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<blockquote data-quote="Galloglaich" data-source="post: 4623152" data-attributes="member: 77019"><p><strong>The Knight and his Lance</strong></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 15px">The Knight and his Lance - Pt I of III</span></strong></p><p> </p><p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Knight-Death-and-the-Devil.jpg/455px-Knight-Death-and-the-Devil.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px"><span style="color: sandybrown">The fuzzy part you often see just under the business end of a lance is to soak up the blood so it doesn't make the whole thing too slippery to hold.</span></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>On another forum, someone asked "How would a lance be used in War?"</p><p> </p><p>It's actually a pretty good question, and one tied closely to the history of the Knight. We all know the Lance was the principle weapon of the knight just like the javelin (pilum) was the principle weapon of the Roman Legionairre. </p><p> </p><p>A Lance was any specialized thrusting spear for use from horseback. Thats all it means. It is a specialist weapon which evolved gradually from the more basic general-purpose spear, just like it's cousins the pike and the javelin. Like the pike and the javelin, the lance seeemed to be most effective when used en-masse, though in smaller groups. Knights were typically deployed in small units or squadrons that would repeatedly charge into and through (or sometimes around the edges of) an enemy formation, inexorably breaking it up like the blows of a battering ram. </p><p> </p><p>Until Medieval times cavalry used spears or lances which would typically be held overhand, and often from horses that were running at slower gaits than a gallop. Using them couched to charge straight into enemy forces seems to have started around the 11th Century, coinciding with various improvements in horse harness, saddles, stirrups etc. which allowed a rider to remain on horseback through the heavy shock of collision.</p><p><img src="http://www.wraithdt-artcentral.com/images/Artwork/2D/Norman_knight.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px"><span style="color: sandybrown">the European knight emerged at or shortly after the battle of Hastings, the innovations of the couched lance and the new types of saddle refining the armored heavy cavalry warrior into a truly lethal killing machine.</span></span></p><p> </p><p>So envision 20 armored guys charging in a pretty tight group, usually with armored horses, with lance points anywhere from 12'-18' out in front of them. This was very hard to stand against.</p><p> </p><p>Not all heavy Cavalry of this type were knights, a knight (or reitter or chevalier or miles) meant a professional warrior of independent means, who essentially owned their own horses, armor, and weapons. There were always also a parallel type of warrior armed and equipped by a Lord, the latter sometimes called Sergeants or Men At arms, were preferred by some military leaders because they were more disciplined.</p><p> </p><p>Lances broke or were dropped pretty quickly and heavy cavalry would wheel back to a support base to rearm with more lances. That was the job of a squire or some other less formal type of attendant. The number usually carried was three lances. Extra horses would also usually be available, in Medieval times heavy cavalry would usually have at least the very expensive warhorse used for fighting (a destrier or a courser or a palfrey) another horse for traveling, usually an ambler, and another horse or a mule or a burro for carrying baggage.</p><p> </p><p><strong>The (Very) Ancient origins of the Knight</strong></p><p><img src="http://www.remountdepot.com/USERIMAGES/C%201%20Ancient%20Sasanid%20Cataphract%20CW%20Uther%20Oxford%202003%2006%202%281%29.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px"><span style="color: orange">Modern re-enactors conception of a Sassanid Cataphract</span></span> </p><p> </p><p>The origins of the knight seem to go further back than most people realize, at least to Parthian Cataphracts in the 3rd Century BC. The Romans developed t heir own version called Clibinari ("oven men" due to the heat of the armor) from the 2nd Century BC. These were feared and highly effective and remained an important part of the Roman military in the East until the fall of the Byzantine empire. </p><p> </p><p>One roman observer described Iranian heavy cavalry thus:</p><p><em>"The Persians opposed us serried bands of mail-clad horsemen in such close order that the gleam of moving bodies covered with closely fitting plates of iron dazzled the eyes of those who looked upon them, while the whole throng of horses was protected by coverings of leather."