Training

[Maximus]

Could anyone tell me what sort of training a Legionnary would have had and in what order would they have received it. Would it have been daily, weekly or whenever they could fit it in? What would the initial training consist of? I am trying to train my unit up and I am so daunted I don't know where to start?

[Primus Pilus]

Vegetius is an excellent place to start.

[Ursus]

I recommend _The Roman Soldier_ G.R. Watson, which summarizes Vegetius.

 

 

Marching: a march of twenty miles in five hours, later accelerated to twenty-four miles in five hours (Roman miles, mind you, not American miles).

 

Physical training: running, jumping, swimming, carrying heavy packs.

 

Swimming: more for allied troops than Roman soldiers, but still part of the physical conditioning.

 

Weapon training: first they used wooden weapons. Then they progressed to real weapons. Finally they practiced individual combat with each other.

 

Horseback training: even the infantry was taught to mount and dismount while armed.

 

Finally, everything was brought together, and the recruits were taught to march and fight in formation using their real weapons, armor and equipment.

[P.Clodius]

After Scipio took Carthago Nova he instututed a training program to keep his soldiers in shape for the following campaining season.

 

"He devised the following scheme for the Tribunes, for the training of the infantry. He bade them on the first day to do a run of 4 miles in full equipment, on the second day to rub down, clean and generaly make a close examination of their equipment; on the next day to rest and do nothing; and on the following some men to fight with wooden swords sheathed in leather with a button at the end, and others to throw javelins similarly fitted with buttons, on the fifth day to revert to the first day and so on."

 

Polybius.

[Maximus]

That's a good link PrimusPilus. At what stage would they have become a fully trained soldier? and how would they be awarded the rank of a low level officer?