Escudos.

 

Por que os romanos tinham escudos retangulares, mas os vikings tinham escudos redondos?

O escudo retangular, chamado de Scutum (de onde a palavra portuguesa Escudo vem), começou a ser usado no século IV AC, quando os romanos abandonaram a tática da falange grega e passaram a usar a MANIPULA, uma tática mais móvel.

Escudos similares já eram usados por outros povos itálicos

O scutum era um tipo de escudo ideal para o tipo de tática romana, onde a FORMAÇÃO DEVIA SER MANTIDA, combate individual não era incentivado, e o uso do Gladius, a espada romana que era usada para FURAR, não para cortar.

Isso é importante. O scutum e o gladius hispaniensis eram uma DUPLA. Um funcionava melhor com o outro.

Como qualquer tipo de arma, havia vantagens e desvantagens. Cabia ao general utilizar as táticas mais adequadas para os tipos de formação e armas romanas, e ao general inimigo escolher táticas que tornassem as táticas e armas e escudos romanos ineficazes.

Vamos lembrar que o TESTUDO não era usado em combate… ele era usado para proteger as tropas de artilharia (flechas e mísseis (na concepção antiga da palavra míssel, que eram pedras ou bolas de aço atiradas por fundas)) ou ao se aproximar de muros de cidadelas.

O Testudo só funcionava se bem armado e para isso as tropas ficavam POUCO MÓVEIS.

Artigo bem completo aqui

Scutum (shield) - Wikipedia

Type of shield used in Ancient Rome The scutum ( Classical Latin: [ˈskuːt̪ʊ̃] ; plural scuta ) was a type of shield used among Italic peoples in antiquity , and then by the army of ancient Rome starting about the fourth century BC. The Romans adopted it when they switched from the military formation of the hoplite phalanx of the Greeks to the formation with maniples ( Latin : manipuli ). In the former, the soldiers carried a round shield, which the Romans called a clipeus . In the latter, they used the scutum , which was a larger shield. Originally it was an oblong and convex shield. By the first century BC it had developed into the rectangular, semi-cylindrical shield that is popularly associated with the scutum in modern times. This was not the only shield the Romans used; Roman shields were of varying types depending on the role of the soldier who carried it. Oval, circular and rectangular shields were used throughout Roman history. History [ edit ] Reproduction of an Iberian scutum In the early days of ancient Rome (from the late regal period to the first part of the early republican period) Roman soldiers wore clipeus , which were like the aspides ( ἀσπίδες ), smaller (than the scutum) round shields used in the Greek hoplite phalanx . The hoplites were heavy infantrymen who originally wore bronze shields and helmets. The phalanx was a compact, rectangular mass military formation. The soldiers lined up in very tight ranks in a formation which was eight lines deep. The phalanx advanced in unison, which encouraged cohesion among the troops. It formed a shield wall and a mass of spears pointing towards the enemy. Its compactness provided a thrusting force which had a great impact on the enemy and made frontal assaults against it very difficult. However, it worked only if the soldiers kept the formation tight and had the discipline needed to keep its compactness in the thick of the battle. It was a rigid form of fighting and its maneuverability was limited. The small shields provided less protection. However, their smaller size afforded more mobility. Their round shape enabled the soldiers to interlock them to hold the line together. Sometime in the early fourth century BC, the Romans changed their military tactics from the hoplite phalanx to the manipular formation, which was much more flexible. This involved a change in military equipment. The scutum replaced the clipeus . Some ancient writers thought that the Romans had adopted the maniples and the scutum when they fought against the Samnites in the first or second Samnite War (343–341 BC, 327–304 BC). [1] However, Livy did not mention the scutum being a Samnite shield and wrote that the oblong shield and the manipular formation were introduced in the early fourth century BC, before the conflicts between the Romans and the Samnites. [2] Plutarch mentioned the use of the long shield in a battle which took place in 366 BC. [3] Couissin notes archaeological evidence shows that the scutum was in

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutum_(shield)

85 visualizações

Ver 1 voto positivo