Pages: 103-111

A new type of weapons — blades with notches at the hilt — appear in Gaul in the Great Migrations period. These blades appear in late Roman time in the North Caucasus and Northern Black Sea realm. Later they spread to the Middle Danube area, then reach Gaul, where two finds of such blades are known — in Aquitaine (Peyroulié, Sainte-Livrade-sur-Lot, dép. Lot-et-Garonne) and North Gaul (Flins-sur-Seine, dép. Yvelines). These blades could have dual purpose — both as daggers and spears — i. e. battle falx. Such weapons are well known in China in ancient times and the Middle Ages. It is possible that Apollinaris Sidonius meant these falx in his eulogy in honor of Emperor Avitus (455—456), where he mentioned falce Gelonus, i. e. «Gelon [defeated in mastering] the falx».

Keywords: Gaul, Northern Pontic, Northern Caucasus, Danube region, Great Migrations, blades with notches at the hilt, battle falx, dagger

Information about author:

Michel Kazanski (Paris, France). Doctor Habilitat. French National Center for Scientific Research, Centre for Studies in History and Civilization of Byzantium, Collège de France. Rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 52, Paris, 75005, France
E-mail: [email protected]