The CLIPEUS/SCUTUM challenge

SHIELDS. That’s what we’re talking about. A vital element of all soldier’s equipment. Could you imagine a man going at war without it? It was a humiliation for a soldier to return from combat without his shield. According to the Roman historian Tacitus, giving up his shield during the combat was the worst dishonour. It is also a very common iconographic object on Greek and Roman coinage. If you enter the word “shield” in the section “ancient coins “ of acsearch, it will give you more than 110,000 results...
Originally, the rich Roman fighters used as a shield the wooden Clipeus covered with cowhide or bronze, the less wealthy soldier wore a flat, oval shield made of wooden planks covered with leather. It is this second type of shield which is the ancestor of the Scutum, a long shield behind which the Roman soldier protects himself and which becomes the emblem of the Roman's legion. It is in fact adopted in Roman manipulation and borrowed from the shield of Samnite units: covered with rawhide glued, sewn and painted, it is initially oval and curved and has the advantage of marrying the body of the soldier. In the second and third centuries BC, the Scutum has a hardwood central edge (the spina) which strengthens its resistance and deflects the blows received. Subsequently at the beginning of the Empire, the scutum became shorter and more square, it is equipped with a central boss allowing to deflects the strikes and protecting the hand.


Relief of the Roman hero Curtius with a clipeus.


Altar Domitius Ahenorbarbus with Scotum (Le Louvre)

Many historians believe that the change of shields occurs in the Roman army when the fighting techniques evolved; the phalanx formation wasn't use anymore, being replaced by the maniples formation. It was a more flexible manipular system, famously referred to as "a phalanx with joints". Scutums were also very practical for the Tortoise formation, where men would align their shields to form a packed formation covered with shields on the front and top.


This is the only known surviving complete Scutum. Found flattened, in thirteen pieces, and missing its umbo (central boss), it was discovered in Dura-Europos (Syria) in 1930, was 105.5 centimetres (41.5 in) high, 41 centimetres (16 in) across, and 30 centimetres (12 in) deep (due to its semicylindrical nature), with an unknown thickness. Its weight was 10 kg (22 lb), and the painted decoration reflects Roman iconography of victory, including an eagle with a laurel wreath, winged Victories, and a lion. It is today in display at Yale University Art Gallery.

On coinage, it is most of the time very difficult to distinguish if the characters are holding a clipeus or a scutum. But they are exceptions ; for example the famous clipeus virtutis of Augustus depicted on many of the coin's emperor. The Senate and people of Rome dedicated this votive shield to Augustus on account of the virtues of bravery, clemency, justice and pietas which he held, all of which were highly important in Roman society. Thus, he proudly displays the clipeus as a reverse type on his coinage.

From Roma Numismatics Ltd

About the scutum, both Caligula and later Commodus used a similar reverse showing them standing on a platform, haranguing soldiers, each of them holding clearly the rectangle shaped shield.


From Numismatica Ars Classica

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Great topic!


A large shield of faith. Here are a few pre-Roman Italian shields...



Bruttium; the Bretti
Laureated and bearded head of Zeus right, at left thunderbolt, dotted border

BΡETTIΩN
warrior attacking right holding shield and spear; below bucranium. Dotted border.

211-208 BC


Scheu 42; HNItaly 1988; SNG Copenhagen 1658; SNG ANS 108.

8.05g

Round punch mark on obverse

Bruttium, The Bretti, drachm
Diademed, draped and winged bust of Nike right, bird? behind

BPETTIΩN
River-god Aisaros/Dionysos standing, crowning himself, holding cloak and scepter, monogram and shield to right

216-214 BC Punic war issue

4.81g

Rare with these control marks. Only 2 on acsearch including this one, both from same dies and die flaws.
Struck with worn obverse die.

Arslan dies 81/107’; Scheu S65; HN Italy 1970

Ex-CNG 452 Lot 48; From the John L. Cowan Collection; Ex-Pegasi, 31 May 2012 Auction 24 lot 44.

