![Roman legionaire with manica 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Roman_legionaire_with_manica_01.jpg)
A manica ( la, manica , "sleeve") or cheires by the Greeks was a type of iron or bronze arm guard, with curved and overlapping metal segments or plates, fastened to leather straps, worn by Roman gladiators called
crupellarii, and later optionally by soldiers.
History and usage
![AdamclisiMetope37](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/AdamclisiMetope37.jpg)
As early as
Achaemenid
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...
times, there were references to "cheires" (χειρίς) which consisted of hoops of metal that would be worn on the
rein
Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding. They are long straps that can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband.
Use f ...
arm of a cavalryman. Hooped armour became extremely popular to use on both arms and legs in the
Saka
The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...
,
Parthia
Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...
n, and
Kushan kingdoms. They can be seen at
Khalchayan
Khalchayan (also ''Khaltchaïan'') is an archaeological site, thought to be a small palace or a reception hall, located near the modern town of Denov in Surxondaryo Region of southern Uzbekistan. It is located in the valley of the Surkhan Darya, ...
and on many pieces of
Parthian artwork.
Roman troops fought
crupellarii in the
revolt of Florus and Sacrovir of AD 21. It is unclear how widely the manica was used in
Trajan's Dacian Wars
The Dacian Wars (101–102, 105–106) were two military campaigns fought between the Roman Empire and Dacia during Emperor Trajan's rule. The conflicts were triggered by the constant Dacian threat on the Danubian province of Moesia and also b ...
. Manicae (along with metal
greave
A greave (from the Old French ''greve'' "shin, shin armour") or jambeau is a piece of armour that protects the leg.
Description
The primary purpose of greaves is to protect the tibia from attack. The tibia, or shinbone, is very close to the ski ...
s) are attested as a supplement to metal body armor on several reliefs depicting that campaign, including the
Tropaeum Traiani
The Tropaeum Traiani or Trajanic Trophy is a monument in Roman Civitas Tropaensium (site of modern Adamclisi, Romania), built in AD 109 in then Moesia Inferior, to commemorate Roman Emperor Trajan's victory over the Dacians, in the winter of 1 ...
at
Adamclisi
Adamclisi () is a commune in Constanța County, in the Dobrogea region of Romania.
History
In ancient times, a Roman castrum named Civitas Tropaensium was settled here and in 109 AD a monument named Tropaeum Traiani was built to commemorate th ...
and
Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column ( it, Colonna Traiana, la, Columna Traiani) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Ap ...
.
Trajan's column in Rome seems to suggest that the ''
lorica segmentata
The ''lorica segmentata'' (), also called ''lorica lamminata'' (see Lorica segmentata#Name, §Name), is a type of personal armour that was used by soldiers of the Roman army, consisting of Laminar armor, metal strips fashioned into circular band ...
'' and the manicae were only issued to
Roman-born legionaries and not to
auxiliaries
Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, ...
. However, the Tropaeum Traiani, which is considered a better guide to the reality of field equipment, portrays Roman legionaries and heavy infantry auxiliaries equipped in the same fashion—both wearing
scale body armour with manica arm guards.
Finds identified as manicae have come from
Carlisle,
Trimontium (Newstead)
Trimontium was a Roman fort complex in Scotland. It is located at Newstead, near Melrose, in the Scottish Borders, in view of the three Eildon Hills which probably gave its name (Latin: ''trium montium'', three hills).
It was occupied fro ...
,
Carnuntum
Carnuntum ( according to Ptolemy) was a Roman legionary fortress ( la, castra legionis) and headquarters of the Pannonian fleet from 50 AD. After the 1st century, it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became a large ...
,
Richborough
Richborough () is a settlement north of Sandwich on the east coast of the county of Kent, England. Richborough lies close to the Isle of Thanet. The population of the settlement is included in the civil parish of Ash.
Although now some dist ...
