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Nude Soldiers, Warriors etc.
- Thread starter dfg42
- Start date
Gibbs505
SERVORUM DOMITOR
That first one, I have one of those!
Attachments
Naraku
Draconarius
That last has me thinking:
“This is my rifle, this is my gun, this is for fighting, this is for fun.”
G
Greate Pier
Guest
dfg42
Consul
So practicing "social distancing". Very modern attitude of a primitive tribe, which are naturally not primitive at all. I just understand it as technical term.
Naraku
Draconarius
That will spare money for historical costumes.
dfg42
Consul
Expensive paint and do not forget the plastical surgery for increasing the penis ;-)
Leatherchain
Magistrate
Actually, a few of us in my Celtic re-enactment group have done this. The Romans HATE this. One of our guys stole one of their banners, and wore it as a loincloth. He made them remove it, themselves, to get it back. It was great watching them squirm.
dfg42
Consul
Revenge!
Honestly, I wondered about that, on the other hand it is known, that parts of clothing in wounds can gave severe infections, so it might even be wise to appear nude on battlefield (not at the re-enactment!, with the many TV stations.) The man published the above pics was studying the possible skin colours, do your colleagues also do this blue skin paintings?
One of the historic novel I know by Cueni, I think, was pointing out, that romans were shocked by the nude attackers. I would wonder why,
Leatherchain
Magistrate
Hah! This pic was taken at Old Ft McArthur Days, in San Pedro California in the mid 2000s. I used to do this event every year, when I lived there. Pretty sure those guys are from the old Legio IX Hispana, though I'd have to track down my old photos to be sure.
There are two known instances of Celts actually going nude into battle. One group was the Gaesatae (Spear men of Gaul), which was a special group of warriors that trained together as a unit, in the nude. It was thought that they did this 1) to prove how brave and worthy they were, and 2) to intimidate and confuse their enemy. They were a formidable fighting force, by all accounts, and trained specifically to fight in this fashion.
The second group to do it were a group of Galatians, making a last stand. These men were not in their prime, and had grown soft. It is thought that they did it in imitation of the Gaesatae, in hopes that they could intimidate their enemy and increase their own moral. They were described as pasty, round, and flabby, and they were quickly crushed in a short infantry battle. They didn't stand a chance.
As for the blue dye...there are lots of questions about that. The later Picts were known to tattoo themselves with blue pigment. The contemporary Scythian cultures were known to tattoo themselves. There is some debate about whether or not the general 'Celtic' cultures tattooed themselves at all, used blue paint, or didn't do this, at all. If they did, it was probably thought to be some form of protective talisman for battle, or simply decoration, though, again, real evidence of it is scanty. If they did, it would most likely have been some form of woad dye. Interestingly, woad has been shown to have some antiseptic properties, though whether this was known, or how much it would help, is debatable.
On the whole, most Celtic warriors would not actually go nude. They would wear clothes. Bright clothes. The brightest and gaudiest they could afford. Unless, of course, they could afford armour. If they could afford a maille shirt, helmet, possibly felt or some sort of leather or padded garment, then they certainly would have worn that. They were all about flashiness, and displays of wealth...and they were not fools.
dfg42
Consul
I was so laughing, when I saw that pic, it is so cool! Thanks for the detailed information about the Celts. That is one of the good things on CF the many well-informed people. I knew that the Celts, were also very good in metal fabrication, so they might have been able to make better arms than the romans. So it is a sort of mystery how they lost battles. For training it may make sense to do it in the nude. Spear throwing is a very delicate interplay of different muscles, so that can be better seen and corrected when nude. Anyway, if a similar event in my place occurs, I will consider to join the Gaesatae: I was always interested in spears!
Leatherchain
Magistrate
Actually, you throw javelins, you keep your spear. Fight with a single handed spear and center grip shield. Think of it like a long, wooden handled rapier. It's always best to train the way you fight. If you fight naked, then train naked. If you fight armoured, then train armoured.
Yes, the Celts were, in general, very skilled metalworkers, and most Roman equipment is ultimately based off of designs from other cultures.
As for how they lost...They won more battles than they lost. But, they were not unified. They fought amongst themselves. Many allied with the Romans. And most Celtic tribes were great raiders, artists, craftsmen, etc, but they didn't generally have a concept of long, drawn out conflicts. Roman bureaucrats, negotiators, and accountants generally won the wars, not the soldiers.
