Was the Spatha better than the gladius?

[@historyofeverythingpodcast]

Join me on a trip to Italy trovatrip.com/trip//europe/italy/italy-with-steven-bell-may-11-2024

[@stratacastor4720]

Awesome! I doubt I'll be able to come, but how cool of you to bring folks along for the learning journey! 😎

[@rejecthumanitireturntomani1714]

KZbin isn't letting us click on the link

[@Vollpfosten]

Cool but i have work 😢

[@azrael4635]

Nah, I'm good, I'm not hundred percent sure they want me there

[@catholicpatriotusa1507]

Hey there's a chance that I'll be going to Italy this Spring through a study abroad program at my college. Are you guys planning to be in Florence at all?

[@Ratich]

When the spatha is so widely used in your military that it becomes the word for sword

[@QueueWithACapitalQ]

Some thing with Katana i bet

[@soul8938]

Same in albanian ⚔️

[@Yolaf_]

@@QueueWithACapitalQ spatha is the root word for sword in the Romance language katana is just a type of sword you weeb

[@josephabellojr]

Espada

[@Ralampos]

​@@soul8938 it's Spatha in greek because the weapon is greek

[@benjaminmorris4962]

The answer to any, "Is this weapon or this weapon better?" question is always, "It depends on the situation."

[@ihyaakmal5995]

Yeah, I think so too

[@UrbanAgent423]

It seems, with swords at least, the answer to "is this weapon better" is often "its not better, its different" because they fill different roles

[@spicymeatballs2thespicening]

To an extent, I'd say a stick is objectively better than nunchuck

[@khairiirfan102]

And age

[@Haiesta]

@@VitaeLibraChaaaaarrge! For the glory of the Holy God Emperor!!

[@atrumluminarium]

Is the word "spada" (Italian word for "sword") derived from "spatha"?

[@benjaminmorris4962]

Yes. But not directly. It is derived from Latin "spata," which is derived from Latin "spatha," which is derived from Greek, which is derived from Proto-Indo-European... The original PIE word was a combination of the PIE words for "to draw" and "to do, to put" plus a feminine noun ending(which just so happens to be the same vowel sound that the two verbs end with).

[@M_Dun]

Yes

[@akl2k7]

Same as Spanish espada.

[@akl2k7]

​@@benjaminmorris4962 it probably doesn't help that most Latin speakers were probably unable to hear or pronounce the difference between t and th, so they started dropping the h when spelling it. The voicing to a d sound happened later in both Italian and Spanish.

[@diegojaviercalvocastro]

In Spanish it's espada lol

[@TheFreakyFanatic]

Leonidas with a lisp: "THITH ITH SPATHA"!

[@Primalintent]

I remember the book Rome and the Sword showed that the "iconic" version of the Gladius was only used militarily for like 100ish years anyways. There were other short swords the writer attributed other names that are similar but not as boxy or with as much a triangular tip. The Spatha lasted around 2-3x as long as the Gladius, and it was the sword that had the biggest impact overall as its name is the root word for all romance words for sword. So although modern people don't like the Spatha as much, Roman legionnaires after its use began might even scoff at someone suggesting they'd use a gladiator's sword.

[@RadeticDaniel]

Can confirm the romance languages bit. I was looking for a comment like this! In portuguese the word for sword is "espada". What is it in the other romance languages you know? Dialects included if anyone knows one =)

[@Primalintent]

@@RadeticDaniel Espada en Español, Spada in Italiano, Espasa en Català, Espada en Galego, Ezpata Euskaraz. Épée en français which is derived from Old French Éspee, which maybe is related to espada, hard to tell. Also Euskara (Basque) is not a Romance language but 40% of it's words are loaned from Spanish or French so ezpata is still descended from spada.

[@RadeticDaniel]

@@Primalintent amazing collection right here =)

[@noahjohnson935]

the Spatha was interestingly enough an evolution of the German and Celtic swords used by the Roman's opponents. Germans and Celts liked it because their warbands used horses a lot in combat (Julius Caesar famously used Germanic Auxiliary cavalry because they were that good) In the later Empire, especially in the lead up to the Third Century Crisis, most soldiers were recruited from the Provinces rather than Italy. This led to the vast majority of the soldiers in the Western empire were of Celtic and German descent, having been conquered and/or settled in Roman territory and civilized/assimilated. Add in large amounts of foreign Germanic tribesmen being recruited as auxilia and foederati in the even later periods and you get the Roman military using a sword that resembles the "traditional" weaponry of the common Roman soldier who would've served.

