Plate Manica

[Caballo]

So the question would be, against which weapon was the manica developed?

IMHO all of 'em- especially edged weapons that could potentially sever the wrist/ arm when the sword arm is stretched out beyond the shield.

The manica has a long history going back to Greek times (eg the Ai Khanum finds and the depiction on the Pergamun relief). The Roman army simply picked this up at some point in the first century- possibly following experience of the crupellarius in Sacrovir's revolt of AD 21.

There should be an article by me on the manica, its history, and its use posted shortly on the RMRS Legio XIIII GMV website, which might be useful?

Happy to email a copy if people PM me their email address.

Cheers

Caballo