02-05-2010, 12:15 PM
I cant see any point in trying to be prescriptive:
(1)Seeing that Gaesum means a type of spear (non specific?) then anything that is used as such can be called so?
(2) Saunion is I understand an Iberian word for a javelin, so really can be applied to any and all such.
(3) Soliferrum is a Latin route of iron so could be applied to any fairly iron based javelin/spear, suited well to the Iberian all metal javelin.
(4) Angon has old German routes related to hook/spike so is happily applied to anything with a barbed tip.
I can only see a small link between the "pila" found in Gaulish graves spanning the Alps and the "Angon". This being the socketed long shank as the heads are of different design.
I would be loath to believe that the Angon was not a throwing weapon due to the barbs as they appear on shorter socketed weapons which are more obviously javleins so no doubt they expected them to penetrate, if they didn't then why did they make them? Also some longer shafted weapons have smaller more streamlined barbs indicating that the design may not have been specifically for hooking shields though I do not doubt duality of purpose as it has been noted that Romans have used pila in close combat when necessary.
some examples;
http://www.dokpro.uio.no/Rygh/R211.jpg
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur ... 0%26um%3D1
(1)Seeing that Gaesum means a type of spear (non specific?) then anything that is used as such can be called so?
(2) Saunion is I understand an Iberian word for a javelin, so really can be applied to any and all such.
(3) Soliferrum is a Latin route of iron so could be applied to any fairly iron based javelin/spear, suited well to the Iberian all metal javelin.
(4) Angon has old German routes related to hook/spike so is happily applied to anything with a barbed tip.
I can only see a small link between the "pila" found in Gaulish graves spanning the Alps and the "Angon". This being the socketed long shank as the heads are of different design.
I would be loath to believe that the Angon was not a throwing weapon due to the barbs as they appear on shorter socketed weapons which are more obviously javleins so no doubt they expected them to penetrate, if they didn't then why did they make them? Also some longer shafted weapons have smaller more streamlined barbs indicating that the design may not have been specifically for hooking shields though I do not doubt duality of purpose as it has been noted that Romans have used pila in close combat when necessary.
some examples;
http://www.dokpro.uio.no/Rygh/R211.jpg
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur ... 0%26um%3D1
Conal Moran
Do or do not, there is no try!
Yoda
Do or do not, there is no try!
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