testudo

testūdō, inis, f.: a tortoise; a vaulted roof, vault, 1.505; a testudo, formed of the shields of soldiers held over their heads, 2.441.

testūdo, ĭnis, f. [testa], a tortoise.

• I Lit., Pac. ap. Cic. Div. 2, 64, 133; Plin. 9, 10, 12, § 35; 32, 4, 14, § 32; Cic. N. D. 2, 48, 124; 2, 52, 129; Liv. 36, 32, 6; Sen. Ep. 121, 9; Phaedr. 2, 6, 5 al.—Prov.: testudo volat, of any thing impossible, Claud. in Eutr. 1, 352.—
• II Transf., tortoise-shell.
• • A Used for overlaying or veneering, Cic. N. D. 2, 57, 144; Verg. G. 2, 463; Ov. M. 2, 737; Mart. 12, 66, 5; Luc. 10, 120; Juv. 14, 308. —
  • B From the arched shape of a tortoise-shell.
  • • 1 Of any stringed instrument of music of an arched shape, a lyre, lute, cithern, Verg. G. 4, 464; Hor. C. 3, 11, 3; 4, 3, 17; id. Epod. 14, 11; id. A. P. 395; Val. Fl. 1, 187; 1, 277. —
    • 2 An arch, vault in buildings (syn.: fornix, camera), Varr. L. L. 5, §§ 79 and 161 Müll.; id. R. R. 3, 5, 1; 3, 6, 4; Cic. Brut. 22, 87; Sisenn. ap. Non. 58, 16; Verg. A. 1, 505. —
    • 3 In milit. lang., a tortoise, i. e. a covering, shed, shelter so called (cf.: vinea, pluteus), viz.,
    • • a Made of wood, for the protection of besiegers, Caes. B. G. 5, 43; 5, 52; Vitr. 10, 19 sq. —
      • b Formed of the shields of the soldiers held over their heads, Liv. 34, 39, 6; 44, 9, 6; Caes. B. G. 2, 6; Tac. A. 13, 39; id. H. 3, 31; 3, 27; 4, 23; Verg. A. 9, 505; 9, 514 al. —
    • 4 The covering of the hedgehog, Mart. 13, 86, 1. —
    • 5 A head-dress in imitation of a lyre, Ov. A. A. 3, 147.

tēstūdo, inis, f. (testa), die Schildkröte, I) eig., Liv. u.a. – Sprichw., testudo volat, von etw. Unmöglichem, Claud. in Eutr. 1, 352. – II) meton.: A) der Schild (die Schale) der Schildkröte, der zum Schmuck der Möbel diente, das Schildpatt, lecti ex testudine, Varro LL.: testudine culti (ausgelegt) thalami, Ov.: varii testudine postes, Verg.: Gallici (triumphi) apparatus ex testudine constitit, Vell. – B) v. der Wölbung des Schildkrötenschildes: 1) jedes gewölbte Saiteninstrument, die Lyra, Laute, Cithara, Verg. u. Hor. – übtr., eine der Cithara ähnliche Haartracht, Ov. art. am. 3, 147. – 2) der mit einer flachgewölbten Decke versehene Raum, bes. der innere Hof (cavaedium) des röm. Hauses, der Pavillon, Varro, Cic. u.a.: templi, Verg. – 3) die schildkrötenförmige Bedeckung, des Igels, Mart. 13, 86, 1. – 4) die Schale des Eies, ovum testudine tectum est, Augustin. serm. 105, 7. – 5) als milit. t.t.: a) das hölzerne Schutzdach, unter dem die Belagerer sicher standen, arbeiteten u. den Mauerbock (aries) an die Mauer hinschoben, Caes. u. Vitr. – b) das von den Soldaten aus den über den Köpfen zusammengefügten Schilden gebildete Schilddach, Caes. u.a.

