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Gladius d

Replica pseudo-Pompeii gladius. Note: the triangular ricasso or unsharpened portion of the blade just below the hilt is a historical inaccuracy as no historical gladii have been shown to possess this feature. ricasso is a part of some sword and knife blades It is an unsharpened and unbevelled section just above the guard or handle
Place of origin Ancient Rome as gladius, Celtic Europe before then. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC
Service history
In service 4th century BC through 2nd century AD.
Used by Legionary in Roman service, d bag Roman-influenced other forces.
Wars Roman Republic and Roman Empire
Specifications
Weight 1. The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial 2-1. 6 kg
Length 64-81 cm
Width 4-8 cm
Blade type steel of varying degrees of Carbon content, pointed, two-edged. A blade is the flat part of a Tool, Weapon, or Machine (such as a fan) that normally has a cutting edge and/or pointed end typically made
Hilt type Wood, bone or ivory. The hilt (sometimes called the haft) of a Sword is its handle consisting of a guard, grip and pommel.
This article is about the sword. For other uses, see Gladius (disambiguation).

Gladius is a Latin word for sword. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those used by the Greeks. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the conquest of Hispania. The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC The Celtiberians (or Celt-Iberians were a Celtic people of Hallstatt culture The Roman conquest of Hispania was a historical period that began with the Roman landing at Empúries in 218 BC and ended with the Roman conquest of the Iberian This kind of sword was known as the Gladius Hispaniensis, or "Hispanic Sword. Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar " It was once thought that they were similar to the later Mainz types, but the evidence now suggests that this was not the case. [1] Rather these early blades followed a slightly different pattern, being longer and narrower, and were probably those that Polybius[2] considered good for both cut and thrust. Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories Later extant Gladii are now known as the Mainz, Fulham and Pompei types. In the late Roman period Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus[3] refers to swords called semispathae (or semispathia) and spathae, for both of which he appears to consider gladius an appropriate term. Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus was a writer of the Later Roman Empire. The spatha was a type of straight Sword with a long point measuring between 0

A fully-equipped Roman soldier would have been armed with a shield (scutum), several javelins (pila), a sword (gladius), probably a dagger (pugio) and perhaps a number of darts (plumbatae). A shield is a protective device meant to intercept attacks The term often refers to a device that is held in the hand as opposed to Armour or a Bullet proof vest Scutum ('skjuːtəm in English pl scuta) is the Latin word for " Shield " although it has in modern times come to be specifically The pilum (plural pila) was a heavy javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times A dagger (from Vulgar Latin: 'daca' - a Dacian Knife) is a typically double-edged blade used for Stabbing or thrusting The pugio was a small Dagger used by Roman soldiers as a sidearm Plumbatae or martiobarbuli were lead-weighted darts carried by infantrymen in Antiquity and the Middle Ages Plumbatae or martiobarbuli were lead-weighted darts carried by infantrymen in Antiquity and the Middle Ages Conventionally, the javelins would be thrown before engaging the enemy, at which point the gladius would be drawn. The soldier generally led with his shield and thrust with his sword. Contrary to popular belief, all types of gladius appear to have also been suitable for cutting and chopping motions as well as for thrusting.

Contents

Etymology

The name is a Latin o-stem noun, its plural being gladii. Gladius is used in literature as early as the plays of Plautus (Casina, Rudens). Titus Maccius Plautus (c 254–184 BCE commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman Playwright.

Words derived from the word gladius include gladiator ("swordman") and gladiolus ("little sword," from the diminutive form of gladius). Gladiators (gladiatores "swordsmen" or "one who uses a sword" from la ''gladius'' "sword" were professional fighters in Ancient Rome who fought Gladiolus (from Latin, the Diminutive of gladius, a Sword) is a Genus of Flowering plants in the iris family A diminutive is a formation of a Word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning smallness of the object or quality named encapsulation intimacy or endearment Gladiolus is also the name of a flowering plant with sword-shaped leaves. Gladiolus (from Latin, the Diminutive of gladius, a Sword) is a Genus of Flowering plants in the iris family The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group

Celtic origin

According to Julius Pokorny the term would be of Celtic origin, from Gaulish *kladyos, cognate to Welsh cleddyf and Bretion kleze (Old Irish claideb is from the Brythonic, compare claymore), all meaning "sword", ultimately from a base *kelad- (extended from a root *kel-) cognate to Latin clādēs "injury, damage, defeat". The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. The term claymore (ˈkleɪmɔr or /kleɪˈmɔr/ from Scottish Gaelic claidheamh mòr, "great sword" may refer to one of two distinct types [4] Gladius could also be a term used to describe a dagger, Pugio. The pugio was a small Dagger used by Roman soldiers as a sidearm [5]

Acquisition by the Romans

A sword of the Cogotas II culture in Spain, which began about 700 BC. The shape is indistinguishable from the gladius hispanus.
A sword of the Cogotas II culture in Spain, which began about 700 BC. The shape is indistinguishable from the gladius hispanus.

