5th century Equites

[cinzia8]

I'm looking for some resources (on line or book that is 5th century specific) that would give me an idea of the type of armor a 5th century tribune in the cavalry would wear. For example would a helmet still have the red plume at the top? Is it referred to technically as a plume. I believe a centurion's would not, but what about a commanding officer?

 

Cinzia

[caldrail]

Osprey do a book on late empire cavalrymen that might help you

 

[url="http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/Late-Roman-Cavalryman-AD-236

[Galba]

They did not had a plum at list most of them, most Roman oriented units at that time if was at all (most of them where barbarian mercenaries that wear what ever they felt like) had very simple uniforms. Also their armor changed from plate armor that was in the early empire to mail armor.

[cinzia8]

Osprey do a book on late empire cavalrymen that might help you

 

[url="http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/Late-Roman-Cavalryman-AD-236

[caldrail]

I will check this out. I have Germanic Warrior AD 236-568, so it's time to get Late Roman Empire Cavalrymen. Did you see the movie King Arthur with Clive Owens? I think this was 5th century and they screwed up in that the horses had stirrups, but I wonder if the Roman soldiers were outfitted accurately. I'm writing a story that takes place at Catalaunum (Chalons) in Gaul.

 

That depends. If the 'knights' were sarmatian cavalry in Britain then it might not be quite right, but at least preserves the correct feel. Certainly the helmets were wrong since they were old fashioned attic-style jobs which had gone out of use centuries before and even then reserved for ceremonial use. If the theory about sarmatians is wrong (and I believe it is, since foreign horsemen are not mentioned in the sources of the period and this theory seems to be merely an attempt to reconcile history with medieval fiction) then no, the image is hopel;essly wrong.

 

The only possible guides to the corrct appearance of dark age Romano-British cavalry are archaeology and contemporary literature. I included a possible description of the Romano-British army at the battle of Mons Badonicus gathered from welsh poetry of four or five hundred years afterward, but there's little to guide us apart from that tradition.

 

http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10750

[Galba]

Sarmatian cavalry, the only thing that saved from being torn to shreds by the barbarian hordes in Rome Total War : Barbarian Invasion. This thing cuts through infantry like butter.

I can assure you that if was in charge, I would saved the empire !

[cinzia8]

I will check this out. I have Germanic Warrior AD 236-568, so it's time to get Late Roman Empire Cavalrymen. Did you see the movie King Arthur with Clive Owens? I think this was 5th century and they screwed up in that the horses had stirrups, but I wonder if the Roman soldiers were outfitted accurately. I'm writing a story that takes place at Catalaunum (Chalons) in Gaul.

 

That depends. If the 'knights' were sarmatian cavalry in Britain then it might not be quite right, but at least preserves the correct feel. Certainly the helmets were wrong since they were old fashioned attic-style jobs which had gone out of use centuries before and even then reserved for ceremonial use. If the theory about sarmatians is wrong (and I believe it is, since foreign horsemen are not mentioned in the sources of the period and this theory seems to be merely an attempt to reconcile history with medieval fiction) then no, the image is hopel;essly wrong.

 

The only possible guides to the corrct appearance of dark age Romano-British cavalry are archaeology and contemporary literature. I included a possible description of the Romano-British army at the battle of Mons Badonicus gathered from welsh poetry of four or five hundred years afterward, but there's little to guide us apart from that tradition.

 

http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10750

 

Thanks. My Romans are in Gaul going against the Huns in 450CE. I've a character who is an equite. It was hard to find a Roman cavalry group name for that specific time period, so I made one up. When I describe the tribunes, I would like to paint an accurate physical description. However, the public does seem to have a fixed notion on what a Roman soldier looks like. So, maybe a plume here or there won't hurt. :-)

 

I did order the book you suggested, so I'll see what that has to offer. I'm a bit safe in that my story is fiction and an author can also add a "historical note." I must say that I prefer accuracy, but from what I've encountered in my writers group is that the tendency to think that Rome never changed past Caesar is strong.

 

Cinzia