Greave, ocrea ...?

[Gashford]

Hello all

I have been making a few greaves of late for murmillo, thracians etc .. and it has got me wondering about the names we use. I haven't made much research into this but are greaves, ocrea etc ... just modern names, do we know what they were originally called.

I have heard someone say that an ocrea is generally the name of the smaller ones, but I think that this was just a reenactorism.

Here's a piccie of my latest one, in case any one is interested. Based, very loosely and without the figure work, on one from Pompeii in Junkelmann's book.

[Forty-One]

I have been making a few greaves of late for murmillo, thracians etc .. and it has got me wondering about the names we use. I haven't made much research into this but are greaves, ocrea etc ... just modern names, do we know what they were originally called.

"Ocrea" is well attested as the Roman name for protective garments worn on the legs. The word was used for metal greaves as well as protective leggings (as worn by farmworkers and hunters, for example). "Greave" derives from a Middle English word (ie. from "Medieval times") that means "shin".

I have heard someone say that an ocrea is generally the name of the smaller ones, but I think that this was just a reenactorism.

That's a made-up modern notion. If they think "ocrea" just means the little ones, what did they think the Roman word for the big ones was, by the way?

Here's a piccie of my latest one, in case any one is interested. Based, very loosely and without the figure work, on one from Pompeii in Junkelmann's book.

Very nice indeed!

[john roberts]

I've seen the tall Thracian/Hoplomachus greaves termed "cnemides" but have no idea of its authenticity. In any case, it's at least handy to have some sort of terminology so that we know what is being referred to.

[Medusa Gladiatrix]

As far as I know the latin term would be "ocrea" no matter of the size of the greave. "Cnemides" sounds Greek to me. Maybe you've read some text translated from Greek. The greave of a centurion is also higher than that of a murmillo but I assume that is also called "ocrea". So I see it as a problem where the original text comes from, Latin-speaking or Greek.

[Forty-One]

Yes, κνημίς cnemis is Greek for ocrea (cnemides is plural)
cnemis literally means "shin/lower leg" (as does the origin of the English word "greave").
Varro says that ocreae are so called "quod opponebatur ob crus" [de Lingua Latina V, XXIV] ("because they are put on the leg"), but like most of Varro's etymologies this is probably spurious ("lucus a non lucendo").

It's not known if, or how, Romans would have differentiated between the types: "ocreae talorum" ("ankle greaves") and "ocreae tibiarum" ("shin greaves")? Dunno.

[john roberts]

They may have just said something like "Murmillo greave," "Thracian greave," etc. In U.S. baseball, there are several sorts of glove: Fielder's glove, First Baseman's glove, etc., merely using the generic "glove" with the user's name to describe the specialized type.

[Forty-One]

Yes, that's plausible. Especially considering that some of the types of greaves appear to have been used only as gladiatorial equipment. The very large "thracian" greaves and the "ankle" greaves do not appear to have ever been used by soldiers, for example.