The Hispanic sword was probably not acquired from Hispania and not from the Carthaginians. Livy[6] relates the story of Titus Manlius Torquatus taking up a Gallic challenge to a single combat by a large-size soldier at a bridge over the Anio river, where the Gauls and the Romans were encamped on opposite sides of the river. For other consuls with the same name see Titus Manlius Torquatus Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus held three consulships The Aniene River (formerly called the Teverone; in Latin Anio) is a 98 km River in Lazio, Italy. Manlius strapped on the Hispanic sword (Gladius Hispanus[7]). During the combat he thrust twice with it under the shield of the Gaul, dealing fatal blows to the abdomen. He then removed the Gaul's torc and placed it around his own neck, whence the name, torquatus. A torc, also spelled torq or torque is a rigid piece of personal adornment made from twisted metal

The combat happened in the consulships of C. Sulpicius and C. Licinius in about 361 BC, much before the Punic Wars, but during the frontier wars with the Gauls (366-341 BC). The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage between 264 and 146 BC and were probably the largest wars yet of the ancient One theory therefore proposes the borrowing of the word gladius from *kladi- during this period, relying on the principle that k becomes g in Latin only in loans. Ennius attests the word. Quintus Ennius (239 - 169 BC was a writer during the period of the Roman Republic, and is often considered the father of Roman Poetry. Gladius may have replaced ensis, which in the literary periods was used mainly by the poets. [8]

The debate on the origin of the gladius Hispanus continues. That it descended ultimately from Celtic swords of the La Tene and Hallstat periods is unquestioned. The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Whether it did so directly from Celtiberian troops of the Punic Wars or through Gallic troops of the Gallic Wars remains the question of the Hispanic sword. The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage between 264 and 146 BC and were probably the largest wars yet of the ancient

Gladius and gladiator

The gladiator etymologically was a slave (more rarely a free volunteer) who fought to the death using a gladius in a display called a ludus, "game", in origin held as part of the funeral celebration in honor of a notable warrior. Gladiators (gladiatores "swordsmen" or "one who uses a sword" from la ''gladius'' "sword" were professional fighters in Ancient Rome who fought The time the custom began is lost in the prehistoric Bronze Age. The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for

Etruscans held funeral ludi from an unknown provenience. Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy They passed the custom on to the Romans. In Roman gladiatorial theory, prisoners of war were to be sacrificed as a duty to the deceased warrior; hence the games were called munera, "services. " Over the centuries services were rendered through many forms of combat. The sacrificed went by many names.

Even among the Romans combat and weapons were of many forms. That being so, the choice of the word gladius needs to be explained. It must have been appropriate when displays began at Rome. Games were held first by Latin speakers at Capua, a renamed Etruscan city. Capua is a city in the Province of Caserta, Campania, Italy situated 25 km (16 mi north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of Livy explains that in 308 BC the Samnites were defeated by the Campanians, who captured a large cache of new and ornate arms, only acquired by the Samnites in 310 BC. Campania is a region of Southern Italy in Europe. The region has a population of around 5 The Campanians gave these to their gladiators, innovating a new class of gladiator, the Samnites. They fought with the gladius. [9]

When the Romans instituted the games at Rome in 264 BC, they displayed 3 pairs of matched gladiators. They were probably called gladiators then, though the only evidence is Livy's word for it. He may have been speaking anachronistically; however, his description of the Gallic combat above matches the use of the gladius. The dates 139B. C. -25A. D. , certainly, are right. In that same year, the Punic Wars began.

Manufacture

By the time of the Roman Republic, which flourished during the Iron Age, the classical world was well-acquainted with steel and the steel-making process. The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0 Pure iron is relatively soft, but pure iron is never found in nature. Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 Natural iron ore contains various impurities in solid solution, which harden the reduced metal by producing irregular-shaped metallic crystals.

