The shields of the Boukellarioi

[Ade G]

Aventine Miniatures have announced that they will be releasing Justinian Romans this year and, in the hope they are "accurate", I am clearing the decks for collecting and painting.

While I am fine on shield patterns for Kavallarioi and Skutatoi etc I must admit to being stumped by the shield patterns that Boukellarioi may have used?

Given their attachment to their commander and potential privately financed equipment I wonder what patterns the "short not small" shield hanging from their shoulder might exhibit?

[Duncan Head]

I am not aware of any shield patterns that can be linked to boukellarioi; I suppose one would have to say that there is no evidence that they were any different from other units.

[aligern]

Boukellarii were recruited by generals , partly as bodyguard units, partly as a military staff to provide sub commanders and the equivalent of special forces. They seem to have often consisted of about 300 men, though , in Asia, Belsarius' is said to have had 7000 men directly dependent upon him.
They took an oath to tgeir general and an oath of loyalty to the Empire. We know that they could be recruited from men who had left regular Roman army units, but had to get permission to transfer, or from barbarian groups , presumably from their elites.
Eventually the situation was regularised and the boukellarii were firmed into annelite cavalry unit.
One possibility is that At that point we can imagine that they all adopted one shield device....but we do not know what it is.
We might take the point that they were from several s backgrounds and suggest that tgey came with shields , either regular Roman or barbarian and retained their original shields. That creates some potential problems of unit identification, but we must never assume that ancient civilisations were as systematic as Victorian armies.
Secondly we coukd look at what artists represent as a shield for a bodyguard unit. Its likely that the shields shown carried by the guards around an emperor represent actual units of imperial guards. However, there are depictions of guards with generic shield patterns that look non specific.
One such is the flireate cross shown in the illustration of Pharaoh's army drowning in tge Ashburnam Pentateuch. Another is shown on an ivory pyxis showing Joseph in Egypt? and on the panels of the chair of Bishop Maximimian in Ravenna. That has a traditional winged thunderbolt design. Of course it is likely that such devices are artistic stock in trades, but they are at least contemporary.
Of course there is apotential to use simply a PX superimposed one upon another, with a suitable background.
Lastly, you can invent a device perhaps copying a notitia dignitatum design in different colours.

[Ade G]

I am not aware of any shield patterns that can be linked to boukellarioi; I suppose one would have to say that there is no evidence that they were any different from other units.

For the first time in my life I know as much as you on a subject! But somehow you seem more certain ;-)

[Ade G]

Boukellarii were recruited by generals , partly as bodyguard units, partly as a military staff to provide sub commanders and the equivalent of special forces. They seem to have often consisted of about 300 men, though , in Asia, Belsarius' is said to have had 7000 men directly dependent upon him.
They took an oath to tgeir general and an oath of loyalty to the Empire. We know that they could be recruited from men who had left regular Roman army units, but had to get permission to transfer, or from barbarian groups , presumably from their elites.
Eventually the situation was regularised and the boukellarii were firmed into annelite cavalry unit.
One possibility is that At that point we can imagine that they all adopted one shield device....but we do not know what it is.
We might take the point that they were from several s backgrounds and suggest that tgey came with shields , either regular Roman or barbarian and retained their original shields. That creates some potential problems of unit identification, but we must never assume that ancient civilisations were as systematic as Victorian armies.
Secondly we coukd look at what artists represent as a shield for a bodyguard unit. Its likely that the shields shown carried by the guards around an emperor represent actual units of imperial guards. However, there are depictions of guards with generic shield patterns that look non specific.
One such is the flireate cross shown in the illustration of Pharaoh's army drowning in tge Ashburnam Pentateuch. Another is shown on an ivory pyxis showing Joseph in Egypt? and on the panels of the chair of Bishop Maximimian in Ravenna. That has a traditional winged thunderbolt design. Of course it is likely that such devices are artistic stock in trades, but they are at least contemporary.
Of course there is apotential to use simply a PX superimposed one upon another, with a suitable background.
Lastly, you can invent a device perhaps copying a notitia dignitatum design in different colours.

Thank you for the suggestions Aligern.
There seem to be some parallels that can be drawn with Alexander's Companions providing an inner clique who held similar views. Interesting for me is that I believe Belisarius served as a Bukellarioi and then expanded regiments under his command.

For once I was correct in my assumption that there were no specific designs depicted anywhere (that we know are specific to these regiments) so I shall see if there are any in the ND that would serve as a basis.