Ring pommel sword
| Ring pommel sword | |
|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Weapon type: | sword |
| Designations: | Ring pommel sword |
| Use: | weapon |
| Creation time: | 1st to 2nd century A.D. |
| Region of origin / author: |
Riding nomads north of the Black Sea |
| Distribution: | Sarmatians , Roman Empire , Barbaricum |
| Lists on the subject | |
The ring pommel sword got its name from the ring-shaped pommel at the end of the tang .
The first ring pommel swords appear in the northern Black Sea area. They are assigned to the Sarmatians and used from the 1st to the beginning of the 3rd century AD. The pommel has a round shape and a round cross-section. The blade, tang and pommel are made from one piece. The distribution area goes west to the Hungarian lowlands.
The Roman military then probably adopted this type of sword from the Sarmatians, possibly when Trajan set up the cavalry troop ala I Ulpia contariorum in Arrabona . The sword was in use by the Romans from the beginning of the 2nd to the middle of the 3rd century AD. It is believed that the early Roman ring pommel swords were similar to the Sarmatian models. Later developments, however, had a kidney-shaped pommel with a rhombic cross-section and thickened strongly towards the top. The knob was then not welded to the tang, but riveted. There are also often incorporated ornaments on the Roman swords . This type of weapon was used by different troop units. They are not only assigned to the auxiliary soldiers , but also to the legionarii and beneficiarii . The sword was especially popular with the beneficiarii . They also used small ring pommel swords as miniature pendants. The short blade shape was used by the foot troops and the long blade shape by the cavalry. The ring pommel sword was then replaced by the spathe in the first half of the 3rd century AD .
A total of 17 ring-pommel swords were also found in the European Barbaricum (Elbe region of Schleswig-Holstein, Jutland, island of Funen ). Presumably they are Roman replicas.
The ring pommel sword should not be confused with the ring sword . They basically have nothing in common, except for the similar-sounding name.
Typification of Roman swords
Marcin Biborski classified the Roman ring pommel swords into five types according to blade shape and size.
| Sword type | overall length | Blade length | Blade width | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type I. | 80 - 70 cm | 62 - 52 cm | 5.5 - 3.6 cm | Medium-long and medium-wide blade, often with decorated ring knobs |
| Type II | 68 - 55 cm | 50 - 40 cm | 5 - 2 cm | short blade, rarely decorated, the most common variant |
| Type III | no handle available | 36 - 31 cm | 3.9 - 3 cm | short narrow blade |
| Type IV | 46 - 44 cm | 33 - 29 cm | 4.6-4 cm | triangular dagger-like blade |
| Type V | 53.2 cm / 41.2 cm | 38.8 cm / 28.2 cm | 5.4 cm / 4.7 cm | two copies, single-edged blade only |
literature
- Zsolt Mráv: Parade shield, ring pommel sword and lances from a Roman chariot grave in Budaörs. The gun graves of the local elite in Pannonia. In: Archaeologiai Értesitö. 131, 2006, pp. 41-45 ( online ).
- Péter Kovács : Excavations in the roman auxiliary fort of Annamatia (Baracs) between 1999 and 2005. Opitz, Budapest 2005.
- Péter Kovács, Bence Fehér: Fontes Pannoniae Antiquae II. The history of Pannonia between 54 and 166 AD Egyetemi, Budapest 2005, ISBN 963-8392-85-1 .
- Péter Kovács: Beneficiarius lances and ring-pommel swords in Pannonia. In: Visy Zsolt (ed.): Limes XIX. Proceedings of the XIXth International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies. University of Pécs, Pécs 2003, pp. 955–970.
- Hans-Ulrich Voß: ring pommel sword. In: Johannes Hoops , Heinrich Beck , Dieter Geuenich (Hrsg.): Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. Volume 25. 2nd edition. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2003, ISBN 978-3-11-017733-6 , pp. 19-22.
- Marcin Biborski: Typology and chronology of ring pommel swords . In: Markomannenkriege - Causes and Effects. Brno 1994, pp. 85-97.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b H.-U. Voss: Ring Knob Sword In: Johannes Hoops, Heinrich Beck, Dieter Geuenich (Hrsg.): Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde - Vol. 25th 2nd edition. Verlag Walter de Gruyter, Berlin - New York 2003, ISBN 978-3-11-017733-6 , p. 19
- ^ Zsolt Mráv: Parade shield, ring knob sword and lances from a Roman wagon grave in Budaörs. The gun graves of the local elite in Pannonia. In: Archaeologiai Értesitö 131, 2006, pp. 41–45 http://www.researchgate.net/publication/235734085_Paradeschild_Ringknaufschwert_und_Lanzen_aus_einem_rmerzeitlichen_Wagengrab_in_Budars
- ^ Zsolt Mráv: Parade shield, ring knob sword and lances from a Roman wagon grave in Budaörs. The gun graves of the local elite in Pannonia. In: Archaeologiai Értesitö 131, 2006, p. 42
- ↑ Marcin Biborski: Typology and Chronology of Ring Knobschwerter, In: Markomannenkriege - Causes and Effects, Brno 1994, pp. 85–97