In the period from I to VI centuries. on the territory of the Roman Empire, one of the main types of weapons was a direct double-edged sword, which went down in history under the name "spata". Its length ranged from 75 cm to 1 m, and the design features made it possible to apply both piercing and chopping blows. Fans of edged weapons will be interested to know its history.
A bit of linguistics
The name of the sword, which came into modern usage, comes from the Latin word spatha, which has several translations in Russian, which mean both a completely peaceful tool - a spatula, and various types of blade weapons. Having rummaged in dictionaries, one can find such translations as “sword” or “sword”. On the basis of this root, nouns similar in meaning are formed in Greek, Romanian and in all languages belonging to the Romance group. This gives researchers reason to argue that the long double-edged blade of this sample was used everywhere.
Two worlds - two types of weapons
The Roman army, which was the most advanced in the world at the turn of the millennium, the sword-spat was borrowed, oddly enough, from the barbarians - the half-wild Gaul tribes that inhabited the territory of Central and Western Europe. This type of weapon was very convenient for them, because, not knowing the battle order, they fought in a scattered crowd and delivered mainly chopping blows to the enemy, in which the length of the blade contributed to their greater effectiveness. When the barbarians mastered riding skills and began to use cavalry in battle, here too a long double-edged sword proved to be very useful.
At the same time, the Roman legionnaires, who used tactics of battle in tight formation, were deprived of the opportunity to make a full swing with a long blade and hit the enemy with piercing blows. For this purpose, the short sword used in their army was perfectly suited - a gladius, the length of which did not exceed 60 cm. In appearance and combat qualities, it fully corresponded to the traditions of ancient weapons.
Gallic swords in the arsenal of the Romans
However, at the beginning of the 1st century the picture changed. The Roman army was significantly replenished with warriors from among the Gauls conquered by that time, who were excellent riders and eventually formed the main shock part of the cavalry. It was they who brought with them long swords, which gradually began to be used along with traditional gladiuses. The infantry took them from the cavalrymen, and thus the weapons once created by the barbarians defended the interests of a highly developed empire.
According to some historians, initially the barbarian swords had blades with a rounded end and were a purely chopping weapon. But, appreciating the piercing properties of the gladiuses with which the legionnaires were armed, and realizing that they did not use a significant part of the potential of their weapons, the Gauls also began to sharpen it, at the same time changing the tactics of battle. That is why the Roman sword-spat has such a characteristic design. It remained unchanged until about the VI century and made the weapon under consideration by us one of the symbols of that era.
Factors Contributing to the Proliferation of New Weapons
Since the proud and proud Romans looked down on the long swords, which, in their opinion, belonged to the barbarians, at first they were armed only with auxiliary units, completely consisting of Gauls and Germans. For them, they were familiar and comfortable, while short and not adapted to chopping blows gladiuses constrained in battle and prevented the use of conventional tactics.
However, after the excellent fighting qualities of the new weapons became apparent, the Roman legionnaires changed their attitude towards him. Following the soldiers of the auxiliary units, horse-drawn officers received it, and later it entered the arsenal of heavy cavalry. It is interesting to note that the widespread use of spat swords was facilitated by the fact that by the 3rd century, military service was no longer a prestigious occupation for the Romans (this was one of the reasons for the subsequent collapse of the empire), and the bulk of the troops were completed from yesterday's barbarians. They were deprived of prejudice and willingly took up arms familiar from childhood.
Evidence of an Ancient Roman Historian
The first literary mention of swords of this kind can be found in the works of the ancient Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus, whose life and work span the period of the second half of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd century. It was he who, describing the history of the empire, told that all the auxiliary units of her army - both foot and horse - were equipped with wide double-edged swords, the length of the blades of which exceeded the norm established in Rome 60 cm.This fact is noted in several of his writings.
