How to correctly choose your Celtic sword? Evolution of the Celtic swords (4th-1st century BC)
When we talk about swords of the ancient world, most people have a rather vague idea of the swords used by the Gauls.
If perhaps we associate the xiphos with a foliated blade or the single-edged kopis with the Greek hoplites, and the gladius with the Romans, in the various stages of its evolution, for most of us it is difficult to clearly associate a type of sword with the Gauls.
(the video above has English subtitles to follow along).
However, as with all weapons of the classical world, this one also actually has a long and complex history, made up of transformations and evolutions, linked to the needs of the moment, tactical transformations, social changes.
Let us therefore briefly see the evolution of the Gallic sword, in its general lines, between the 4th century BC and the 1st century BC.
Introduction: the 5th century BC
Before starting our discussion on Celtic swords, it is good to remember some characteristics that will remain almost fixed in Gallic swords for centuries, and which find their origin in the 5th century BC – the period of diffusion of La Tène A type swords (a family of swords that do not yet present, at the level of the blades, any morphological uniformity).
First of all, the handle in organic material and without any type of protection for the hand, which indicates a non-defensive use of the weapon. This characteristic is common with the combat of the ancient world in general, which instead delegates the defense of the hand and body almost entirely to the shield.
Secondly, already in the first half of the 5th century BC a completely metallic, dismountable scabbard was designed, made with two valves joined at the bottom by a chape. This type of scabbard was introduced to have a more robust structure, in response to the increasingly dynamism of the Gauls’ way of fighting.
Finally, it is during this period that the Celtic custom of carrying the sword on the right hip was canonized, necessary to extract the weapon from the scabbard without exposing oneself (which was inevitable, due to the flat shields used by the Celts).
La Tène B swords (4th century BC – early 3rd century BC)
During the 4th century BC, Celtic swords began to standardize, with a much smaller variety of models than in the previous period. The sword usually has a blade between 60 and 70 cm long, about 5 cm wide
The main characteristics of the blade are a particularly pronounced tip and a usually rhomboidal section. Furthermore, archaeological data shows that the La Tène B blades are of excellent workmanship: in fact, these are weapons that are mainly the prerogative of the aristocracy, or rather of warriors, we could well say, professionals. The weapon proves to be excellent both for use as a point and as a cut.
The La Tène B sword, thanks to its excellent characteristics, will also be massively acquired by other populations. One above all, the Romans, who will acquire the weapon so massively (producing it themselves) that they will imitate the use of always carrying it on the right and the name by which the Gauls called swords.
The word gladius, in fact, does not find a reference in the Latin language before the 3rd century BC, and derives from the Celtic kladios/kladimos. The previous Latin word for sword, ensis, will be replaced by the new Celtic word and will end up being used only in literary language.
The Romans will keep the La Tène B, alongside other swords, until the second half of the 2nd century BC.
In the Celtic world, however, the evolution of swords continues.
La Tène C swords (3rd century B.C. – mid-2nd century B.C.)
During the 3rd century BC, we witness a militarization of broader layers of Celtic culture. This leads, alongside swords that are still of excellent quality, to the proliferation of weapons of lesser quality, but more easily accessible even to non-professional warriors and with less economic availability. It is to this period that we can ascribe the descriptions of Celtic swords in classical sources, which depict Gallic weapons as poorly made, and even prone to bending in combat.
Also in this period, both to preserve the blades from deformations and for a wider diffusion of the weapon, the use of the cutting blow becomes more widespread, also favored by a general lengthening of the blades, which pass to measures of up to 75 cm and even 80 cm of blade, in the most advanced period.
Furthermore, a blade with a no longer rhomboidal section, but rather a lenticular one, is favored.
Although the sword is a weapon that finds its diffusion among both infantry and cavalry, its use increasingly falls on the latter, and this also marks the final evolution of the weapon.
La Tène D swords (mid 2nd century B.C. – end of the 1st century B.C.)
In this last period, the blade generally becomes even longer, reaching 80 or 90 cm in length (although there are examples of shorter lengths, around 70 cm). The tip of the sword in many cases is rounded and is not very accentuated, indicating a primary use for cutting, almost certainly by horsemen.
In this period, the sword is again mainly a tool in the hands of professional, elite warriors, who in fact are now mostly warriors on horseback.
The La Tène D sword will then be the basis of one of the future evolutions of swords within the Roman world. The Gallic allied and auxiliary horsemen of the end of the Roman republic and the beginning of the empire, in fact, will use these weapons or their evolutions.
Almost certainly, it will be the La Tène D sword that will give rise, in the long term, not only to the spathae still in use in the early imperial period, but also to the spathae of the late Roman era, which will become the primary weapon of both cavalry and infantry of this historical period.