A scutarius in Ancient Rome was any of the various types of
gladiator who used a large shield called a samnite shield, which is named after another type of gladiator—a
samnite. In Latin, the shield was called a ''
scutum
The ''scutum'' (; plural ''scuta'') was a type of shield used among Italic peoples in antiquity, most notably by the army of ancient Rome starting about the fourth century BC.
The Romans adopted it when they switched from the military formati ...
''—where the name ''scutarius'' comes from. Due to having a large shield, ''scutarii'' would wear shin armour (''ocrea'') on their shield leg. This piece of armour would be smaller than the two ''ocreae'' worn by ''
parmularii,'' who carried a smaller, though still somewhat large, shield. Scutarii also usually carried short swords and wore visored helmets. Scutarii and parmularii are mentioned by
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
in his ''Meditations'' as two factions at the gladiator fights—both as gladiators and people who supported those gladiators.
A scutarius could also refer to a guard armed with a scutum, as well as someone who made shields.
See also
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List of Roman gladiator types
There were many different types of gladiators in ancient Rome. Some of the first gladiators had been prisoners-of-war, and so some of the earliest types of gladiators were experienced fighters; Gauls, Samnites, and ''Thraeces'' (Thracians) used ...
References
Gladiator types
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