II AVG Cavalry
Entry posted by Pertinax
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The cavalry unit of the Legion was present at the Bremmetenacvm event. Only four horsemen in all (not the regulation 40) , and even then the logistics of moving , preparing and saddling the animals was by no means easy. One of the animals in particular was a complete newbie to the event and bridling was a rather tense experience. The Commander also had to improvise a mounting block from a nearby stone wall as his mount ws a little nervy.
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Anyway everyone made it into the arena without being unhorsed, the immediate thing which struck everyone was the higher seat of the cavalrymen because of the horned saddle (and lack of stirrups). The Cavalry performed a number of drill evolutions which amply illustrated the precise control that can be achieved by a discipline man and mount , the use of seat and leg pressure predominantly being involved in the control of the animals at certain junctures. Shooting a bow from the saddle and using the kontos in an overhead position are near handsfree activities (you khold the reins really so they dont fall away) , and it was also noticeable that carrying a shield and spatha (and wielding them ) needed greater emphasis on lower body control.
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The images posted are not as "natural" as the shots one can take at Hadrian's Wall , as Ribchester is a rather smart upmarket densely built village, so bits of the 21st Century keep intruding no matter where you point the camera.
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We saw drill that illustrated the accuracy of javelin attack from horseback, direct sword attack, kontos attack , use of the bow and harassing of footsoldiers (one man to distract an opponent into raising his shield another to nip in and strike him down with a lance).
The animals in full flow looked very good, remembering that these were just the cobby types favoured by Roman Cavalry for working in this province in particular. I suspect we are seeing New Forest blood here mixed with Welsh cob.It was actually very exciting to watch, and even this good natured display made one realise real nerve and discipline would be needed to face the mobile threat of horsemen.
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As always I picked up one or two interesting asides about commonplace re-enactment experience, the most interesting was the not unsurprising observation that the scutum is the most annoying bit of kit carried by the soldiery, even the Marian "backpacks" though heavy were not as awkward and demanding on the physique.The load by the way compares to a modern bergen -say 40 lbs , with armour and scutum in adition you begin to grasp the wieght being carried . We have chatted on the forums about the grips for shields and swords previously, the upshot of re-creating the kit was that these men had wrists like oak trees carrying the scutum year in year out and some pathological evidence shows moderate elongation of the left arm of soldier's skeletons.Ballistae could not be displayed and operated becaus eof the damp conditions, so always attack the Romans when its raining, so they cant deploy torsion weapons.
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