THE ROMANS
The defensive armour of the Romans differed essentially in the early
form from the later, or, broadly speaking, between the Republican
Period and the Imperial Period; though it overlapped considerably it
may be as well to accept these periods for differentiation.
REPUBLICAN ARMOUR
[Illustration: FIG. 55.--Lorica of Roman General (Republican).]
_Cuirass or Lorica._--This was formed upon the Greek style of
armour based upon the Etruscan model, and consisted of a back- and
breast-plate, strapped together at the sides and fastened by broad
epaulette-like belts upon the shoulders (Fig. 55). These belts fastened
in front to a ring attached to the breastplate, and were permanently
fixed, low down over the shoulder-blades behind. The lorica was of
bronze, and modelled to the shape of the figure; short straps of
leather were fixed at the arm-openings, which fell over the shoulders;
at the lower part of the cuirass there were two bands of leather, one
showing underneath the other, and both generally dagged at the edges;
below this again depended the lambrequins, often covered with metal
studs or plates, and sometimes curled and plaited. They were of the
same shape as the shoulder-pieces, but much broader, and always of
leather. The tunic worn under the cuirass had half sleeves, and its
lower border reached nearly as low as the lambrequins.
[Illustration: FIG. 56.--Roman helmet (Imperial Period).]
The military cloak or paludamentum was draped over the cuirass in
picturesque folds, varying according to the taste of the individual
wearer.
_The Helmet_ was very similar to the Greek model, and had a crest and
cheek-pieces (Fig. 56).
The Roman leaders often affected the laminated cuirass, or else that
composed of overlapping scales of bronze (Fig. 57). The shield was made
upon the Greek model, and the weapons consisted of the lance, javelin,
and sword.
THE IMPERIAL PERIOD
[Illustration: FIG. 57.--Officers lorica (Republican Period).]
With the advent of the emperors our knowledge becomes of a more
definite character. The admission of foreigners into the Roman army,
although it had proved disastrous to the republic, was continued by
the emperors, and not only were the natives of the conquered countries
enlisted but also mercenaries were employed.
Consequently a great variety of armour and arms existed in the Roman
armies, but the essential ones stand out prominently in sculptures,
painting, and upon coins, &c., and with these only will we deal.
[Illustration: FIG. 58.--Roman laminated cuirass.]
_The Cuirass._--The heavily-armed troops bore the laminated cuirass
(Fig. 58), which consisted of about seven lames of steel encircling
the trunk, each lame being divided into two portions, which joined in
the middle of the back and in front. Affixed to the top lame, back
and front, were four or more bowed lames passing over the shoulders
and working freely upon the pivots which secured them. In front, and
fixed to the lower part of the second lame from the bottom, were three
or four short lames pendent and hanging vertically so as to protect
the middle of the body below the waist. The lames encircling the body
were sewn down to a tightly-fitting leather garment, the true cuirass,
which was continued upwards before and behind in order to protect
the chest and throat and passed over the shoulders under the curved
lames. The whole cuirass opened down the front, the iron bands being
hinged behind, fastening with a clasp in front. To the lowest lame was
generally affixed two rows of leather, dagged at their edges, and the
lambrequins descended beneath them, one row of the straps being shorter
than those beneath, which fell lower than those used in the earlier age.
The officer of the Imperial Period affected the lorica modelled to
the figure as worn by the soldiers in the Republican Period, but
considerably shortened and seldom reaching below the waist, but the
scaled cuirass was also a favourite.
[Illustration: FIG. 59.--Roman helmet.]
[Illustration: FIG. 60.--Roman helmet.]
_The Helmet_ of the soldier was simply a skull-cap with a peak and
pendent cheek-guards (Fig. 59), but subsequently was furnished with a
descending hollowed neck-guard, a bar across the forehead acting as a
visor, and two cheek-pieces, hinged, which could be fastened together
beneath the chin (Fig. 60). During the later days of the empire the
helmet became deeper. A common form of ornament for the crest was
simply a round knob.