testudo [CL] 1 tortoise; b (as genus). c snail. d (in gl.) whelk, shell-fish. nec lepori se velocitate nec ~ini tarditate conformans Gir. JS VII p. 371; tunc testudo tarda pigra / sicut cervus saliet Walt. Wimb. Van. 101; ibi alauda venatur accipitrem, et ~o aquilam comitatur ad astra Canon. G. Sempr. f. 55v; accipe de ~inibus nemorum et decoquantur in cacabo J. Mirfield Brev. 86; ~inis terranee abscide capud et pedes et reliqua coque in caldaria quo usque possint ossa a carne separari ‥ et da ad manducandum nescienti infirmo Alph. 184.  b tortuca inter ~ines computatur, eo quod inter testas durissimas clauditur Bart. Angl. XVIII 106.  c ~o duo cornua erigit, sed cum palea vel spina tanguntur, cornua retrahit et infra testam se includit O. Cheriton Fab. 48A; bidentes ‥ per commestum albarum ~inum corrumpi †poterint et infirmari Fleta 169; 1297 in herbariis per vices metendis et mundandis de foliis et ~inibus Ac. Cornw 132; si fimare non potest [falco], fel galli da ei comedere vel ~ines albas decoctas Upton 191; a snayle, limax ‥ ~o CathA; hec testugo, A. snele WW.  d a wilke, conchile, testudo CathA. 2 shell of tortoise used as sounding-board of lyre, lyre. b shell (of tortoise, snail, or other creature, as material). licet Orpheus sis ‥ vel ille qui solo ~inis sono saxa ‥ emollivit J. Sal. Pol. 565B; partem pro toto ut ~o pro cithara Gerv. Melkley AV 69.  b pulvis ~inis combuste omnem alienacionem et mentis insaniam curat Gad. 132v. 1. 3 (mil.): a shelter formed by a body of troops locking their shields together above their heads. b movable wooden screen or frame for siege engine or used in sieges; c (transf. & fig.). a cuncta squamis tela velut obliqua scutorum ~ine reppulit Lib. Monstr. III 9; ~o, densitas ramorum [l. armorum] GlC T 56; vexilla ‥ contra universum paganorum exercitum cum densa ~ine ferociter belligerans Asser Alf. 56; consertorum ~ine scutorum se occultare et sic jaculorum ingruentia [? l. ingruentiam] devitare Ord. Vit. IX 7 p. 501.  b ~o, bordðeaca GlC T 81; cum ‥ parata ~ine murus suffoderetur G. Mon. I 7; sint in eis [oppidis] ‥ / testudo preceps, aries lignumque, securis D. Bec. 1867; s1224 a regis bellatoribus due ~ines, quas Gallice brutesches appellant ‥ subacte M. Par. Maj. III 86.  c proturbans acies Christi ~ine fretus Alcuin SS Ebor 542; 947 ego ‥ episcopus ~inem sanctae crucis subscripsi Ch. Bath 29; nobis inevacuabili veritatis ~ine galeatis O. Cant. Pref. Frith. 16; similiter ‥ lacerti et ~ines costarum defendunt epar Bart. Angl. V 1; papali ~ine undique se munientes Mon. Francisc. II 269. 4 (arch.) arch of roof, vaulting (esp. of church). b roof. hic Thomas ‥ / servat sacratum sarta testudine templum Aldh. CE 4. 6. 2; imaginem ‥ duodecim apostolorum quibus mediam ejusdem aecclesiae ~inem, ducto a pariete ad parietem tabulato, praecingeret Bede HA 6; templum est edificium divinum multiformi ~ine et ornatu comptum W. Donc. Aph. Phil. 7. 1; Johannes de Dice sedens supra testitudinem ecclesie ‥ omnia ista evidenter videbat Brakelond f. 155; altitudo ~inis occidentalis a pavimento continet cij pedes Ann. Paul. 277; ~o, voute of an hows PP; capellam, cum testitudine lapidea valde artificiosa. ‥ parietes cum coopertura de plumbo absque ~ine construxit Invent. Ch. Ch. 163.  b Guthlac ‥ sub ~ine tecti quo sederet ventinulam posuit Felix Guthl. 39. 5 (in gl.) hardness. ~o, duritia GlC T 59.