[@juwebles4352]

Similar yet slightly different conditions led to the wide spread adoption of the gladius by Rome, which was originally from spain. During the punic wars the Carthaginians didn't have a large base of citizen soldiers choosing instead to hire mercenaries with the large treasuries they had from being a mercantile republic. Many of the Mercenaries under Hannibal's command were Celtiberians who wielded what we would know as Gladius' and during the battle of Cannae the Maniples of the time who wielded swords similar to the Greek Xiphos found their primarily thrust based blades were very poor matches for the Gladius which excelled at both slashing and thrusting. This led to the adoption of the Celtiberian blade by the romans even before the wars end.

[@tylerstewart5829]

I don't wanna be that guy, but I'm 99% sure that Caesar used Gallic cavalry. Iirc German cavalry was incredibly mud at the time.

[@noahjohnson935]

@@tylerstewart5829 he had some Gauls, yeah, but his best cavalry units were recruited from the German tribes he defeated.

[@tylerstewart5829]

@@noahjohnson935 hol up, I gotta go read the commentaries again

[@DrygdorDradgvork]

Also important to remember that when the gladius was in its heyday, the Roman empire was still expanding rapidly, which was reflected in how infantry fought. Rather than using spears as primary weapons, each soldier carried one or two pilum, and, after throwing them, would transition to their gladius as they advanced into the crippled enemy shield line. Essentially, the gladius was a primary infantry weapon; a short weapon being very useful in tight confines against an enemy without a shield. This is in contrast to later periods when Rome was struggling to maintain its borders (along with numerous other issues) and therefore became more defensive in its infantry combat, with spears becoming primary weapons and the spatha being a secondary. Oh and while I'm here, let us not forget how important missile weapons were, from the aforementioned pilum, to plumbata and slingers (who never get enough attention), archers of course, and ballista (which contrary to popular belief, shot round projectiles, hence "ball"), and catapulta (which actually shot the giant arrows). Oh and there were of course mangonels but they kinda suck tbh.

[@equilibrium9829]

Most famous roman sword : gladius but this THIS IS SPATHA !

[@freakystyle1996]

Gladius is just the name for the classical Roman short sword, while spatha ended up as the generic term for "sword" as in "long bladed weapon" in every Romance language. It trascended its original meaning while the gladius did not

[@chikkynuggy7522]

French doesn’t have a word based off of spatha

[@Heyprinny]

@@chikkynuggy7522 "épée"

[@Mosamania]

The Spatha would go on to be the baseplate woth which all (almost all) medieval weapons would be based on later. The Frankish, Saxon, Nordic and early Arabian swords were all based on tje Spatha.

[@tylerrobbins8311]

Not entirly true as Frankish and other germanic swords evolved mainly from preexisting designs native to the reinland. It's more accurate to say the romans adapted to the germanic peoples style of long bladed swords rather than vise versa. Though the Spatha was extreemly influential on Franks and other Germanic peoples who would base their warfare around Roman heavy shock cavalry.

[@Mosamania]

@Tyler Robbins While it is true that the Romans have adapted the Spatha from their Germanic auxiliaries, namely the Krefeld type which is a first century Rihnland sword, and then the native industry continued to produce them during the Merovingian period, we see a shift beginning in the late 5th century where Roman made Spatha gradually becomes more a d more common, that by the late 6th century the Spatha became the standard type of sword of the wealthy while the Seax held its position throughout. You will notice I said "Frankish" not Germanic for a reason. Basically I am just explaining exactly what you said but I wanted to make the distinction clear for my earlier statement.

[@rustomkanishka]

The bastard sword is obviously a descendant of the spatha. Pointy stick does rule, but then everyone needs a sidearm.

[@Mosamania]

@kanishka rustom Histroically speaking, there is no such thing as a bastard sword. All the modern terms we have for swords are the product of the worst historian period to ever plague our records, the Vicotirans. The Victorians in terms of history and culture study have done so much harm for the public consciousness, that I can never bring myself to forgive them. Most sword categories you are familiar with never actually existed and were never referred to as such by their contemporaries, "Bastard sword" is one of those terms.

