The iconic "Roman sword" is definitely the gladius, but I think your quoted text is probably referring to the spatha, the later design from which most medieval (viking, knightly, etc) swords descend. The revolutionary innovation (probably learned from the Celts) being to use harder steel on the outside of the blade for sharpness and durability and softer iron/steel for the inner core so the sword can also bend without shattering. A technique that today we would call "pattern welding".
My wild-ass uninformed guess about their utility is that they were easier to mass-produce consistently and metal can take and keep a fine edge, so they would have been sharper than bone, ivory, or wood weapons. They might also have been more consistent in form, allowing scabbards to also be mass-produced. They're flat, which may have made them easier to store and carry. And the consistency may have allowed for unified training in their use. Lose the one you have, and another has the same weight and characteristics. But all just guesses on my part. 🤷🏼♂️
Re: the 12 days of Christmas, I don't know why it popped into my head while I was writing the headers for this, but I've been humming it all week!
As for the Gladius, there's clearly *something* going on here, but I don't really get whether it was revolutionary or refinements or if the people writing about how big a deal it was just kind of don't know a lot about other places and times (which in my experience happens a lot... historians tend to get very hyper-specialized).
This answer in the AskHistorians subreddit supports the idea that there is nothing special about the gladius on its own, but that it was a natural part of their overall system that includes shields, armor, spears, and javelins.
I'm seconding that - their sword was good because it was integral to the legion formation, and it was the legion formation that defeated the then undefeatable phalanx.
Heh, yeah, any of the above. Might just be the legend of Roman Might.
Earworms have always been a plague for me. I only have to think of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, and it will be playing in my head until something else knocks it out. Just mentioning it here is certain to start a one-tune playlist on repeat… 🙄
"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality..."
The iconic "Roman sword" is definitely the gladius, but I think your quoted text is probably referring to the spatha, the later design from which most medieval (viking, knightly, etc) swords descend. The revolutionary innovation (probably learned from the Celts) being to use harder steel on the outside of the blade for sharpness and durability and softer iron/steel for the inner core so the sword can also bend without shattering. A technique that today we would call "pattern welding".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatha
That did not occur to me, thank you!
Cute, singing blog post. Tho Wyrd is right that it's too early for that song.
Oh, it's way too early to be singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas"! Let's wait until at least July. 😄
It doesn't explicitly answer your question about swords, but you might find some useful nuggets:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladius
My wild-ass uninformed guess about their utility is that they were easier to mass-produce consistently and metal can take and keep a fine edge, so they would have been sharper than bone, ivory, or wood weapons. They might also have been more consistent in form, allowing scabbards to also be mass-produced. They're flat, which may have made them easier to store and carry. And the consistency may have allowed for unified training in their use. Lose the one you have, and another has the same weight and characteristics. But all just guesses on my part. 🤷🏼♂️
Re: the 12 days of Christmas, I don't know why it popped into my head while I was writing the headers for this, but I've been humming it all week!
As for the Gladius, there's clearly *something* going on here, but I don't really get whether it was revolutionary or refinements or if the people writing about how big a deal it was just kind of don't know a lot about other places and times (which in my experience happens a lot... historians tend to get very hyper-specialized).
This answer in the AskHistorians subreddit supports the idea that there is nothing special about the gladius on its own, but that it was a natural part of their overall system that includes shields, armor, spears, and javelins.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/zkzb2v/why_did_the_roman_legions_prefer_swords_as_a/
Oh wow great find! And this makes me feel a lot less dumb for not getting what was so obviously superior about it 💕
I'm seconding that - their sword was good because it was integral to the legion formation, and it was the legion formation that defeated the then undefeatable phalanx.
Heh, yeah, any of the above. Might just be the legend of Roman Might.
Earworms have always been a plague for me. I only have to think of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, and it will be playing in my head until something else knocks it out. Just mentioning it here is certain to start a one-tune playlist on repeat… 🙄
"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality..."