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(Mainz Gladius)
The Roman Legions were renowned for their brutal, efficient use of the short sword and over the centuries the style of short sword changed as tactics changed or were refined. Beginning with the “gladius Hispaniensis” (based on a Celt-Iberian leaf-bladed short sword), over time the sword became shorter and broader (the Mainz and Fulham patterns) and culminated in the “Pompeii” style stabbing sword. The Fulham pattern gladius is of the same early period as the Mainz style — it has been theorized that they are actually the same basic pattern and represent only a slight variation of the basic leaf-blade pattern, possibly due to differing regional or manufacturing styles. Like the Mainz gladius, the Fulham has a long point and the blade is “waisted,” but in the case of the Fulham it is not as severe as in the Mainz.
The Greek historian Dionysus of Halicarnassus (contemporary to Emperor Augustus 63 BC-14 AD) describes Roman tactics with swords against the Gauls in the 4th C BC. Dionysus describes events that is some 300 years earlier than his own times, but we might perhaps presume that the fighting techniques he describes were not anachronistic to his own period. It is during the late 1st C BC that the Mainz type Gladius developed from the longer Gladius Hispaniensis that the Romans adopted during the Punic wars. Both the longer Gladius Hispanienis and the Mainz type gladius were effective cutting swords, even if thrusting was a favoured tactic in close formations.
…Holding their sword straight out, they would strike their opponents in the groin, pierce their sides, and drive their blows through their breasts into their vitals. And if they saw any of them keeping these parts of the body protected, they would cut the tendons of their knees or ankles and topple them to the ground roaring and biting their shields and uttering cries resembling the howling of wild beasts…
We can see how the cut was accepted as a perfectly viable method to dispatch an opponent, if the thrust did not prove effective. Vegetius describes how recruits are trained using wooden swords against stout posts, as though attacking different parts of the opponents body. A crippling cut against the backside of the leg was included in these techniques.
The guard, grip and pommel are hand-crafted of walnut, and the inset guard plate and pommel nut are of bronze.
Specifications
Overall length: 27″ (68.6 cm)
Blade length: 19.75 ” (50.2 cm)
Blade width: 2.3″ (5.8 cm)
CoP: n/a
CoB: 4.125″ (10.5 cm)
Weight: 1 lb 8 oz (685 grams)
This sword is offered in a limited edition of only 500 collectible swords worldwide.
