The ''pugio'' (; plural: ''pugiones'') was a

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

used by

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 ...

soldiers as a sidearm. It seems likely that the ''pugio'' was intended as an auxiliary weapon, but its exact purpose for the soldier remains unknown though it seems it could have been used for close quarters fighting. Officials of the empire took to wearing ornate daggers in the performance of their offices, and some would wear concealed daggers for defense in contingencies. The dagger was a common weapon of assassination and suicide; for example, the conspirators who stabbed Julius Caesar used ''pugiones''. The ''pugio'' developed from the daggers used by the

Cantabri The Cantabri (, ''Kantabroi'') or Ancient Cantabrians were a pre-Roman people and large tribal federation that lived in the northern coastal region of ancient Iberia in the second half of the first millennium BC. These peoples and their territor ...

ans of the Iberian peninsula.

Etymology

The word '' pūgiō'' derives from the word ''pungo.'' The root of the word is ''pug.'' The word derives from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

root ''*peuĝ''. It is still possible to use punch and stab synonymously in many Indo-European languages (even English, namely the "jab" in boxing); hence, Latin ''pugnus'' and Greek πυγμή ''pygmḗ'' mean "fist". The Smith article cited below proposes that the ''pugio'' was the weapon grasped by the fist; however, the Latin word for swordplay was ''pugna'', an exchange of thrusts without the intermediary of fists, although it could also be a fistfight.

Usage

Like the ''

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 ''pugio'' was probably an advanced stabbing weapon, the type of weapon said to have been preferred by the Romans. Of them, late Roman writer

Vegetius Publius (or Flavius) Vegetius Renatus, known as Vegetius (), was a writer of the Later Roman Empire (late 4th century). Nothing is known of his life or station beyond what is contained in his two surviving works: ''Epitoma rei militaris'' (also r ...

said it "was the method of fighting principally used by the Romans"''De Re Militari

'

Forging

By the early

1st century File:1st century collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Jesus is crucified by Roman authorities in Judaea (17th century painting). Four different men (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian) claim the title of Emperor within the span of a year; T ...

, the ''pugio'' typically had a large blade. There were different kinds of blades. One type was "leaf-shaped." Another type had narrow parts near the shoulders, which ran parallel to about half the blade's length before narrowing to a sharp point. Midribs ran close to the length of each side, either standing out from the face or sunken and defined by grooves on either side. The tang was wide and flat and a grip was riveted through it, as well as through the shoulders of the blade. The pommel was originally round but by the early 1st century, it was replaced by a round and trapezial pommel. Which was often topped by three decorative

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylinder (geometry), cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the deformed e ...

s. By the second quarter of the 1st century AD, three types of sheaths were in use. All of these had four suspension rings and a bulbous terminal expansion which was pierced by a large rivet. Evidence shows that the two lower rings were unused. The first type was made with a curving metal plate that was usually made of

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

at both the front and back of the sheath. This plate surrounded wooden "lining." The front plate was usually heavily decorated with inlaid

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

niello Niello is a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal, especially silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at least softens, and flows or is push ...

and red, yellow or green enamel. These sheaths featured round free-running suspension rings, attached by bifurcated mountings which were riveted on. Modern reconstructions of these sheaths which feature applied brass plates attached by rivets are incorrect and nothing of this type has ever been found. The second type was a wooden sheath, probably covered with

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

. One metal plate was attached to the front of the wooden sheath. This plate was fairly flat and was heavily decorated with inlaid

and enamel. Occasionally

tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

was used. The suspension rings resembled small Roman military

buckle A buckle or clasp is a device used for fastening two loose ends, with one end attached to it and the other held by a catch in a secure but adjustable manner. Often taken for granted, the invention of the buckle was indispensable in securing two ...

s and were hinged to the sides of the sheath. The third type, called frame type, was made of iron and consisted of a pair of curved channels which ran together at the lower end of the sheath, where they were normally worked into a flattened round terminal expansion and pierced with rivet. There is an example from

Titelberg Titelberg () is the site of a large Celts, Celtic settlement or oppidum in the extreme south west of Luxembourg. In the 1st century BCE, this thriving community was probably the capital of the Treveri people. The site thus provides telling evide ...

whose channels have been inserted into a bulbous terminal formed with a ferule to accept the channels before a decorated rivet has been used to fix all three elements together. The channels were joined by two horizontal bands at the top and middle of the sheath and these bands also retained the suspension rings. These sheaths would have been built around a wooden core, which does not survive in the

archaeological record The archaeological record is the body of physical (not written) evidence about the past. It is one of the core concepts in archaeology, the academic discipline concerned with documenting and interpreting the archaeological record. Archaeological t ...

. Like other items of legionary equipment, the

underwent some changes during the first half of the 1st century AD. Rod tangs were introduced, and the

hilt The hilt (rarely called a haft or shaft) is the handle of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet, consisting of a guard, grip, and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pomme ...

was no longer riveted through the tang but was instead secured only at the shoulders of the blade. This in itself caused no great change to the ''pugio''s appearance, although the archaeological evidence strongly suggests that the rod tang was less secure and that handles attached in this way could become detached, a possibility that may be proved by the existence of two surviving ''pugiones'' from different sites which both retain replacement handles, one of which is a recycled sword grip. Some of the blades associated with rod tangs were narrower (under wide), with little or no waisting, or reduced or virtually non-existent midribs (type "C" blades). Throughout the period, the outline of the hilt remained essentially the same. Like the earlier period, it was made with two layers of horn, wood or bone sandwiching the tang, each overlaid with a thin iron plate, which could either be solid, becoming thinner at both the guard and the pommel expansion, which was roughly trapezial in shape, or made of thin metal embossed to this shape. The hilt was often decorated with silver inlay. The hilt is long overall and, though the grip is quite narrow, the presence of an expansion in the center of the grip provides for a very secure hold. In size, the ''pugio'' ranged from long and or more in width.

Notes

Sources

* {{usurped,
PUGIO
}, article in Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'', online at ancientlibrary.com. * MC Bishop and JCN Coulston - 'Roman Military Equipment (2nd Edition)', Armatura Press, 2006 * I. Scott - 'Roman Military Daggers' in 'A Catalogue of Roman Iron Tools, Weapons and Fittings in the British Museum, 1985 * J. Obmann - 'Studien zu Roemischen Dolchscheiden des 1. Jahrhunderts n. Chr.', Koelner Studien Zur Archaeologie Der Roemischen Provinzen, 2000

External links