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

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 fo ...

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 Mede ...

n, and

Kushan The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, ...

kingdoms. They can be seen at Khalchayan 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 by ...

. 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 101 ...

at Adamclisi 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 Trajan's Dacian Wars, Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision o ...

. Trajan's column in Rome seems to suggest that the ''

lorica segmentata The ''lorica segmentata'' (), also called ''lorica lamminata'' (see §Name), is a type of personal armour that was used by soldiers of the Roman army, consisting of metal strips fashioned into circular bands, fastened to internal leather stra ...

'' 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 Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

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 from ...

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 dista ...

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 betwee ...

, Eining (

Abusina Abusina or Abusena was a Roman castra (military outpost), and later of town, of the Roman Province of Raetia. It was at Eining near Abensberg, on the Upper German- Raetian Limes , which at this point was the Danube River. Abusina stood near ...

) 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 ...

, and

Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa was the capital and the largest city of Roman Dacia, later named ''Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa'' after the former Dacian capital, located some 40 km away. Built on the ground of a camp of th ...

.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 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 Gestae'' ...

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 "c ...

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 and in the ''

Notitia Dignitatum The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents of ...

''.

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.

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 Segmentata
��M. C. Bishop's site {{DEFAULTSORT:Manica (Armguard) Gladiatorial combat Ancient Roman legionary equipment Roman armour