11-16-2011, 05:05 AM
The only descripition of 'barbarian' spears and their length I know of is within Vegetius-
'As to the missile weapons of the infantry, they were javelins headed with a triangular sharp iron, eleven inches or a foot long, and were called piles. When once fixed in the shield it was impossible to draw them out, and when thrown with force and skill, they penetrated the cuirass without difficulty. At present they are seldom used by us, but are the principal weapon of the barbarian heavy-armed foot. They are called bebrae, and every man carries two or three of them to battle.'
I think Vegetius is equating the 'bebrae' with the Spiculum here. The reason I used 'veruta' rather than 'verutum' was because I believe Late Roman infantry were armed with two of them.
'As to the missile weapons of the infantry, they were javelins headed with a triangular sharp iron, eleven inches or a foot long, and were called piles. When once fixed in the shield it was impossible to draw them out, and when thrown with force and skill, they penetrated the cuirass without difficulty. At present they are seldom used by us, but are the principal weapon of the barbarian heavy-armed foot. They are called bebrae, and every man carries two or three of them to battle.'
I think Vegetius is equating the 'bebrae' with the Spiculum here. The reason I used 'veruta' rather than 'verutum' was because I believe Late Roman infantry were armed with two of them.
Adrian Coombs-Hoar
