Description[]
Vinculum (Latin meaning "link", "bond" or "tie") as a weapon refers to a length of heavy chain, often (but not always) fitted with weights at the end(s).
Variations[]
Ball & Chain (Pila et Vinculum)[]
A Laquerius swings his 'Pila et Vinculum' at an opponent.
A long length of chain attached at one end to a fist-sized metal ball, typically studded with short spikes. This enables the chain to be used for entangling an opponent, while the weighted metal ball can be swung as a flail to shatter bones and crush skulls. Though a difficult weapon to control, a skilled user can twirl the ball and chain in the air like a lasso to keep attackers at bay, and the long chain gives them a far greater reach than a gladius or securis in the arena.
The Pila et Vinculum ("ball and chain") is used in the show by the Laquearius class of gladiator, in place of their historical lasso.
In History[]
Chains have served as weapons in both the ancient and modern world. Whether purpose-designed (such as the Japanese Manriki-Gusari, Chinese chain whip or military flail) or a makeshift application of an everyday item (such as a simple "biker chain"), they function as both striking and entangling weapons.
Chains also feature as additional components in a variety of historical melee weapons (such as the Japanese Kusari-Gama), giving them multiple uses in combat.
On Screen[]
In the episode The Thing in the Pit, Spartacus is matched against an unnamed fighter in The Pit, who is armed with a weighted chain.
In the episode Party Favors, Spartacus and Varro battle a large gladiator while chained to each other. Working together, the pair use their own chain as a weapon to entangle and kill their larger, heavily armored opponent.
In the episode A Place In This World, Oenomaus and Liberius battle each other in The Pit. Oenomaus is given "Vinculum" - here, a long, heavy chain - as his weapon.