Parma (shield)
Encyclopedia
Parma or parmula was a type of round shield
used by the Roman
army
, especially during the later period of Imperial history
.
in its frame, making it a very effective piece of armor. Parma had a handle and a shield boss (umbo).
The Parma was used by legionaires in the Early Republican period of Rome's history by the lowest class division of the army--the Velites. The Velites armor consisted of a parma, javelin, sword and helmet. Later, the parma was replaced by the scutum.
The parma was very effective in the act of blocking arrows; making it a favorite, for the time, of the Roman infantry.
infantry and cavalry, the legionaries
preferring the heavier but more protective scutum
, during earlier periods. It was used also by signifer
.
In Virgil
's Aeneid
, the parma is cited as a weapon utilised by the Teucrians in defence against the Greeks (Battle of Troy), and later against the Rutulians.
used by thraex gladiator
.
It was also used by the roman vexillifers or flag bearers that carried the standard that marked the cohort as well as most early auxiliaries.
In the Pyrrhic dance it was raised above the head and struck with a sword so as to emit a loud ringing noise.
Shield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
used by the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
army
Military history of ancient Rome
From its origin as a city-state in Italy in the 8th century BC, to its rise as an empire covering much of Southern Europe, Western Europe, Near East and North Africa and fall in the 5th century AD, the political history of Ancient Rome was typically closely entwined with its military history...
, especially during the later period of Imperial history
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
.
Characteristics
It was a yard across (or less) and had ironIron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
in its frame, making it a very effective piece of armor. Parma had a handle and a shield boss (umbo).
The Parma was used by legionaires in the Early Republican period of Rome's history by the lowest class division of the army--the Velites. The Velites armor consisted of a parma, javelin, sword and helmet. Later, the parma was replaced by the scutum.
The parma was very effective in the act of blocking arrows; making it a favorite, for the time, of the Roman infantry.
War use
It was used mainly by auxiliaryAuxiliaries (Roman military)
Auxiliaries formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate , alongside the citizen legions...
infantry and cavalry, the legionaries
Legionary
The Roman legionary was a professional soldier of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. Legionaries had to be Roman citizens under the age of 45. They enlisted in a legion for twenty-five years of service, a change from the early practice of enlisting only for a campaign...
preferring the heavier but more protective scutum
Scutum (shield)
Scutum is the Latin word for "shield", although it has in modern times come to be specifically associated with the rectangular, semi-cylindrical body shield carried by Roman legionaries.-History:...
, during earlier periods. It was used also by signifer
Signifer
A signifer was a standard bearer of the Roman legions. He carried a signum for a cohort or century. Each century had a signifer and within each cohort the first century's signifer would be the senior....
.
In Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
's Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
, the parma is cited as a weapon utilised by the Teucrians in defence against the Greeks (Battle of Troy), and later against the Rutulians.
Other uses
Parmula was the shieldShield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
used by thraex gladiator
Thraex
The Thraex , or Thracian, was a type of Roman gladiator, armed in the Thracian style with small rectangular shield called a parmula and a very short sword with a slightly curved blade called a sica , intended to maim an opponent's unarmoured back...
.
It was also used by the roman vexillifers or flag bearers that carried the standard that marked the cohort as well as most early auxiliaries.
In the Pyrrhic dance it was raised above the head and struck with a sword so as to emit a loud ringing noise.
External links
- Parma (Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities at LacusCurtiusLacusCurtiusLacusCurtius is a website specializing in ancient Rome, currently hosted on a server at the University of Chicago. It went online on August 26, 1997; in January 2008 it had "2786 pages, 690 photos, 675 drawings & engravings, 118 plans, 66 maps." The site is the...
)