Dear director of that German TV documentary about the Germans and Rome, this is a Roman saddle.
Do you see any stirrups? No? Right, because there aren't any stirrups on a Roman saddle. Next time, find an actor playing Germanicus in the Teutoburg Forest who can ride and dismount a horse without the need of stirrups. It's not that difficult, really, I've ridden bareback more than once, and a Roman saddle is more comfortable than that. You should also get a Roman saddle, the modern one would have looked a bit off even without the stirrups.
Oh, dear. I gather it was an inaccurate documentary?
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm used to documentaries simplifying facts for the not so well washed masses, but they could find a more accurate translation of Cassius Dio, mention the little detail that Arminius had been Roman officer, and get rid of those damn stirrups.
ReplyDeleteAt least one thing German TV does not is to present Arminius as Gladiator/Bravheart/Bush freedom fighter. ;)
Hrmph. In my day we didn't have 'saddles', with or without stirrups. We rode uphill, both ways to a battle, and we liked it!
ReplyDeleteKids these days...
You think directors would phone a university and get a historian to give things a look see for accuracy. I think even my brother knows Romans didn't use stirrups by now...
G., they should have come to you before airing the doco.
ReplyDeleteConstance, you sure there aren't any Scots in you family tree? :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't get it how such a mistake could happen in a documentary. It's not a Hollywood movie, after all (where I have given up on expecting anything remotely resembling history).
You'd think something like that would be really easy to check. I remember your saddle post from a few months ago.
ReplyDeleteThey'd only had to ask Markus Junkelmann who did a lot of research on Roman cavalry and rode along the Limes in original equipment, together with some other crazy people. I'd love to do that myself on day.
ReplyDeleteGabriele, I'm only 1/2 Roman... the other half is...
ReplyDeleteScottish. *g* How's you guess?
We can cast blame everywhere on the stirrup issue - writers, directors, actors, producers. Someone should have caught it. You would think.
Gabriele
ReplyDeleteWas the saddle on a horse?
It's TV - what more do you want?
Constance, only Scottish hills go upward both ways. :)
ReplyDeleteLol, Hank, yes, the saddle was on a horse, not a cow. But still, in a documentary, I'd expect some measure of correctness.
Plus the horses were little more than ponies at the time.
ReplyDelete:-)
I get the giggles when I see the big horses and stirrups in the movies.