Of course, in this case we are talking about arming Roman legionnaires with swords of Gallic origin. By the way, the author does not give any indications of the ethnicity of the soldiers of the auxiliary units, but the results of archaeological excavations conducted in modern Germany and other countries of Eastern Europe leave no doubt that these were precisely the Germans and Gauls.
Roman Iron Age Spats
By the Iron Age of Roman history, it is customary to understand the period in the development of Northern Europe, which began in I and ended in the V century of our era. Despite the fact that this territory was not formally controlled by Rome, the formation of the states located there was influenced by its culture. Proof of this can serve as artifacts discovered during excavations conducted in the Baltic countries. Most of them were locally made, but made according to Roman patterns. Ancient weapons, including spaths, were often found among them.
In this regard, it will be appropriate to give the following example. On the territory of Denmark, 8 kilometers from the city of Sennerborg, in 1858, about a hundred swords made in the period 200-450 were discovered. In appearance, they were classified as Roman, but studies conducted already today have shown that they are all locally produced. This was a very important discovery, showing how wide the technological advances of Rome had on the development of European peoples.
The weapons of German masters
Along the way, we note that the spread of spat swords was not limited to the Roman Empire. Very soon they were adopted by the Franks - Europeans who were part of the union of ancient Germanic tribes. Having somewhat improved the design of this ancient weapon, they used it until the VIII century. Over time, mass production of bladed weapons was established on the banks of the Rhine. It is known that during the early Middle Ages, double-edged swords of the Roman type, forged by German gunsmiths, were especially appreciated in all European countries.
Weapons of European nomadic peoples
In the history of Europe, the period IV-VII centuries. entered as the era of the Great Migration. Numerous ethnic groups, who settled mainly in the peripheral regions of the Roman Empire, left their homes and, driven by the Huns invading from the east, wandered in search of salvation. According to contemporaries, Europe then turned into an endless stream of refugees, whose interests sometimes intersected, which often led to bloody clashes.
It is understandable that in such an environment, the demand for weapons has skyrocketed, and the output of double-edged swords has increased. However, as you can conclude by the example of images that have survived to our times, their quality has significantly decreased, since the demand in the market has largely exceeded supply.
The spates of the Great Migration had their own characteristics. Unlike the weapons of the Roman cavalry, their length ranged from 60 to 85 cm, which was most suitable for foot soldiers who did not know the close formation. The epheshes of swords were made small, since most of the barbarians did not know how to fencing, and in battle they did not rely on the technique of techniques, but only on strength and endurance.
Since the gunsmiths used extremely low quality steel for their work, the ends of the blades were made rounded out of fear that the tip could break at any time. The weight of the swords rarely exceeded 2.5-3 kg, which ensured the greatest effectiveness of its chopping blows.
Viking swords
An important stage in the improvement of spatha was the creation on its basis of the so-called caroling, often referred to in the literature as the Viking sword. Its distinguishing feature is the dales - longitudinal recesses made on the planes of the blade. There is a misconception that they were intended to drain the blood of the enemy, in fact, this technical innovation made it possible to reduce the weight of the weapon and significantly increase its strength.
Another important feature of the caroling sword is the use of forge welding in its manufacture. This advanced technology for its time consisted in the fact that a high-strength steel blade was placed in a special way between two strips of soft iron. Thanks to this, the blade retained its sharpness during impacts and at the same time was not brittle. But such swords were expensive and were the property of a few. The bulk of the weapon was made from homogeneous material.
Later Modifications of Spat Swords
At the end of the article, we mention two more varieties of spaths - these are Norman and Byzantine swords, which simultaneously appeared at the end of the 9th century. They also had their own characteristics. Due to the technical achievements of that era and the improvement of weapons production technology, their samples possessed more flexible and break-resistant blades, in which the tip became more pronounced. The overall balance of the sword shifted to him, which increased his striking ability.
The top - a thickening at the end of the handle - began to be made more massive and shaped like a nut. These modifications continued to improve during the 10th and 11th centuries, then giving way to a new kind of edged weapon — knightly swords that more closely met the requirements of the times.