Blacksmithing

This beauty of a collaboration is done and available! Follow the link here for more info. Thanks everyone!

Sword with Scabbard Mounts, ca. 600, Metropolitan Museum of Art: Arms and Armor

Gift of George D. Pratt, 1930 Size: L. 39 ¼ in. (99.7 cm) Medium: Iron, bronze, gold, silver, wood

Rapier, Arms and Armor

A phenomenally gilt and embossed Smallsword presented to Commandant Ildefonse Favé by the city of Paris, France.

It’s been a little while since I’ve had an international day for a weapon, so today is International Cinquedea Day!

A personal favorite, the cinquedea was a short lived dagger or short sword that became popular in Italy from around 1480-1530. They sported broad blades, making them perfect for showing off your wealth in a variety of ways, and their length made them pretty good for up close fighting in narrow Italian streets. They are so named because at the base, the blade is typically five fingers wide.

This example has a delicately etched blade inscribed with the phrases fortes timet fortvn [a viros] (fortune favors the brave) on one side, and esto.te fortis in bello (be brave in war) on the other.

Close-Helmet for the Field, Arms and Armor

Gold fibula (safety pin) with sphinx, Greek and Roman Art

Arguably one of the most recognisable parts of Ancient Rome is the war-machine itself, the Roman legion. With the legions and individual legionaries skyrocketing into the limelight within modern culture, the weaponry has become instantly identifiable. This brings us to the Roman gladius, the weapon of choice for Rome from around 216 BCE to the end of the second century CE. The gladius was, in earnest, a solely assault sword designed specifically around dealing devastating piercing thrusts while the legionary would defend with the scutum. The short nature of the weapon combined with the pronounced distal taper - meaning the blade thickness narrows from hilt to tip - means formation fighting within a shield wall is exquisitely effective for swift, fatal stabs.

Firstly, the gladius is not an original Roman design in the slightest. Roman records, specifically Appian of Alexandria and Polybius (although the latter shares some biases with Livy, who also contributed), tell us that Roman legionaries first encountered a gladius styled weapon against the Iberian and Gallic (Celtiberian) mercenaries employed by Hannibal at Cannae in 216 BCE. This would only be exacerbated by the Roman conquest of Iberia up until 206 BCE when Hispania is finally tamed. The Romans already had a familiarity with the Greek “xiphos”, a double-edged thrusting sword with a leaf-shaped blade for enhanced power thrusting and slashing potential.

This, combined with the Iberian usage of the falcata and other general short swords was the genesis for the Gladius Hispaniensis, the heaviest of the gladii with a full length typically around 75-85 cm.

The Hispaniensis style would remain popular throughout the Republic and early Empire until between 20-10 BCE. At this point, three new patterns of gladius appear at times that are unclear. They are as follows: the Mainz style, Fulham style, and Pompeii style. The Mainz style was likely the continuation of the Hispaniensis and became shorter and lost the leaf shape rendering the sword now at 65-70 cm. The Mainz style, having been developed in the German provinces, was incredibly popular and successful in the northern campaigns, but failed to spread to the rest of the Empire. The Fulham style has only been found in England and must be dated after 43 CE, the Roman invasion of Britannia and seems to be a fusion of the Mainz and Hispaniensis, stays short like the Mainz, but is not as wide and takes a more aggressive triangular tip. The length for a Fulham style tends to be around 65-70 cm. Something to be aware of in the picture below is that the Mainz gladius absolutely would not have had the leaf shape that they show. Only the Hispaniensis would have retained this.

Lastly is the most recognisable form of the gladius (and the most popular in the Empire) but also has no definitive date. It absolutely had to have been developed before 79 CE when Pompeii was wiped off the face of the Earth but spread throughout the entire Empire around the same time the Mainz and Fulham were around. Pompeiian gladii can be found from Jerusalem to Britannia and seem to have been the go-to weapon of choice for Roman infantry for a variety of reasons. 

The Pompeii gladius was significantly shorter than the others at a mere 60-65 cm and loses the entire vicious triangle and settles for a much tamer tip, but retains the width and general shape from the Fulham. The Romans, an impossibly practical people, probably entertained the Pompeii style more as it was sturdier, perfect for the formation tactics already used, and was a generally a powerful slashing and thrusting weapon suitable for almost any close combat situations. Later, as tactics move more towards mobile strategic forces, the Pompeii gets longer and becomes a semi-spatha before the spatha is fully adopted with Diocletian’s sweeping military reforms around 290 CE.

An important piece to note is that gladii were not standardised at all and it was theoretically possible to see every different style of gladius in the same legion. I find it more probable that the gladius style was more based on location and time period, but the lack of standardised forging meant that it was likely up to personal preference. In the picture below, from Legio XXI Rapax, we can see three distinctly different styles of gladius which probably would not have been uncommon.

Furthermore, the composition of gladii is something not often mentioned. Every gladius would have had some form of a diamond ridge to strengthen the ability to thrust and a guard cap to strengthen the area where the tang meets the grip itself. The gladius was absolutely not used for defence (why defend with a sword if you’ve got a big ole shield?) and was a strictly offensive weapon which is why there is no crossguard or even an attempt at defensive sword techniques.

Royal cartouche of Nefertari

Relief on staircase bearing the royal cartouche of Nefertari, first of the Great Royal Wives of Ramesses the Great. Tomb of Nefertari (QV66). New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1292-1189 BC. Valley of the Queens, West Thebes. 

Pierced Globe, Islamic Art

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Medium: Brass; spun and turned, pierced, chased, inlaid with gold, silver, and black compound

Shu, Egyptian Art

Rogers Fund, 1953 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Medium: faience