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Not to be confused with the staff vine.
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[ citation needed]; 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..." [11] "and when used to chastise offenses makes even the punishment respectable." [13] It carried none of the stigma of the whipping (by virgae) suffered by criminals prior to execution or the cudgeling (by fustes) 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

  1. ^ Robinson (1975), p. 157.
  2. ^ Brand (1968), p.  83.
  3. ^ a b D'Amato & Rava (2012), pp.  38–39.
  4. ^ a b D'Amato & Rava (2013), p.  38–39.
  5. ^ D'Amato & Sumner (2009), p.  20.
  6. ^ a b Webster 1979, p. 132.
  7. ^ a b Walters (1997), p.  40.
  8. ^ Lewis 1890, p.  206.
  9. ^ Ovid, Art of Love, III, 527.
  10. ^ Mannix (1964), p.  33.
  11. ^ Cited in Mannix. [10]
  12. ^ Gallonio (2013), p. 51.
  13. ^ Cited in Gallonio. [12]
  14. ^ a b c Brand (1968), p.  84.
  15. ^ Tacitus., Annals, Bk. I, Ch. 23, §4.
  16. ^ Williams (2009), p.  109.
  17. ^ Gallonio (2013), pp. 49–50.
  18. ^ Cook (1914), p.  553.

Bibliography

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