Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies 1 1990
Legio V Alaudae and the crested
lark
M.C. Bishop
Suetonius tells us1 that legio V Alaudae was raised
by Caesar in Gallia Transalpina, probably in 52 B.C.
from local levies, and that it took its cognomen from
the Gallic word for a lark (alauda as opposed to the
Latin galerita).2 The legionary name is in fact a plural
(‘The Larks’) and has been taken by modern authorities
to be derived from the fact that the helmetcrest worn by
these men resembled the head-plumage of the crested
lark (Galerida cristata; Fig.1,1). This identification is
based upon a passage in Pliny the Elder s Historia Nat­
uralis where, describing various types of crests in bird
plumage, he refers to the naming of the legion after this
particular bird.3
Examination of Pliny’s text reveals, however, that
this description is normally taken out of context, for he
actually says that the alauda has ‘horns’ (cornicula)
like those of a pheasant4 – in other words, small tufts
on either side of the bird s head. The crested lark, on
the other hand, has only a central erect crest and so
cannot be identified with the alauda.5 It seems likely
that the bird intended is in fact most likely to be the
male shore (or horned) lark (Eremophila alpestris;
Fig.1,2), a species of lark that possesses these charac-
teristic tufts on the head.6 Whilst no weight should be
placed upon it, the present-day distribution of these
species is interesting: the crested lark is now wide-
spread in Europe, the Near East and North Africa, but
the shore lark winters in a small area around the north-
ern coasts of Europe, is a summer visitor in northern
Scandinavia, and is resident in the Balkans and the
Near East.7 Even if the relative distributions were only
approximately similar in Caesar s time, then we might
reasonably expect the crested lark to be familiar to the
Romans from Italy, and thus not particularly ‘Gallic’
in its associations. However, the rarer shore lark might
only have been encountered by Caesar’s men in Gaul
for the first time; characteristically a lark by its song,
but very different in appearance from their native cres-
ted lark.8 By 52 B.C., Caesar had been to Britain and
had campaigned in northern Gaul and may, therefore,
have had the opportunity to see this bird.
161
This point would only be of passing interest, if it were
not for the fact that it has something to tell us about the
use of helmet-crests in the Roman army.9 The helmet-
crest was an important element of Roman military attire,
signifying status10 and also playing a psychological
role.11 There were a variety of ways of attaching crests or
plumes to helmets in the army of the late Republic and
early Imperial period.12 One method was to have a cent-
ral mounting point at the top of the bowl of the helmet,
often with fixing rings at the front and back to secure a
crest box (Fig.1,3).13 Crest boxes could be attached to
crest-knobs which were actually part of the helmet14
(Fig.1,4) or to forked crest-holders.15 Many helmets also
display socalled plume-tubes,16 designed to hold side
plumes. Such side plumes can be seen being worn, to-
gether with a central crest, on the tombstones of C.
Castricius (of legio II Adiutrix) from Aquincum17 and
Flavinus the signifer (Fig.1,5) of the ala Petriana (now
in Hexham Abbey).18
Robinson has pointed out that side feathers were
fashionable in Italy as early as the 4th century
B.C.,19 but they are not normally found on Monte-
fortino helmets and may not have been widely used
by the late Republican army.20 In a famous passage,
Caesar talks of his men not having enough time to
affix their insignia before battle, and this has
sometimes been taken to mean crests,21 and we
might now suggest further that legio V earned its
cognomen from the fact that its men wore only
side-plumes, thus resembling the shore lark, which
we have now identified with Suetonius and the
Elder Pliny’s alauda.
Thus one legion at least was distinguished from its
fellows by a characteristic arrangement of its crests; it
seems only logical to conclude that others may well
have chosen to display their identity in some way.
There is a suggestion in Tacitus’ Historiae that
shields bore marks that helped identify units, and
excavations in the Schutthügel at Vindonissa re-
covered leather shield covers with small ansate pan-
els naming the legion to which they belonged (XI
162 Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies 1 1990

Fig. 1: 1 – The crested lark (Galerita cristata) (after HAMMOND & EVERETT, 1980); 2 – the shore lark (Eremophila
alpestris) (after ibid.); 3 – Imperial­Gallic type F helmet from Besançon, showing crest attachments (C) and plume tubes (P)
(after ROBINSON, 1975); 4 – Montefortino type E helmet from Mainz showing crest attachments (C) and plume tube (P)
(after ibid.); 5 – detail of the tombstone of Flavinus at Hexham, showing central crest with two plumes on one side of the
helmet. Not to scale.

