View source for Murmillo

{{Short description|Type of Roman gladiator}}
					{{more citations needed|date=December 2022}}
[[File:GladiatorFeldflasche.jpg|thumb|A murmillo defeating a [[thraex]], depicted on a first- or second-century Roman canteen]]
{{wikt | mirmillo}}

The '''murmillo''' (also sometimes spelled "mirmillo", "myrmillo", or "mirmillones" pl. '''murmillones''') was a type of [[gladiator]] during the [[Roman Empire|Roman Imperial age]]. The murmillo-class gladiator developed in the early Imperial period to replace the earlier [[List of Roman gladiator types | Gallus-type gladiator]], named after the warriors of [[Gaul]] ({{langx | la | Gallus | translation = a Gaul}}). As the [[Gallia Cisalpina|Gauls inhabiting Italy]] had become well integrated with the Romans by the time of the reign (27 BCE to 14 CE) of [[Augustus]], it became undesirable to portray them as enemy outsiders;{{dubious|date=November 2011}} the Gallus-class gladiator thus fell out of use.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Wiedemann
 |first1               = Thomas
 |author-link1         = Thomas Ernst Josef Wiedemann
 |date                 = 11 March 2002
 |orig-date            = 1992
 |chapter              = Gladiators and Roman Identity
 |title                = Emperors and Gladiators
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=pr2JAgAAQBAJ
 |publication-place    = London
 |publisher            = Routledge
 |page                 = 41
 |isbn                 = 9781134990405
 |access-date          = 13 October 2024
 |quote                = During the first century BC [...] Samnites and at any rate those Gauls inhabiting Italy [...] were part of the process of Italian integration. By the time of Augustus, it had become inappropriate for them to be perceived as outsiders; and the {{lang | la | Samnis}} turns into a {{lang | la | secutor}}, while the {{lang | la | Gallus}} becomes a {{lang | la | murmillo}}.
}}
</ref>

The designation {{lang | la | murmillo}} originated with the Greek word μορμύρος ({{lang |grc | mormyrus}}) for a type of fish<ref>
{{oed | mirmillo}} - "presumably so called in Latin because of the image of a fish on the gladiator's helmet."
</ref> - 
murmillo gladiators could wear a [[Galea (helmet)|Gallic-model helmet]] incorporating fish-imagery.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Travis
 |first1               = Hilary
 |last2                = Travis
 |first2               = John
 |date                 = 15 December 2014
 |chapter              = Gladiator Helmets
 |title                = Roman Helmets
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=jVBpCAAAQBAJ
 |publication-place    = Stroud, Gloucestershire
 |publisher            = Amberley Publishing Limited
 |isbn                 = 9781445638478
 |access-date          = 13 October 2024
 |quote                = Whereas the Thracian helmet was provided with a crest, that of the {{lang | la |  Murmillo}} had a very large three-dimensional dorsal fin, presumably to represent a fish [...]. [...] Another example [...] is more elaborate, [...] decorated with an all-over silver-and-gold two-toned pattern to give the appearance from a distance of shimmering fish scales [...].
}} 
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Harvey
 |first1               = Brian K.
 |date                 = 3 June 2015
 |orig-date            = 2004
 |chapter              = The Games: The Amphitheater: 121. Lycus, Murmillo
 |title                = Roman Lives: Ancient Roman Life as Illustrated by Latin Inscriptions
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=1hPpDwAAQBAJ
 |series               = Focus Classical Sources
 |edition              = corrected
 |publication-place    = Indianapolis, Indiana
 |publisher            = Hackett Publishing
 |page                 = 151
 |isbn                 = 9781585109753
 |access-date          = 13 October 2024
 |quote                = The {{lang | la | murmillo}} acquired his name from the type of helmet he wore: a Gallic helmet with a fish-shaped crest.
}} 
</ref>

[[File:Lion and Gladiator.jpg|thumb|Gladiator fighting a lion in the Colosseum]]

== Equipment and armaments ==

[[File:Mirmillon.jpg|thumb|Modern re-enactment of a murmillo.]]

