The most basic definition of a centurion is an office in charge of a hundred soldiers. Generally, centurions earned their rank through years of dedication. For the purposes of my story, I had a handful that were moved ahead by politics.
Most of us have a pretty vivid image of a centurion. Those breastplates that display a perfectly sculpted male chest (and cover what most likely wasn’t, underneath, LOL), the brilliant scarlet cape attached at the shoulders, the short skirt made up of lappets, the ornate armor from the knee to the ankle. And of course, the plumed helmet. (Though I confess I had an image of the plume running from the back to the front, and in truth the centurion’s plume ran from side to side.)
For some intensive information on centurions, visit this site.
In my story, I take a few liberties with the role of the centurions, especially with their schedule. I found a very detailed report on how night shifts were selected, which confused me to no end, LOL. It seemed mostly to be by chance, but that was also describing a battlefield situation. I decided that it’s reasonable (who knows if it’s factual) to assume that in a garrison, schedules would be more firm. So I set it up that they would take a night shift every fourth day, which at least follows the impression I got from research, if not the exact letter.
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