_The Shield._--This was of two distinct kinds, a long, rectangular,
and very concave shield borne only by the legionaries, and an oval,
flattened form carried by the horsemen. The rectangular shield was
about two feet six inches long, and composed of two plates of metal
overlapping, with bands of metal strengthening it at the top and also
at the lower edge, where it often rested on the ground. With this
shield the well-known testudo was formed. The cognisance of the legion
appeared upon the outer face, and on the column of Trajan, where
members of the “thundering legion” are depicted, the device is that of
a conventional thunderbolt of the usual zigzag description. The oval
shield carried by the cavalry (the equites) and the light-armed troops
(the velites) was a much-flattened variety of the old shield, and in
the later years of the empire was adopted by the legionaries when
the rectangular shield was discarded; it was, however, considerably
enlarged in its later form.
[Illustration: FIG. 61.--Roman swords.]
_The Sword._--The early sword, like that of most nations, was of
bronze of the well-known leaf shape, and, compared with those of other
nations, comparatively short. In the first century B.C. it had become
modified into a weapon about two feet in length, having a two-edged
blade with parallel sides, and the point at an obtuse angle (Fig.
61). A short cross-guard, thin grip, and swelling pommel completed
this remarkable weapon, which when used against adversaries armed
with lance, javelin, or a long sword must have necessitated the Roman
legionary getting within the guard of his adversary before being able
to use his weapon, thus implying a high degree of personal bravery. It
was worn upon the right side, suspended from a shoulder-belt. Upon the
Trajan column, dating from 114 A.D., the sword appears much longer than
in earlier representations, and shortly afterwards a long single-edged
sword called the “spatha” was in use side by side with the short sword.
[Illustration: PLATE IV*
Shield of Augsburg make, Sixteenth Century
_A. F. Calvert_]
_The Spear._--“The spear that conquered the world,” as a French author
defines it, was the redoubtable _pilum_, concerning which much has been
written and much disputation has arisen. It is most remarkable that
a weapon which is constantly alluded to as the essential arm of the
Roman warrior, and which has been fully described by a writer, should
be of such extreme rarity that its very form has provided matter for
discussion and dispute. The description of the pilum by Polybius,
who flourished in the second century before Christ, is comprehensive
and distinct, but owing to the lack of representations and of actual
models, much misconception has arisen concerning the exact meaning of
his words. He describes it as a weapon having a very large iron head,
which was furnished with a socket to receive the wooden shafts. The
socket was about a third of the length of the weapon, and the barbed
head of the same length. In the Museum at Wiesbaden there is a reputed
pilum, but the marvel is that there do not exist hundreds of examples
of a weapon with which combats without number have been fought over an
area equal to the half of Europe.
The large iron head mentioned by Polybius is an obtusely pointed
pike-head with three or four barbs projecting backwards to a short
distance from the head; behind the head is the neck, which, though
long and slender, is capable of resisting a considerable amount of
violent usage. This neck is about twenty inches in length, and at its
base swells into a socket for the shaft, and encases the latter for a
good portion of its length, being fitted with extreme care. The whole
weapon was about six feet nine inches to seven feet in length, and
may be described as one-third visible shaft, one-third shaft in iron
socket, and the remainder a slender iron rod bearing a large head. It
will readily be seen that, owing to the uncased shaft at the base, the
centre of gravity would lie between the middle portion of the weapon
and the head, thus adapting it for throwing purposes.
The particular purpose of the pilum was to deprive an adversary of his
shield. The method adopted was to approach within throwing distance
and hurl the massive weapon at an opponent, who would naturally
interpose his shield in defence; if the head crashed through the
shield the object was accomplished, for owing to its form withdrawal
was impossible, while the heavy shaft prevented any advance, and at
the same time hindered retreat. To prevent the probability of either,
however, the legionary with sword and shield promptly fell upon his
embarrassed adversary, and there could be but one ending to such
an unequal combat. For use at close quarters it was also equally
efficacious, for, wielded with both hands like a mediæval pike, it
could resist with ease the sword-cuts of the enemy; indeed Polybius
tells us that the legionary received the sword-cuts of the enemy with
calm confidence on his pilum, which resisted them with ease, while the
adversary’s weapon was cut and hacked into the mere semblance of a
strigil, or skin-scraper. This weapon was essentially Roman, and the
troops wielding it were known as _pilani_. The cavalry carried a long
and slender lance furnished with the _amentum_, a leather thong fitted
nearly two-thirds of the length of the spear from the butt, being
the centre of gravity of the shaft. This thong was of great use in
propelling the spear when used as a javelin. The Roman dart was about
three feet in length, and fitted with an extremely thin point about six
inches long; upon striking any obstacle the point became so bent and
distorted that it was of no use for hurling back again at the enemy.
