Iron Infantry (Roman Legions)
Greek phalanx

The early Roman army was very different from what many consider the classic Imperial Army. Under the Etruscan kings, almost all nations used the Greek phalanx model in battle. Accordingly, Roman soldiers wore armor similar to that used by Greek hoplites.

The key moment in Roman history is considered to be the introduction of the qualification introduced by Servius Tulius. In accordance with the qualifications, all citizens were divided into five classes, depending on which their rank in the army depended. The richest, the first class, were heavily armed warriors equipped like Greek hoplites (helmet, round shield, greaves, armor, long spear and sword). The lower the citizen's class, the less weapons he possessed. The poorest, fifth class, fought without armor and were armed with slings.
Officers, like cavalry, were recruited from the richest and most influential citizens and were classified as equites.
The current composition of the Roman army at that time was as follows: 18 centuries of equites, 82 centuries of the first class (two of which were engineering units), 20 centuries of the second, third and fourth classes and 32 centuries of the fifth class (two of which were trumpeters).
In the fourth century BC, Rome was almost completely sacked by the Gals. This seriously undermined his authority in central Italy. But this event entailed an almost complete reorganization of the army. The author of the reforms is believed to have been the hero Flavius ​​Camillus, but many historians agree that the reforms were adopted centrally throughout the fourth century BC.
Undoubtedly the most important change in the army was the abandonment of the use of the Greek phalanx. Italy was not ruled by city-states like Greece, where armies met on large plains, equally suitable for both sides to resolve the conflict. In contrast, Italy's terrain was hilly, where local tribes exploited the terrain's features to gain superiority in battle. It was necessary to create a different, more mobile combat formation to confront enemies than the slow and clumsy phalanx.

Phalanx (Greek φάλαγξ) is an infantry combat formation in Ancient Macedonia, Greece and a number of other states.

The term census (Latin census from Latin censeo - making an inventory, census) has several meanings and takes its original origin from Ancient Rome; this word meant a periodic census of citizens with an assessment of their property in order to divide them into socio-political, military and tax categories.

(Servius Tullius) - according to Roman legend, the penultimate, sixth king of Ancient Rome in 578-534 BC. e. He is credited with reforms of the political system and large construction activities.).

Equites (lat. equites, from lat. equus, “horse”) - horsemen - one of the privileged classes in Ancient Rome.
Initially - in the era of the ancient Roman kingdoms and in the early republican period - it was the patrician nobility who fought on horseback.
According to the reform of Servius Tullius (6th century BC), horsemen allocated to the 18 centuries formed part of the highest qualifying rank of Roman citizens.
Subsequently, in connection with the formation of the nobility in Rome (III century BC), the horsemen became the second estate after the senators. With the development of trade and usury, owners of large workshops and moneylenders began to join the category of horsemen (according to qualifications).
By the end of the 20s. II century BC e. The horsemen turned into a special class of Roman society - the monetary aristocracy, the material basis of which was the ownership of large sums of money and movable property. The usual occupations of the horsemen were trade and collecting taxes from the provinces. They formed the upper stratum of society in the municipalities, had large estates, held administrative positions, were lawyers, etc. Although the political influence of the equestrians was less significant than that of senators, enormous capital was concentrated in their hands. Equestrians acquired particular importance during the civil wars of the late Republic as judges.

Centuria (Latin centuria, from centum - one hundred) is a unit of property and age classification of citizens in Ancient Rome, on the basis of which the Roman army was recruited.
Introduced by King Servius Tullius (VI century BC). All citizens were divided into 5 property categories, which nominated a certain number of centuries and had a corresponding number of votes in the centuriate comitia.
During the era of the Empire, the century retained the importance of a military unit, being part of a cohort within the legion. The century consisted of about a hundred (usually 80) warriors and was subordinate to a centurion. A centurion was chosen from among experienced soldiers or appointed by the commander. The rank of centurion is roughly equivalent to that of captain, but by social status, centurions belonged to the soldiers.
Initial legions (4th century BC)

