03-01-2017, 12:50 AM
I notice that in his attacks on the helmet (which looks like a WWII-era civil defence helmet, not that it makes a difference!) he's only using the point of the weapon, not the blade. A heavy punching blow like this would be effective without the big blade behind it - a spike, a javelin, or a dolabra (which the Romans used against armour) would do just as well.
The kind of 'battlefield modifications' that the Romans supposedly made to their helmets to counter the falx would not have made any difference in this case.
We have the note by Fronto about the 'terrible wounds' inflicted by the falx; the second part of the video demonstrates these well enough. Any big cutting weapon is going to have that effect, more or less.
No source, as far as I know, mentions that the falx was particularly useful in cutting through armour. This video doesn't show that either. It was a big slashing blade, effective against unprotected flesh.
The Romans may have made use of manicae and greaves to counter the falx, but they appear to have used both previously (manicae on Rhineland tombstones from the mid 1st century, for example). No source suggests that the Roman army modified its equipment in response to the falx in particular.
So I don't see that this video really changes anything in terms of the numerous debates on this subject over the years!
The kind of 'battlefield modifications' that the Romans supposedly made to their helmets to counter the falx would not have made any difference in this case.
We have the note by Fronto about the 'terrible wounds' inflicted by the falx; the second part of the video demonstrates these well enough. Any big cutting weapon is going to have that effect, more or less.
No source, as far as I know, mentions that the falx was particularly useful in cutting through armour. This video doesn't show that either. It was a big slashing blade, effective against unprotected flesh.
The Romans may have made use of manicae and greaves to counter the falx, but they appear to have used both previously (manicae on Rhineland tombstones from the mid 1st century, for example). No source suggests that the Roman army modified its equipment in response to the falx in particular.
So I don't see that this video really changes anything in terms of the numerous debates on this subject over the years!
Nathan Ross