[@tylerrobbins8311]

@@rustomkanishka Not necessarily as the Romans are the most famous example of using swords as primary arm and dominating. Problem with swords is they are expensive and take for longer to master. For example a traditional longsword or type XII or XVIIIB as examples both are specialized weapons that easily advantage over a common spear when mastered. Thing is mastering a longsword takes years, where as a few months and you can train an entire platoon in the use of spears.

[@MisterJackTheAttack]

Whenever I hear people arguing as to what is better, my response is also "for what?" Unless a weapon is truly awful, there's a time a place to use that weapon and that time and place is usually when the weapon was used.

[@Werewolf.with.Internet.Access]

I’m chuckling at the idea of Leonidas with a lisp “Thith! Ith! Thpatha!” “Eh I’d say it’s more of a gladius really” “NO I mean the country-! Oh thod it, into the pit you go, thtupid”

[@rustomkanishka]

Spatha is the grandfather of the European longsword. A bastard sword/hand and a half is an obvious descendant.

[@FrenchLightningJohn]

spatha would be more the grandfather of the arming sword, and "bastards" swords were 1 handed while longsword were 2 handed

[@rustomkanishka]

@@FrenchLightningJohn aye. Definitely some kinship there. I do own an imitation arming sword and would love to compare it to a spatha.

[@Danymok]

This doesn't explain why the late Roman infantry used the Spatha nor does it really make sense since the Spatha was already used by cavalry auxiliaries in the first century AD

[@ricardodemarco3486]

Longer blade, therefore point of balance further from the grip, plus the rounded tip. Characteristics that suits a cavalry sword, good for a single powerful slash when riding by an enemy and to avoid the blade getting stuck in the enemy body.

[@DrygdorDradgvork]

True, however infantry spatha would still have points most of the time.

[@Valiguss]

As I understand it the spatha is quite similar to the Chinese jian

[@InsaneAwesomeTony]

Nice haircut my dude 👍🏼

[@makiskanyt9269]

Spatha is also the name for sword in ancient Greek

[@valtontony826]

interesting, in Albanian theirs a similar name (shpata) for swords

[@MagnusTonitrum117]

likewise with gladius meaning sword in Latin

[@wankawanka3053]

​@@valtontony826albanian has a binch of latin loanwords so it's not that interesting

[@jamesrivettcarnac]

I love spatha! I don't have a legion to back me up

[@pandamilkshake]

Wasn't the purpose of the gladius' size to be drawn with your right hand behind the shield? Wouldn't making it longer defeat that purpose?

[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

Lindybeige has an old video where he draws a sword on his right side from just below armpit height without issue. It's not a bad question, though.

[@AndrewJ9673]

tbf Roman shields also became much less protective over time. The huge rectangular scutum seems to have disappeared by the 200s and 300s. Its a lot easier to draw and fight with oval shields I think.

[@GROOT0404]

That is partially correct. A longer weapon would indeed make it harder to draw with your right hand while holding a large rectangular shield but when the scutum was more widely used a large tightly packed infantry unit wasn't as effective as it used to be. The enemies the romans faced often were horse archers and a tightly packed immobile infantry unit, like legionaries with a gladius, are not able to fight these enemies very well.

[@rustomkanishka]

The Gladius is useful if you are fighting in that Roman style, best seen in the Triumvirate wars. Over a period of time, more soldiers came from the Celtic and Germanic tribes. Hence swords closer to their designs. Just swing a bastard sword, it's nearly the same thing.

[@arecane2000]

I'd thought the spatha was an Iberian wasp waisted, or kind of hourglass shaped, short sword with a deep, wide fuller on one side of the broad part of the blade. The sword then sort of resembling a spoon. 🤔

[@freakystyle1996]

I think that's the falcata

[@arecane2000]

@@freakystyle1996 Hmm..falcata is a long kind of kukri shaped blade, single edged. Thank you though.

[@arecane2000]

@@freakystyle1996 What I'm remembering is like a long pugio, with a gladius handle, and where the blade gets wider toward the tip a wide, deep, oval fuller is scooped out of the center of the flat of the blade. I think the fuller was only on one side. So, the weapon, kind of resembles a spoon. I have no idea where I remember this from. 🤔 Oh well, operator error. 🤪

[@Ralampos]

Spatha is a greek word so i guess it's an improvement made by greeks?