Having abandoned the phalanx, the Romans introduced a new battle formation. Now the soldiers lined up in three lines:
- hastates in the first line
- principles in the second line
- and triarii in the third

The hastati, who had been second-class spearmen in the previous formation, the phalanx, stood in front. They recruited young men dressed in armor and carrying a rectangular shield, the scutum, which remained in service with Roman legionnaires throughout history. The hastati were armed with 2 1.2-meter javelins (pilums) and the traditional short sword gladius/gladius. Each hastati maniple included lightly armed warriors (leves). In the phalanx system they were assigned to the fourth and fifth classes.
Soldiers formerly assigned to the first class were divided into two types: principes and triarii. Together they formed the heavy infantry.
The hastati and the principles formed a maniple consisting of 60 people each, and 20 lightly armed warriors for each hastati maniple. The triarii formed a group of three maniples, 180 people each.
According to the historian Livy, one can imagine what the legion was like at that time:

15 groups of lightly armed warriors 300
15 hastati maniples 900
15 maniples principles 900
45 triarii maniples 2700
Total warriors (excluding cavalry) 4800

The battle tactics were as follows:
The hastati were the first to engage in battle. If they began to be crushed, they could retreat between the ranks of the heavy infantry of the principles and reform for a counterattack. Behind the principles at some distance there were triarii, which, when the heavy infantry retreated, came forward and caused confusion in the ranks of the enemies by their sudden appearance, thereby giving the principles the opportunity to reorganize. The triarii were usually the last line of defense, which, if the outcome of the battle was unsuccessful, covered the retreating hastati and principes.

The armament of legionnaires has undergone significant changes. Bronze helmets did not provide good protection against the long swords of barbarians, and the Romans replaced them with iron helmets with a polished surface on which the swords slid (although bronze helmets were later reintroduced into use).
Also, the adoption of the scutum, a large rectangular shield, greatly affected the effectiveness of the legionnaires.

At the beginning of the 3rd century BC. Roman legions performed well in battles against well-trained Macedonian phalanxes and war elephants. In the same century, the First Carthaginian War hardened the Roman legions in battle even more, and by the end of the century the legions stopped the attempt of the Gaels to pass south from the Po River valley, proving to everyone that the Roman legions were no match for the barbarians who ravaged their city.
At the beginning of the Second Punic War, the historian Polubius writes that Rome possessed the largest and best army in the Mediterranean. 6 legions consisting of 32,000 men and 1,600 cavalry, together with 30,000 allied infantry and 2,000 cavalry. And this is only the regular army. If Rome announced the gathering of allied troops, then it could count on 340,000 infantry and 37,000 cavalry.

Hastati (from Latin hastati - lit. “spearmen”, from hasta - “hasta”) - warriors of the vanguard of the heavy infantry of the Roman legion in the 4th-2nd centuries. BC e.

Principles (from the Latin princeps) - in the army of Ancient Rome - warriors of the second line of heavy infantry of the Roman legion in the 4th-2nd centuries. BC e. They consisted of men under the age of 40 who had already been in battle.

Triarii (from Latin triarius) - in the army of Ancient Rome - warriors of the last, third line of heavy infantry of the Roman legion in the 4th-2nd centuries. BC e. They consisted of veterans of the Roman army, constituted its reserve and had the best weapons.

Po (Italian Po, lat. Padus) is a river in Italy, originating in the Cottian Alps and flowing into the Adriatic Sea.

Scipio's reform

One of the people who made a great contribution to the prosperity and survival of Rome was Scipio Africanus (Publius Cornelius Scipio). It is believed that he was present at the defeat at Trebbia and Cannae, from which he learned the lesson that the Roman army urgently needed to change tactics. At 25, he became commander of troops in Spain and began to train them more intensively. Undoubtedly, the Roman legionaries were the best warriors of the time, but they needed to be prepared for the tactical tricks that Hannibal used on the battlefield. Scipio was on the right path and his victory over Hannibal's troops at Zama completely proved this.
Scipio's reform radically changed the concept of legions. They now relied on tactical superiority rather than the physical strength of the legionnaires. From this time on, Roman soldiers went into battle under the leadership of smart officers who tried to outmaneuver the enemy rather than just line up and march towards the enemy.
Rome had better soldiers, now it has better generals.

Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus the Elder (Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Maior, ? 236 BC, Rome - 184 BC, Liternus, Campania) - Roman commander of the Second Punic War, winner of Hannibal, censor from 199 BC. e., from 189 BC e. - three times princeps of the Senate, consul of 205 and 194. BC e.

The Battle of Trebbia is a battle of the Second Punic War in which the Carthaginian commander Hannibal Barca defeated the Roman army of consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus.

Cannes (an ancient village in southeastern Italy, site of the famous battle between the Romans and the Carthaginians during the 2nd Punic War)

The Battle of Zama is the last battle of the Second Punic War, which ended in the complete defeat of Hannibal's army.

Roman Legion (2nd century BC)

In the second century BC. the formation of the legions changed slightly.
The hastati were still in the first line, wearing bronze breastplates, the richest of them wore chain mail. The helmets were decorated with purple and black plumes, 18 inches high, to give the impression of being taller and appear more intimidating to enemies. They were armed with a pilum, a spear with an iron tip. Throwing spears became shorter, with a 9-inch tip, which upon impact became deformed and could not be thrown back.
Other units of the legion were armed in much the same way, except that they wore a hastu rather than a short pilum.

Velites also appeared. They did not have their own combat formation, i.e. were divided equally among all maniples. Now only they remained the most mobile troops, throwing spears at enemies and retreating for new ones deeper into the army.

The unit now consisted of 10 maniples, which included hastati, principes and triarii. The exact numbers are unknown, but presumably the hastati maniple consisted of 120 people. According to other sources, the maniples consisted of 160 people each. This discrepancy in numbers is most likely caused by the fact that many do not take into account the velites. A complete maniple consisted of, for example, 120 hastati + 40 velites = 160 people = 1 maniple.
The soldiers used the gladius, also known as the "Spanish sword". Iron helmets were again replaced by bronze ones, but made of a thicker layer of metal. Each maniple was commanded by 2 centurions, the first centurion commanded the right part of the maniple, the second - the left part.
The cavalry, numbering 300 men, was divided into 10 squadrons (turma), commanded by 3 decurions.

As Rome conquered the east, more people became involved in manufacturing and lifelong military service became an option. Rome could no longer rely on a constant stream of legionaries from the villages in the provinces. Military service in Spain caused discontent among the civilian population, and led to a series of local wars and uprisings. Casualties, injuries and a low flow of money into the treasury forced a reconsideration of the time-tested method of conscription. In 152 BC. It was decided to draft citizens into the army by drawing lots for a period of no more than 6 years of service.

The use of Allied troops became more active. In 133 BC, Scipio took Numantia, two-thirds of his army were Iberian troops. In the east, during the Battle of Pydna, which ended the Third Macedonian War, troops allied with Rome, using war elephants, defeated the left flank of Perseus's army, thereby giving the legionnaires the opportunity to approach the Macedonian phalanx from the flank and disrupt its ranks.
The expansion also had an impact on the citizens of the ruling class. New ways of getting rich and growing corruption significantly reduced the number of adequate leaders in the Roman army. The Grazzi brothers tried to stop the decline in the number of eligible citizens by increasing the use of allied troops and distributing land to citizens in the central provinces. When this venture failed, the brothers were killed, Civil War and the rise of Marius were brewing.

Gasta (incorrectly “hasta”, from Latin “hasta”) - in a broad sense - an ancient Roman, originally Sabine, spear; the meaning of the name, like a number of other types of Roman weapons, was different in different periods

Velites (lat. velites) are a type of light infantry that fought in the army of the Roman Empire.

Centurion (centurion) - a member of the junior command staff, commander of a century (centuria) in the Roman army.

