Legionary Rations

[M. Porcius Cato]

What were the typical rations given to a Republican legionary while on campaign?

[Germanicus]

Lentil, Chickpea, Corn - bacon bones for some flavor. It would depend on where they were campaigning and what was on hand in quantity. I understand Barley was eaten, but was considered terrible and decimated legions were forced to eat it as part of their punishment.

[FLavius Valerius Constantinus]

A soldier's diet was extremely limited.Legionaries ate only bread and drank only water plus a little vinegar when the weather was hot. It was considered that "bread was the only food "fit for a soldier, hard food for hard men. Soldiers in the Roman had a diet made up of very plain foods. The rip-off was that soldiers were required to pay up to one third of their wages for their food. They ate mostly bread, perhaps porridge, cheese or beans with cheap wine to wash it down.

[Lost_Warrior]

You would think, with a diet like that, they would not be so healthy, but I guess they were. Carbs are energy food.

 

I read somewhere that they would not eat meat, it was considered "barbaric" to eat meat, and it was consicered punishment to have to eat meat (I find that slightly hard to believe, but it's entirely possible)

 

Lentil, Chickpea, Corn - bacon bones for some flavor. It would depend on where they were campaigning and what was on hand in quantity. I understand Barley was eaten, but was considered terrible and decimated legions were forced to eat it as part of their punishment.

 

Yum what's wrong with barley? I love the stuff

[Germanicus]

It was considered that "bread was the only food "fit for a soldier, hard food for hard men. The rip-off was that soldiers were required to pay up to one third of their wages for their food. They ate mostly bread, perhaps porridge, cheese or beans with cheap wine to wash it down.

 

Interesting, Flavius can you post the sources for this ?

[FLavius Valerius Constantinus]

Oh, its a mix of things that I remember. I read it from some text book about the Roman Legion. Sorry, I can't remember the name. Also, I did happen to see a History Channel documentary on the life of a Roman soldier, one thing for sure, their life wasn't easy.

 

I like to change my comments, actually bread was not the main source of food, whatever the Romans could hunt, then they could eat. So meat was somewhat rare, but oftenly eatened. I suppose they eat mostly grained stuff which provide the real strength and vigor,its not to say that the Roman soldier didn't eat meat or poultry. It depended on the conditions. For example, during summer, you can't exactly preserve meat like in winter, so you eat grain in summer when ripe. Also pork was a commodity, I suppose they ate good stuff on a special occasion. It really depended on where the Legion was based and what conditions were the land and time of the year. You don't expect legionaries hunting in Syria do you, rather a legion based near the forest would. Not everything was the daily food, but the Roman Legion did eat much of everything they found.

Don't listen to me, I might be wrong since its all memories, but this site gives good detail, scroll to the bottom

 

link

Edited December 22, 2005 by FLavius Valerius Constantinus

[Germanicus]

Yeah, I was more curious about the bread thing. And your claim regarding their wages.

[FLavius Valerius Constantinus]

Oh, yeah, I might be pretty much exaggerating about the bread, but as for the wages, the army charged pretty much many things, which explains why soldiers didn't have good pay. But read the link above.

The cost of the ration, four modii or four pecks per month, at a rate of three fourths of a denarius per modius would thus be about thirty-six denarii per year (about $7.50). This cost was charged against the man's pay ($48.00) and deducted therefrom.

Edited December 22, 2005 by FLavius Valerius Constantinus

[Virgil61]

What were the typical rations given to a Republican legionary while on campaign?

 

I'm rather suprised no one's mentioned cornmeal as the basic staple of the Republican legions. JC certainly hints to this in his works when he describes over and over again the importance of gathering corn for the legions. This cornmeal is basically a type of thick yellow grits called pulmentum and is still found today on the tables of Italian families called polenta. It's very versatile and you can add whatever else is available to eat with it. It's hearty peasant food that's not changed much over twenty-five hundred years and if you've never eaten it pick up some. Along with pasta I grew up on the stuff.

