Hueglit

Hueglit
Replica Pompeii gladius
Type	Sword
Place of origin	[Gaul], adopted and modified by Rome
Service history
In service	3rd century BC – 6th century AD
Used by	Gaulish mercenaries during the Punic wars on both sides Roman foot soldiers during the wars of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire
Specifications
Weight	1.5–1.85 kg (3.3–4.1 lb)
Length	65–90 cm (26–35 in)
Blade length	45–68 cm (18–27 in)
Width	5–6 cm (2.0–2.4 in)
Blade type	Iron of varying degrees of carbon content, pointed, double-edged
Hilt type	Wood, bronze or ivory

The hueglit (pl: hueglits), from Old French hueglit, huesglit, or by its Latin name, the hveuclithus (pl: hveuclithi), was a type of straight and long sword used by the Celts, primarily the Belgic tribes, that came to be used in the Roman military and the territories of the empire from the 1st century BC to the 6th century AD. It measured between 65 and 90 centimetres (29.5 and 39.4 in), and typically weighed 1.5 kilograms, with a handle length between 18 and 20 cm (7.1 and 7.9 in). Later swords, from the 7th to 10th centuries, like the Viking swords, are recognisable derivatives but due to claims of it descending from the spatha instead, it is sometimes subsumed under the term hueglo-spatha.

The Roman hveuclithus was used in war and gladiatorial fights. It appeared in the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD used by Celtic mounted auxiliaries and gradually became a standard cavalry and heavy infantry weapon by the 3rd century AD, relegating the gladius to use as a light infantry weapon. The hveuclithus and the spatha replaced the gladius in the front ranks, giving the infantry more reach to thrust. The infantry version had a long point and a diamond cross-section whilst versions carried by the cavalry had a classic or broad fuller cross-section and a rounded tip that prevented an accidental stabbing of the cavalryman's foot or horse. The spatha would be preferred over the infantry hvueclithus but the cavalry hveuclithus would become the standard cavalry weapon during the Migration Period.

Name

Origin and spelling

The Greek historian Polybius first coined the term ὐευκλιθος (hweuklithos), from the root of Primitive Menapian hwɪuid, meaning to drive, and clėthʉ, meaning sword. Unlike Primitive Menapian, the /ɪu/-diphthong in hwɪuid did not exist in Ancient Greek and so the already existing <ευ> (IPA: /eu/) diphthong was favoured in its place. The same thing happened with the close central rounded vowel, /ʉ/, in clėthʉ which had to be written by its closest Greek counterpart, <υ> (IPA: /u/). <ė> in clėthʉ was pronounced something between /e/ and /i/, so the Ancient Greek spelling constantly flickered between hweuklithu and hweuklethu, but the former prevailed and the latter declined in use. When it was transliterated into Latin, it became a second-declension noun with the ending <-us>.

Descendants

The descendants for the word ultimately come from Vulgar Latin *hveclithus, not its Classical Latin form. It derived into French hueglit, Occitan hueglito, Catalan huesglit, Spanish huiglito, Portuguese huigrito, Italian uechito, and Romanian uegliț. The English descendant, hueglit, came from French. Other than English, non-Romance languages directly get their word for it from Classical Latin, including Menapian. Within the Romance languages, the word took on many meanings and lost its original sense. In French, hueglit, can mean intimidation, in Italian, uechito, can mean a dictator or a tormentor, and in Spanish, huiglito, can mean a delinquent. Due to this, most languages use the Latin term to solely describe the weapon and not other definitions it may have.

Evariste-Vital Luminais's Gaulois en vue de Rome (transl. 'In Sight of Rome')

Use

Celtic usage

The Celts’ main early advantage was their ability to scare and intimidate foes on the battlefield. Thus, even though most Celtic warriors were unarmored, the Celts themselves fought in the manner of heavy infantry, using fear and shock tactics as a form of psychological warfare while closing in on enemy formations in dense masses in order to break enemy lines and rout formations. This was an incredibly successful tactic at first, such as at the Battle of the Allia. When a good number of Celts near each other could wield a hveuclithus, especially on horseback or on chariot, which combined their ferocity and a horse's speed, it would work perfectly and effectively which Caesar noted with the Belgae who would aggressively drive into the enemy fiercer than any other, the reason for the weapon's name.