Thursday, October 13, 2016

Aqvila Legionis

The Eagle of the XXIst

To find an eagle statue worth the name of aquila legionis is not an easy task at all. 
Actually there are a lot of casted eagles on Internet auctions but most of them do not match expectations of a true Roman reenactor. 
One has to consider the historical impresions, shape, pose, dimension, weight, material, general aesthetics and of course - costs. So not only a historical accuracy but also a personal taste and money can interfere with one's particular choice.
Referring to the historic background aqvila legionis was the most important sign or standard of every Roman legion. Its importance and meaning is confirmed and described in many written sources. There are a lot of images of legion's eagles on reliefs and coins. 
But there are not many archeological findings of such or similiar artefacts, and their interpretations are always uncertain (there could not have been more aquilae legionis than there were Roman legions...)
For exemple, the Silchester eagle, called also "the eagle of the Ninth". It is interpreted as a part of a civilian statue. Next one is the eagle from Colchester bought for a penny by an American airman from a local lad after WWII, but this is simply an urban legend without confirmation. The only eagles that can be placed in military context are the ones from Romania. But are any of them aqvila legionis, this sacrosanctvm of a Roman legion? We doubt it. These are rather parts of signum or other installations. So our primary sources for the eagles are sculptures (e.g. Trajan's column, statue of Augustus de Prima Porta).
After a long discussion and deliberations on sources our conclusion was that the eagle of the XXI Rapax should be a proud and majestic bird in motu: flying/landing/taking off/attacking its pray.
And we were seeking for such a bird almost eight years. But we finally found it.
That's our boy, gilded and put on the pole. Definietely worth the wait, isn't it?




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