Vine staff

The epitaph of M. Caelius, chief centurion (primus pilus) of the ill-fated 18th Legion. His vine staff breaks the frame and even runs across the inscription.

The vine staff, vine-staff, or centurion's staff^[1] (Latin: vitis)^[2] was a vinewood rod of about 3 feet (1 m) in length used in the ancient Roman Army^[3][4] and Navy.^[5] It was the mark and tool of the centurion:^[6] both as an implement in the direction of drill and maneuvers; and to beat wayward or laggard soldiers or sailors under his command.^[7] It was also borne by evocati who held an equivalent rank.^[8]

Origin

The vine staff may have derived from the Etruscan lituus and was certainly in use by the Punic Wars.^[4] Following the enactment of the Porcian Laws in the early 2nd century BC, it was the only manner by which Roman citizens could be beaten^[7] and is mentioned by various classical authors. A line in Ovid notes that "the good general commits the vitis to one to command one hundred."^[9] Pliny: "The centurion's vine staff is an excellent medicine for sluggish troops who don't want to advance..."^[10] "and when used to chastise offenses makes even the punishment respectable."^[12] It carried none of the stigma of the whipping (by virgae) suffered by criminals prior to execution or the cudgeling (by fustuaria) endured for severe military offenses.^[14] Tacitus mentions Lucilius, a centurion known as "Gimme Another" (Cedo Alterum or Alteram) for his tendency to break his vine staffs during beatings;^[15] he was one of the first killed during the Pannonian Mutiny.^[14] Generally, however, soldiers were expected to endure their punishments; seizing the vine staff was cause for demotion and breaking it or harming the centurion were offenses punishable by death.^[14] Some scholars state the vine staff was the instrument used to beat the Iceni queen Boadicca.^[16] St Marcellus the Centurion was martyred following a scene where he cast away his vine staff and repudiated his rank.^[17]

Description

The vine staff is often featured on Roman tombs of the 1st through 4th century as a symbol of a centurion's status. These monuments show a variety of forms. During the early Principate, it was usually straight with a rounded top; it later acquired a mushroom-shaped head, which was continued under the Byzantines.^[3] Less often, it appeared in knotted and sinuous forms. One centurion gave his vine staff to the Temple of Jupiter at Heliopolis (modern Baalbek) as a votive offering. It was broken and given to the emperor Trajan when he inquired of the oracle of the Heliopolitan Jupiter whether he would survive his upcoming invasion of Parthia.^[18]

See also

• Pace stick, a similar long stick used in the British and Commonwealth armed forces as a symbol of authority and as an aid to military drill
• Swagger stick, a similar rod or crop used in the British and American armed services^[6]

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Brand, C.E. (1968), Roman Military Law, Austin: University of Texas Press, ISBN 978-0-292-74224-6 .
• Cook, Arthur Bernard (1914), Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion, Vol. I: Zeus God of the Bright Sky, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
• D'Amato, Raffaele; Sumner, Graham, Illustrator (2009), Imperial Roman Naval Forces 31 BC–AD 500, Men-at-Arms, Vol. 479, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, ISBN 978-1-84603-317-9 .
• D'Amato, Raffaele; Rava, Giuseppe, Illustrator (2012), Roman Centurions 31 BC–AD 500: The Classical and Late Empire, Men-at-Arms, Vol. 479, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1849087954 .
• D'Amato, Raffaele; Rava, Giuseppe, Illustrator (2013), Roman Centurions 753–31 BC: The Kingdom and the Age of Consuls, Men-at-Arms, Vol. 470, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, ISBN 9781849089371 .
• Gallonio, Rev. Antonio (2013), De SS. Martyrum Cruciatibus (PDF), translated from the Latin by Geoffrey K. Mondello as The Tortures and Torments of the Christian Martyrs for the Boston Catholic Journal .
• Lewis, Bunnell (1890), "Roman Antiquities of the Middle Rhine", The Archaeological Journal, London: British Archaeological Association, 47, pp. 193–378 .
• Mannix, Daniel Pratt IV (1964), The History of Torture, New York, Lake Oswego, Oregon: Dorset, eNet Press, ISBN 978-1-61886-751-3 .
• Robinson, H. Russell (1975), The Armour of Imperial Rome, Charles Scribner's Sons, ISBN 9780684139562, ISBN 0684139561 .
• Walters, Jonathan (1997), "Invading the Roman Body: Manliness and Impenetrability in Roman Thought", Roman Sexualities, Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 29–44, ISBN 0-691-01179-6 .
• Webster, Graham (1979). The Roman Imperial Army of the first and second centuries A.D. London: Constable and Company. p. 132. ISBN 0-09-475660-0. ISBN 978-0806130002. 
• Williams, Carolyn D. (2009), Boudica and Her Stories: Narrative Transformations of a Warrior Queen, Cranbury: Associated University Presses, ISBN 978-0-87413-079-9 .