Weapons & Warriors: The Scissor of the Romans

Art by TL Jeffcoat

There is much confusion about this mysterious weapon. It’s only known to have been used regularly by gladiators and history is unclear whether the word Scissor refers to the weapon or the style of gladiator. Some historians believe that it is the name of both; some deny the name to either.

The Scissor was a simple weapon in design, with an iron tube and a handle inside topped with a crescent shaped blade. The handle allowed the Gladiator better control of the blade that faced away from the tube and was mounted by a metal shaft. The shaft was most likely attached to the handle, through the top of the tube, to enhance its durability and control. There is some speculation to this, but most weapon specializing historians would agree that the blade would need to be attached to the handle and not just attached to the tube itself or the blade would be impossible to manage when it’s struck by another weapon.

Weapons & Warriors: The Plumbata of the Romans

Art by TL Jeffcoat

Although originally used by the Greeks, this throwing dart is best known from its use by the Roman legions over 1,600 years ago. These weapons are so effective that a legion could halt a charging cavalry before it reaches the line. Half of every battle is killing your enemy, the other half is disorienting or confusing them so they are easier to kill.

The Plumbata is a simple design. It’s a wooden dart that is slightly shorter than an arrow. The iron tipped head is weighted with lead to keep the sharp end pointed towards its target while airborne, no matter how it is thrown. This not only simplifies training, it allows the darts to be thrown under pressure at short ranges without focusing so much on technique. The fletched rear of the Plumbata helps the dart stay balanced, and increases range. The weight of the lead also increases the power of the weapon's impact, allowing it to penetrate light armor, or even horse skin as cavalry tries to flank or charge the legion.

Weapons & Warriors: The Cestus of the Romans

The Cestus is a deadly hand held melee weapon that was born from an ancient sport known as Boxing but was most popular in the Roman Coliseum. Boxing wasn’t invented by the Americans, British, Italians, or Irish, despite its popularity in those nations. It didn’t originate from Mexico or Russia either. In fact none of these countries existed when evidence of boxing was discovered from over 3,000 years ago in the Mesopotamia region.

The Cestus (Art by TL Jeffcoat)

Since this isn’t a history lesson on boxing, let’s get back to the Cestus. The Cestus is what the Greeks called the leather straps around their hands. When the Greeks first designed the Cestus, it was just leather. It was meant to soften the contact between an opponent’s face and the knuckles. This made boxing more of a sport than actual combat.

The Roman’s snatched the concept and went the complete opposite direction from safety. They fitted the leather straps with iron bands to make it easier to open someone’s skull or shatter ribs. It was easy to master which made it ideal for gladiators. You just punched like you would if you were boxing. This loop of iron strapped to the knuckles was eventually banned from the arena by 393 AD because a Cestus in hand to hand fighting was too bloody. Knowing what went on in the Coliseum, brawls with the Cestus must have been so bloody even the Godfather of Gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis, would be disgusted.