The Gladius

The gladius is the secondary weapon of the Roman soldier, and it used when in close quarters after the two or three pila (javelins) have been thrown. It is design to be fas t, light, and is shaped primarily for thrusting at the face or belly of enemy soldiers. When combined with the close, shoulder-to-shoulder scutum tactics and strong discipline to hold the line, the Roman army had a formidable killing system which could withstand less organized attacks by superior numbers. The Romans incorporated anything that they deemed useful from other cultures, and the gladius is no exception, being termed "gladius hispaniensis", or Spanish sword, which is where the basic design of this short sword came from. The gladius below is styled after one found in Mainz, Germany, which was developed later and did not have any relation to the Spanish sword of the Punic wars, despite the fact that it is similar in design to those gladii that did. The sword above is styled after one found in Pompeii, Italy and is a picture of the replica gladius for sale at Albion Armourers. The Pompeii gladius has straight edges and a sharply angled tip shape and was used in the first and second century AD. The pommel and cross guard shapes vary. The pommels may be a slightly flattened round profiled shape, an egg shape, or a flattened disc. The cross guard may be somewhat flattened like the one above or nearly as full as a hemisphere. The handle was typically bone but could also be made of hard wood. To the right is a picture of a gladius and pugio that Danilo Santoponte sent to me from Rome, where he lives.