[@freakystyle1996]

@@arecane2000 Now I search a bit, what you describe may be some kind of Greek Xiphos

[@BlackwaterAquatics]

Spatha is pretty much a oldschool broadsword.

[@rustomkanishka]

I own a dull bastard sword. I'd love to compare it to the spatha. As a stabbing weapon though, the Gladius is amazing. It's weird how everyone forgot it was an Iberian weapon first. Also a comparison between the Falcatta and the Gladius.

[@frekitheravenous516]

Been a fan of "Germanic" swords from the migration era on up thru the Viking age. It's pretty widely accepted that the Germanic sword is a direct offshoot of the Roman Spatha. Many Germanic tribesmen did in fact serve as mercs in the Roman army and woulda had access to them. So whether they just got used to them or decided to copy them, I am so very thankful they did.

[@farkasmactavish]

Nice shoutout to PurpleHeart Armory!

[@Grabthar191]

I think there is also a bias because Gladius rolls off the tongue easier. So people are more fond of talking about it.

[@pavlemarjanovic1896]

So spatha was a weapon for cavarly and gladius a weapon for foot soldiers?

[@senseishu937]

From what I understand, infantry used the spatha as well during later times, to have a way to fend off enemy cavalry. A gladius is too short to do anything against enemy cavalry.

[@pavlemarjanovic1896]

@@senseishu937 alright then. Thanks.

[@DrygdorDradgvork]

​@@senseishu937also, when the gladius was used, the Roman empire was still expanding rapidly, which was reflected in how infantry fought. Rather than using spears as primary weapons, each soldier carried one or two pila, and, after throwing them, would transition to their gladius as they advanced into the crippled enemy shield line. This is in contrast to later periods when Rome was struggling to maintain its borders and therefore become more defensive in its infantry combat, with spears becoming primary weapons and the spatha being a secondary.

[@axeljohansson8925]

i always thought improvments in smithing allowed more people to aford longer swords

[@saeyabor]

Well, yes, but tactics brought the spatha to prominence first. That improvement in metallurgy/smithing maybe have been driven in part by demand for spatha-like swords leading into the Migration Era (which has a sword named after it).

[@kenthart7519]

Now the weapons of the Rohirrim make sense

[@OMartinez91]

I like that spatha sounds like the Spanish word for sword, espada.

[@cristianespinal9917]

That's the origin.

[@Ralampos]

​​@@cristianespinal9917ope espada is derived from greek (spatha is literally greek)

[@maxpowers9129]

In the past people didn't typically worry about how the weapons and armor were defined. Commonly changes could be done slowly that there wouldn't have been a clear distinction between the different types at the time to the person living at the time.

[@MemTMCR]

wouldn't scimitars be really good on horseback? I imagine a cutting weapon works better than a striking or a stabbing weapon..?

[@cristianespinal9917]

Not necessarily. Cavalry forces tended to be equipped with spears primarily and swords as back-ups. Spears are stabbing weapons and no one would argue against their effectiveness on horseback. Besides that, a spatha could cut albeit worse than a curved sword, but could stab better.

[@swehumorofficial]

If there was anything I learned while practicing HEMA, it is that range (almost) always wins over all other factors. In my experience, a long sword beat short sword & shield 8 or 9 times out of 10, just as a polearm would beat both 8 or 9 times out of 10. Of course, this was in duels or small-group fighting and not a proper battlefield. Also, our instructor made sure we understood that skill was the most important factor of all, often picking the smallest and least impressive weapons to beat us with (I will never forget the day when she overheard us discussing the Rogue archetype and the effectiveness of dual-wielding daggers against properly armed enemies, so she challenged several of us to come at her with spears and swords and the like while she did just that - and we got our asses kicked). Weapons may be equalizers, but when the opponent is that much quicker, stronger and more skilled than you, no difference in weaponry will overcome those odds.

[@aegis6485]

The way my teacher dumbed it down for me was that the "Spatha was for slashing AND stabbing, the gladius for stabbing, and the xiphos was for slashing."

[@DrygdorDradgvork]

Hmm. I mean, they were definitely used that way more often, however the gladius has been proven to be quite a formidable cutting weapon, and the xiphos stabs quite well too.

