SHIELD PATTERNS ON THE BRESCIA CASKET SHIELDS OF FAITH

The Brescia Casket, or reliquary of Brescia, is a rare example of a late-fourth-century ivory box decorated on all five visible sides with diverse images of Christian iconography. Its original purpose is disputed, though it was certainly used later to house relics. The decoration of the panels consists of scenes from the Old and New Testaments carved in relief. Among the wide-ranging Christian imagery are several fascinating military items worthy of our curiosity.

By Murray Dahm

The casket has been dated anywhere from the early fourth to the early fifth century, but a date in the late fourth century is commonly preferred. It is 32 cm long, 22 cm wide, and 25 cm high. The casket may have originally been made in Mediolanum (modern Milan), in the north of Italy. The reason is that the two shield designs on the lid (the scene with the arrest of Christ) where the soldiers have contemporary fourth-century tunics, leggings, and shields, were identified with the Scholae Palatinae units stationed in Milan in the Notitia Dignitatum, a document which may be almost exactly contemporary with the casket if the commonly accepted date is correct. This observation, often repeated uncritically, however, requires close inspection. Comparing shield designs According to the Notitia, five Scholae…

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Ancient Warfare (Digital) - 1 Issue, AW XVII.1

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