testūdō, (10) ĭnis, f. (testa), ¶ 1 tortue : Cic. Nat. 2, 124 ; Liv. 36, 32, 6 ; Sen. Ep. 121, 9 ¶ 2 écaille, carapace de tortue ; a) incrustations dʼécaille de tortue : Virg. G. 2, 463 ; Ov. M. 2, 737 ; b) tout instrument à cordes voûté, lyre, luth, cithare : Cic. Nat. 2, 144 ; Virg. G. 4, 464 ; Hor. O. 3, 11, 3 ; c) réduit, cour entièrement, couverts : Varro L. 5, 79 ; 5, 161 ; Cic. Br. 87 ; Virg. En. 1, 505 ; d) [milit.] tortue [machine de guerre : galerie montée sur roues] : Cæs. G. 5, 42, 5 ; 5, 43, 3, [ou] [formation dʼattaque des soldats faisant une voûte au-dessus de leurs têtes avec leurs boucliers] : testudine facta Cæs. G. 2, 6, 3 ; 5, 0, 7, etc.; avant fait la tortue, cf. Liv. 34, 39, 6 ; 44, 9, 6 ; Tac. Ann. 13, 39, etc. e) enveloppe du hérisson : Mart. 13, 86, 1.

testudo , inis. f.
龜。鱉。棬工。琵琶。琴印。避丐。帶銅牌。稠隊。殻。鱗。— lutaria 王八。鱉。— marina 龜。玳瑁。Testudine cultus 有玳瑁飾者。

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testūdō inis, f

• testa, a tortoise: fluviatiles testudines: collecta in suum tegumen, L.—Tortoise-shell: varios pulchrā testudine postīs, i. e. overlaid with tortoise-shell, V.—Because shells were used as frames for stringed instruments, a stringed instrument of music, lyre, lute, cithern: cavā solans aegrum testudine amorem, V.: resonare septem Callida nervis, H.—In building, an arched room, inner chamber, arch, vault: commentari in quādam testudine: mediā testudine templi, V.— In war, a tortoise, covering, shed, shelter: turrīs testudinesque agere, i. e. wooden sheds protecting the besiegers, Cs.: testudine factā, i. e. with shields interlaced, L.: actā testudine, V.—A head-dress resembling a lyre: Cyllenea, O.

TESTUDO

TESTU´DO(χελώνη), a tortoise, was the name given to several other objects.

1. To the Lyra, because it was sometimes made of a tortoise-shell. [LYRA]

2. To an arched or vaulted roof (Verg. A. 1.505; Cic. Brutt. 22, 87). Thus, for instance, in a Roman house, when the Cavum Aedium was roofed all over and had no opening or compluvium in the centre, the Cavum Aedium was called Testudo (Varr. L. L. 5.161, ed. Müller). [DOMUSVol. I. pp. 670, 685.]

3. In military affairs testudo (χελώνη) is used as a generic term for all kinds of movable roofs used to protect men or engines. The first mention of a χελώνη is in Xen. Hell. 3.1, 7. There were different kinds of such shed-like constructions, all of which were made of wood and mounted on wheels.

(a) χελώνη κριοφόρος (testudo arietaria, Vitr. 10.19(13), 7) was a shed-like protection for the battering-ram; see ARIES

(b) χελώνη διορυκτρίς (Apollod. 138, Wescher) or ὀρυκτρίς (Anonym. ap. Wescher, p. 214), used for protecting soldiers when they were undermining a wall. Its front was quite perpendicular, so that it could be run up close to the wall; and the line of the roof formed by the two sides, which sides themselves sloped down to the ground, extended backwards as in the accompanying cut (taken from Marquardt, Staatsverwalt. ii.2 529; cf. in some measure Wescher, Poliorcétique des Grecs, fig. lvii.). This is the way Vitr. 10.21(15), 1, and Athen. de Mech. 19 Wescher, are to be reconciled; for the figure given by Muller in Baumeister (fig. 577, vol. 1. p. 540) does not agree with Vitruvius, l. c.

(c) χελώνη χωστρὶς (Diod. 2.27; testudo quae ad congestionem fossarum paratur, Vitr. 10.20(14), who elaborately describes it after Philo the Athenian, giving numerous measurements) was used when the ground in front of the walls of a besieged town had to be altered in any way to further the siege, e. g. ditches to be filled, acclivities levelled, &c. Its distinctive feature was that it had on the front next the enemy a sloping roof, as in the subjoined cut.

