01-17-2006, 04:32 AM
The answer is possibly a combination of everyone's add-ins so far -
Romans adpoted and absorbed what they felt was the best weapons/armors/tactics whatnot, sometimes creating something on thier own (IMHO I think Lor. Seggie was perhaps a unique Roman invention, as I know not of any evidence of other forces using anything similar)...And supposedly the Gladius being adopted and improved from the enemies.
Romans also had so many "outside" cultures and peoples joining in and bringing in thier influence, the Legions could have been the first to start adpating the 'new' styles...
As stated earlier, there is a growing trend to Cavalry for primary military force, so having 'longer' weapons would probably prove to be an advantage.
Also, the idea of the Spatha being more of a "backup" weapon is a very interesting and possible theory...Much as the Medieval/Renns. Knight's Longsword a 'last ditch' weapon as opposed to say the Lance...It appears the later Romans seem to warm up to the 'looser' formation and skirmishing tactics than say the earlier Imperial soldiers. (not to say you can't have tight formation with circle shield and spatha/spear, just more of a general sense than specific here)
And, keep in mind that as far as we know, the Romans used the [shorter] Gladius and the large Scutum for nearly 300 years, that's an exceptional period of time to use such a specific combination of gear....So perhaps they felt a change was in order, or it had just...Evolved that way.
...Even after the machine gun being in use for only 90 someodd years, we issue a bayonet...which works similarly to a Gladius...Get in real close, and thrust, thrust, thrust. :wink:
Romans adpoted and absorbed what they felt was the best weapons/armors/tactics whatnot, sometimes creating something on thier own (IMHO I think Lor. Seggie was perhaps a unique Roman invention, as I know not of any evidence of other forces using anything similar)...And supposedly the Gladius being adopted and improved from the enemies.
Romans also had so many "outside" cultures and peoples joining in and bringing in thier influence, the Legions could have been the first to start adpating the 'new' styles...
As stated earlier, there is a growing trend to Cavalry for primary military force, so having 'longer' weapons would probably prove to be an advantage.
Also, the idea of the Spatha being more of a "backup" weapon is a very interesting and possible theory...Much as the Medieval/Renns. Knight's Longsword a 'last ditch' weapon as opposed to say the Lance...It appears the later Romans seem to warm up to the 'looser' formation and skirmishing tactics than say the earlier Imperial soldiers. (not to say you can't have tight formation with circle shield and spatha/spear, just more of a general sense than specific here)
And, keep in mind that as far as we know, the Romans used the [shorter] Gladius and the large Scutum for nearly 300 years, that's an exceptional period of time to use such a specific combination of gear....So perhaps they felt a change was in order, or it had just...Evolved that way.
...Even after the machine gun being in use for only 90 someodd years, we issue a bayonet...which works similarly to a Gladius...Get in real close, and thrust, thrust, thrust. :wink:
Andy Volpe
"Build a time machine, it would make this [hobby] a lot easier."
https://www.facebook.com/LegionIIICyr/
Legion III Cyrenaica ~ New England U.S.
Higgins Armory Museum 1931-2013 (worked there 2001-2013)
(Collection moved to Worcester Art Museum)
"Build a time machine, it would make this [hobby] a lot easier."
https://www.facebook.com/LegionIIICyr/
Legion III Cyrenaica ~ New England U.S.
Higgins Armory Museum 1931-2013 (worked there 2001-2013)
(Collection moved to Worcester Art Museum)
