Vegetius

• Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus was a fifth century CE Roman Military Historian who described the organisation and tactics of the Roman Army.
• Vegetius’ main Work is his Manual on Military Strategy, ‘De Re Militari’, written sometime between 390-450 CE.

Quotes by Vegetius

• ‘If you want peace, prepare for war.’  Si vis Pacem, para Bellum.
• ‘Valor is superior to number’
• ‘Few men are born brave. Many acquire bravery through discipline and training’.
• ‘The courage of a soldier is increased by his knowledge of his profession’.

Works

• ‘De Re Militari’
  • ‘concerning Military Affairs’ also known as ‘Epitoma Rei Militaris’.
  • One of the most popular Latin Works during the Medieval Period, from which 226 copies have survived today.
    • Book I: Recruits and Training.
    • Book II: Infantry Exercises.
    • Book III: The Arts of War and a series of influential maxims.
    • Book IV: Siege Machines and Naval Warfare (chapters 31-46)

• • • • In Naval Warfare (chapters 38-43) he mentions a vessel of the Roman Navy in Britannia called a Picati (a local name apparently used by the Britons).
      • It was a scouting galley with 40 oars, attached to larger Warships.
      • The vessels either shadowed enemy convoys or attacked them, operating by day and night.
      • To conceal themselves, the crews and vessels used a blue dye: The sails and rigging were died Venetian blue. the vessel sides were covered in a blue wax and the sailors and marines wore Venetian blue uniforms.
• ‘Digesta Artis Mulomedicinae’
  • A lesser known Work, this is a treatise on Veterinary Medicine.
  • In Book III, the first four chapters deal with Anatomy of Horses.