The size of this testudo, as that of other testudines, of course varied. That described by Philo appears to have been about 39 by 35 feet (Droysen, Griech. Kriegsalt. p. 227). All the testudines were as a general rule covered with a double layer of fresh hides, which were stuffed with sea-weed or chaff steeped in vinegar, or other non-inflammable substances (Vitruv. l. c.). These coverings were called centones, and sacks of this nature were also used for extinguishing fires (Dig. 33, 7, 12) and for receiving the blows of missiles discharged from engines (Caes. Bell. Civ. ii, 9).

(d) χελώνη ἀρετή (Athen. de Mech. 38 Wescher), probably like (b), except that its roof appears to have been arched, not pointed. It seems to have been specially adapted to withstand great weights when hurled down on the besiegers (Apollod. p. 138 fin. Wesch.).

For further details on these testudines, see Vitruvius, l. c.; Apollodorus, pp. 140 ff., 154 ff., Wescher; and Droysen, Griech, Kriegsalt. pp. 287 ff.

4. The name of Testudo was also applied to the covering made by a close body of soldiers: the soldiers of the outside rank placing their long semi-cylindrical shaped shields (clipei, ἀσπίδες) in front, and the others placing their flat shields (scuta, θυρεοὶ) over their heads to secure themselves against the darts of the enemy. The shields fitted so closely together as to present one unbroken surface without any insterstices between them, and were also so firm that men could walk upon them, and even horses and chariots be driven over them (Dio Cass.). A testudo was formed (testudinem facere) either in battle to ward off the arrows and other missiles of the enemy (cf. Liv. 10.29, 6, 12; and phalange facta in Caes. Bell. Gall. 1.24), or, which was more frequently the case, to form a protection to the soldiers when they advanced to the walls or gates of a town for the purpose of attacking them (Dio Cass. l. c.; Liv. 10.43; 31.39-Z2, 14; 34.39-Z2, 6;--Caes. B. G. 2.6; Sal. Jug. 94; Tac. Ann. 13.39; Hist. 3.27, 31. See cut annexed, taken from the Antonine Column).

Sometimes the shields were disposed in such a way as to make the testudo slope. The soldiers in the first line stood upright, those in the second stooped a little, and each line successively was a little lower than the preceding down to the last, where the soldiers rested on one knee. Such a disposition of the shields was called Fastigata testudo, on account of their sloping like the roof of a building, κεραμωτῷ καταρρύτῳ παραπλήσιον (Plb. 28.12). The advantages of this plan were obvious: the stones and missiles thrown upon: the shields rolled off them like water from a roof; besides which, other soldiers frequently advanced upon them to attack the enemy upon the walls. The Romans were accustomed to form this kind of testudo, as an exercise, in the games of the Circus (Liv. 44.9; Plb. 28.12).

[W.S] [L.C.P]

Testūdo

(χελώνη). Literally “a tortoise (shell)” (1) The general designation for different kinds of sheds for the protection of soldiers engaged in a siege.

(2) The name testudo was also applied to the covering made by a close body of soldiers, who placed their shields over their heads to secure themselves against the darts of the enemy. The shields fitted so closely together as to present one unbroken surface without any interstices between them, and were also so firm that men could walk upon them, and even horses and chariots be driven over them. A testudo was formed (testudinem facere) either in battle to ward off the arrows and other missiles of the enemy, or, which was more frequently the case, to form a protection to the soldiers when they advanced to the walls or gates of a town for the purpose of attacking them. Sometimes the shields were disposed in such a way as to make the testudo slope. The soldiers in the first line stood upright, those in the second stooped a little, and each line successively was a little lower than the preceding down to the last, where the soldiers rested on one knee. Such a disposition of the shields was called fastigata testudo, on account of their sloping like the roof of a building. The advantages of this plan were obvious: the stones and missiles thrown upon the shields rolled off them like water from a roof; besides which, other soldiers frequently advanced upon them to attack the enemy upon the walls. The Romans were accustomed to form this kind of testudo, as an exercise, in the games of the Circus (Livy , xliv. 9).