The dreaded Roman gladius: the sword that conquered the world
By David Black Mastro (aka TrueFightScholar)
According to Roman Army expert Peter Connolly in the book "Swords and
Hilt Weapons", the gladius Hispaniensis (lit., "Spanish sword") was
adopted by the Romans sometime during the First Punic War, when they saw
this weapon being used to great effect by Iberian mercenaries in the
Carthaginian Army. The Ancient Iberians were among the greatest iron
workers & swordsmen of their day, and their genius in edged weapons
design is thoroughly manifest in the gladius Hispaniensis -- one of the
finest swords ever developed anywhere in the world.
The gladius Hispaniensis had a broad, double-edged blade around 50 cm
long. The blade was broad at the base, slightly waisted in the middle,
and then swelled at the center of percussion (COP). The point was long
and very acute. This brilliant design made the "Spanish sword" brutally
effective for both thrusting and cutting -- something that is
all-too-often ignored by modern writers, who uncritically typify the
gladius Hispanensis as a purely thrusting weapon. Although it was a
short sword, the broad blade and swelling at the COP enabled the wielder
of this weapon to easily sever limbs. The Ancient author Livy mentioned
how the gladius’s chopping power lowered the morale of the Macedonian
Army during the Second Macedonian War.
The gladius Hispaniensis (the Roman version is usually referred to as
the "Mainz" pattern) was used for hundreds of years, but sometime in the
middle of the 1st century A.D./C.E., it was supplanted by a new form of
gladius, generally referred to as the "Pompeii" pattern (after examples
found at that town). Roughly the same length as its predecessor, the
"Pompeii"-type gladius featured parallel edges, and a shorter, more
obtuse point. Still an effective cut-and-thrust sword, it was of a
simpler design, and thus easier and cheaper to manufacture.
Like their former Iberian opponents, the Romans were very much a
swordfighting martial culture, and it was reflected as much in their
training as it was in their choice of weapons. The Jewish historian
Flavius Josephus (aka Joseph Ben-Matthias) made the following comment
about the Romans:
"Their drills are like bloodless battles, and their battles bloody drills."
What did these "bloodless battles" involve? We know from the late Roman
treatise, "Epitoma Rei Militaris" ("Epitome of Military Science") by
Publius Flavius Renatus Vegetius, that the Romans made use of several
training methods for the legionaries. Training began at the palum -- a
6-foot-tall wooden stake, that served as a target. Wielding a wickerwork
shield and wooden sword (rudis) that were both weighted to be twice as
heavy as a real sword and shield, the recruit would practice all his
cuts and thrusts at the palum. Also considered essential was a special
drill known as the armatura, about which little is actually known.
Eventually, recruits squared off against each other with real swords
(rebated with leather covers for safety) and engaged in competitive
bouts.
Legionary recruits were taught swordplay by experienced weapons
instructors (doctores armorum). As Connolly has noted, Roman Army
training methods were based on those of the gladiatorial schools. The
gladius’s status in Rome’s martial culture is evident not only from its
use by the Legions, but also by the numerous gladiator types who wielded
it, including the secutor, myrmillo, and provocator.
Among specific techniques, we know that the Romans preferred to use
thrusts to the face and abdomen, cuts to the opponent’s weapon-bearing
limb, and the infamous hamstring cut, which retained its notoriety when
it resurfaced as a technique used by Renaissance-era European swordsmen,
in the 16th century A.D./C.E.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
David Black Mastro - The dreaded Roman gladius: the sword that conquered the world
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1 comments:
With kind permission of my friend, David Black Mastro, known on some forums as "TrueFightScholar", I'm going to archive some of his articles here.
Enjoy!
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