Roman legionaries would wear subarmalis, thick padding, under their armor, both for comfort and added protection. While Segmentata like this example were strongly associated, then as now, with the common infantryman of the Legions, in practice the Legions used scale (squamata) and chainmail (hamata) as well, depending on needs, preferences, and supply.
If I remember right, they usually fought with spears, which would dictate that they had less of a worry about close attackers
Funny enough, the Roman Legions of the Mid-Late Republic and first ~300 years of the Empire were one of the few pre-modern polities to eschew the spear as their primary weapon! They had an unusually short sword, in fact, mandating that they close quickly and aggressively with the enemy to have any chance of surviving. However, the small size of the sword made it easier to handle their massive shields!
Roman legionaries would wear subarmalis, thick padding, under their armor, both for comfort and added protection. While Segmentata like this example were strongly associated, then as now, with the common infantryman of the Legions, in practice the Legions used scale (squamata) and chainmail (hamata) as well, depending on needs, preferences, and supply.
Funny enough, the Roman Legions of the Mid-Late Republic and first ~300 years of the Empire were one of the few pre-modern polities to eschew the spear as their primary weapon! They had an unusually short sword, in fact, mandating that they close quickly and aggressively with the enemy to have any chance of surviving. However, the small size of the sword made it easier to handle their massive shields!