UNLIMITED

Ancient Warfare Magazine

SHIELD PATTERNS ON THE BRESCIA CASKET SHIELDS OF FAITH

The casket has been dated anywhere from the early fourth to the early fifth century, but a date in the late fourth century is commonly preferred. It is 32 cm long, 22 cm wide, and 25 cm high. The casket may have originally been made in Mediolanum (modern Milan), in the north of Italy. The reason is that the two shield designs on the lid (the scene with the arrest of Christ) where the soldiers have contemporary fourth-century tunics, leggings, and shields, were identified with the Scholae Palatinae units stationed in Milan in the Notitia Dignitatum, a document which may be almost exactly contemporary with the casket if the commonly accepted date is correct. This observation, often repeated uncritically, however, requires close inspection.

Comparing shield designs

According to the , five units were stationed in Milan – the , the , the, the , and the . Surviving manuscripts of the seem to provide us with the designs of these shields on the page for the . The page shows seven shield designs, but only five units are named. In other words, even if there is a match, we cannot be sure which shield matches which unit. When we compare the shield designs of the based in Mediolanum with those depicted on the lid of the casket, however, there seems to be very little similarity. What is more, the shields on the are uniformly round whereas we know from several other contemporary sources that shields were also oval, and the Brescia lid shows both! Another scene on the left side of the casket shows David slaying Goliath, who holds a round shield with an off-centre grip, which has parallels in other early fourth-century monuments such as the Arch of Constantine (dedicated in 315) and in a mosaic of a hunter from the Great Palace Mosaic in Istanbul. The shields on the front of the casket are quartered, with an intricate four-pointed star on the oval shield and an off-centre quartering on the round shield. None of the shields match these designs.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Ancient Warfare Magazine

Ancient Warfare Magazine3 min read
Coragus And Dioxippus: A Battle Between The Gods
In early 325 BC, Alexander led the storming of a city of the Sydracae (Diodorus 17.98-99), during which he was seriously wounded by an arrow which struck him in the breast. He fought on with difficulty and was eventually rescued, taken back to the Ma
Ancient Warfare Magazine8 min read
Valerius, The Gaul, And The Interpreter provocat Per Interpretem
History remembers Titus Quinctius Flamininus as the brilliant victor of the battle of Cynoscephalae (197 BC) and the liberator of Greece from Macedonian domination. The reputation of his brother, however, was ruined when he murdered a Gallic chief. L
Ancient Warfare Magazine6 min read
The Hero's Fate
Once at Troy, Diomedes' aristeia takes up the entirety of Book Five of the Iliad, a boast not even paralleled by Achilles. In this book, Diomedes crosses sword and spear with mortals and gods alike, bringing down both. Yet Diomedes's skill in battle

Related Books & Audiobooks