 

Very instructive post. I have only one with clear round shield:
Licinius 2 with shield in lap inscribed X/V

 

Gods and goddesses with clipei:

 

Trajan as /crossed shields

 

RI Augustus AR Denarius struck 2 BC-14 AD Caius and Lucius Caesars stdg shield spear S 1578 NGC4276216-007



Larinum Frentani 210-175 BCE AE Quincunx 22mm 9.8g Mars or Athena corinthian helmet- Galloping Horseman spear sheild tbolt 5 pellets NH Italy 625 BMC 2 SCARCE



MAKEDON Philip III Arrhidaios 323-317 BCE Æ 1-2 Unit 17mm 4.2g Miletos mint Makedonwn shield Gorgoneion - Helmet bipennis K Price 2064

 

ALEXANDER III
AE Half Unit
OBVERSE: Gorgoneion in the center of a Macedonian shield
REVERSE: A Macedonian helmet; caduceus and NK monogram flanking below (Struck under Nikokreon)
Struck at Salamis mint. Struck under Nikokreon 323-315 BC
4.9g, 15mm
Price 3162

 

At the same time that the legionary was equipped with the more rectangular scutum, the auxiliary troops, derived from the provinces, seem to have been issued a more oval one. I am not sure if it is possible to see this difference reflected in sculpture or on the coinage (Trajan's Column?) but it is a topic I hope to do some research on. I believe the oval one became the norm for all troops, about the same time, early Third Century AD, when the legionaries were issued new swords, the longer spatha, to replace their formerly standard issue, the gladius.

 

Sestertius of Alexander with Mars Ultor reverse and As of Claudius with Minerva reverse both showing nice views of inner shield with arm loop and handle.
Clipeus Virtutis on signis receptis denarius of Augustus.
Clipei of Equites on RR denarius.
Scuta of Praetorians on reverse of Caligula sestertius.
Lastly, Hostilia denarius of RR showing Gallic shields.

 

ANTONIUS PIUS
AE As. 9.56g, 27.9mm. Rome mint, AD 143-144. RIC 736a. O: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right. R: IMPERATOR II, two ancilia (oval shields with rounded projections above and below); ANCILIA in exergue, S C across field.
CNG notes: "The ancilia were the sacred shields of Mars and were associated with the Salii, a college of priests whose ceremonies signaled the beginning and ending of a military campaign season. Founded by Rome's second king, Numa Pompilius, the Salii were so-called because one aspect of their ritual involved leaping (salire). Beginning in March they would process throughout the city with the ancilia. At the end of the month, these shields would be ritually cleaned and stored away. In October, the same ritual was performed to mark the end the season."

COMMODUS
AR Denarius. 3.33g, 18mm. Rome mint, Autumn - Dec AD 177. RIC (Marcus Aurelius) 646; Cohen 270. O: L AVREL COMMODVS AVG GERM SARM, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: IVNONI SISPITAE TR P II IMP II COS P P, Juno Sospita, advancing right, brandishing javelin in right hand and holding shield in left; in front, snake.

 

Awesome topic and coins!!

Some of mine from different periods - nicest in my eyes, although beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Lysimachus Tetradrachm, Amphipolis. Struck 288/7-282/1 BC
29 x 31 mm, 17.196 g
Ref.: Thompson 211 var. (second monogram); Müller 544–546 var.

Ob.: Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon
Rev.: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΛYΣIMAXOY Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield decorated with a lion’s head, transverse spear in background; ΩΠY monogram to inner left and monogram on throne

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Augustus, Denarius, Hispania, Emerita Augusta, ca. 25 - 23 BC
19 x 20 mm, 3.54 g

Ref.: RIC I 2b (S), RSC I 401, BMCRE I 279, BMCRR Spain 112
Ob.: IMP CAESAR – AVGVST Bare head of Augustus to left
Rev.: P CARISIVS (LEG PRO) PR, round shield with central boss within eight pointed star with studs, spearhead with short shaft above, machaira (curved short sword) below, linear border

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Josef I, AR Speciesthaler, Austria, Hall,1707
43 mm, 28.57 g
Ref.: Moser & Tursky 810; Voglhuber 245/I; Davenport 1018; KM 1438.1, Herinek 132
Ob.: IOSEPHUS • D : G : ROM : IMP : SE : AV : G : HV : BO : REX • Laureate and armored bust right, wearing Order of the Golden Fleece. The top of the head divides the legend. No inner circle
Rev.: ARCHID : AVST : DVX : BV : COM : TYR • 17 07 • Composite arms with ancient Hungary, Bohemia, Austria and Habsburg, at bottom the 5 eagles of Lower Austria (Niederösterreich). At the center a small shield of Tyrol. Around the chain of the Golden Fleece

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and a contemporary one that I think has a beautiful design influenced by history:

20 Centesimi (nickel), Italy, Rome, 1921; mintmark R, mintage 50,372,000
21.5 mm, 4 g
Ref.: KM 44; Schön 45

Ob.: ITALIA, Head left admiring wheat ear in her hand
Rev.: Victory in flight holding torch in l. hand. Below crowned Savoy coat of arms and names of author and engraver, to the left of the shield the denomination C.20, year of issue 1921, and mintmark R = Rome

this is not my picture, haven't had the time (and patience) to take one

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The Lysimachus image shows what is probably the "hoplon" (hence, hoplite soldier) of Ancient Greece and perhaps an early model for the clipeus.