Turma - a squadron unit (ala) of the Roman army. During the imperial period, the cavalry was separated from the legion and recruited exclusively from non-Romans.

Gaius Marius (lat. Gaius Marius) (about 157 BC, Arpinum - 86 BC, Rome) - Roman commander and politician, leader of the Populars. He was elected consul seven times. Conducted a reorganization of the Roman army.

Reforma Maria

It was Marius who is credited with the complete reform of the army, although he structured and put the finishing touches on a process that began much earlier. Rome in general, and the Roman army in particular, always resisted rapid reforms, considering gradual change acceptable. The reform of Gaius Gratius was that legionnaires were given equipment at the expense of the state and it was forbidden to conscript persons under seventeen years of age into the army. Mari, however, made the army accessible to everyone, even the poorest, the main thing is that they had a desire to serve. They enlisted in the army for a period of service of more than 6 years. For these people, military service became a profession, an opportunity to make a career, and not just repaying a debt to Rome. Thus, Marius became the first ruler in Roman history to create a professional army. Mari also offered special benefits to veterans, thereby attracting them to serve. It was Maria's new army that saved Italy from a massive invasion of barbarian tribes, first defeating the Germans at the Battle of Aix-en-Provence, in southern France, and then defeating the Cimbri at the Battle of Vercellae.
Marius also changed the design of the pilum, replacing the metal shaft with a wooden one. On impact, it broke and could not be thrown back (as mentioned earlier, the tip of the pilum bent on impact, but it was very difficult to make a metal tip that deformed and at the same time caused significant damage).
Mari began distributing land to legionnaires after demobilization - giving guarantees to veterans for a so-called pension at the end of their service.
Changes also affected the combat order of the legion. Lines of battle order depending on weapons were abolished. Now all soldiers had the same equipment. Cohort tactics were actively used.

By the way, cohorts appeared under Scipius Africanus, so it is difficult to say whether this was the merit of Marius. Although no one denies that cohort tactics became dominant in Maria’s army, due to the fact that the border between classes was erased, because all the soldiers were armed equally.
During the period from the reign of Marius to the reign of the first emperor Augustus, the army underwent virtually no changes. Now the rulers of the provinces could themselves make up for the losses in manpower in the subject provinces, without seeking permission from the consul, who previously had the final say on this issue. For example, this is what Julius Caesar did when recruiting troops for his campaigns in Cisalpine Galia. And finally, the most important thing. The soldiers were now loyal not to Rome, but to their commander. Non-Romans did not have much loyalty to Rome as such, but they now made up the majority of the army. Initially, the army was staffed by people who owned land, who had obligations to the state, but now the poor were recruited, who had nothing to lose. What mattered was only the commander who led them to victories and provided them with trophies.

Cimbri, Cimbri (lat. Cimbri) - an ancient Germanic tribe that originally inhabited the north of the Jutland Peninsula.
Cohort (Latin cohors, lit. “fenced place”) is one of the main tactical units of the Roman army, from the end of the 2nd century BC. e. which became the basis of cohort tactics. From this time on, there were 10 cohorts in the legion. In the Third Punic War, one cohort included 2 maniples, which is why each row consisted of not 10 maniples, but 5 cohorts with appropriate intervals.
Cisalpine Gaul (part of Gaul southeast of the Alps)

"Classic Legion"

The army that existed during the reign of Augustus is often called the “classical” legion. This is what people think of when they hear the word “legion”.
Under the rule of Julius Caesar, the army became highly effective, professional, highly trained and remarkably controlled.
There were 28 legions in total, each with 6,000 men. In addition to them, there was approximately the same number of conscripted soldiers. The service time was also increased, from 6 to 20 years (16 years of full service, 4 years of light service).
The legion's standard, the aquila (eagle), was a symbol of the troop's glory. The standard bearer had the rank corresponding to the rank of centurion. His privileged position also made him treasurer, responsible for the safety of money and salaries of legionnaires.

