The ''lorica hamata'' (in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

with normal

elision In linguistics, an elision or deletion is the omission of one or more sounds (such as a vowel, a consonant, or a whole syllable) in a word or phrase. However, these terms are also used to refer more narrowly to cases where two words are run toget ...

: ) is a type of

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...

armor used by soldiers for over 600 years (3rd century BC to 4th century AD) from the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

to the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

. ''Lorica hamata'' comes from the Latin ''hamatus'' (hooked) from ''hamus'' which means "hook", as the rings hook into one another.

Usage

Modern historians believe that mail armor was invented by the

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

. Possibly coming from conflicts with the Celts in the 3rd century BC, it was utilized by both

legionary The Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius'', plural ''legionarii'') was a professional heavy infantryman of the Roman army after the Marian reforms. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the late Republ ...

and ''

auxilia The (, lit. "auxiliaries") were introduced as non-citizen troops attached to the citizen legions by Augustus after his reorganisation of the Imperial Roman army from 30 BC. By the 2nd century, the Auxilia contained the same number of inf ...

'' troops. The first documented use occurred during the

Roman conquest of Hispania The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula was a process by which the Roman Republic seized territories in the Iberian Peninsula that were previously under the control of native Celtic, Iberian, Celtiberian and Aquitanian tribes and the Car ...

. There were several versions of this type of armor, specialized for different military duties such as skirmishers, cavalry, and spearmen. Over its lifetime, the ''lorica hamata'' remained in constant use by legionaries and it was the preferred armor of

centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

s, who favored its greater coverage and lower maintenance. Constant friction kept the rings of the ''lorica hamata'' free of rust. Only the richest soldiers could afford to wear it. During the early empire depictions of

emperors An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

wearing either the lorica ''hamata'' or lorica ''squamata'' were very rare. However, during the later empire such depictions were more common. During the 1st century AD it was starting to be supplemented by ''

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 ...

'', but had been reintroduced as sole standard-issue armor by the 4th century. Despite that, the ''lorica hamata'' was still common among the legionary soldiers in the 2nd century.

Forging

The ''lorica hamata'' was mostly manufactured out of

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

or iron. The armor was made from alternating rows of rings and rows of riveted rings. The rings would be made from punching holes in iron sheets. The riveted rings would be made from wires with their ends butted together. This produced very flexible, and strong armor. Each ring had an inside diameter of about 5 mm, and an outside diameter of about 7 mm. There were 35,000 to 40,000 rings in the armor. It was cut like a Greek cuirass made of linen. Leather pteruges were underneath the armor. The ''lorica hamata'' contained flaps that ran from about mid-back to the front of the torso. These flaps were connected to the main armor through hooks made of either brass or iron that connected to studs riveted through the ends of the flaps. During the Republican period of Rome, the armor was also sleeveless. Despite the lack of sleeves, the lorica ''hamata'' still protected the wearers‘ shoulders through shoulder pieces. During the Imperial period of

Roman history The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

, the armor would gain sleeves. By the 3rd century, those sleeves would extend to the elbows of the soldier wearing it. During the reign of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

the previously mentioned shoulder pieces would extend to the upper arm. The shoulder pieces were attached to the regular armor through bronze hooks. Those hooks would be stylized as snakes and horns. The practice of stylizing the armor probably originated from the Celts. By the end of the first century the practice of stylizing the hooks fell out of favor. A standard ''lorica hamata'' weighed around 11 kg, though this would vary depending on the design and the materials used. Despite the fact that the armor was difficult to forge, with good maintenance, the armor could be used for several decades. The comfort of the armor did come at the cost of some protection. However, the armor still protected its wearers well. The estimated production time was two months, even with continual slave labor at the state-run armories.

Notes

External links

* {{commons category-inline Ancient Roman legionary equipment Roman armour

Usage

Forging

See also

Notes

External links