The Chalybes of the Caucasus region were metallurgists for Iron-Age Europe and they had found that increasing carbon content produced harder steel. The Chalybes (Χάλυβες Χάλυβοι also called Khalib ( Georgian: ყალიბები Khalibebi (plural ყალიბი Khalibi (singular were a tribe The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East In Roman times ore was reduced in a bloomery furnace, as the blast furnace had not yet been invented, at least in western society. A bloomery is a type of Furnace once widely used for Smelting Iron from its oxides. A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical Furnace used for Smelting to produce metals generally Iron. The temperature did not become high enough to actually melt the metal. The result was pieces of slag, or blooms, which were forged into the desired shape. Forging continued until the metal cooled (cold forging).

A recent metallurgical study of two Etruria swords, one in the form of a Greek kopis from 7th century BC Vetulonia, and one in the form of a gladius Hispanus from 4th century BC Chiusa, gives some insight concerning the manufacture of Roman swords. Etruria &mdash usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia &mdash was a region of Central Italy, located in an area The kopis (from Ancient Greek κοπίς, from κόπτω kopto, "I cut" was a Sword with a forward-curving blade Vetulonia, formerly called Vetulonium or Vatluna, was an ancient Town of Etruria, Italy, the site of which is probably occupied by Klausen ( Italian: Chiusa; Archaic (1027 AD Clausa, also Clusa; Latin: Clausa, also Clusa) is a [10] The Chiusa sword comes from Romanized Etruria; thus, regardless of the names of the forms (which the authors do not identify), the authors believe the process was continuous from the Etruscans to the Romans.

The Vetulonian sword was crafted by the pattern welding process from five blooms reduced at a temperature of 1163 °C. Pattern welding is the practice in Sword and Knife making of forming a blade of several Metal pieces of differing composition that are forge-welded Five strips of varying carbon content were created. A central core of the sword contained the highest: 0. 15–0. 25% carbon. On its edges were placed four strips of low-carbon steel, 0. 05–0. 07%, and the whole thing was welded together by forging on the pattern of hammer blows. A blow increased the temperature sufficiently to produce a friction weld at that spot. Forging continued until the steel was cold, producing some central annealing. Annealing, in Metallurgy and Materials science, is a Heat treatment wherein a material is altered causing changes in its properties such as strength The sword was 58 cm long. [10]

The Chiusian sword was created from a single bloom by forging from a temperature of 1237 °C. The carbon content increased from 0. 05–0. 08% at the back side of the sword to 0. 35–0. 4% on the blade, from which the authors deduce some form of carburization may have been used. Carburization (often referred to as carburizing) is a heat treatment process which iron or steel is heated to "below the melting point in the presence of a solid liquid The sword was 40 cm long and was characterized by a wasp-waist close to the hilt.

Roman swords continued to be forged both as composites and from single pieces. Inclusions of sand and rust weakened the two swords of the study and no doubt limited the strength of swords during the Roman period.

Description

The word gladius acquired a general meaning as any type of sword. This use appears as early as the 1st century AD in the Biography of Alexander the Great by Quintus Curtius Rufus. Quintus Curtius Rufus was a Roman historian who is generally thought to have written his works during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD [11] The republican authors, however, appear to mean a specific type of sword, which is now known from archaeology to have had variants.

Gladii were two-edged for cutting and had a tapered point for stabbing during thrusting. A solid grip was provided by a knobbed hilt added on, possibly with ridges for the fingers. Blade strength was achieved by welding together strips, in which case the sword had a channel down the center, or by fashioning a single piece of high-carbon steel, rhomboidal in cross-section. The owner's name was often engraved or punched on the blade.

Stabbing was a very efficient technique as stabbing wounds, especially in the abdominal area, were almost always deadly (see the quotation from Vegetius under pugio). Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus was a writer of the Later Roman Empire. The pugio was a small Dagger used by Roman soldiers as a sidearm However, the gladius in some circumstances was used for cutting or slashing, as is indicated by Livy's account of the Macedonian Wars, wherein the Macedonian soldiers were horrified to see dismembered bodies. Titus Livius (traditionally 59 BC &ndash AD 17 known as Livy in English, was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome The Macedonian and Seleucid wars were a series of conflicts fought by Rome during and after the Second Punic war, in the eastern Mediterranean, the Adriatic [12]

Though the primary infantry attack was thrusting at stomach height, they were trained to take any advantage, such as slashing at kneecaps beneath the shield wall.