</em></p><p> </p><p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Knight-Iran.JPG/407px-Knight-Iran.JPG" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px"><span style="color: sandybrown">If you didn't know better you would think this was a relief of a 13th Century European knight rather than a 4th Century Persian...</span></span></p><p> </p><p><img src="http://velizariy.kiev.ua/about/pic/hero8l.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px"><span style="color: sandybrown">This is from a French reenactor group which seems to have excellent standards: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px"><span style="color: #0000ff"><a href="http://www.1186-583.org/article.php3?id_article=19" target="_blank">[Collectif de reconstitution de matériels de Terre Sainte au XIIe siècle] : La druzhina du Prince</a></span></span></p><p> </p><p>The Norse / Slavic Rus <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druzhina" target="_blank">Druhzina*</a> of the 8th-12th Century fought <em>both </em>with lances in the Western European style <em>and</em> with bows in the Steppe / Hun / Mongol style simultaneously, which is interesting, as well as carrying maces and swords or sabers. They are the only example I know of who fought as both archers and heavy cavalry.</p><p> </p><p><strong>The rise of heavy cavalry in Western Europe</strong></p><p><img src="http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/%7Eagrandchildsheritage/charlemagneE2103.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px"><span style="color: sandybrown">Charlemagnes conquest and brief unification of Continental Europe was achieved largely through the use of armored heavy cavalry. These were not yet considered knights however (though they were kind of made into knights retroactively in Medieval ballads many centuries later).</span></span></p><p> </p><p>There was also a paraellel development of heavy cavalry in the West. Rather famously Sassanian (Iranian) heavy cavalry were garrissoned in Britain which some speculate, on rather thin evidence, may have influenced Romano-Celtic war leader Artorius (aka King Arthur) and his war bands.</p><p> </p><p>More well documented is the link between heavy cavalry and the elite members of Celtic and later Germanic tribes, the latter forming something called a "Commitatus" of elite warriors who would act as the personal bodyguard of a chieftain. There is also Alexanders the Greats elite companion cavalry though that was before real stirrups or fighting saddles so nobody knows how they really fought exactly.</p><p> </p><p>The first documented major use of heavy cavalry by European barbarians was the famous battle of Adrianople in 378 AD, in which Visigoth cavalry, having equipped themselves with Roman armor and horses during an uprising, successfully overran the previously all-but-invincible Roman infantry and killed Emperor Valens.</p><p> </p><p>From that point on in Europe cavalry very gradually began to get the upper hand over infantry during the Migration Period (i.e. "The Dark Ages"), which coincided with a very gradual shift from tribal forms of social organization toward a more Roman type of feudal system called Latifundia, in which the common tribesmen were obligated to remain on their land and ultimately became tenant farmers or serfs. The decline of the free tribal warrior coincided with the decline in the quality and importance of infantry in the European battlefield, and the rise of the knight. The last really effective infantry in the Early Middle Ages were probably the Vikings, and their power was broken at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 AD.</p><p> </p><p>After the Battle of Hastings the knight as a new form of cavalry capable of wiping out almost any opposition. While the original Eastern Cataphract hadn't changed in 700 years, the new European Knight was evolving rapidly. By the end of the 11th Century European mail armor was beginning to creep toward cap-a-pied (head to foot) protection, new weapons were being developed (like two-handed swords) along with new saddles and horse harness, and special breeds of warhorses. The system of charging into battle in tight squadrons or 'battles', was beginning to coalesce into a fine tuned killing process. </p><p> </p><p>Knights proved to be essentially unstoppable shock troops. In this battles during this period (roughly 1066-1300) in open terrain even a very small number of knights routinely rout much larger armies. There are many accounts where as few as 200 or 300 knights smashed infantry or light-cavalry forces numbering in the thousands.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><img src="http://www.wraithdt-artcentral.com/images/Artwork/2D/Templar_Knight.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p>During the early Crusades European knights (and other heavy cavalry) proved to be a major shock to the Turks, Arabs, and Byzantines. This terrifying new threat simply could not be faced in direct combat. The only way to deal with them was to feign retreat, shoot arrows at the horses from a distance and keep far away. But this wasn't always possible strategically depending on the type of battle which was being fought, sometimes you simply had to come to grips to win the day.