Description

The single most important possession of a Roman legion was its AQUILA, its eagle. The eagle represented the spirit and soul of a legion and was to the legionnaires a sacred object. The gold eagle was secured in a shrine at legion headquarters and guarded. When the legion marched the aquilifer with the eagle would always be located at the head fo the legion. The aquilifer whose duty was the responsibility for the eagle was an office of the legion ranking just below a centurion. The loss of an eagle to the enemy was for a legion the ultimate disgrace and usually resulted in the elimination of that legion from the Roman Army.
In the Roman Army command and control structure there were three elements; Voice (centurions), Musicians and unit standards.
Each century had a standard which displayed the units identification. Additionally the unit standard would include the unit’s awards and battle honors (philarae) posted on the standard staff. The junior officers who carried the standard were called signifers. All the standard bearers wore animal skins over their armor to differentiate them.
The image of the emperor (imago) was carried by the Imaginifer.
When units of a legion would serve on detached duty with other legions their legion flag (vexilla) would be carried by their signifer.
Legion duties or calls to arms would come from the musicians (cornicern) on their horns, with specific instructions subsequently issued by the centurions.
While not as great a disgrace as the loss of an eagle, the loss of a unit standard brought substantial dishonor to a unit. Legionnaires would put their lives on the line to protect the standard.