Medieval Weapons

The legend prevails that Rome ascended with the fall of Troy.  Aenas, the famed Trojan, escaped the destruction of Troy and made his way to Italy where he married a princess.  They bore two sons,  Romulus and Remus; the boys were left to die by the Tiber river.  A she-wolf saved them.  They decided to consecrate a city by the river where the miraculous she-wolf saved them.  They fought over the name of the city and Romulus son and thus began the powerful city-state of Rome.

Many historical events and persons of the ancient past are often shrouded in legend and they make great stories.  Whatever the origins of Rome, it became one of the most powerful states that ever existed under the sun.

The Legionnaire was the foundation of the Roman army.  The Legions of the early Roman army were an outstanding group, formidable in battle and in all areas of seige warfare.  They were also excellent engineers; they built roads, bridges, and water systems for the empire.

They were professional soldiers who served with each other often for twenty years.  They fought very hard for the empire, but they were more dedicated to their legion than to the state.  The system worked well for Rome, because each Legionnaire fought his heart out for his comrades  They were prohibited from marrying, so their loyalty was to their fellow soldiers  After service of twenty years, they were allowed to retire with a pension and an allotment of land.  Perhaps they married at this late stage of life.

They had the finest weapons of the day.  They often made changes to make them more efficient.  They wore a breast plate armor called lorica segmentata.  It was made of iron strips that were held in place by leather strips.  This replaced the solid breastplate which restricted movement.  They wore an iron helmet with a peak to prevent blows to the head.  They carried a colorful shield made of wood and metal.  The Roman foot soldier carried three weapons.  They carried a 7 foot javelin which is now referred to as a pilium.  By their side was also a pugio ( small dagger) and a two foot short sword (gladius).  On their feet they wore sandals with hobnails on the bottom.  With this equipment they conquered most of the ancient world.

The Roman Legionnaire was powerful, dedicated to his legion, and a very effective fighting machine.  The colorful Roman soldier is a popular character for reenactors or even with the individual that desires a unique Halloween costume.

Whenever we imagine medieval battles we often think of knights and soldiers charging into battle while brandishing their sword and shield. The sword and shield became so well known that people started to look at it as being cliché, and started to think that other more exotic weapons, like chains, maces, and two handed axes were more potent in battle. But the truth is, a sword and shield, in terms of offensive and defensive potency, cannot be beat. There are other weapon combinations that might have more offense or more defense than a sword, but none that have the same powerful combination of both.

Within the standard sword shield combination, the sword acts as both an offensive and defensive weapon, slashing at the enemy while also having the capacity to parry oncoming attacks. The shield is mostly used for defense, and a strong shield combined with a smart wielder can block even the most powerful bludgeoning attack (which would have an advantage over a sword alone). The shield can also be used for offense, as the sword parries an attack from the opponent, the wielder can use the shield to bash or push the opponent backwards. Because of this, the sword and shield, while standard and cliché, is near unbeatable in melee combat to this day.