Fafnir Forge – Roman Mainz Gladius

The Mainz Gladius is perhaps the most elegant and iconic form of the classic Roman sword with its elegantly waisted and wide blade profile. The companion sword of the legendary Roman Legionary, the Mainz had its apex of popularity during the early Roman Imperium during the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The sword saw action as Augustus expanded the empire in the Balkans and Iberia and during the disastrous action at Teutoburg, followed by the retaliatory campaigns of Germanicus. Decades later, as Claudius expanded the empire the Mainz may well have been a sword in the hand of the Legionaries landing on the shores of Britannia.

The short and wide blade of the Mainz makes it easy to use and its easy to feel in complete control of the blade. The widened guard with its rounded form can provide a natural point for the thumb to press onto for even greater levels of tip and edge alignment control. Quick in the hand on both the thrust and the cut, the main striking portion of the Mainz is both widened and flattened on the distal taper to allow it to enact powerful and grievous cuts that strike with a depth and severity beyond what its size suggests. When thrust into a target the widened tip serves to rapidly expand the puncture point and only a few inches penetration leaves a target with a deep and wide wound that would have been very difficult to treat. Such wounds are difficult even for modern day surgeons, much less what was available in antiquity. It is easy to see why when coupled with the large scutum and high levels of drill, discipline and formation that the Roman military machine on the march was the apex force of antiquity.

This lavishly detailed reproduction has a blade of high quality modern steel which is sturdily mounted into a hilt of finely carved and smoothly polished teakwood which is finished to a lush, glossy sheen with a buffed and polished lacquer topcoat. The guardplate and pommel cap are of finely cast brass and the sword comes with a hand carved scabbard of wood which is tightly bound in stitched red leather and embellished with matching brass furniture and brass hanging rings. The thematically modified Fafnir Forge logo is hand-inscribed in Roman styled font on a single side of the blade.