On the march, the legion relied only on its own supplies. To set up camp each night, each soldier carried tools and two poles. In addition to this, he carried his weapons, armor, bowler hat, camp rations, clothing and personal effects. Because of this, the legionnaires received the nickname “Mules Maria”

There is ongoing debate about how much the legionnaire actually carried. In a modern army, a fighter carries 30 kg on himself. According to calculations, including all equipment and a legionnaire’s 16-day ration, it turns out that one soldier carried 41 kg. The legionnaires carried with them dry rations, which, based on the standard iron consumption of a soldier, provided it for 3 days. The weight of the ration was 3 kilograms. For comparison, previously soldiers carried grain rations weighing 11 kg.
Because The legion was often given special tasks, such as building bridges or creating siege engines, but there were specialists in the ranks. They were freed from daily duties. Among them were doctors, surveyors, carpenters, veterinarians, hunters, blacksmiths, even fortune tellers and priests.
When the legion was on the march, the main task of the land surveyor was to go ahead of the detachment, often with a horse patrol, and look for a place to spend the night.
The forts along the imperial frontier also housed a large number of non-military personnel who ensured the normal bureaucratic existence of the army. Clerks, housekeepers, treasurers, heads of the supply service, customs officers and military police.
The legion consisted of 10 cohorts, each of which was divided into 6 centuries consisting of 8 people and commanded by a centurion.
The commander of the legion, the legate, usually remained in office for 3-4 years, as preparation for the position of provincial governor. The legate had 6 officers under his command. These were usually military tribunes who, at the discretion of the legate, could command a separate part of the legion in battle.

Another person who was part of the legate's retinue was centurio primus pilus. He was the most senior of the centurions, he commanded the first century of the first cohort, was the representative of the legion, and the warrior with the most extensive combat experience.
1 contuberia - 8 people
10 contuberia 1 century 80 people
2 centuries 1 maniple 160 people
6 centuries 1 cohort 480 people
10 cohorts + 120 horsemen 1 legion 5240 people *
(*1 legion = 9 normal cohorts (9 x 480 people) + 1 “First Cohort” of five centuries (each maniple-sized century totals 5 x 160 people) + 120 horsemen = 5240 people)

In total, together with civilian specialists in the army, the legion numbered about 6,000 people.
120 horsemen with each legion were used as scouts and messengers. They belonged to the auxiliary civilian personnel and were attached to certain centuries, and did not form a separate squadron.
The senior professional soldier in the legion was the camp prefect (praefectus castrorum). He was a soldier with over thirty years of continuous service, and was responsible for organizing the camp, training the soldiers, and uniforms.
The centurions had one undeniable superiority over ordinary legionnaires on the march. They were riding horseback. They also had the right to beat their soldiers. For this purpose he had a staff, about two or three feet in length. The staff, along with the centurion's armor, was the hallmark of his power.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of centurions was that they were transferred from legion to legion, and from province to province. Centurions did not retire, they served until death. Thus, for a centurion, his army was his life. Each centurion had an option (optio), in rank he was equal to a standard bearer and received double salary. The title of optio ad spem ordinis was given to an option who received a referral to the centurionate and was awaiting assignment to a free position.
Another officer in the century was the teserarius. His duties included organizing guards and transmitting passwords. The last officer in the legion was the custos armorum, who was responsible for weapons and uniforms.

The first cohort of any legion was the elite. All sixth cohorts consisted of “the best young people”, the eighth cohort included “selected troops”, the tenth cohort “reliable troops”.
The weakest cohorts were the second, fourth, seventh and ninth. Recruits were trained in the seventh and ninth cohorts.

Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian Augustus (lat. Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus, at birth - Gaius Octavius ​​Furinus, Gaius Octavius ​​Thurinus; September 23, 63 BC, Rome - August 19, 14, Nola) - Roman politician, founder of the Principate (with the name Imperator Caesar Augustus, from January 16, 27 BC), Pontifex Maximus from 12 AD. e., Father of the Fatherland from 2 BC. e., annual consul from 31 BC. e., censor 29 BC. e., Caesar's grandnephew, adopted by him in his will.

