Spectacula
Spectacles are the seats as well as the events viewed in the arena. Harena or arena, the sand sprinkled on the field of combat to absorb blood, can also signify the place of combat.
The Gladiators
Eques
A gladiator who fought on horseback, like a Roman knight, against other mounted fighters. An eques carried a spear, but also used a sword, so he could dismount to duel with an opponent. His helmet often displayed two feathers on either side of the dome (with no crest).
Essedarius
A chariot-fighter who probably dismounted to fight hand to hand.
Familia gladiatorium
A troop of gladiators who lived and trained under one lanista.
Gallus
A Gaul, a type of heavily armed fighter named after the Romans’ tribal enemy. The original Galli were probably war captives. This type of fighter died out in the Empire.
Hoplomachus
This gladiator was distinguished by his short, curved sword. Like a Thrax, he wore high leg guards.
Lanista
An owner, recruiter, trainer, and speculator in gladiators who sold or rented men to munerarii. In the Empire this job came under the jurisdiction of the emperor.
Liberatio
The freeing of a gladiator who had served his time (a period of years varying according to when and how he was inducted).
Manica
Arm padding of wrapped cloth and leather.
Murmillo
A fighter apparently named after a Greek word for fish. He wore a crested helmet and carried a tall shield.
Retiarius
This was the most distinctive-looking gladiator, a bareheaded, unshielded fighter whose main protection was padding and a shoulder guard on his left arm. He used a net to ensnare his opponent and a long trident to impale him.
Rudiarius
A gladiator who had received a rudis – the wooden sword that marked him a retired and no longer a slave - was therefore an experienced volunteer, especially worth watching. There was a hierarchy of experienced rudiarii within a familia of gladiators, and rudiarii could become trainers, helpers, and arbiters of fights, the referees. The most elite of the retired gladiators were dubbed summa rudis. The summa rudis officials wore white tunics with purple borders and served as technical experts to ensure that the gladiators fought bravely, skillfully, and according to the rules. They carried batons and whips with which they pointed out illegal movements. Ultimately the summa rudis officials could stop a game if a gladiator was going to be too seriously wounded, compel gladiators to fight on, or defer the decision to the editor. Retired gladiators who became summa rudis evidently achieved fame and wealth in their second careers as officials of the combats.
Samnis
Like the Gallus, the Samnis (Samnite) was originally an enemy of the Romans from Campania in the south. Captives taken in battle in the Republic undoubtedly provided the model for this type of heavily armed fighter.
Secutor
The ‘follower’ was paired with a retiarius. His armor was distinguished by a helmet with small eyeholes that would presumably impede the trident’s prongs.
Thrax
The ‘Thracian’ was another type of fighter equipped like a former enemy soldier (from Thrace in northern Greece). He fought with a small, rectangular shield and his helmet bore a griffin crest.
Tiro
A gladiator fighting in his very first public combat.
Venator
Venatores were skilled spearmen, usually pitted against carnivorous beasts.
Veteranus
A veteran of one or more combats.
The Gear
Fascia
Protective band of material, skin, or leather that protected the leg below the knee and provided padding below a greave.
Fascina (or tridens)
The long, three-pronged metal trident that was the hallmark of a retiarius.
Galea
The helmet worn by all gladiators except the retiarius. These were domed and often featured decorative crests and visors pierced with eyeholes.
Galerus
The distinctive metal shoulder-guard of a retiarius. It curved up strongly from the shoulder, away from the neck, so that neck and head were protected but the fighter’s head movements were not restricted.
Gladius
This was the long, straight sword of the gladiator after which he was named.
Ocrea
A metal leg guard that ran from the knee (or above) to the shin and protected mainly the front of the leg.
Parma
A round or square shield that was smaller and lighter than a scutum.
Pugio
A dagger, weapon of last resort of a retiarius.
Rudis
The wooden sword or staff symbolizing a gladiator’s liberatio.
Scutum
A large rectangular shield (curving inward so that it formed part of a cylinder) of the sort carried by a murmillo.
Sica
A short, curved sword of the sort carried by a Thrax.
Subligaculum
A traditional loincloth worn by gladiators (the chest was almost always bare).
Acknowledgements
The people without whom…
Kate, my long-suffering wife, the bedrock, lodestar and frequentl abandoned woman who puts up with me living in some strange century with stranger people for protracted periods.
Jim Gill of United Agents, a loyal and determined friend who has been instrumental in getting what I write to the right people for more years than I care to remember.
The good and professional people at Canelo – Kit, Michael and others. You know who you are.
The loyal fans of my writing out there. More power to you and I hope you enjoy this new direction.
First published in the United Kingdom in 2019 by Canelo
Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
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Copyright © Robert Low, 2019
The moral right of Robert Low to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781788633093
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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