The spatha in the 4th and 5th centuries AD: A short chronological and typological guide

Authors

  • Eduardo Kavanagh Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v11i22.800

Keywords:

Spatha, Late Antiquity, Dominate, barbarian invasions, typology

Abstract

We present an analysis of the two edged long sword (spatha) in the two final centuries of the West Roman Empire (roughly the 4th and 5th centuries AD). This study is achieved through the dissection of this sword into its constituent parts, this is: the blade, the pommel, the grip and the cross-guard or quillons. Additionally, the same method is applied to the study of the sheath associated to this kind of sword, studying separately the two parts of it that have normally survived to this date: the throat or locket and the chape. Special attention is devoted to the physical definition of each of these pieces, as well as to the different variations that appeared in time and to the precise dating of the period of use of each of them. The final result is a kind of synthesis or, in other words, a short guide that allows the distinction of the different variants both of the spathae and of the different pieces that make them. As such, we believe it might be useful as a tool for the identification and dating of the surviving examples of this sword. Finally, we offer some general conclusions derived from the analysis of the evolution and diversity of types, subtypes and constituent parts and, more precisely, on the tendencies observed in their general evolution and the possible historical lectures that we may obtain from it. This is accompanied also by some considerations on the creation of the Roman military identity during the Dominate, and the role that the spatha might have had in it.

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Author Biography

  • Eduardo Kavanagh, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

    Eduardo Kavanagh es doctor en Arqueología por la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, profesor honorario en esa misma institución, miembro del proyecto de investigación Ciudades y complejos aristocráticos ibéricos en la conquista romana de la Alta Andalucía. Nuevas perspectivas y programa de puesta en valor (Cerro de la Cruz y Cerro de la Merced, Córdoba) y director de la revista de historia política y militar Desperta Ferro Historia Antigua y Medieval.

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Published

2022-07-26

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 22 (2022): Bárbaros y santos: La guerra en la Antigüedad Tardía

Section

Dossier

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Copyright (c) 2022 Eduardo Kavanagh

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How to Cite

The spatha in the 4th and 5th centuries AD: A short chronological and typological guide. (2022). Revista Universitaria De Historia Militar, 11(22), 61-86. https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v11i22.800

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