The Roman army from 250 to 378 AD.

Between the reigns of Augustus and Trajan, the Roman army reached its peak. This is an army that is understood as the “classical” Roman army. However, one should not be mistaken that it was this army that was defeated by the northern barbarians.
The Roman army constantly evolved over time, adapting to the demands of reality. For a long time, she did not have worthy opponents on the battlefield and did not need strong changes. Until 250 AD it was dominated by heavy infantry.
But the days of the gladius and pilum were numbered. The reason for this was the great scattering of legions and individual cohorts along the border of the Empire.

It was during the civil war and barbarian invasions that new types of foot and horse troops were created. One of the main differences between the new system and the old was that Caracal granted in 212 AD. Roman citizenship to all provinces. The ancient distinction between legionnaires and allied troops disappeared; everyone was now equal in rights. But one should not assume that Rome refused to hire foreign troops. The warlike Roman emperors of the third century hired any military units. Germanic tribes, Sarmatians, Arabs, Armenians, Persians, Moors; all of them were not subjects of the Empire, and now had the rights that the Allied troops had previously enjoyed.
Emperor Gallienus carried out reforms with the goal of increasing the proportion of cavalry and light infantry, relying less and less on the heavy infantry of the legions.
Emperor Diocletian carried out active reforms of the army in the turbulent third century. He got rid of the main weakness of the Roman troops by creating a central reserve. Usually, when barbarian tribes broke through the defenses into the interior of the country, no one could stop them, due to the fact that all the legions were based along the borders. The central reserve (comitatenses) had the highest status in the Roman army. These new mobile units were divided into legions of 1,000 men each.

In the fourth century the transition from heavy infantry to cavalry continued. The cavalry of the old legions almost disappeared, replaced by heavy German cavalry.
During the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great, infantry remained the main military force of the Roman army. With the introduction of regular cavalry, Constantine abolished the post of praetorian prefect and introduced two new positions in its place: commander of infantry and commander of cavalry.

The rise in importance of cavalry is due to two main reasons. Many barbarian tribes avoided open invasion and simply limited themselves to raids. The infantry was simply not fast enough to intercept the barbarian troops.

Another reason was that the superiority of the Roman legion over any rival was no longer as clear as before. The barbarians have learned a lot over the past centuries. Thousands of Germans served as mercenaries and adopted the experience of Roman military leaders and applied it upon returning home. The Roman army had to adopt new tactical solutions and provide reliable support for heavy infantry with cavalry. During the period from the third to the fourth centuries, the Roman army hastily increased the number of cavalry when a terrible disaster occurred at the end of this period.

In 378 AD. heavy Gothic cavalry destroyed the entire eastern army led by Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople.
Now no one had any doubt that heavy cavalry could defeat heavy infantry.

Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, better known as Traian (Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus) (September 15, 53, Italica, Baetica - August 8/9, 117, Selinunte, Cilicia) - Roman emperor from the Antonine dynasty (Caesar Nerva Traianus Augustus, from January 28, 98 ). Pontifex Maximus since 98. Honorary titles: Germanicus (from October/November 97), Pater patriae (from 98), Dacicus Maximus (from December 31, 102), Optimus (from spring 114), Parthicus (from February 21, 116). After death he was deified (Divus).

Septimius Bassianus Caracalla (lat. Septimius Bassianus Caracalla; 186-217) - Roman emperor from 211 to 217. n. e. Son of Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus from his second marriage to Julia-Domna, b. in Dion in 188. His original name - Bassian - in 196, when his father proclaimed him Caesar, was changed to M. Aurelius Antoninus; the nickname Caracalla, or Caracallus (Caracallus), was taken from the Gallic clothing he introduced - a long robe that fell to the ankles.

