Elite [225] Roman Heavy Cavalry by Raffaele D'Amato & Andrey Evgenevich Negin

Author:Raffaele D'Amato & Andrey Evgenevich Negin [D'Amato, Raffaele & Negin, Andrey Evgenevich]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: new
ISBN: 9781472830036
Amazon: B07GBX3PG1
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 2018-11-29T05:00:00+00:00

Reconstruction of Roman manica arm protection, from various finds. (Drawing by Andrea Salimbeti ex Gamber)

OFFENSIVE WEAPONS

Spears

The main weapon of cataphracts (both catafractarii and clibanarii) was the contus Sarmaticus, a lance reaching 4−4.5m (13−15ft) in length. The heavy contus is described by Servius (Ad Aen. VII, 664) as like a long spear with a short iron point. We find oblique references to the contus in the Argonautica of Valerius Flaccus (VI, 161−2, 234−238, 256−258), and in Statius’ Achilleides (II, 132−134). This spear was mainly used with two hands (cataphracts were not always equipped with shields), held along the horse’s flank and wielded freely. However, according to Heliodorus, at least among the Persian cavalrymen the contus could also be attached to the horse at the neck and croup. It is well represented in graffiti and frescoes at Dura Europos, sometimes adorned with ribbons. The fragments of a spearshaft from Dura possibly attest that the contus shaft was painted red, while later sources (Notitia Dignitatum) show it painted in various colours. At Piercebridge (possibly Morbio) in Britain four spearheads have been found, of which one, 14.5cm (5.7in) long with a slender leaf-shaped blade, might fit the bill as a cavalry lance.

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