Skip to content
Vexillarius
EntityQ1155764· pop 17· linked from 22 articles

Vexillarius

Sign in to save

thumb|A Historical reenactment|reenactor, equipped as a vexillifer, with a vexillum standard

Wikidata facts

Instance of
position
Subclass of
signifer
Named after
vexillum
Image
PraetorianVexillifer 1.jpg
Show 3 more facts
class of object(s) of occurrence
vexillum
Commons category
Vexillifer
used by
Roman army
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~2 min read

Encyclopedic overview

2 sections
Contents
  • See also
  • References

thumb|A Historical reenactment|reenactor, equipped as a vexillifer, with a vexillum standard

Vexillarius is a term referring to one of several distinct types of Roman soldier. A vexillarius, or vexillifer, was one of the signiferi in a Roman legion. His duty was to carry the vexillum, a military standard displaying the name and emblem of the legion. This standard consisted of a woven fabric banner, hung on a crossbar attached to a pole or lance. It was used by both infantry and cavalry. It could designate a vexillation (Latin: vexillatio), a detachment from a larger unit, though it was most likely also a standard for regular complete or component units (such as legions, cohorts, alae).

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Vexillarius” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.