Roman Legion Weaponry Modern Costs

[Pisces Axxxxx]

I remember in a World History Class, the professor stated that a Viking Sword would cost $100,000 in modern equivalency and he stated thats the reason why we begin to se a fighting class emerge out of the Middle Ages.

 

So I thought it be good to discuss Roman weaponry costs in modern $$$.

 

Ok I'm curious specifically how much would a Roman Shield and Gladius cost equivalent to our modern currency?

[caldrail]

Your professor cannot possibly be right. A sword that expensive would have made the weapon unavailable to the common warrior. That doesn't mean a noble wouldn't pay for a fine sword costing that much (or more), but rather that swords were often cheaper.

 

The 'fighting class'? Does he mean the chivalric classes? Common people fought too, of course, although they never had the same affinity for fighting that the upper classes revelled in. The cost of a sword was not the originating factor in any case - it was a societal development based around the horse and land ownership, evolving from Roman and Germanic culture, as swords were used by all classes and could not therefore be a defining factor.

[Melvadius]

Archaeologically speaking while there are a fair few Viking period swords around the fairly consistent story, from the known battle sites, are of injuries more ususally consistent with those liable to have been caused by either axes or spears.

 

Swords may have been used by a few elite warriors but axes and spears were the weapons of choice by those who may only have been involved in combat occasionally. It takes less metal and time at the forge to create such weapons so they were affordable for those who not already rich.

[Pisces Axxxxx]

Your professor cannot possibly be right. A sword that expensive would have made the weapon unavailable to the common warrior. That doesn't mean a noble wouldn't pay for a fine sword costing that much (or more), but rather that swords were often cheaper.

 

The 'fighting class'? Does he mean the chivalric classes? Common people fought too, of course, although they never had the same affinity for fighting that the upper classes revelled in. The cost of a sword was not the originating factor in any case - it was a societal development based around the horse and land ownership, evolving from Roman and Germanic culture, as swords were used by all classes and could not therefore be a defining factor.

 

To be specific he stated Economists estimate that a Viking Sword would have cost about $100,000 in modern US Dollars when converted.

 

He also stated that Economists estimate a cotton sweater(or leather vest or something like that don't remember exactly) from the Medieval Ages would have cost around $1000 when converted to modern US $$.

 

By Fighting class yeah he was referring to those Associated as a Warrior Caste such as Knights. He stated that when we look at Economists' estimates of the times and material it would take to make a weapon (and even items that commoners can aford with ease today in the West such as a cotton sweater) along with the long hours of labor needed in the Medieval Age, we begin to see why the fighting Class and Nobility developed and why commoners lived in horrid conditions.

 

He mentioned this when we were in the Industrial Revolution and he was trying to make a point of how in much more efficient and quicker items were produced in that era as well as the incredible light-years boost in availability of items that only the upper classes could have afforded in the past. The Viking Sword was one such example as well as the leather jacket.

 

He goes on to state that this isn't even counting the other equipment forged for Knights such as Armor and Shields, the horse trained for war, and the long years of drilling a knight from childhood into adulthood to become a proficient fighters, and other things, the costs Economists estimate would approach $1 Million in modern US Dollars for the arming and proper training of one Knight.

 

Hence classes specializing in Warfare developed.

Edited November 9, 2012 by Pisces Adonis

[caldrail]

Converting costs into modern currency is for me a non-starter. The actual value of things is often relative, and what we really need to know is not how much an ancient coin is worth in todays money, but how much that sword would have cost the warrior in terms of his own income.