Some Celtic and Roman weapons of the late first century
I've written about weapons in previous posts during the last few years, and parts of this article may appear to be a repetition, but what follows are examples of what some of my characters in
The Beltane Choice may have been wielding.
The Beltane Choice and the other books in my Celtic Fervour Series are set around AD
71 – 84 Britannia. The following information I found useful for this era.
Celtic Weaponry
When facing the shining array of Roman equipment, what would
the typical Celt have had to fight with? Would he have looked like this warrior?
Whether clad or unclad, as some Roman historians would have
us believe, the weapons carried would have varied depending on the actual
location in Britannia, and the warrior's status. The completely naked Celt is
less likely in northern Britain,
if the weather was fairly similar to that of today. A Celtic warrior may have
worn woollen braccae though he may have forgone a tunic and cloak since either, or both, might hamper the wielding of weapons. If, as documented by Roman
historians, some Celts painted themselves with woad or some form of bluish dye,
then it makes sense to show off those patterns on bare torsos.
Since evidence of the wearing of helmets in northern Britain is
scarce and Roman and Greek recorded writings state it wasn’t common, the only
headgear worn might have been for ceremonial reasons- perhaps a pre-battle
statement by whoever was leading the charge.
Swords were likely to have been carried by only some of the
higher echelons of the tribe, since to own a sword would be to possess a
valuable item. The typical sword of the era was likely to have been of the
longer variety, perhaps some as long as 27 inches, probably double sided and
with a hilt generally made from bone, horn or wood.
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| Wikimedia Commons - Museum of Scotland |
Since the use of the small two-wheeled
chariot was still a common feature, swords had become longer during the late
Iron Age to accommodate the longer stretch to reach an opponent from the
chariot. These extremely sharp weapons were carried in a scabbard made from two
hinged iron plates hinged which was hung around the waist suspended from a belt
of iron links.
Fashioning these swords was a fine skill, the development of
a form of steel enhancing the overall capability of the sword wielder as the
impact on the enemy was greater and the tougher metal was capable of cutting
through chain mail. They were not designed for any stabbing motions and
therefore did not have a sharpened point. The slash and cut was what it was
intended for. The movements need to use these swords meant that the Celtic
warriors needed space to wield the sword and could not easily cluster together
like the Romans could with their shorter gladius.
Celtic spearmen were likely to have been much more plentiful
than sword wielders. The spearman would have carried a number of these and would
have led the charge, running on foot to barrage the enemy with a volley of
fired spears. These javelin types were intended for long range reach and
the sheer numbers of spears thrown were intended to fell the front ranks of the
enemy, or to seriously dent the front line, even if they had huddled in
tortoise formations close together to repel an attack as the Romans did.
The Celtic thrusting spear had by late first
century developed into something resembling a lance with a slimmer leaf shaped
head, suitably sized for piercing the lorica hamata (chain mail)-of the Roman
auxiliary and for penetrating between the metal plates of the lorica segmentata
(plated mail) of the legionary soldier. The spear head was simply fashioned
from iron or steel, attached with a riveted pin through a wooden shaft of ash
or a similar durable and strong wood. It seems to have been common for some
either very brave, or depending on how you view it, very foolhardy Celtic
warriors to have run forward after the first volley was fired to collect up the
fallen weapons to reuse them. Scurrying back to a distance far enough off to be
able to use them again could not have been easy or even all that successful.
A dagger or a long knife was a likely possibility and
this would have had a sharp point, the shorter blade intended for neck slicing
or stabbing motions. A leather sheath, hung from a belt at the waist, would
have protected the warrior from inadvertent cuts from the sharp blade.
Slings and sling stones seem to have been used frequently,
and very skilfully, and these would have been stored in a pouch suspended from
the belt or from a thong angled across the chest. The bow and arrow does not seem to have been generally used
in battle - it was deemed not a worthy weapon since the need to fire at a great
range was not an honourable way to kill the enemy, and the Celt in battle was a
fiercely proud warrior.
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| Wikimedia Commons |
The typical Celtic shield may have been small and circular
or oval shaped, generally hide covered over wooden
frame, or made from light wood and painted. The spectacular 'Battersea shield' is
possibly from an older era but any shield such as this would have only seen ceremonial
use.
The chariots used might be classified as weapons by some
enthusiasts. During the era I write about they were two-wheeled, they mostly
had light strapped sides and they had a flat bed to stand on. They were drawn
by a small Celtic horse, or horses, and were manned often by a driver who was
accompanied by a dedicated spearman.
In battle, the small chariots were used to
confront and taunt the enemy front line and to create breaks in the defence
wall. After some noisy posturing and skilled taunting, it's thought the driver
and spearman would jump from the vehicle to engage in hand to hand combat, the
vehicle remaining nearby for a quick getaway. In practice, it seems that the
chariots caused a lot of chaos when the horses became disoriented or were
injured.
Roman use of the gladius was significant, but it was
the whole armour and defensive package which often defeated the Celts during
the battles fought in Britannia and across Europe.
Roman Weaponry
The Roman soldier, whether auxiliary or legionary, was significantly
different from the typical Celt in what he wore and what he carried. Unlike Celtic
warriors, Roman military equipment was standard and the soldier was at great
pains to ensure his equipment was maintained to a high standard. The mandatory
paying for missing or damaged items was avoided whenever possible. Damage
during a battle was unavoidable, at times, but the typical Roman soldier made
sure damage was not due to lazy maintenance. That meant unvarying vigilance in
certain climates. This constant striving to have the best maintained equipment
was for weapons but also for the armour that was constantly worn.