The murmillo was armed with:
*[[Gladius]]: Roman sword with a length of 64–81&nbsp;cm and weight of 1.2-1.6&nbsp;kg with a handle made of bone.
*[[Scutum (shield)|Scutum]]: Rectangular shield made of vertically connected wooden boards with a small bronze boss which protects the shield's handle.
*[[Baldric#Roman balteus|Balteus]]: Leather belt with metal decorations and supplements, similar to current boxing title belt
*[[Manica (armguard)|Manica]]: Segmented or scaled arm guard made of leather or some metal alloys. Manicae can also be [[mail (armour)|mailed]].
*''Cassis Crista'': A large helmet with plume crest or horsehair, usually made of bronze, with an ornate 'grill' face visor. Usually based on the broad-rimmed Greek Boeotian helmet.
*''Ocrea'': Shin guard/protector made of bronze, iron or other metals.
*''Fasciae'': Thick soft padding on legs which are used to wear ocreas in order to prevent calluses and blisters.

== Style ==

[[File:Young Folks' History of Rome illus138a.png|thumb|300px|left|Combat between a Murmillo and a [[Samnite (gladiator type)|Samnite]].]]

The murmillo usually fought the [[thraex]] (Thracian) or [[hoplomachus]], with whom he shared some of the equipment (notably arm guards and all-enclosing helmet, and the dangerous short sword). A number of ancient authors, including [[Valerius Maximus]] and [[Quintillian]], assert that he also regularly fought the [[retiarius]]. It would certainly have been an unusual pairing, contrasting a heavily protected gladiator with a fast but lightly equipped one. It would have been rather appropriate however, to have the retiarius, depicting a fisherman, fighting a Murmillo depicting a fish or sea monster.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Perkins, Coren |first1=Sue, Giles |title=Supersizers Eat |url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3fltjp |website=dailymotion |access-date=26 November 2020}}</ref> This pairing is disputed; visual depictions of murmillones usually show them fighting the thraex or hoplomachus rather than the retiarius.<ref name="Futrell">{{cite book| last=Futrell| first=Alison| date=2006| title=The Roman Games: A Sourcebook| location= Oxford| publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell|Blackwell]]| isbn=978-1-4051-1568-1}}</ref>{{rp|237&ndash;238&nbsp;n14}} However, [[Channel 4]]'s ''[[Time Team]]'' discovered in Wales a carved penknife handle depicting a retiarius and a murmillo fighting.<ref>{{cite web|title=Time Team|date=11 April 2008 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/wessexarchaeology/3842125351/in/photostream/|publisher=Channel 4|accessdate=15 May 2017}}</ref>

The murmillo's fighting style was suited for men with strong arms and shoulders due to carrying the weight of the shield, sword and heavy helmet. As a result, murmillones were usually tall and always very muscular.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gladiators: Back from were the Dead|url=http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3ewe5g_gladiators-back-from-the-dead-2010-docu-drama_shortfilms|website=DailyMotion|accessdate=25 March 2017}}</ref> The murmillo depended on his strength and endurance to survive the battle against foes who were more suited to attacking. The tower shield gave him an edge in defence and the gladius enabled him to thrust and swing at his enemies when in close range. The murmillones were also trained to kick their enemies with the thick padding worn around their legs.

Examples of pairing murmillones with other gladiator types can be seen in frescoes and graffiti in [[Pompeii]]. In one well-preserved example, a murmillo named Marcus Atillus, who is credited with one match and one victory, is depicted standing over the defeated figure of Lucius Raecius Felix, a gladiator who is credited with 12 matches and 12 victories. His opponent is shown kneeling, disarmed and unhelmeted. The graffiti records that Felix survived the fight and was granted his freedom (''[[manumission]]'').<ref name="Futrell"/>{{rp| 96&ndash;100}}

==See also==
* [[List of Roman gladiator types]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
*James Grout: [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/gladiators/murmillo.html ''Murmillo'', part of the Encyclopædia Romana]
* [https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/cf42fd3fc263df78531de39b1defb3273f23d417/0_29_3072_1843/master/3072.jpg?width=1225&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=7a5280bf03ded67077945c13bafb255a Fresco of a murmillo and Thracian fighting], found in [[Pompei]] in 2019

[[Category:Gladiator types]]