A crupellarius (, pl. Crupellarii) was a type of heavy armored

gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

during the Roman Imperial age, whose origin was

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

Equipment and style

The standard crupellarius was clad almost entirely from head to foot in ''

lorica segmentata The ''lorica segmentata'' (), also called ''lorica lamminata'', or ''banded armour'' 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 leath ...

'' or

laminar armour Laminar armour () is an armour made from horizontal overlapping rows or bands of, usually small, solid armour plates called lames, as opposed to lamellar armour, which is made from individual armour scales laced together to form a solid-looking ...

, which consisted of strips of malleable iron that was layered. Other variations of this armor were similar to manica. The crupellarius carried a

scutum The ''scutum'' (; :''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 formation of ...

and

gladius ''Gladius'' () is a Latin word properly referring to the type of sword that was used by Ancient Rome, ancient Roman foot soldiers starting from the 3rd century BC and until the 3rd century AD. Linguistically, within Latin, the word also came t ...

; the shield was most likely either oval, rectangular or circular. These shields were usually made of wood in a laminate type structure and bound in leather strips, durable enough to deflect sword strikes and projectiles but also light enough to be held in tow with just one arm. Crupellarii wore a helmet resembling a perforated bucket, with only very small openings for the eyes and mouth, similar to a medieval

Great helm The great helm or heaume, also called pot helm, bucket helm and barrel helm, is a helmet of the High Middle Ages which arose in the late twelfth century in the context of the Crusades and remained in use until the fourteenth century. The barreled ...

, which resulted in poor visual acuity in battle. Iron was incorporated more due to how simple it was to produce however bronze fittings were more prone to being corroded as well as leather bindings which had a tendency to tether and rot over time. This style of armor was most popular during the

Principate The Principate was the form of imperial government of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the Dominate. The principate was ch ...

and seems to have been used sporadically after the 3rd century CE. Thus, the crupellarius' fighting style was suited for men with a large muscular build, able to withstand the weight of the heavy plate armor he wore, as he was one of the most heavily encumbered gladiators with the amount of layered plated iron (especially given the absence of gauntlets and sabatons). The crupellarius are more defense orientated, depending on his stamina and endurance to survive the battle, tiring out attacking foes before counterattacking them when they are worn out. This can explain as to why their armor is heavily layered hence having limited movement speed as well as clad in a helmet that would have obstructed most of their vision due to the very small openings in the helmet.

In literature

Crupellarii were first mentioned by the 1st century AD historian

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

. Under the reign of the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

, a faction of

Treveri The Treveri (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Treweroi'') were a Germanic peoples, Germanic or Celts, Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle (river), Moselle in modern day Germany from around 150 BCE, if not ea ...

led by

Julius Florus Three main sets of works are attributed to Florus (a Roman cognomen): ''Virgilius orator an poeta'', the ''Epitome of Roman History'' and a collection of 14 short poems (66 lines in all). As to whether these were composed by the same person, or ...

, and the

Aedui The Aedui or Haedui (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Aiduoi'', 'the Ardent'; ) were a Gauls, Gallic tribe dwelling in what is now the region of Burgundy during the La Tène culture, Iron Age and the Roman Empire, Roman period. The Aedui had an ambi ...

, led by

Julius Sacrovir Julius Sacrovir was a member of the gens Julia. Alongside Julius Florus, a leader of the Treveri, he led the Aedui tribe in Gaul in a revolt against the Romans. After being defeated in battle Sacrovir fled to, and was killed in Augustodunum. Ga ...

, led a rebellion of Gaulish debtors against the Romans in 21 CE.

Cornelius Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

(117 CE), ''

Annales Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

III:40-46''. The crupellarii, heavily armoured Gallic gladiators, fought against Roman

legionaries The ancient Rome, Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius''; : ''legionarii'') was a citizen soldier of the Roman army. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Republic and ...

.''Britannia''
Durolitum.co.uk/gladtypes

In addition were some slaves who were being trained for gladiators, clad after the national fashion in a complete covering of steel. They were called crupellarii, and though they were ill-adapted for inflicting wounds, they were impenetrable to them...

...the cavalry threw itself on the flanks, and the infantry charged the van. On the wings there was but a brief resistance. The men in mail were somewhat of an obstacle, as the iron plates did not yield to javelins or swords; but our men, snatching up hatchets and pickaxes, hacked at their bodies and their armour as if they were battering a wall. Some beat down the unwieldy mass with pikes and forked poles, and they were left lying on the ground, without an effort to rise, like dead men.

References

{{reflist Gladiator types

Equipment and style

In literature

See also

References