> "Thomas de Groot"<tDOTdegroot@interDOTnlANOTHERDOTnet>  schreef in bericht
> news:4d26cc33@news.povray.org...
>> It is supposed to be an iron sword.
>
> What am I thinking about!?!?  I mean *bronze* of course....
>
> Thomas
>
>

At the time, bronze swords where often beter that iron ones: iron swords 
tended to bend and fold under use. It can be a real problem during a battle.

The Romans used that willfully with ther pilums: They had a stout, 
heavy, wooden shaft fitted with a long soft iron head. They trusted then 
into the shields of ther oponent and droped it, switching to ther 
swords. The iron shaft will then bend and weight down the shield 
rendering it's use very difficult, or even impossible. The legionair 
could now simply attack over the now lowered shield with devastating 
results.




Alain

Post a reply to this message