 

Fascinating thread which prompted me to review ancient weaponry. I think our image of the Roman legionary with his cylindrical and rectangular shield has come as much from the movie industry as much as anything else. Cylindrical but oval or oblong, seems to have been the more common type both earlier and later than the Augustan to Severans period if both sculptural images and those from the coinage are accurate representations of what soldiers carried. As a matter of fact there were probably any number of shapes and sizes from the small pelta shield of Greek auxiliaries (often half moon or crescent shaped at the top) to the massively heavy infantry shield of the Greeks, the hoplon. Even the word shield itself can be translated into several different kinds of shields depending on time period and use. There was the 'parma", a smallish round shield, a word frequently used by Livy, which may be the same as the "Caeta", a short Spanish shield, also frequently employed by Livy again, and also often by Virgil. Both of these shields frequently are translated into older English texts as "targets" or "bucklers". It may be this kind of shield likely to have been carried by cavalry and by marines for shipboard use where a full size scutum would not be practical, though they seem to be just as often carrying a smaller oval shaped scutum.

I get the impression that the term "clipeus" may have been a more literary or civilian than military term for a shield and scutum the more common term within the military. There is a famous and popular maxim or quip in everyday Latin, "clipeum post vulnera sumere", that is, to take up a shield, (clipeus), after being wounded, that is to do something too late to do any good. Classical authors frequently refer to the Gallic or Celtic shield which was oval shaped but flat, not cylindrical. I also checked the New Testament for the word translated as shield. It appears there only once (Ephesians 6:16) where the koine Greek is "thureos" which the Vulgate translates as "scutum". The thureus is described as door shaped and four cornered as opposed to the round "aspis" which gets translated as clipeus.

Below are a few images from some of my coins. At the upper left is an early Ptolemaic tetra with a an oblong Gallic shield (at about eight o'clock). Why a Gallic or Celtic shield on an Egyptian piece? To celebrate the defeat of a Gallic invasion of Ptolemaic Egypt about 275 BC. To its right is a round clipeus of an Augustan denarius. Below and to the right is a denarius of Septimius Severus picturing a trophy from a defeated Parthia with two longish, oblong shields attached. At the bottom on the left is a double denarius of Valerian with his rendition of the Lucius and Gaius denarius of Augustus. If it was reissued to imitate the successful reign of Augustus it didn't work. The last coin is a FEL TEMP REPARATIO of Constantius II with two shields, one dropped by the fallen horseman on the ground and the other in the hand of the presumably Roman victor. I hope to learn a bit more about this necessary military accoutrement in following this thread.

 

First: Great write up and thread idea.
Second: How did I just barely see this wonderful thread?!?!?
I'll keep it minimal here:

 

View attachment 1061177

 

Some of these coins actually look like miniature shields.

 

Part of my fascination with the Macedonian Shield coins is just that. They are miniatures of what one of, if not, the greatest pre firearm military units used in the field.
I would LOVE to see more of these coins big brothers the actual shields and their bosses. But cannot find many online:

 

I've already posted a photo of this coin in another thread (together with photos of my Mars Ultor bronze figurine), but here it is again: Roman Republic, Q. Thermus M.f., AR Denarius 103 BCE. Obv. Head of Mars left with crested, plumed helmet/ Rev. Roman soldier advancing right, fighting with uplifted sword a barbarian soldier before him, while protecting with shield a fallen comrade at his feet, Q THERM.MF. in exergue (THE and MF in monograms). RSC I Minucia [Q. Minucius Rufus] 19 (ill.), Crawford 319/1, Sear RCV I 198 (ill.), Sydenham 592.19.4 mm., 3.97 g.


Note the difference between the Roman's sword and the barbarian's sword.


And here's the reverse of another Republican denarius I have, showing Juno Sospita with a spear and shield: Roman Republic, L. Procilius L.f., AR Denarius, 80 BCE. Obv. Laureate head of Jupiter R., S C behind/ Rev. Juno Sospita advancing R., holding shield in left hand and hurling spear with right hand; snake before; behind, L. PROCILI/F downwards. RSC I Procilia 1 (ill.), Crawford 379/1, Sydenham 771, Sear RCV I 306 (ill.). 19.5 mm., 3.6 g.



I have no idea what kind of shield that's supposed to be -- it looks more like a violin to me!