The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville - Pot-pourri

202 IX.iii.37–iii.53 Isidore of Seville
of allegiance. 37. The custom of the Roman army was
that youths should first bear arms on reaching puberty,
for tyros would begin to serve in their sixteenth year,
though still at this age under instructors. Concerning
them, Vergil (cf. Aen. 7.162):
And youths in their first flower.
38. Ofcourse, slaves never served in the military unless
they were freed – except at the time of Hannibal, when
the Romans were in such straits after the battle of Cannae
that there was no possibility of freeing slaves. 39.Deserters
(desertor) aresocalledbecause they wander, leaving
their military duties deserted (desertus). They are prohibited
from enlisting in other troops of soldiers, but if
their crime was of short duration, after they have been
flogged they are restored to their own troop. But there
are those who desert (deserere) thearmy and pass over
to the enemy, and they are also called deserters.
40. Conscript soldiers are so called because they are
enrolled in the muster list by the officer who will command
them, just as soldiers are called transcripts when
they transfer from one legion to another – and hence
transcript (transcriptus), because they give their names
so that they may be transcribed (transcribere). 41.Adjutants
(optio) are so called, because they are selected, for
optare means “select,” as in this verse (Vergil, Aen. 3.109):
Andhechose (optare) asite for the kingdom,
that is, he selected it. 42. Sentinels (excubitor) areso
called because they always keep watch (excubia). They
are members of a troop of soldiers who ‘keep outdoor
watch’ (excubare)insentry boxes as a royal guard. Excubiae
are daytime watches, and vigiliae are nighttime.
Hence also the term ‘sentinel’ (vigil). 43. Skirmishers
(veles)areatypeoffighter among the Romans, so called
from their ‘darting about’ (volitare). Thus armed young
men selected for their agility would ride seated behind
mounted soldiers, and as soon as they encountered the
enemy they would leap from the horses and now as foot
soldiers would persistently harass the enemy while the
mounted men who brought them would attack on the
other side. Hannibal’s elephants were once driven back
by these skirmishers, and when their riders could not
control them, the elephants were killed with a workman’s
knife driven between their ears.
44. Acamp is where a soldier would be stationed. It
is called a camp (castra) asifitwere ‘chaste’ (castus),
or because there sexual desire would be castrated
(castrare)–forawomanneverenteredacamp.45.‘Military
service’ (militia) issocalledfrom‘soldiers’ (miles,
gen. militis), or from the word ‘many’ (multus), as if the
term were multitia,being the occupation of many men,
or from a mass (moles) ofthings, as if the word were
moletia. 46. Alegion (legio) isatroopofsix thousand
armed men, so called from ‘selected’ (eligere), as if it were
‘picked out’(legere), that is, chosen for arms. Properly
we speak of a phalanx of Macedonians, a ‘band’ (caterva)
of Gauls, and a ‘legion’ (legio)ofour (i.e. Roman) forces.
47. Alegion has sixty centuries, thirty maniples, twelve
cohorts, and two hundred squadrons.
48.Acentury(centuria)isadivisionofanarmycomposed
of a hundred (cf. centum, “hundred”) soldiers.
Hence those who command them are called centurions.
49. Reinforcements (subcenturiatus) aremennot of the
first, but of the second century, as if the word were ‘below
the first century’ (sub prima centuria); nevertheless in
battle they were formed up and placed in lookouts so that
if the first century failed they, whom we have spoken of as
the substitutes, would reinforce the first century in their
efforts. Hence also a subcenturiatus would be stationed
in ambush, as if he were trained in deceptive warfare
(i.e. as sub can mean “secret”). 50.Amaniple consists of
two hundred soldiers. These troops are called maniples
(manipulus) either because they would begin a battle
in the first combat (manus), or because, before battlestandards
existed, they would make ‘handfuls’ (manipulus)for
themselves as standards, that is, bundles of straw
or of some plant, and from this standard the soldiers
were nicknamed ‘manipulars.’ Of them, Lucan (Civil
War 1.296):
Straightway he rallies the armed maniples (maniplus) to
the standards.
51. Asquadron (turma) consists of thirty horsemen.
There were three hundred Roman horsemen in one
‘tribe’ (tribus; seeiv.7 below) and each group of one
hundred would give ten to make up the squadron. A
cohort has five hundred soldiers.
52. There are three kinds of military service: by oath,
by call to arms, and by communal oath. 53. Inservice
by oath (sacramentum) each soldier after his election
swears not to quit his service until after his hitch has
been completed, that is, his period of service – and those
are the ones who have a full service record, for they