Left Handed Romans?

Were Roman legionaries allowed to use the gladius with their left hand if they were left-handed people? And what about Gladiators?
Gladius was one Latin word for sword, and is used to represent the primary sword of Ancient Roman foot soldiers.
A fully equipped Roman legionary after the reforms of Gaius Marius was armed with a shield (scutum), one or two javelins (pila), a sword (gladius), often a dagger (pugio), and, perhaps in the later Empire period, darts (plumbatae). Conventionally, soldiers threw javelins to disable the enemy's shields and disrupt enemy formations before engaging in close combat, for which they drew the gladius. A soldier generally led with the shield and thrust with the sword. All gladius types appear to have been suitable for cutting and chopping as well as thrusting.
Gladius is a Latin masculine second declension noun. Its (nominative and vocative) plural is gladiī. However, gladius in Latin refers to any sword, not specifically the modern definition of a gladius. The word appears in literature as early as the plays of Plautus (Casina, Rudens).
Modern English words derived from gladius include gladiator ("swordsman") and gladiolus ("little sword", from the diminutive form of gladius), a flowering plant with sword-shaped leaves.
Gladii were two-edged for cutting and had a tapered point for stabbing during thrusting. A solid grip was provided by a knobbed hilt added on, possibly with ridges for the fingers. Blade strength was achieved by welding together strips, in which case the sword had a channel down the center, or by fashioning a single piece of high-carbon steel, rhomboidal in cross-section. The owner's name was often engraved or punched on the blade.

left handed gladiators

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[Mammel]

I'm offensive and I find this left handed

[danfors]

Fighting one-on-one would be an advantage for a left handed soldier since the left handed minority are more used of fighting against the right handed majority than vice versa.

[gabesmith]

"Cool m8."
--Metatron

[koukin]

as a leftie im offended that you think of us as "cool mate"

[cherokydonato]

I feel reassured now that the Metatron has stated that my left-handiness is "cool"

[GCurl]

In German we say "Zwei linke Hände haben" "Having 2 left hands" when someone is clumsy or not very skilled.

[KatTea]

As a left handed advocate for left handed people, I love this video! ;) no need for the disclaimer. "Cool mate" is the best we could hope for.

[eduardodarthvader]

it's funny how humanity transform from
- OMG you are Left handed what a disgrace!
to
- OMG you are Left handed how can you do that?

[GCurl]

5:35 That shield on the right made my day! XD

[raygiordano]

My dad used to tell me about his troubles growing up in the 30's as left handed boy. My Italian/naturalized US citizen grandma forced him to be right handed because she believed left handed people were evil. My dad would get hit if he did anything left handed around her, so he eventually became ambidextrous.

My Italian born grandma was a very interesting woman. I remember her best for her delicious cooking and the frequent letters she wrote to me that always contained money. I would write her "thank you" letters which she enjoyed, so it was a win-win. I also recall that she thought anyone under 350 lbs was "skinny" as far as she was concerned: in dire need of food. What a great woman she was.

[sydd]

Its funny how you posted this video, just earlier today I was complaining to my right handed friends about the desks in the university being all "right handed" desks (you know what I'm talking about yeah?) Everyday life is an annoyance for us but the manner in which people stare at lefties and how they ask "Omg! How do you do that?" Is ever so satisfying, ahaha!

Oh and "Cool M8" left back at ya.

[NoahWeisbrod]

Years ago, Matt Easton surmised a similar thing about the late Middle Ages. In battlefield lines, a left hander would have to fight right handed, but in duels and self defense, a left hander would wield his sword however he wanted.

[AlkisGD]

4:39 - Your perfect (modern) Greek pronunciation caught me off guard there, Metatron :O

[jarimettala]

greetings from Finland, this point is a bit off topic but I was visiting turku castle here near where i live, the point i noticed was that all round staircases in the towers are built so that defenders, Standing higher on the stairs could swing swords with right hand. keep up the good work mate:)

[juliakovacs]

I am left handed, so i guess i'm offended ? *insert angry rant about discrimination and stuff*

[productionstudyos]

Metatron I love your intro. Ive been watching your channel for a bit over a year. The uptick in quality is so great to see, You are the most fun and interesting historical youtubers and I cant wait to see you get even better!- from a fellow Italian

[patrickm]

As a left hander growing up in a right handed family and world, I became ambidextrous but also have found mixing up my numbers more over time and getting left and right confused in direction. I even write most of my numbers starting from bottom to top (2, 3, 7, 8, 9)

[SethMacMillan]

Slight aside on this, it might've been worth considering a bit of handedness in general. I am left handed when I write, but I do virtually everything right handed. There could've very well been left handed writers who were more adept at combat with their right. Handedness is an interesting concept, and something that is debated on its impact on humanity. I didn't know it went as deep as Roman warriors though.

Excellent topic, excellent presentation. Thoroughly enjoying the content and keep enlightening the world!

[ellieliebefrei]

Good day, Raff. Just wanted to add a point of my own. I think you've probably missed that when forming a testudo, the flanks should be covered to make a decent protection. One of the ways to cover the right flank is to have the rightmost (is it even a word? (but anyway, I ment the one that is at the very right of the formation)) column switch hands and hold the shield in the right hand. And to me it seems a logical thing to have your left-handed soldiers on the right flank even if in other circumstances they fight right-handed, as they were taught to.
Or maybe, just maybe the legionaries were all trained to be good at fighting both left-handed and right-handed for such a situation.
Good video, anyway. Cheers

[Telsion]

Metatron, about the photo you used on 6:36. are those bowmen actual Romans or are they auxiliaries?