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MAIASP. 2021. No. 13 A.E. Negin ( THE Emperor’s
armour-bearer: TO THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FIGURE FROM RELIEF OF THE GREAT
TRAJANIC FRIEZE DOI: 10.53737/2713-2021.2021.73.99.020 Access this
article (PDF File) Pages: 679—698 |
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The
paper gives an interpretation of a person, wearing in his hands Emperor’s
helmet, on one of the surviving reliefs from the Great Trajanic frieze, which
originally belonged to an unknown monument of the Trajan era, and later
adorned the Arch of Constantine. This figure is wearing the same type of
armour as the equites singulares
(cavalrymen) surrounding the Emperor. However, despite this, it is more
logical to see in this character not an ordinary bodyguard, and not even an
Emperor’s groom, but his chamberlain — cubicularius.
Based on the available ancient sources, as well as with the involvement of
iconographic material, the author concluded that the figure depicted behind
the Emperor is a person with a high status. In some cases, these people had
the title of “keeper of the dagger” (a pugione), which may indicate a
function associated with the storage of the Emperor’s pugio, which allows cubicularius to be interpreted as an
Emperor’s armour-bearer. |
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Key words: helmets, armour, emperor,
armour-bearers, |
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Received
December 15, 2021 Accepted
for publication December 30, 2021 |
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About the author: Negin Andrey Evgenevich ( E-mail: aenegin@mail.ru
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