Clipeus
The clipeus (Latin clipeus or clipeum) was a round or oval shield used in the Roman army. Its name has been associated with the Greek verb καλύπτω, “to cover”. Such shields are often associated with auxiliary troops, including spearmen and cavalry, whereas the scutum is especially associated with legionaries. Round and oval shields had a long history and became increasingly prominent in the later Roman army.
Historical Background
The klipeus has its origins in the ancient Greek hoplons - round shields that were used by Hoplites. The Romans, who also used the phalanx as the main battle formation of their infantry until the IV century BC, used parma shields similar to hoplons parma, which had a round shape. During the period when the Romans adopted maniple tactics, the scutum becomes the main Roman shield, while Parma remains in service with velites (lightly armed infantry with javelins) and partially with cavalry. Around the same time, the klipeus - an oval shield, apparently developed from Parma, is a distant descendant of Hoplon, and was adopted by the auxiliary troops - auxilia. However, there is a version that the names "parma" and "clypeus" themselves were used interchangeably in the early Republican period, and were used to refer to the same type of shields. Parma, as a small round shield, remained in service with the standard bearers of the legion- Aquiliferi, signifer Signiferi, Vexillarii, as well as Corniceni and Tubuceni.
Oval shields and round shields such as the parma remained in Roman use for centuries. During the third century CE, round and oval forms became increasingly common alongside the scutum. Dura-Europos has yielded examples of oval wooden shields as well as the best-preserved Roman scutum.
The surviving painted oval shields from Dura-Europos date to shortly before the city fell in 256 CE. Their elaborate decoration includes scenes of the Trojan War, fighting between Greeks and Amazons, and a warrior deity—not Christian saints. The ancient terms clipeus and parma cannot always be assigned unambiguously to individual archaeological finds.
Image of a Roman auxiliary with a clypius. Bas-relief of the pedestal of one of the columns that decorated the courtyard in front of the complex of buildings of the headquarters (praetorium and principia) of the citadel of the Roman city of Mogontiac (Latin Mogontiacum,modern. German city of Mainz). "Land Museum",Mainz,Germany. Second half of the first century AD
Image of Aurelius Sabius auxilarius with clipeus,from legio II Traiana fortis. Alexandria,inv. No. 252. 222-250 A.D.
Image of Roman auxiliaries next to the "turtle". The clipeuses are clearly visible. Metopes of Trajan's column,II century ADConstruction
The basic construction resembled that of other wooden Roman shields. A board of joined planks could be covered with cloth or leather and fitted with a protective rim. Materials and construction varied; rawhide and metal edging both occur in discussions of Roman shield reconstruction.
Large oval shields could be taller than the familiar curved rectangular scutum. Reconstructions based on finds from Dura-Europos commonly approach 125 cm in height and roughly 70–80 cm in width, although individual examples and estimates differ.
Like scuta, oval shields bore painted designs. Reliefs preserve numerous examples of such emblems, which may have helped distinguish auxiliary units.
A central opening in the shield board accommodated the hand holding the grip. An iron or bronze boss protected it from the front. Detached grips and bosses are not always easy to assign to a particular shield type, since construction methods and fittings overlapped. Circular boss flanges are commonly associated with round or oval shields, while square, rectangular and other angular flanges also occur on fittings attributed to scuta.
Round bronze umbon. Found in Kirkham,England. Kept in the British Museum
Outline of different variants of handles found at Hadrian's Wall (II century AD)
Emperor Trajan's address to the troops after the victory over the Dacians. Various digmas on clipeuses are clearly visible. II century AD Trajan's ColumnImago Clipeata
The term clipeus also occurs in art. An imago clipeata is a portrait or other figure enclosed within a circular, shield-like frame. The surrounding border might be a simple ring, an elaborate wreath or another round form. Such portraits are particularly familiar from Roman sarcophagus reliefs of the third and fourth centuries CE.
The motif belongs to the tradition of displaying honorific portraits on shields, including portraits celebrating victorious commanders. Its shield-like form connected portraiture with military honour and commemoration.
Sarcophagus of Two Brothers,III-IV century A.D. Catacombs near Rome. Preserved in the Pio Cristiano Museum,Rome
Constance's sarcophagus. 4th century AD Mausoleum of Constantia,eastern outskirts of Rome. Preserved in the Pius Clement Museum,Vatican City
Sarcophagus with relief imago clipeata. III century AD Villa La Pietro,FlorenceReconstruction
Legio X Fretensis reconstructs the Second Cantabrian Cohort as its auxiliary unit, chosen for its proximity to the Tenth Legion's area of service. The club uses oval shields 125 cm high and 65 cm wide at their broadest point. They have yellow cloth-covered faces, brass edging and a painted auxiliary shield design taken from Trajan's Column.
Clypeus auxiliary,reconstruction
Auxiliaries with clipeus in battle formation,reconstruction
Drawing of the club clipeus Legio X Fretensis
Drawing of digma clypeus from Trajan's column. Written by D. R. Travis. The leftmost digma is used for reconstruction in Legio X Fretensis
Metopes of Trajan's column. II century AD Exactly in the center you can see the image of the digma used in Legio X FretensisRelated topics
Literature
Peter Connolly. Greece and Rome at War. Russian edition: Moscow, EKSMO-Press, 2000. 320 pp. ISBN 5-04-005183-2.
M. C. Bishop and J. C. N. Coulston. Roman Military Equipment from the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome. 2nd edition.
James Curle. A Roman Frontier Post and Its People: The Fort of Newstead in the Parish of Melrose. Glasgow: James MacLehose and Sons for the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1911.
Hilary and John Travis. Roman Shields: Historical Development and Reconstruction. Amberley Publishing, 2014.
Painted Roman Wood Shields from Dura-Europos. Getty conservation study: https://www.getty.edu/publications/mummyportraits/part-two/16/
Auxiliaries cross the river. II century AD Trajan's Column
Auxiliaries that hunt wild animals. IV century AD Roman mosaic from the Villa del Casale near Piazza Armerina (Sicily)
Drawing of the clypeus of the third century AD from Dura-Evropos,by D. R. TravisInterested in Ancient Rome beyond reading? Join Legio X Fretensis or explore our reenactment directions.