Sarmatians (Greek Σαρμάται, lat. Sarmatae) - the general name of the nomadic pastoral Iranian-speaking tribes (Alans, Roxolans, Sauromatians, Yazygs, etc.) who settled in the 3rd century BC. e. - IV century AD e. in the steppes from Tobol in the east to the Danube in the west

"Moor" The self-name of an ethnic group formed as a result of the mixing of Indians (Algonquian-Ritwan family [Algonquian-Ritwan]), whites and blacks in southern Delaware (about 400 people in 1980). The "Moors" consider themselves descendants of sailors who were shipwrecked during the colonial period

Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (lat. P. Licinius Egnatius Gallienus) - Roman emperor from August 253 to March 268.

Guy Aurelius Valerius Diocletian (lat. C. Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, 245-313 AD) (birth name - Diocles, lat. Dioclus) - Roman emperor from November 20, 284 to May 1, 305. The accession of Diocletian completed the so-called . third century crisis in Rome. He established firm rule and eliminated the fiction that the emperor was only the first of the senators (princeps), and declared himself the sovereign ruler. With his reign, a period of Roman history began, called the Dominate.

Flavius ​​Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, Constantine I, Constantine the Great (lat. Flavius ​​Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, February 27, 274 - May 22, 337) - Roman emperor, son of Constantius Chlorus, after his death in 306 he was elected by the army in Augusta, after the victory over Maxentius in 312 in the battle of the Milvian Bridge and over Licinius in 323 he became the autocrat of the Roman state, made the Christian religion dominant, in 330 he moved the capital of the state to Byzantium (Constantinople), organized a new state structure. Constantine, in the twentieth year of his reign, killed his son Crispus with poison, and his wife Fausta with hot steam in a bathhouse because they were suspected of conspiring against him.
In 337, Constantine the Great died. His activities found a rare assessment in history: the Roman Senate, according to the testimony of the 4th century historian Eutropius, considered Constantine worthy of being elevated to godhood, history recognized him as the Great, and the Church as a Saint and Equal to the Apostles.

Praetorian Guard (praetorians, lat. praetoriani) - personal bodyguards of the emperors of the Roman Empire. The Praetorians were among the most skilled and renowned warriors of the ancient world. The Praetorians are the “life guard” of the Roman Caesars, which developed from a selected detachment (ablecti) of the allies, who served during the Republican period to protect the commander-in-chief and his praetorium, hence the name cohorspraetoria. Scipio Africanus organized, under the same name, a guard of Roman horsemen. In addition, the headquarters, chancellery and the entire immediate retinue of the commander or ruler of the region (quaestor, scribes, legates, tribunes, prefect and translators, lictors, heralds, couriers, finally acquaintances and friends - comites) constituted his cohors praetoria. To maintain order in Italy, Octavian Augustus created 9 praetorian cohorts, each of 1000 people. When not on duty, praetorians wore civilian clothing (cob. togalae). Three cohorts were billeted with citizens in Rome itself, the rest in other parts of Italy. Together with the guard cavalry (equites praetoriani), they formed the core of the armed forces of the nascent empire. Until the reign of Septimius Severus, only natives of Italy were enrolled in the guard. Increased pay, an honorary position and a 16-year term of service (instead of the 20-year term for ordinary legionnaires) were the privileges of the guard. Subsequently, the city police (cohortesurbanae) merged with the guard into one corps, divided into 14 cohorts. The Praetorians were subordinate to a special prefect - praefectus praetorio. The most famous of them, Sejanus, concentrated the entire guard in Rome, building a special camp for it - castra praetoria. Since the Praetorians were involved in all the political revolutions of the empire, their organization was repeatedly subject to changes (for example, under Vitellius). Constantine the Great completely destroyed the Praetorian Guard, replacing it with a new one, and destroyed the Praetorian camp - “this (according to him) is a constant nest of rebellion and debauchery.”

Flavius ​​Julius Valens (328 - August 9, 378) - Roman emperor (March 28, 364 - August 9, 378). He was elevated by his elder brother Valentinian I to the rank of co-ruler for the East.