The gladius was sheathed in a scabbard mounted on a belt or shoulder strap, some say on the right, some say on the left (refer to the articles cited in the notes). Some say the soldier reached across his body to draw it, and others affirm that the position of the shield made this method of drawing impossible. A centurion wore it on the opposite side as a mark of distinction. Centurion redirects here This article is about the Roman soldier [13]

Towards the end of the second century A. D. the spatha took the place of the gladius in the Roman legions. The spatha was a type of straight Sword with a long point measuring between 0

Types

Several different designs were used; among collectors and historical reenactors, the three primary kinds are known as the Mainz gladius, the Fulham gladius, and the Pompeii gladius (these names refer to where or how the canonical example was found). "Reenactment" redirects here For the 1968 Romanian film see The Reenactment. More recent archaeological finds have uncovered an earlier version, the Gladius Hispaniensis ("Hispanic sword").

The differences between these varieties are subtle. The original Hispanic sword, or had a slight "wasp-waist" or "leaf-blade" curvature. [14] It was used in the republic. The Mainz variety came into use on the frontier in the early empire. It kept the curvature, but shortened and widened the blade and made the point triangular. At home the less battle-effective Pompei version came into use. It eliminated the curvature, lengthened the blade, and diminished the point. The Fulham was a compromise, with straight edges and a long point. [15]

Descriptions of the main types follow:


Scabbard

Roman scabbards were made of wood covered with leather and were decorated with a frame made of brass or iron.

The Latin word for the scabbard is vagina and some weapons experts and enthusiasts refer to the scabbard of a gladius by this Latin word. It acquired its modern meaning by means of a simple metaphor. The vagina (from Latin, literally " Sheath " or " Scabbard " is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the Uterus Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects The Romans generally did not use this word in its anatomical sense, but it does show up as a joke in Plautus, Pseudolus 4. Titus Maccius Plautus (c 254–184 BCE commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman Playwright. Pseudolus is a play by the ancient Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus. 7. 85: "Did the soldier's 'sword' fit well into your 'sheath'?"

Hilt

The hilt of a Roman sword was the capulus. It was often ornate, especially the sword-hilts of officers and dignitaries.

Notes

  1. ^ This point of view is expressed in LEGIO XX ONLINE HANDBOOK under GLADIUS. The article in turn cites the Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies.
  2. ^ Polybius, Histories, 3. 144. 3-4: τῆς μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἔλαττον τὸ κέντημα τῆς καταφορᾶς ἴσχυε πρὸς τὸ βλάπτειν, ἡ δὲ Γαλατικὴ μάχαιρα μίαν εἶχε χρείαν τὴν ἐκ καταφορᾶς, καὶ ταύτην ἐξ ἀποστάσεως. "[the Roman sword]'s thrust was no less damaging than its chop, but the Gallic sabre had just one use: chopping, and that from a distance. "
  3. ^ Vegetius De Re Militari 2. 15: gladios maiores, quos spathas uocant, et alios minores, quos semispathia nominant. . . "Larger swords, which they call spathae, and other, smaller ones, which they name semispathia"
  4. ^ One finds this point of view under gladiator in the Online Etymological Dictionary and it is espoused by Webster's Third New International Dictionary under gladiator, both of which seem to depend on Pokorny's comprehensive derivation under kel-3, pages 545-547. Julius Pokorny ( 12 June 1887 – 8 April 1970) was a scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly Irish, and a supporter For some linguistic problems with the derivation see Beekes under κλάδος, and in fact some notable dictionaries are silent on the further connection of the Celtic to an Indo-European root, such as the American Heritage Dictionary.
  5. ^ See Smith's article on gladius in Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, page 577, which is online at ancientlibrary. com.
  6. ^ 7. 10, link
  7. ^ Livy's term (link). Most authors use Hispaniensis but a few use Hispanus. Both are adjectives of the same meaning, that is, they refer to Hispania, or the Iberian Peninsula. Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra
  8. ^ This theory is stated in Note 80, Page 191, of faculty dissertation RUNIC INSCRIPTIONS IN OR FROM THE NETHERLANDS by Tineke Looijenga, University of Groningen.
  9. ^ Michael Grant, Gladiators, Barnes & Noble, 1967, ISBN 1-56619-958-1.
  10. ^ a b Walter NICODEMI, Carlo MAPELLI, Roberto VENTURINI and Riccardo RIVA: ISIJ Int., 45 (2006), 1358 . The reader should be aware that this article is written in technical metallurgical language.
  11. ^ "Copidas vocabant gladios leviter curvatos, falcibus similes: "They called their lightly curved, sickle-like swords (gladios) 'copides'. "
  12. ^ Histories, Book 31, Chapter 34.
  13. ^ See under gladius in Seyffert, Dictionary of Classical Antiquities.
  14. ^ Compare, for example, the Spanish Falcata, which is not a gladius and is not an ancestor of the gladius, but has nevertheless the wasp-waist. The falcata is a type of Sword typical of Pre- Roman Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, modern Spain and Portugal) similar
  15. ^ A comparison of the outlines can be found at the museo de arma blanca site. The text is in Spanish.
  16. ^ KOENRAAD S. VERBOVEN, GOOD FOR BUSINESS. THE ROMAN ARMY AND THE EMERGENCE OF A BUSINESS CLASS IN THE NORTHWESTERN PROVINCES (1ST CENTURY BC - 3RD C. AD), search under sword.