,
Coria (Corbridge)
Coria was a fort and town south of Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia at a point where a big Roman north–south road (Dere Street) bridged the River Tyne and met another Roman road (Stanegate), which ran east–west between C ...
, Eining (
Abusina) on the
Danube frontier,
Leon
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...
, and
Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa.
[The Manica. Roman Military Research Society. http://www.romanarmy.net/manica.htm accessed 18 August 2009] A very well preserved manica was found in 2010–11 in a soldier's barracks at the Roman castle of Steincheshof on the Rhine frontier. It dated from the last third of the first century to the first third of the second century. These suggest that manicae were used by the Roman military during the 1st century AD, independent from the
Dacian wars. During those wars the Manica was used to protect soldiers from
falxes.
The sculpture at
Alba Julia
Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historical ...
provides evidence of the manica in use in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD by the military.
Ammianus
Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). His work, known as the ''Res Gest ...
describes Roman cavalry (probably
cataphract
A cataphract was a form of armored heavy cavalryman that originated in Persia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa.
The English word derives from the Greek ' (plural: '), literally meaning "armored" or ...
s) on parade in 350 AD as "''Laminarum circuli tenues apti corporis flexibus ambiebant per omnia membra diducti.''" ("Thin circles of iron plates, fitted to the curves of their bodies, completely covered their limbs"). Around 400 AD, manicae are represented on the
Column of Arcadius
The column of Arcadius ( tr, Arkadyos Sütunu or ''Avrat Taşı'') was a Roman triumphal column in the forum of Arcadius in Constantinople built in the early 5th century AD. The marble column was historiated with a spiralling frieze of reliefs on ...
and in the ''
Notitia Dignitatum''.
Forging
M. C. Bishop lists likely components as one shoulder plate, about 35 metal (ferrous or copper alloy) strips, 90-120 leathering rivets, 3 or 4 internal leathers, and one padded lining. The lining may have been a separate component, in order to avoid it being torn by the articulated metal plates.
The metal strips were about 25 to 30 mm wide and 0.35 to 0.5 mm in thickness; they were longer at the top of the arm. Each strip had holes at its lower edge, through which flat-headed copper alloy rivets passed from the inside to hold the leather straps in place. It also had a hole punched at each end, which did not have a rivet and presumably served as an attachment point for an organic fastening. The lower few plates were in some cases riveted together, rather than articulated on leather. One depiction appears to show a manica terminating in a hand shape.
[Lorica Segmentata - (Vol. I.) - A Handbook of Articulated Roman Plate Armour. Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies, Monograph 1, 2002. , ISSN 1477-8645. M. C. Bishop. Chapter 8. Other segmental armour. pages 68–72. https://www.scribd.com/doc/17405191/Lorica-Segmentata-Vol-I-Handbook-of-Articulated-Roman-Plate-Armour]
The usual arm position depicted for Roman swordsmen is with the upper arm vertical and close to the torso, the forearm extended horizontally with the thumb uppermost. The plates were probably not long enough to cover the whole circumference of the arm, but would have extended from the upper arm down to the thumb, leaving an unprotected area at the back. The plates overlapped upwards, directing any blow to the inside of the elbow which had a particularly dense coverage of multiple plates.
See also
*
Laminar armour
*
Lorica plumata
*
Lorica squamata
The ''lorica squamata'' () is a type of scale armour used by the ancient Roman military during the Roman Republic and at later periods. It was made from small metal scales sewn to a fabric backing. No examples of an entire ''lorica squamata'' h ...
References
Inline citations
General references
* Tacitus, ''Annales'', III 43
* Ammianus
* Curle, James. ''A Roman Frontier Post and its People''.
* Shadrake, Susanna. ''The World of the Gladiator''.
External links
Roman manica from Newstead"Manica lamminata" Michael Simkins. ''Arma'' vol. 2, no. 2, December 1990, pages 23–26. ISSN 0960-9172.
Lorica SegmentataM. C. Bishop's site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manica (Armguard)
Gladiatorial combat
Ancient Roman legionary equipment
Roman armour