Salvete, amici -
From the 'Introductions/Avete New Sodales' thread:
Re: Avete New Sodales! (Intros)
by caiavaleria on Sun Nov 22, 2009 11:01 am
- Salvete Valeri Claudi iohannes! If this is not grammatically correct, Please do correct my latin.
Indeed - I do know a lot about metallurgy. Comparatively few Roman swords survive as they were often recycled. The gladii and spathas are the two known Roman swords.
- Gladii being a lot shorter and broader than spatha for use by the cavalry, which often consisted of foreign auxilliaries. It is generally thought that the gladius were made with high phosphorus iron, which improved the hardness of the sword at the expense of flexibility.
- Some experiments have been done to establish the optimum blade length for close combat to be 15 to 17 inches. I could go on...
Valete! Caia Valeria Aena
I'm hoping our nova socia Caia Valeria Aenea will share a bit more of her knowledge with us.
Bene valete.