The key to a legionary’s survival was the shield. It was called a scutum. Polybius describes it as being rectangular and 2 ½ foot wide and 4 feet tall.
“It consists of two layers of wood fastened together with bull’s-hide glue; the outer surface of which is first covered with canvas, then with calf’s skin, on the upper and lover edges it is bound with iron to resist the downward strokes of the sword, and the wear of resting upon the ground. Upon it is also is fixed an iron boss (umbo) to resist the more formidable bows of stones and pikes, and the heavy missiles generally.”
The shield was often decorated with a winged symbol of victory with lightning-shafted arrows coming out of it. What is amazing about the shield was it was not flat like virtually all other shields throughout history. It was curved so the user could get inside it, so to speak. A Roman soldier in the Second Punic War had better protection from his scutum than any warrior he faced. A legionary was protected from shin to chin by his shield. Because of its curvature, it could not be used to interlock with other shields, but the Romans had moved on from the phalanx by the time they adopted the scutum. It fit manipular warfare perfectly. And it fit the aggressive tactics of the manipular legion. Unlike most shields, the scutum had an offensive role beyond just protecting the soldier. Where a round shield had a loop to pass your forearm through and then a grip for your hand to grab, the scutum had only a horizontal grip. This allowed the legionary to move the shield around. This allowed the legionary to use the shield as a basher. Livy described an engagement with some barbarians: [The Romans] … raced forward against the enemy. They did not attack them as though they were armed men; … the action was everywhere fought with shields rather than with swords, men were knocked down by the bosses of shields and blows under the armpits. More were captured than killed, … It was partner to the gladius, the yin to its yang. They were used in tandem and the legionaries were trained to use them as a team. Bash – stab. It was not suited for a shield wall, but it was ideal for the testudo. A testudo was a defensive formation to deal with missile attacks. The front row held their shields touching each other and the other rows put their shields over their heads forming a ceiling. Only a very lucky arrow could wound a Roman in this formation.
- from The Scipios in Spain
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