Any Latin scholars? Requesting a bit of help with labels.

[Richard in Sachsen]

Hello, after spending some time on my 28s, I getting back to my 6's. I'm basing my Romans today and I'm adding small labels to the bases to identify the units. I can't find anywhere in my literature or on the web how to label the cohorts in Latin, which I'd like to do. I know that they were called, simply "the first cohort," "the second cohort," etc. I just don't know which declensions to use. My labels look like this:

LEG XI CLAUDIA - P - F
I cohortem

I found something like this below, but due to space, I'd like to use numbers instead

• primo cohortem
  secundo cohortem
  cohortis tertii
  quarta cohors
  et quinta cohors
  cohors sexta
  cohors septima
  cohors octava
  nona cohortem
  decimam cohortem

Not sure what to go with (e.g. Cohors I or I Cohortem), any advice is much appreciated.


Richard

[Mad Doc Morris]

If you're going for abbreviations already, why not use "Coh" and Roman numerals.
Otherwise nominative singular is applicable, so "Cohors (Prima, Secunda, Tertia...)".

[Richard in Sachsen]

Perfect! Thanks Mad Doc, I'll do the abbreviations. That's the solution.

Thank you very much

[A Lot of Gaul]

As an added bonus, 'COH' (all caps) plus the Roman numeral is the way the Romans did it, in funerary and other inscriptions.

Cheers,
Scott

[Richard in Sachsen]

Thanks, Obelix! I followed that suggestion and got seven cohorts based (I ran out of legionnaires for the other three  , time to order from Baccus.) I think I ran out as I put 18 strips on the first cohort and the regular nine on the others.

That really helped, thanks

[FierceKitty]

The Romans commonly used the accusative case in titles and the like. Thus Vergil's epic was known as the Aeneidos. I imagine ancient Roman wargamers would have followed a similar practice. But it's also true, they were very given to using contracted forms.
Thanks for an unusual question.

[Mad Doc Morris]

The Romans commonly used the accusative case in titles and the like. Thus Vergil's epic was known as the Aeneidos. I imagine ancient Roman wargamers would have followed a similar practice. But it's also true, they were very given to using contracted forms.

Hm, never heard of this before. Any source?
IIRC, Aeneidos is the genitive (sg.) form of the Greek loanword Aeneis.

[FierceKitty]

My days as a Latin scholar lie decades in the distant past, I fear.

[Moshes]

Just my two cents.

Nominative case works fine for naming the units, as prima cohors, secunda cohors, and so on.
Accusative is used when the word is the object of a sentence, like Caesar primam cohortem iuvat, Caesar sends the first Cohors.
Other cases are meant to be use as prepositional constructions, as Vorennus in prima Cohortis est, Vorennus is in the first Cohors, Caesar auream aquilam ex prima Cohortis davit, Caesar gave a golden aquila from the first Cohors.

For wargaming purposes, I think the most sensible option is to use always the nominative, which go as prima, secunda, tertia, quarta, quinta, sexta, septima, octava, nona et decima Cohors. The plural of Cohors is Cohortes, so if you want to name two or more cohors at once use it, as prima et quinta Cohortes, the first and fifth Cohors.

I hope you find it useful, Richard.

[Richard in Sachsen]

Thank you Moshe,

Yes, that is extremely useful. I followed the advice upthread and used the nominative with abbreviations. They turned out great!

Thanks everyone