References

External links

The articles in the links below often differ both in theory and in detail. They should not necessarily be understood as fully professional articles but should be appreciated for their presentational value.

Pictures of ancient swords

Reenactments, reconstructions, experimental archaeology

Articles on the history or manufacture of the sword

See also

This article is part of the series on:

Military of ancient Rome (portal)
800 BC – AD 476
Structural history
Roman army (unit types and ranks,
legions, auxiliaries, generals)
Roman navy (fleets, admirals)
Campaign history
Lists of wars and battles
Decorations and punishments
Technological history
Military engineering (castra,
siege engines, arches, roads)
Personal equipment
Political history
Strategy and tactics
Infantry tactics
Frontiers and fortifications (limes,
Hadrian's Wall)
Commonwealth English! -->The military of ancient Rome relates to the combined military forces of Ancient Rome from the founding of the city The structural history of the Roman military describes the major chronological transformations in the organization and constitution of Ancient Rome 's armed forces, The Roman army was a set of military forces employed by the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and later Roman Empire as part of the Roman military This is a list of both unit types and ranks of the Roman army from the Roman Republic to the fall of This is a list of Roman legions, including key facts about each legion primarily focusing on Principate (early Empire 30BC - 284AD legions for which there exists Auxiliaries (from Latin: auxilia = "supports" formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate (30 BC&ndash284 AD A Manius Acilius Glabrio -- Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 191 BC -- Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 91 -- Titus The Roman Navy ( Latin: Classis, lit "fleet" comprised the naval forces of the Roman state The Roman Navy ( Latin: Classis, lit "fleet" comprised the naval forces of the Roman state From its origin as a city-state in Italy in 9th century BC the rise as an empire covering much of Eurasia and North The following is a List of Roman wars fought by the ancient Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire, organized by date The following is a list of Roman Battles fought by the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire, and sometimes the Byzantine Empire As with most other military forces the Roman military adopted a "carrot and stick" approach to military with an extensive list of decorations for military gallantry The technology history of the Roman military covers the development of and application of technologies for use in the armies and navies of Rome from the Roman Republic to the fall The military engineering of Ancient Rome 's armed forces was of a scale and frequency far beyond that of any of its contemporaries The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military Roman Siege engines were for the most part adapted from Hellenistic Siege Technology. List of ancient Roman Triumphal arches (By modern country France Carpentras Triumphal Arch The Roman Roads were essential for the growth of the Roman Empire, by enabling the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate news Roman military personal equipment was produced in large numbers to established patterns and used in an established way Rome's military was always tightly keyed to its political system The strategy of the Roman Military encompasses its Grand strategy (the arrangements made by the state to implement its political goals through a selection of military goals Roman infantry tactics refers to the theoretical and historical deployment formation and maneuvers of the Roman infantry from the start of the Roman Republic to the fall Roman military borders and fortifications were part of a Grand strategy of territorial defense in the Roman Empire. A limes (or the Limes Romanus) was a Border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. Hadrian's Wall ( Latin: perhaps Vallum Aelium, "the Aelian wall" is a stone and turf Fortification built by the Roman The spatha was a type of straight Sword with a long point measuring between 0 The pugio was a small Dagger used by Roman soldiers as a sidearm Roman military personal equipment was produced in large numbers to established patterns and used in an established way
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