Gladius - the Sword that Turned Men into Numbers

Early in human history, the earth obviously didn't have the massive population that she does now. A thousand years ago, a hundred men might be considered an army. In these early days of civilized evolution, there were warriors. Whether you look at the Norse Vikings, or the Highlanders of Scotland, these warriors had a code of honor and behavior. In a situation where two armies of a thousand men clashed, it would often quickly degenerate into several hundred individual duels. Warfare was one of the few avenues available to someone who wanted to improve upon the life his birth handed him. We in the modern world have unlimited opportunity to improve ourselves, but in dawn of civilization a farmer's son was expected to be a farmer, and the son of a noble was considered someone with an inherent right to rule others.

In such a culture, a large young man with good balance who found himself dissatisfied with life as a farmer often found the possiblility of winning spoils and glory in war a much better option than toiling in anonymity. Size, strength, speed, and a man's reflexes were the most important aspects of the early fighting man. Such early warriors mirrored the natural world more than their modern counterparts. When two lions meet, there is an instant sizing-up process they go through. If one lion is significantly larger or has a fuller, thicker mane, chances are that the smaller lion with the less impressive hair-do will leave his territory without challenging his authority. Similarly, in early warriors, a man who could effectively wield a bigger sword was granted an automatic status over one who could not. In the honor-fed cultures of early man, it was considered a little crass to kill someone who wasn't "worthy of your blade".

Enter the Roman Gladius. This blade was small enough to be wielded by virtually any healthy man. The tactics developed around this piece of hardware were considered "dirty fighting". The Roman infantry carried large shields and when their battle line clashed with that of another army, their main tactic was to use the shield to defend, then stab under the edge of the shield with the Gladius, taking their unsuspecting opponents in the midsection. Also, these small, uniform blades allowed soldiers to stand closer to each other than the large, flashy sword of an old-school duelist. This gave the Roman infantry an effective numerical advantage at the point of contact between two armies. While their opponents were the largest, fiercest examples of manhood within their cultures, the Romans could make effective warriors out of a smaller, weaker man.

Losing a military leader was a devastating blow to the morale of a warrior-based army. Losing a famous champion could cause the entire army to lose heart and run away, such was the status placed on the individual. On the other hand, you could eliminate the biggest, strongest Roman infantryman, and another warrior would step into his place in the line with no loss of either morale or effectiveness. This "standardized parts" ideology of an army can be seen even today. In a modern army, while there are ranks, there's virtually no difference in the abilities of a front-line soldier. Sure, there are still soldiers who are stronger than their peers; still fighters who have many physical advantages over their fellow soldiers, but these personal advantages don't create much difference in the actual combat ability of the modern soldier. This mindset of the soldier as a part of a machine can be traced all the way back to the Roman Empire and their adoption of the Gladius, and the overwhelming success of this approach.

BladeMaster Steve is a staff writer at HeavenlySwords.com, your online retailer and importer of high quality medieval swords. For great deals on swords visit them today!