Calas Mainz Gladius  SBA-CALASMAINZ   $104  Expedited Shipping Available! E-mail service@strongblade.com or call 866-7SWORDS Out of Stock    The Mainz gladius was named for the Roman outpost of Moguntiacum in Germany. Yes, I realize that Moguntiacum doesn't appear to have anythign to do with the word Mainz, but alas, you get ahead of me. Moguntiacum evetually bacame the German city of Mainz, but back in the 13 BC, Moguntiacum was famous for, among other things, the waisted roman gladii that were forged there. A British version of the Mainz, discovered in Fulham, England, was creatively named the Mainz-Fulham and featured a larger wasp-waist and slightly longer blade. The Gladius The Roman Gladius has a long and prosperous history. It was, at first, a weapon used by the Spaniards. The Spaniards were particularly good at fighting the Romans and earned the grudging respect of the Italian conquerors, who, nonetheless conquered them anyway. (it's a fitting tribute to the toughness of the Spaniards that Russell Crowe's "Maximus" character in the movie "Gladiator" was a Spaniard who had been integrated into the Roman army). The Spaniard's had two weapons feared by the Romans: The hook-handled "falcata," (a horrific slashing weapon with a lethal forward curve) and the Gladius. The Romans were so impressed with the effectiveness of the gladius that they quickly adopted it for their own troops. This first style was known as the Gladius Hispaniensis, and was used until about 20 BC. The gladius was used primarily for stabbing, so it features a fearsome v-shaped tip, great for slipping through the spaces in ribs, or through the cartilage itself if aim was bad or mood particularly grim. The versatile sword could also be used to slash; both edges were sharpened and deadly. The weapon was ideal for the Romans, who used it in formation, with all soldiers drawing their swords from their right side with their right hand (this bit of conformity kept legionnaires from accidentally dissecting their immediate neighbors). The small swords were the perfect complement to the huge scutum shields that the soldiers used in their formations, giving the troops speed and the ability to withdraw the weapon quickly and defend themselves solely with the shield.