</p><p> </p><p>*(little trivia the word Druzhina made it's way into modern Russian and was the inspiration for the term "Drouges" in the film A Clockwork Orange</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Galloglaich, post: 4623152, member: 77019"] [b]The Knight and his Lance[/b] [B][SIZE=4]The Knight and his Lance - Pt I of III[/SIZE][/B] [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Knight-Death-and-the-Devil.jpg/455px-Knight-Death-and-the-Devil.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE=1][COLOR=sandybrown]The fuzzy part you often see just under the business end of a lance is to soak up the blood so it doesn't make the whole thing too slippery to hold.[/COLOR][/SIZE] On another forum, someone asked "How would a lance be used in War?" It's actually a pretty good question, and one tied closely to the history of the Knight. We all know the Lance was the principle weapon of the knight just like the javelin (pilum) was the principle weapon of the Roman Legionairre. A Lance was any specialized thrusting spear for use from horseback. Thats all it means. It is a specialist weapon which evolved gradually from the more basic general-purpose spear, just like it's cousins the pike and the javelin. Like the pike and the javelin, the lance seeemed to be most effective when used en-masse, though in smaller groups. Knights were typically deployed in small units or squadrons that would repeatedly charge into and through (or sometimes around the edges of) an enemy formation, inexorably breaking it up like the blows of a battering ram. Until Medieval times cavalry used spears or lances which would typically be held overhand, and often from horses that were running at slower gaits than a gallop. Using them couched to charge straight into enemy forces seems to have started around the 11th Century, coinciding with various improvements in horse harness, saddles, stirrups etc. which allowed a rider to remain on horseback through the heavy shock of collision. [IMG]http://www.wraithdt-artcentral.com/images/Artwork/2D/Norman_knight.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE=1][COLOR=sandybrown]the European knight emerged at or shortly after the battle of Hastings, the innovations of the couched lance and the new types of saddle refining the armored heavy cavalry warrior into a truly lethal killing machine.[/COLOR][/SIZE] So envision 20 armored guys charging in a pretty tight group, usually with armored horses, with lance points anywhere from 12'-18' out in front of them. This was very hard to stand against. Not all heavy Cavalry of this type were knights, a knight (or reitter or chevalier or miles) meant a professional warrior of independent means, who essentially owned their own horses, armor, and weapons. There were always also a parallel type of warrior armed and equipped by a Lord, the latter sometimes called Sergeants or Men At arms, were preferred by some military leaders because they were more disciplined. Lances broke or were dropped pretty quickly and heavy cavalry would wheel back to a support base to rearm with more lances. That was the job of a squire or some other less formal type of attendant. The number usually carried was three lances. Extra horses would also usually be available, in Medieval times heavy cavalry would usually have at least the very expensive warhorse used for fighting (a destrier or a courser or a palfrey) another horse for traveling, usually an ambler, and another horse or a mule or a burro for carrying baggage. [B]The (Very) Ancient origins of the Knight[/B] [IMG]http://www.remountdepot.com/USERIMAGES/C%201%20Ancient%20Sasanid%20Cataphract%20CW%20Uther%20Oxford%202003%2006%202%281%29.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE=1][COLOR=orange]Modern re-enactors conception of a Sassanid Cataphract[/COLOR][/SIZE] The origins of the knight seem to go further back than most people realize, at least to Parthian Cataphracts in the 3rd Century BC. The Romans developed t heir own version called Clibinari ("oven men" due to the heat of the armor) from the 2nd Century BC. These were feared and highly effective and remained an important part of the Roman military in the East until the fall of the Byzantine empire. One roman observer described Iranian heavy cavalry thus: [I]"The Persians opposed us serried bands of mail-clad horsemen in such close order that the gleam of moving bodies covered with closely fitting plates of iron dazzled the eyes of those who looked upon them, while the whole throng of horses was protected by coverings of leather."[/I] [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Knight-Iran.JPG/407px-Knight-Iran.JPG[/IMG] [SIZE=1][COLOR=sandybrown]If you didn't know better you would think this was a relief of a 13th Century European knight rather than a 4th Century Persian...