Roman Swords
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| Wikimedia Commons |
Infantry Sword: Gladius
The most typical Roman Gladius, with its searingly
sharp double edge and formidable triangular-shaped tip, was not thought to be
originally a Roman weapon. The type of blade originated in ‘Hispania’, now
named Spain, but was used so effectively against Roman troops during the early
Roman conquest of the area that the Romans adopted the shape from the Celtic
locals and fashioned their own versions around the 4th – 3rd
century BC.
During those earliest Republican Roman invasions of Iberia (Spain) the natives used two types
of sword. The first was a hook-handled sword called a falcata. This type
of weapon was used to hook and slash, the deadly curve on it being most
effective for angled slicing, though it was very effective in disabling a
conquering Roman.
The Roman army chose the Celt-Iberian second weapon shape as
their new weapon of choice. This second weapon was the gladius.
The gladius had a straight double edged blade but
there are sub types of the gladius with marginal differences depending
on the location needs when the Romans campaigned in hostile territories. These
styles of gladius shapes developed over the centuries of usage.
(Apologies - I'm no artist and my drawings are not great but they help me to
envisage what a soldier might be wielding)
- The Hispaniensis Gladius
- the basic version is the one adopted from Spain which was slightly leaf
shaped- narrower near the centre.
- The Mainz Gladius -
this type was used in the northern European regions. It typically had a
long point.
- Pompeii Gladius - the most popular type
of gladius. This was the shortest blade length with parallel cutting edges
and a triangular tip.
- I also found
references to a type named the Fulham Gladius which appears to be
the type used in Roman Britain which had straight edges and also a long
triangular tip. This type was most likely the one my Celtic Warriors would
have had experience of combatting.
The tip could be used for both stabbing motions, particularly useful for
gutting an opponent between the ribs, or directly into areas of the body which
had the most vital organs. The gladius could also be used for swiping in both
directions since each side of the blade had a searingly sharp cutting edge.
This was particulary useful for disabling the enemy if a strike was made behind
the knees, crippling the opponent before the sword would be used in a stabbing
manoeuvre to finish off.
When the Romans adopted their form of the gladius, the
soldiers were taught to always draw the gladius from the right side with their right
hand (there is a little conjecture over this but the consensus favours the
right-hand use). This allowed for effective use in formations where tight
clusters were possible, with less chance of a neighbour being accidentally
maimed. Since the gladius is designed to be used one-handed, it fit well with
the skilled and practised military manoeuvres used to defeat attackers. The
light weight of the gladius meant it could be wielded for longer, the user
tiring more gradually. More about scutum formation will be covered in another
post.
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| http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gladius_2.jpg |
The handles of the gladius were usually formed from
hardwoods for the average soldier. Brass, silver and ivory handles were
reserved for the officers and higher ranking Romans. The scabbards were often very
ornate with metal ornamentation and it was fairly common for the name of the
owner to be etched on the blade for identification.
See this site for some fabulous
scabbards and decorative elements.
http://www.romancoins.info/MilitaryEquipment-Attack.html
Match the fearsome gladius short sword with the rest of the
armour of the Roman legionary, or auxiliary, and the result was almost a
foregone conclusion when the soldiers fought in typical Roman formations.
However, the Roman infantry soldier who ended up fighting in one-to-one combat
often had a harder battle to win, since the unarmed Celt might be fleeter of
foot and more able to manoeuvre than the heavily armoured Roman.
Equestrian Mounted Force Sword - Spatha
The Roman Cavalry’s primary
sword was the Spatha which had a longer blade, thus a longer reach to
the opponent. The straight blade of the Spatha was ideal for thrusting and
stabbing movements. Many of the examples of spatha are very ornate.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spatha_end_of_second_century_1.jpg
One of the huge successes of massed amounts of the Roman
Empire’s soldiers over the Celts of northern Britannia was due not
just to the stabbing gladius but to everything else in the arsenal of the
soldier.
In my Celtic Fervour Series, when my Celts in
Britannia have engagements with the Roman Army, the leaf-shaped pugio seems
to have been part of the uniform for some of the soldiers and mounted cavalry
(Late first century AD). What is not clear is whether the pugio was standard issue to some soldiers only, or whether it was
an optional weapon of choice by particular soldiers who gained some kudos from
the wearing of it. The lack of sufficient written evidence, backed up by
physical evidence makes proving this a difficult task.
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| Wikimedia Commons |
The Roman historian Vegetius
seems to indicate that the pugio was like the gladius in that the favoured use
was for stabbing, though there are depictions of them being used for slashing
or cutting.
However, there is much conjecture over the actual use of the
pugio. The name pugio may have its origins in the word pugnus meaning fist- the closed fist position of the hand necessary
around the hilt to retract it before using the weapon effectively by the left
hand. Alternatively, it could also be derived from the stabbing or punching
movement a pugilist would make during a fist fight.
Evidence of pugiones and their scabbards seem to indicate
the dagger had more than one function. Some of the daggers have very ornate
designs etched on them and many of the scabbards found are works of art. The
conclusions drawn are that by the late first century AD the pugio held some
prestige value as well as being a secondary weapon- the weapon having gone
through some changes in shapes during the first century AD. Two different
shapes of blade appear to have been used: the leaf-shaped version and a slimmer
version with a tapered point were also used.
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| http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gladius_Schwert_des_Tiberius_Carnuntum.jpg?uselang=en-gb |
Whether the wearing of the pugio was earned, or acquired
through having sufficient money saved to purchase one is still undecided. Till
conclusive evidence appears of the use of them, we can make our own
conclusions.
This site shows some very ornate scabbards for Roman
pugiones.
See some examples on my Roman Research Pinterest
Board.
Slainthe!
