04-12-2006, 12:45 PM
I would be happy to go along with that if it wasn't for the 'Spanish Sword' that Polybius refers to. If this weapon has in fact a 27" blade (as the archaeological record apparently increasingly implies), we still have to explain why there was a movement towards shorter blades and then back to longer ones. There is no steady movement from shorter blades to longer ones over time, as far as I know.
Tarbicus,
I too quite like Danno's interpretation as a possibility, but I'm a bit confused as to where you stand on this issue. What period do you think the shorter Gladius belongs to as an effective and commonly used Infantry weapon?
Tarbicus,
I too quite like Danno's interpretation as a possibility, but I'm a bit confused as to where you stand on this issue. What period do you think the shorter Gladius belongs to as an effective and commonly used Infantry weapon?
It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one\'s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
