that during the fighting it was necessary for the men to recognize where his unit was. So it seem more reasonable to consider the "signa" in the middle or 2 centuries or behind. Nonetheless the same Vegetius in the Book II Chapter VII says that the Cohortal Legion was formed upon 10 cohortes: after the first five followed the sixth, seventh and so on and he adds "in ipsa quoque enucleati  adscribendi sunt juniores quia in secunda acie POST AQUILAM ET IMAGINES choors sexta consistit" that means "in the sixth must be inscribed the simple  younger (juniores) because in the second line (in secunda acie) AFTER the eagle and the images there is the sixth coohrs.

So it is evident that in the Legion of Marius and eventually before that period the "signa" were in between the formations and not in the front - during the battle - or in the middle of the unit.

1706 BATTLE OF TURIN - STANDARD NORMANDIE REGIMENT 2020 vs 2025

 In some previous posts I was commenting about the fact that I was preparing new poses for the Normandie Regiment that I would have not used. It was not true. In fact, I started to prepare new poses and here I would like to show the differences between a standard-bearer done in 2020 and that done now 2025

I went also to prepare a version with the powdered wig:

ROMAN LEGIONAR: PUNIC WARS vs MARIUS & CAESAR'S WARS

 It is interesting to investigate how the uniforms - i.e. the appearance of the Roman legionar changed fron the period of the Punic Wars (III Century b.C.) to the Caesar's period (I Century b.C.). It is also to be pointed out that uniforms were not so "uniform" and variations happened all the time in a slow evolution.

To recreate the evolution of the Roman Army I started from the series "My First Wargame" a real must for papersodiers. I did not know they also published the Roman Army during Punic wars. 

In any case, from an image of this, I increased (at east this is my opinion) the features of the template

From the Caesar's template I did the Punic Wars' template

1105 - THIRD BATTLE OF RAMLA - FATIMYD LIGHT CAVALRY 2nd PART

 As promised, here I ma with some picture of the 120 horses of Fatimyd light cavalry. I tried to pose them is a sort of attack to a Crusade town, just out of pleasure to set up a scenario. The ratio is 1:1.

The effect of the charges is well represented with banners and flags in the front. 

Some pictures with a total view on the facing: light Fatimid cavalry on the right and Crusaders on the left

Here bottom detaild of the Crusaders