 

I've also read that hardtack was a staple of marches as well. Of course the bottom line is on the march they'd eat whatever was available through foraging.

 

Here's a rather interesting list of foods in the garrison at Vindolanda during the Principate. Keep in mind it's not a legion but an auxiliary unit and it's not on campaign but in garrison.

Edited December 22, 2005 by Virgil61

[Germanicus]

I'm rather suprised no one's mentioned cornmeal as the basic staple of the Republican legions

 

I mentioned corn - as per Gallic Wars. That's where I got the chickpea and lentil from too.

 

Virgil,

 

Can you elaborate at all on what Flavius is talking about in terms of legion food being taken from their pay ?

[rvmaximus]

I'm rather suprised no one's mentioned cornmeal as the basic staple of the Republican legions

 

I mentioned corn - as per Gallic Wars. That's where I got the chickpea and lentil from too.

 

Virgil,

 

Can you elaborate at all on what Flavius is talking about in terms of legion food being taken from their pay ?

 

Cannot understand how these men could have been in such great condition without enough protien in their diet. It is so necessary to physical conditioning..any body builder knows this. Just does not make sense. I question alot of Roman writers...think they wrote for poltics and used poetic license to make the troops look tougher and that meant facing an army of men like hercules while their men just lived on gruel and they still won! I think the soldiers ate alot better than the wriers say. Any good commander knows that a well fed army is a must. The writers give us an army on a horrible diet of grains mixed with gurum. (most disgusting condiment)

[Virgil61]

I mentioned corn - as per Gallic Wars. That's where I got the chickpea and lentil from too.

 

You sure did, I glanced right over it. De Bellum Gallico's quite a treasure trove of info on certain legion practices.

 

Virgil,

 

Can you elaborate at all on what Flavius is talking about in terms of legion food being taken from their pay ?

 

I've only got the same info from web sites but no attribution. I'll bet it changed during the Principate when soldiers began to recieve much better pay for loyalty.

[Favonius Cornelius]

Maybe we've hit upon the true reason the Romans won so many wars. I know I would be a surly demon if I ate that grub!

 

Very interesting thread, and I too wonder the truth of it, a human needs a more varied diet than that. Perhaps for periods of time it could be simple but surely when they camped or remained in one place for a period of time they had meats and vegetables. I remember reading about this hard tack diet, but I always assumed it was an 'on the march' kind of grub.

[Virgil61]

Cannot understand how these men could have been in such great condition without enough protien in their diet. It is so necessary to physical conditioning..any body builder knows this. Just does not make sense. I question alot of Roman writers...think they wrote for poltics and used poetic license to make the troops look tougher and that meant facing an army of men like hercules while their men just lived on gruel and they still won! I think the soldiers ate alot better than the wriers say. Any good commander knows that a well fed army is a must. The writers give us an army on a horrible diet of grains mixed with gurum. (most disgusting condiment)

 

Protein is required for physical activity and muscle building but nothing near the rates that present day bodybuilders saturate themselves with. The Romans needed lean and mean endurance for marches and combat longevity, not a lot of muscle. And remember we're talking about soldiers on campaign not in garrison training where the meals were probably better. I agree that they probably do overstate the bad diet, foraging must have made up for quite a bit nutrition. The writers probably compared soldiers diets with their own fairly ample ones and couldn't figure out how someone could live without stuffed doormice and chamber pots to vomit up in.

[Primus Pilus]

Polybius mentions that legionaries received a corn allowance that was deducted from their pay, though this is in relation to 2nd century BC legions.

 

Polybius Histories Book 6

As pay the foot-soldier receives two obols a day, a centurion twice as much, and a cavalry-soldier a drachma. The allowance of corn to a foot-soldier is about two-thirds of an Attic medimnus a month, a cavalry-soldier receive seven medimni of barley and two of wheat. Of the allies the infantry receive the same, the cavalry one and one-third medimnus of wheat and five of barley, these rations being a free gift to the allies; but in the case of the Romans the quaestor deducts from their pay the price fixed for their corn and clothes and any additional arm they require.