[@kiwimutante1633]

Revered sword

[@nunyabiznes33]

Spatha literally gave the word "sword" to many languages.

[@Darqshadow]

To be fair the gladuis is a very offensive weapon that does well in close combat, especially sieges which Rome did a fair amount of. When they went on the defensive, Cavalry and spears were the main tools so the Spatha became more just a cavalry sword

[@Basedindividual69]

You should cover the Beheading War (aka Federalist Revolt) in Southern Brazil. There is a famous myth about the war, where a rebel, Adão Latorre, beheaded 300 prisioners in one night. He was even nicknamed '"Sinuelo da Morte" by other rebel troops. Would be interesting to see you talk about it.

[@davidwooden3878]

In Codex Alera (a fantasy story by Jim Butcher, drawing inspiration from the Lost Legion) some sword masters carry both

[@justbplz]

I played a game called "Vagrant Story" it had a lot of different historically accurate weapons including the spatha I believe

[@Out-to-Pastor]

If I could afford 3 tickets for the wife, daughter, and myself I would but that's not a reasonable purchase for us. That being said I pray yall have a great, safe, and entertaining trip.

[@ricardomartins286]

Soooo.... Why not keep both? Infantry in Rome kept fighting in close formation in a heavy infantry way

[@rustomkanishka]

The spatha got refined into the bastard sword/hand and a half.

[@liamroarke7991]

As a cavalry weapon, the spatha was fantastic. As an infantry sword.....not so much.

[@6393dude]

If the gladius was superior for infantry then swords would've reverted back to a shorter length during the Carolingian and Viking ages. The predominant sword blades of those eras remained around Spatha length.

[@liamroarke7991]

@@6393dude the gladius was superior for the Roman style of fighting. The spatha was too long for tight formations.

[@nodosa994]

​@Liam Roarke This is not entirely true, mainly because we literally have no idea how Romans fought. We have a vague idea on how battles actually devolved once contact was made. Keep in mind that during the time of the Republic, the Romans used the Gladius against Hellenic armies. To an outsiders perspective, Romans were much more loose compared to their counterparts. Lastly, the late Roman armies fought in a more different and dynamic way of fighting. Spears reappeared on the battlefield in bulk, so Romans still fought in tight formations.

[@h0rn3d_h1st0r1an]

Historically accurate Excalibur

[@davidjackson6475]

So basically when the Roman army branched out into infantry and cavalry divisions so did their equipment. At least they were smart about keeping the designs close enough so their new cavalry didn't have to spend years relearning how to use a sword.

[@Greg_Heffley69]

That's the goddamn master sword bro

[@Joshua_N-A]

Roman: "This is SPATHA!"

[@salinagrrrl69]

Akways wondered bout that.

[@zacw8869]

Did history ever end up having stuff similar to evolutionary arms race type things. Like where "I'll make my spear slightly longer so it can reach past your spear" and then it goes on until they are both a ridiculous length.

[@florinvoinea5203]

Spada is a romanian word for sword.

[@rustomkanishka]

What little Latin i learned under the Jesuits was church Latin. However, even back then i was made to understand that the Romans of old, like the blokes in togas would speak Latin vernacular. There was this idea that scientists worked diligently to figure it out. Then i heard the shitty Romanian dictator talk and by jove it's more Latin than i could have possibly imagined.

[@Ralampos]

And the greek word for spatha is spatha i mean it's more like Σπάθα but yeah the word spatha is greek.

[@shuukenji6585]

"Let me get this straight... You want a longer gladius... So you made... What was it again?" "Spatha" "Ok, why not just call it just Gladius? Its still the same but longer?" "Yeth...Well Glathius ith hath thu pwonownth..."

[@reverendrico5631]

The Spatha is my favorite sword style.

[@secretagent5954]

thats how my wife describes us having sex: me riding the beast swinging around a toothpick 😂😂😂

[@joan_of_craft4690]

Damn, rick riordan did his research.

