11-28-2014, 11:08 PM
Quote:around the same time it was phasing out the Gladius.
'Gladius' is just a generic word for sword - so a spatha was a form of gladius. In modern usage, the word tends to be used to refer to the shorter legionary swords of the republic-principiate era, but even then I think things might have been a lot cloudier than we often assume. Swords like the two found at Canterbury and dated to the 2nd century are very big for traditional 'gladii', and already seem on their way to becoming the later 'spatha'. Then there's the ring pommel sword, of varying blade length. More a steady development than a case of anything being phased out, I'd say.
I was having a look back through Simon James' Rome and the Sword to see if he has anything to say about the Koln spatha - he doesn't, but there are illustrations (based on Miks, I assume) of a couple of Nydam/Illerup swords found with hilts. One that James refers to as 'Illerup C variant' has an H-shaped hilt made of horn, and apparently dates to the 3rd-4th century (odd, as I'd considered the C deposit to date from c375 - presumably it was an old sword!). This may have been a Scandinavian hilt on a Roman blade, of course - but perhaps the hilt too could have been original?
Meanwhile, Partick Barta has some interesting reproduction swords, with a couple of 3rd century versions with interesting hilts: the Vimose sword looks recognisably Roman, while the Podlodow and Illerup swords seem to suggest later developments.
If we only have the Koln sword to indicate a continuity in hilt patterns, might some of these other swords suggest that there was a multiplicity of forms around at the same time?
Nathan Ross