[/COLOR][/SIZE] [IMG]http://velizariy.kiev.ua/about/pic/hero8l.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE=1][COLOR=sandybrown]This is from a French reenactor group which seems to have excellent standards: [/COLOR][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][COLOR=#0000ff][URL="http://www.1186-583.org/article.php3?id_article=19"][Collectif de reconstitution de matériels de Terre Sainte au XIIe siècle] : La druzhina du Prince[/URL][/COLOR][/SIZE] The Norse / Slavic Rus [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druzhina"]Druhzina*[/URL] of the 8th-12th Century fought [I]both [/I]with lances in the Western European style [I]and[/I] with bows in the Steppe / Hun / Mongol style simultaneously, which is interesting, as well as carrying maces and swords or sabers. They are the only example I know of who fought as both archers and heavy cavalry. [B]The rise of heavy cavalry in Western Europe[/B] [IMG]http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/%7Eagrandchildsheritage/charlemagneE2103.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE=1][COLOR=sandybrown]Charlemagnes conquest and brief unification of Continental Europe was achieved largely through the use of armored heavy cavalry. These were not yet considered knights however (though they were kind of made into knights retroactively in Medieval ballads many centuries later).[/COLOR][/SIZE] There was also a paraellel development of heavy cavalry in the West. Rather famously Sassanian (Iranian) heavy cavalry were garrissoned in Britain which some speculate, on rather thin evidence, may have influenced Romano-Celtic war leader Artorius (aka King Arthur) and his war bands. More well documented is the link between heavy cavalry and the elite members of Celtic and later Germanic tribes, the latter forming something called a "Commitatus" of elite warriors who would act as the personal bodyguard of a chieftain. There is also Alexanders the Greats elite companion cavalry though that was before real stirrups or fighting saddles so nobody knows how they really fought exactly. The first documented major use of heavy cavalry by European barbarians was the famous battle of Adrianople in 378 AD, in which Visigoth cavalry, having equipped themselves with Roman armor and horses during an uprising, successfully overran the previously all-but-invincible Roman infantry and killed Emperor Valens. From that point on in Europe cavalry very gradually began to get the upper hand over infantry during the Migration Period (i.e. "The Dark Ages"), which coincided with a very gradual shift from tribal forms of social organization toward a more Roman type of feudal system called Latifundia, in which the common tribesmen were obligated to remain on their land and ultimately became tenant farmers or serfs. The decline of the free tribal warrior coincided with the decline in the quality and importance of infantry in the European battlefield, and the rise of the knight. The last really effective infantry in the Early Middle Ages were probably the Vikings, and their power was broken at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 AD. After the Battle of Hastings the knight as a new form of cavalry capable of wiping out almost any opposition. While the original Eastern Cataphract hadn't changed in 700 years, the new European Knight was evolving rapidly. By the end of the 11th Century European mail armor was beginning to creep toward cap-a-pied (head to foot) protection, new weapons were being developed (like two-handed swords) along with new saddles and horse harness, and special breeds of warhorses. The system of charging into battle in tight squadrons or 'battles', was beginning to coalesce into a fine tuned killing process. Knights proved to be essentially unstoppable shock troops. In this battles during this period (roughly 1066-1300) in open terrain even a very small number of knights routinely rout much larger armies. There are many accounts where as few as 200 or 300 knights smashed infantry or light-cavalry forces numbering in the thousands. [IMG]http://www.wraithdt-artcentral.com/images/Artwork/2D/Templar_Knight.jpg[/IMG] During the early Crusades European knights (and other heavy cavalry) proved to be a major shock to the Turks, Arabs, and Byzantines. This terrifying new threat simply could not be faced in direct combat. The only way to deal with them was to feign retreat, shoot arrows at the horses from a distance and keep far away. But this wasn't always possible strategically depending on the type of battle which was being fought, sometimes you simply had to come to grips to win the day. *(little trivia the word Druzhina made it's way into modern Russian and was the inspiration for the term "Drouges" in the film A Clockwork Orange [/QUOTE]
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