[@charleshurst1015]

I'm lead to understand that several things existed during the late Roman period and DID NOT directly contribute to the downfall of the late Roman Empire. 1. Swords of Spatha length (proto Arming swords). The Romans were aware of these weapons but such things were a liability in battle when fighting in close formation - so the Romans looked at those weapons and went, "That's cool and all but I'll stick with the Gladius" 2. Stirrups. Romans used a saddle with posts that allowed the rider to brace their legs and hold onto the horse more easily or stay in the saddle after hitting someone with a spear from horseback. Their reaction to stirrups was similar to the longer swords. Even though stirrups might be the better choice, it's also a more complicated arrangement. That means it's: 1. Harder to make, 2. Harder to maintain, 3. Harder to train people on. Those factors are MAJOR considerations when you're equipping an Army.

[@troymikkelsen9479]

Come on PCH knock on my door. I want to go to Rome.😂

[@BuckNuttage]

I thought that guy was a centaur

[@xouri8009]

Still, secondary weapon to the spear Spears were like Ak-47s of the time I guess lol

[@christopherconkright1317]

I don’t know if you like fantasy books but Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. Was about a legion warped to another world.

[@BurchellAtTheWharf]

Hold up, the spath, really no love? Your yet to do the gag or war gaf er the battle gaff, no love, use seafarers want some love too

[@chrisdiehl5903]

Ok, let me break it down a bit here for you. Back then, they didn't just hand you a weapon smack you on the as s and send you on your way. They made sure that the weapon you were using was sutable for your size. This is what makes an effective soldier. Being able to wield your weapon with ease, so you were a more effective killer.

[@EyeLean5280]

Also for quite a while (two generations or so) after recruiting large numbers of barbarians into the army, Rome was letting them fight in their traditional melee fashion, rather than in disciplined formations. This worked kinda-sorta okay... until it didn't. And then the Roman army had to try to tighten up discipline once again and teach people who had never in their lives even seen the classic Roman method of fighting to do it. What a mess!

[@HugoStuff]

Happy to say im the owner of my very own spatha

[@Apollo_ITA]

Hey steven can i see you in rome vause om italian it takes me 50 minites to get there

[@emilioaguirre1634]

Can you do a video on the Aztec chainsaw sword thing?

[@StefanIoan25]

Can you talk about the Dacian Falx sword next

[@nerdlingeeksly5192]

I don't pay attention to the spatha as much because I assumed it was a gladius

[@JinKee]

The Gladius is the M4 carbine vs the Spatha being the Sig XM7 Spear

[@HD-mp6yy]

Did anybody else notice that the testudo is wrong. I can't pay attention at the video because of it.

[@ThePetro29]

Why do people say that in the middle ages the Mediterranean Sea was the entire known world when there were trade routes to india and china?

[@Ralampos]

I guess not many people knew, there was like VERY few encounters. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the people that knew that china existed and tried going there were killed by tribes.

[@randomelite4562]

@@RalamposIt really depended on the time period. Most of the time though it was safe enough to where it was a risky but well worth endeavor

[@Mewton87]

Very much wish I could join you in Italy. But I can't afford it 😔. You all have fun though I wish you all the best.

[@TheNorseWolf]

Spatha, is perfect for cavalry

[@CanadianBear47]

Go to tunisia. Has roman ruins as well and a colasium u can go into and explore.

[@TaGF_Tomcat]

that shirt lmao

[@juanignacioarriagadawurth8527]

Bruh the romans didint always use the gladius, they mostly used spears "pilium" as their primary weapon since it was the best for most situations and penetrated everything even armor or shields, the gladius was for close combat and they made a lot of different sizes to the gladius bigger depending the situation, with ofc the roman shield wich was the best of the time, the dagger for emergencies and the god tier tactics and formation this made the roman soldier a complete killing machine

[@Kolossus_]

Basically a gladius but LONG

[@calmman32]

I had thought curved swords are better for calvary.

[@valtontony826]

shpata is name for sword in Albanian

[@rustomkanishka]

Just curious, are you Albanian? Are women as hot as the famous pop star? And is Mother Teresa considered a good person? I'm asking out of curiosity, no malice intended.

[@victorjuarez2095]

A history nerd traveling with a large group to italy?….

[@MultiNumenor]

Mammamia!!