Claudia).22 Josephus implies that troops did not nor-
mally remove the protective covers from their equip-
ment when in battle, contradicting the impression
given by Caesar, who says it was normal practice for
legionaries to remove their shield covers and affix
their insignia.23 Obviously, there were clear advant-
ages in a commander being able to distinguish a unit
when engaged in the field, and crests and shields
would be two of the most easily discerned indicators;
indeed Vegetius says as much:
‘In case the soldiers should become separated from their
comrades at any time in the confusion of battle, each
cohort painted a different emblem – digmata, as they
called them – on its shield, as indeed is still the custom. In
addition, the name of the soldier was written on the front
of the shield, together with his cohort and century.’24
 Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies 1 1990
Fig. 2: Hypothetical reconstruction of the cresting
(insignia?) of legio V Alaudae, employing a plume on either
side of the helmet in imitation of the shore lark.
Thus the insignia of a legion – those things which
distinguished it from its fellows – appear to have in-
cluded the helmet crests. The question of whether
crests were worn in battle is, however, vexed; Polybi-
us and Caesar certainly imply that they were, but Tra-
jan’s Column and the Mainz column bases would ap-
pear to suggest the opposite, unless there was a
change in practice between the Republic and early
Empire.25
Status and display were two very closely linked
functions of the helmet-crest,26 and identification was
linked to both of these. It would seem that we may
now conclude that the cognomen ‘The Larks’ was a
powerful piece of imagery and clearly more than just a
playful nickname for Caesar’s legio V.
NOTES
1. SUETONIUS, Div. Iul. 24. I am grateful to Martha An-
drews and Dr J.C.N. Coulston for reading draft copies of
this paper, and Drs H. Dodge and A.J. Parker for help ob-
taining references. All errors naturally remain my own re-
sponsibility.
2. Ad legiones, quas a republica acceperat, alias priuato
sumptu addidit, unam etiam ex Transalpinis con­
scriptam, uocabulo quoque Gallico Alauda enim
apellabatur, quam disciplina cultuque romano institutam
et ornatam postea uniuersam ciuitate donauit.
3. XI,121: phasianae corniculis, praeterea paruae aui,
quae, ab illo galerita appellata quondam, postea Gallico
uocabulo etiam legioni nomen dederat alaudae.
4. HEINZEL et al., 1979, 106–7 (with figure).
5. Ibid., 204–5 (with figure).
163
6. Ibid., 198–9 (with figure).
7. Ibid., 198. Only the skylark (Alauda arvensis) appears in
the survey of wild birds from Roman Britain published in
PARKER, 1988.
8. For its song and appearance, see HEINZEL et al., 1979,
198.
9. Cf. ROBINSON, 1975, 140–3.
10. VEGETIUS Epit. rei mil. II,13; 16.
11. POLYBIUS VI,23.
12. ROBINSON, 1975, Figs.141–6.
13. Ibid., 140.
14. Ibid., Figs.141–3.
15. Ibid., Figs.62–74.
16. Ibid., Fig.81. Cf. Figs.27, 42–3, 45, 49.
17. Ibid., Pl.470.
18. SCHLEIERMACHER, 1984, 191–2.
19. ROBINSON, 1975, 141.
20. Loc. Cit.
21. CAESAR Bell. Gall. II,21. Cf. WEBSTER, 1985, 126.
Certainly, one can read the passage with the sense that
they did not have time to put on their helmets, let alone
their crests.
22. TACITUS Hist. III,23, where soldiers pick up shields be-
longing to an opposing legion and thereby conceal their
true identity. For ansate panels on leather from Vindon-
issa, see GANSSER-BURCKHARDT, 1942, Abb.60–1 &
70–1. On a shield cover from the Bonner Berg, an appli-
qué patch bore a depiction of Minerva above the legend
LEG I MPF (VAN DRIEL-MURRAY & GECHTER,
1983, 35–6, Taf.7,137.
23. TACITUS Hist. II,68 says legionaries were distinguished
from praetorians by their insignia, although he does not
make it clear whether this was from the type of crest, or
simply its presence or absence; certainly, praetorians
seem to be indicated on Trajan’s Column by the wearing
of crests.
24. Protective covers: JOSEPHUS Bell. Iud. V,350; digmata:
VEGETIUS Epitoma rei militaris II,18. A possible ex-
ample of digmata may be the lion painted on the Dura
rectangular shield, perhaps the emblem of legio XVI
Flavia Firma (BISHOP, 1990, 24).
25. Scene XL on the column, for example. Mainz column
bases: ROBINSON, 1975, Pls.196–7 and 199.
26. It has been suggested – MAXFIELD, 1981, 99 – that the
form of dona militaria known as the corniculum may have
been some form of helmet decoration. Vegetius makes the
point (II,13) that soldiers followed their centurion’s crest in
much the same way as they followed their standard.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BISHOP, M.C. 1990: ‘On parade: status, display, and morale in
the Roman army’, in H. Vetters & M. Kandler (eds.), Ak­
ten des 14. internationalen Limeskongresses 1986 in
Carnuntum, Der römische Limes in Österreich 36,
(Wien 1990), 21–30
VAN DRIEL-MURRAY, C. & GECHTER, M. 1983: ‘Funde
aus der Fabrica der Legio I Minervia am Bonner Berg’,
in Rheinische Ausgrabungen 23. Beiträge zur Archäo-
logie des römischen Rheinlands IV, 1983, 1–83
GANSSER-BURCKHARDT, A. 1942: Das Leder und seine
Verarbeitung im römischen Legionslager Vindonissa,
164 Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies 1 1990

(Basel 1942)
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