The light-armed troops also possessed a spear which was about four and
a half feet in length.
THE FRANKS
were a nation of Germanic origin, and originally occupied the land
lying upon the north bank of the Rhine, stretching from Mayence almost
to the sea. They successfully resisted the advance of the Romans in
the second and third centuries, and eventually began an aggressive
migration southwards, which finally resulted in the subjugation of the
modern countries of Holland, Belgium, France, and partly of Germany and
Italy. Long before this consummation, however, we find that the Franks
freely enlisted in the Roman armies, and eventually formed the bulwark
between the western dominions of the Romans and the fierce barbarian
hordes who poured down from the north in almost overwhelming numbers.
History teems with examples of their prowess as a military nation;
their large stature, bold and wild aspect, and utter fearlessness,
rendering them at first most formidable opponents of the comparatively
little men of the native Roman armies, and equally valuable allies
afterwards. As a Teutonic race we naturally expect to find them armed
with the weapons characteristic of the northern tribes.
_The Francisca._--Under the Merovingian dynasty, from the fifth to the
eighth century A.D., the Franks used a weapon in their warfare which
has become associated with their name. The _francisca_, or battle-axe,
was a heavy missile weapon which has been described by Procopius as
having a very broad blade and a short handle, but so many varieties
have been found that we must infer that his description was simply a
broad and general one. Thus some are long and narrow in the blade and
only slightly curved, and some have a cutting projection of various
shapes upon the back portion of the axe-head. In use it was thrown with
tremendous force and unerring aim at an enemy, the Frank being able
to accomplish this because of the freedom from embarrassing armour
or clinging garments which he enjoyed, and also, owing to constant
practice, the distance to which it was hurled was a very remarkable
feature. So heavy and strong was this formidable missile that a shield
was invariably crushed in or cut through, if interposed, whilst a blow
received upon the person inevitably ended in death. If used in the
hand the weapon was of the same terrible character. It is questionable
whether the bipennis, or double-headed axe, ever found great favour
with the Franks, although it has been attributed to them.
_The Lance_, sometimes termed the _framea_, appears to have been a
weapon chiefly associated with the cavalry, and not differing in any
essential points from that generally carried by horsemen at the time.
The head was of many forms, and the socket always an integral part
of it; the latter extended to a distance of eighteen inches or more
from the head, and was hollowed to receive the shaft, being fixed in
position by a rivet which passed through the wood and also through two
holes in opposite sides of the socket.
_The Angon._--The angon was both in form and in use similar to the
pilum of the Romans. It had a barbed head and a long, slender neck of
iron, one found in Germany being over a yard in length. A socket fitted
over a heavy shaft, and the whole weapon had a length of about six
feet. In use the angon was hurled at the enemy in order to pierce his
body or his shield; if the latter occurred the soldier was practically
deprived of his defence, as he could neither advance nor retreat with
such an incubus fixed in it. The Frankish warrior, however, quickly
seized the advantage thus gained, and rushing forward deliberately
trod upon his weapon, thus dragging the shield out of the hands of his
opponent who, being left comparatively defenceless, was easily overcome
with axe or sword.
_The Sword._--The Frankish sword was about thirty inches in length; the
blade was broad, straight, and double-edged, with parallel sides ending
abruptly in a somewhat obtuse point. It had a very short cross-bar as
a guard, a straight grip, and a small, slightly swelling pommel. The
scabbard, constructed of either wood or iron, was decorated with plates
of inlaid work, generally in copper. This sword does not appear to have
been universal in the army, but to have been appropriated by those
having an official position. What may be termed a large knife, or a
long and heavy dagger, also formed a characteristic Frankish weapon.
With regard to the defensive equipment of the Franks we are in some
degree of doubt, inasmuch as no national armour was evolved. In the
earlier part of their history they appeared to have disdained any
defence but the shield, but in the time of Charlemagne a simple hauberk
of pourpoint was worn, covered more or less with metal plates, and a
leathern cap upon the head. The shield was of metal and circular, with
a central projecting boss or umbo similar to that of the Saxons. The
soldiers forming the élite of the army were provided with an equipment
which was a modified form of that worn by the Roman legionaries. The
earlier Franks appear to have been a nation of infantry, but in the
Carlovingian period they developed qualities of horsemanship which
eventually led to their army being exceptionally rich in cavalry,
almost one half of their force subsequently being classed under this
heading.