[@cedricofcanteburry]

Here’s a question since another guy asked a pride month question for some reason; how did the Prussian people react to Frederick the ga- I mean the Great being gay

[@cfv7461]

emperor tigerstar has a video on that. Basically, they attributed that to the inherent power of femboys

[@Wastelandman7000]

Um...dude, the spatha was used by Roman cavalry going way back to the Empire days. The reason they started issuing it to foot soldiers is the greater number of horsemen and decreasing discipline of the foot soldiers meant they needed a longer blade. Similar to why many infantry officers had long swords during the Napoleonic war. Without the extra blade length they wouldn't be able to defend themselves.

[@randomelite4562]

Not necessarily discipline, it’s just that infantry tactics changed over time

[@tnguyen403]

The samurais were armed with both. But of course they could afford to.

[@a-a-ron9027]

TIL what the spatha was, long gladius, neat

[@matteoreggiani3157]

If I already live in Rome, can I tag along? 👀

[@jonathanamundsen6086]

Nice Shirt.

[@Creepymoose135]

If the Spatha is just a longer gladius, why isn't it just called a longer gladius?

[@1098765432wo1]

Does the spatha have anything to do with Sparta?

[@Grimsly3736]

The word spatha comes from the Greek word spathe meaning roughly “broad blade of a sword” but technically this type of weapon was used by the Celts first so I’m gonna guess no but I could be wrong

[@charlesbrooks94]

No, the Spatha was derived from the “longswords” used by the Germanic tribes of Northeast Europe. Rome had a habit of adopting things from other peoples. The Gladius was adopted from the Celtic & Hispanic tribes of modern day Spain & Portugal. And, before that, the Romans adopted the Greek Xiphos. The Spartans used two main swords, a shortened Xiphos (average was about 2 1/2-3 ft long, Spartan was about 2 ft long) or the Kopis (aka Falcata), a very popular and vicious chopping sword (think kukri or bolo the size of an arming sword).

[@benjaminmorris4962]

​@@charlesbrooks94 I'm pretty sure he was talking about etymology

[@benjaminmorris4962]

​@@Grimsly3736 Also, the Greek word itself is derived from Proto-Indo-European "spehdeh"(not exactly spelled like that, PIE transliteration use numbers as well for some reason...), which itself is combination of the verbs "to draw"(speh) and "to do, to put"(deh) and has a feminine noun ending(-eh) which is also the same vowel sound the verbs end with...

[@Grimsly3736]

@@benjaminmorris4962 that’s very interesting! Thank you for sharing that with me I’ll be sure to look into it more ❤️

[@Cristian_Adejandro98]

Percy's sword from Percy Jackson the lighting thief is a Sparta not a gladius Los of people confuse them two.

[@TheAchilles26]

It's neither, as it's a bronze sword. Ironically, it's closer to a Hallstatt C sword

[@rustomkanishka]

Its a xyphos. The Greek short sword. The Gladius is from Hispania, or modern day iberia.

[@TheAchilles26]

@@rustomkanishka if we're talking about the movie sword it's WAY too long to be a xiphos.

[@proghost111]

Weapons r so cooool

[@Ar_Tank]

THIS IS SPATHA!

[@Paguo]

That's the root of "sword" in portuguese: "espada"

[@Luka_Petakovic09]

Spatha is weapon of auxilia

[@randomelite4562]

*a weapon Auxilia used a wide variety of weapons depending on how they fought

[@Luka_Petakovic09]

@@randomelite4562 thanks for a fact bro i think that spatha was the most common in Germanic auxiliaries like Batavians. Prove me if I am wrong.

[@masjuggalo]

I figure this is one of those. If my sword 6 inches longer I can stab people 6 inches further away

[@Gnomkiller2000]

Ill be your guide if ya want but 3k my boi is a bit much even when teaveling from america 😂

[@Big_Ego]

ahh, so this is spatha?!

[@zealfonso3987]

So that's the excalibur then

[@gutspraygore]

Was the spatha better than the gladius? Long answer: Spatha Short answer: Gladius

[@henreymichelson]

If I add a guard to a spatula is it the same weapon

[@ancientmerlin8684]

When are you going to Italy as I'm going to Rome in September

[@Wyss03]

The link says May next year

[@ancientmerlin8684]

@@Wyss03 I jumped into the comments before looking at the link as I was excited that he was going to Italy lol

[@husky0098]

But why did they name it "spatha" and not "long gladius"?

[@Sakkura1]

This explanation is entirely wrong, because infantry used the spatha as much as cavalry did.