Iron fulmina (Latin plural: "lightning-bolts") were crossed
lightning
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
bolt insignia of some units of the
Roman army
The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
. Shields of the
Legio XII Fulminata
Legio XII Fulminata ("Thunderbolt Twelfth Legion"), also known as ''Paterna'', ''Victrix'', ''Antiqua'', ''Certa Constans'', and ''Galliena'', was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was originally levied by Julius Caesar in 58 BC, and the leg ...
showed the spread fires of trident-shaped lightning bolts (Latin: trifida fulgures).
[Graham Summer, Raffaele D'Amato Arms and Armour of the Imperial Roman Soldier - 2009 1473811899- Page 120 The milites of the Legio XII Fulminata were probably identified, at least at the beginning, by the lightning bolts chiselled ... rifidalightning bolts] The bolts were a reference to Jupiter, most senior of the Roman deities, hurling lightning bolts.
May also refer to Marziale's most used figure of speech, where the meaning of a poem is flipped in the last few sentences. (Fulmen in clausula)
References
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Insignia