Falcata

Falcata of the fourth century BC, at the National Archaeological Museum (Madrid)

Falcata from the Necropolis of Los Collados (Almedinilla). End of the centuryVa. C.- beginning of the centuryIIIa. C. Museo Arqueológico Nacional de España.

The falcata is a curved-edged sword originating from pre-Roman Iberia. Its use is historically associated with the populations of the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula during the conquest of Hispania, where it constitutes one of the most emblematic native white weapons of Antiquity.

Name

The way in which the ancients called this weapon is unknown, since falcata is not the original Iberian name nor an appellation used in classical sources, but a term invented by Fernando Fulgosio in full 19th century in reference to the shape of its blade. The term itself derives from falcatus, -a, -um, a Latin word meaning falconed, that is, in the form of a falcon or equipped with a sickle, In In the classical vocabulary, the term ensis falcatus did exist to designate a type of sword, but this was the Dacian falx or the Greek harpe, not the Hispanic eponymous sword.

Seneca and Polybius speak of the Iberian native swords as machaera or machaera hispaniensis, which suggests that they were referring to the falcata due to the undoubted resemblance and possible historical relationship of it is with the Greek sword makhaira. However, Polybius also uses the term machaera to designate the straight swords used by the Gauls and the Romans themselves. to the fact that a straight sword was also used in Iberia, which was popular among the Celtiberian mercenaries in Hannibal's pay and whose design would inspire the Roman gladius (attracting it the nickname gladius hispaniensis), supposes that its nominal identification is difficult even in historical chronicles.

Features

The footsteps of the Almedinilla falcata, the fourth or third century B.C., at the National Archaeological Museum (Madrid)

The falcata has a curved, asymmetrical blade, typically single-edged, whose contour turns forward concavely before receding back toward the axis of symmetry at the tip. This shape places the sword's center of gravity about halfway down the blade and raises the cutting point closer to the tip, maximizing the power of each cut without throwing it off balance. Sometimes it has grooves on the non-sharp edge that lighten the weight of the weapon, as well as decorations in damascening or a taujía, filling in the incisions previously made on the blade with silver threads.

The hilt, as characteristic as the blade, is small and one-handed, and is usually displaced to one side with respect to the axis of the sword. Its shape hugs the user's hand in a hook-like curve, sometimes being attached back to the blade with a chain or rivet to form a complete guard. It usually has bone or ivory handles and a pommel in the shape of a horse's or griffin's head.

The shape and arrangement of the falcata make it an eminently cutting weapon, a task in which it performs very effectively compared to other kinds of swords. However, the frequent presence of a back edge (the edge of the edge opposite the main edge, which occupies about the third closest to the point) in the recovered specimens seems to suggest that a limited use as a thrusting weapon is also possible.

History

The origin and evolution of the falcata are unknown matters, but there are three theories that try to fill this gap. According to the first, it would come from the curved knives of the Hallstatt culture that spread throughout Europe; the second, perhaps the most popular, postulates that the falcata comes from similar weapons of Greek origin such as the makhaira or kopis, which would have been introduced into the Iberian Peninsula by means of Hellenic and Phoenician trade around the 5th and 6th centuries B.C. C., and the last, although less sustained, would have the falcata as a weapon of Iberian indigenous creation.

Contrary to popular belief, the falcata was not a weapon typical of the entire Iberian Peninsula, but its use was concentrated in the Iberian regions of southeastern Hispania. In the peninsular lands -as well as in the territories Catalan Iberians- Rectilinear swords of La Tène Celtic descent seem to have been more popular, most notably the gladius hispaniensis, which would be adopted by the Romans and become their own iconic weapon. Even so, specimens of falcatas have occasionally been found in regions of some disparity, probably as a consequence of trade or the plunder of coastal lands, which has contributed to cementing its place in popular culture as the sword of ancient Hispania for excellence.

The use of the falcata was maintained at least until the time of Quintus Sertorius, when the influence of Romanization caused its abandonment for the Roman gladius of Celtiberian origin.

Quality and manufacturing

The quality of the iron used for the construction of Hispanic weapons was praised by Roman chroniclers, who were surprised by its cutting capacity and flexibility, one of the most valued and sought after characteristics in its manufacture. The iron was subjected to an oxidation treatment (burying the plates under the ground for between two and three years), thus eliminating its weakest parts, and the blade was made by forging three sheets and hot joining them, of which the central It had an extension for the handle.

A curious note that reflects the effectiveness of these weapons is the fact that, after the first battles in the Iberian Peninsula, the Roman troops were ordered to reinforce the edges of their shields with iron, possibly to counteract the cutting power of the falcatas, much higher than that of straight swords and sabers.

In popular culture

In the 2010 Spanish television series Hispania, la leyenda, Viriato and his people use falcatas. This aspect of the series has been considered a major historiographical error, not only because the falcata does not It was a weapon typical of the Lusitanos, but also because its manufacture is portrayed in the series as a mass manufacturing process, instead of tailored to each warrior as documented.