| Roman General’s Spatha | | | | infantry weapon. The spatha apparently simply |
| A beautifully made General’s sword with | | | | replaced the gladius in the front ranks, giving the |
| highly elaborated hilt, richly decorated bronze and | | | | infantry more reach in thrusting. |
| stained oak. Blade made of Spring steel. This | | | | Archaeologically many instances of the spatha |
| reproduction is handmade by Historical Armouries. | | | | have been found in Britain and Germany. It was |
| The spatha was a type of straight sword with a | | | | used extensively by Germanic warriors but |
| long point, measuring between 0.75 and 1 m,in use | | | | whether it came from the Pompeii gladius or the |
| throughout 1st millennium Europe and the territory | | | | longer Celtic swords or served as a model for the |
| of the Roman Empire until about AD 600. Later | | | | various broadswords and Viking swords of Europe |
| swords through about AD 1000 are recognizable | | | | is a highly speculative topic. The spatha remained |
| derivatives, though not spathae. | | | | popular throughout the Migration period. It could |
| The predecessor of the spatha is the 3rd century | | | | have evolved into the knightly sword of the High |
| BC (La Tène) Celtic sword. The spatha of | | | | Middle Ages from about 1100, but the large |
| literature appears in the Roman Empire in the 1st | | | | number of sword types that appeared during the |
| century as a weapon of presumed Germanic | | | | period are difficult to connect for certain. Specific |
| auxiliaries[dubious – discuss] and went on from | | | | details of their manufacture and the models used |
| there to become a standard heavy infantry | | | | by their manufacturers remain chiefly unknown. |
| weapon, relegating the gladius to use as a light | | | | |