Roman Centurion

At the launch of this current series we presented our “Primum Pilus”, literally “First Spear”... the top Centurion of a Roman Legion, the equivalent (in British Army terms) to a Regimental Sergeant Major. Here now, is the regular Centurion. Most of these men commanded a ‘Century’ of men, usually anywhere between 80-90 Legionaries. Centurions were expected to ‘lead from the front’ in battle and it naturally followed that the casualty rate was correspondingly high leading to constant ‘vacancies’! Centurions were also easily recognized by the horse hair crest on their helmets usually worn ‘transverse’. Our Centurion wears a chain mail vest as protection rather than the ‘Lorica Segmentata’ armour of his men.