Toledo Rapier Info

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Philip

...the influence of Hispania on the development of the gladius as well ...

Ah, the famous Gladius adopted by the Romans (Hannibal …) who named it as Hispaniensis, as they used to call the whole Iberian Peninsula; Spain was yet to be born and they didn’t like to remember Lusitania headhache.
Most probably inspired in the Falcata, another mythic sword that equipped Viriato and his Lusitanians in the guerilla warfare that terrorized the Roman generals one after the other. History (legend…) tells that these swords had a rather accurate metallurgic process, with an uncommon resistance and flexibility for the period; that their steel was buried under the ground for three years to corrode the weak parts of the metal.
Later in the middle ages Damascus steel appeared as competitor to that of Toledo; said to be famous for its metal-work technique, while that of Toledo was based on a very high quality alloy. But then scholars register that the best Toledo raw material was brought from Mondragon. Was it that its primary forging technique was the first value and the tempering of the sword was an added asset ?
What was in fact that took the Romans to bring along the Gladius … its exceptional design for close quarter combat … or its steel temper… or both ?