Drawing of the Roman Gladius

Dean C.

Dean C.

Joined
Jul 3, 2002
Messages
129
Was watching the History Channel the other night and saw that the Romans drew their swords with the right hand, the same as the side of the body the sword was carried, what is the reason for this? Tactics, formations, or some other reason? It seemed quick and very economical in motion from watching the guy on TV. Thanks for your help. Dean
 
Hi Dean,

Packed into a close formation with an enormous tower shield, the cross draw just isn't going to happen.
Cheers,
Stu
 
but the roman soldiers at the time of the gladius rarely packed themselves in a tight formation. they liked lots of mobility. probably has more to do with the shield being kept close to the body.
 
Guys, thanks for the replies, does anyone here have a Gladius and /or train with it? How does it compare to a large Bowie? As a field knife/tool I would think the Bowie has it but they from the looks are about the same weapon wise. But I've never handled a Gladius so I'm looking for some more info.
Thamks, Dean
 
OK,OK,OK, :rolleyes: I didn't think they were that big:D
The one I saw the guy flail around on the history channel was at max 15-18" blade, or maybe he was just a giant.Anyhoo. But now that I find that the blades are 20" or more makes me like this as a weapon even more. For certain applications it would probably be nice to have on your ruck. Am definatly going to have to look into this a tad bit more. Guys, thanks for the information. Any and all is appreciated. Might have a winter project ahead of me.
 
Loki, thanks for those web-sites, good stuff, just what I was looking for. Take care. Dean
 
I have a reproduction of a Gladius Hispaniensis, "Spanish Sword," of the period of the late Republic, say about 150 CE to about 75 CE, and its blade is 25+", not at all uncommon for these swords at that time. Indeed, an article by Peter Connolly in the Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies No. 8 seems to show most of the Spanish Swords having blades between 25" and 29" in length.

As to drawing the sword, I was watching Quintus(Matthew Amt) of Legio XX at their Roman Days festival last June as he demonstrated what he has determined to be the easiest and best way to accomplish this. If you will note, the suspension rings on gladius scabbards are all mounted fairly well down from the mouth of the scabbard, allowing it to pivot foward. What he does is to reverse his right hand and then to slam it forward, palm first and thumb down, into the hilt of the sword, forcing the scabbard and sword to tilt forward. He then continues the forward momentum in one sweep, grasping the hilt of the sword as he does so. This sweeps the sword out of its scabbard and he then allows its forward momentum to pivot the blade forward and up so that it is in the "Ready" position for use. It is all very quick and efficient, but I would suggest practicing with a dull blade, just as you practice kinetic openings of a Gunting with a dull blade, and for the same reasons. BTW, I also watched other re-enactors at the festival using the same method to draw spathae, the rather longer Roman slashing swords for cavalry use, which were also carried on the right side up into the 3rd Century CE. You can also see it done by Stephen Boyd in the film The Fall of the Roman Empire, a sword and sandal epic of grand proportions that also starred Sophia Loren :) .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top