Edirne (also Adrianople, Greek: Αδριανούπολις) is a city in Turkey. It is located in the west of the country in the European part, on the border with Bulgaria. Founded by the Roman Emperor Hadrian (as Adrianople) on the site of a Thracian settlement. On August 9, 378, a battle between the Roman army under the command of Emperor Valens and the Goths took place near Adrianople. The Romans were completely defeated, Emperor Valens was killed.

"Spear", tactical combat unit

The collective term “spear” denotes a tactical combat unit of a feudal army, the main force of which was the knight. The “spear” could include a different number of fighters, both mounted and on foot.

Several "spears" united under the command of a knight-banneret formed a "banner", and several "banners" formed a regiment

At the beginning of the 13th century, during the reign of Philip Augustus, the “banner” included from four to six “spears”. A regiment, under the command of a large feudal lord, could include from five to ten “banners,” that is, from five hundred to a thousand horsemen. However, this number varied within very wide limits; it depended mainly on the wealth of the banneret knights, who were able to attract a larger number of vassals: such units were called “double banners” in the 13th century.

During the reign of Philip of Valois, eleven “regiments” numbered one hundred and ninety-three “banners” at the Battle of Kassel in 1328. The initial strict requirements were gradually relaxed, and in 1452 some lords from the Seine region acquired the title of bannerets, bringing with them no less than twenty-five armed men into service.

It is interesting to note that the title of banneret could belong not only to knights; they talk about bannerets made up of squires and even bannerets who did not have any rank and hired warriors for money.

Banneret had the right to wear haubert 1 and double chain mail 2.

Subordinate to him was the bachelier knight, who served under someone else's banner in the absence of vassals.

Bachelier is a simple nobleman, not yet knighted and occupying a lower position than a knight-bachelier, he served the knight who taught him the art of war. Du Guesclin was only a bachelier when King Charles V appointed him supreme commander of his army.

The squire accompanied the knight from the age of fourteen and by the age of twenty-one received the title of knight.

Finally, the page began to serve at the age of seven as a simple household servant. At the age of fourteen, he “left the pages”, received a sword and became a squire.

In the 15th century, in 1445, King Charles VII established the composition of the “spear”, which consisted of a knight, his page, a cutler, two archers and a servant. One hundred "spears" constituted one of the twenty "ordinance companies", which, appearing in 1446, formed the core of the new standing army.

This “militia” included about nine thousand former warrior-robbers of the “big gangs” and became permanent in the French army until the 18th century. 4

Each company was under the command of a captain, often from the same dark bandits. The son of the Count of Armagnac, who was called the illegitimate Bourbon, Guillaume and Antoine Chabanne, Saintray and La Hire commanded their own companies. In the companies or orders of the Duke of Burgundy, shown in the figure, the captains bore the name "condottieri", from the Italian condottieri.

1 In this case, the term refers to a cape that falls over the shoulders and onto the chain mail.

2 This is a hubergon made of round plates that overlap each other, forming a double thickness. For more details, see the chapter on Haubert and Hubergon.

3 Cutiller: a foot warrior armed with a half-pike, "bull's tongue", or a short sword, cutel or custill.

4 Also known as the Armagnacs, thirteen or fifteen thousand mercenary thugs and brawlers ravaged France throughout the Hundred Years' War. Their ranks were replenished mainly by younger sons and illegitimate children from noble families.

Caption for the picture:

"SPEAR" as a tactical combat unit:

(first half of the 14th century)

1. Destrier or war horse.

2. A knight on a parade horse or pacer. Ambling - a gait much less tiring for the rider - was achieved by training or using the natural qualities of the horse.

3. The squire was carrying the knight’s helmet, shield and spear. He rides a russin or ronsin, a small war horse. His own helmet - a barbute - is tied behind the saddle.

4. Kutiler, riding a war horse (cursier), a type of ceremonial horse that is fast and strong. He is armed with a cutile, a weapon between a date and a sword, which was used to cut the throats of captives who refused to pay a ransom.

5. One of the six archers, mounted on a horse with a cropped tail, armed with a braque-mart, descended from the eastern si-meterra. In a slightly curved version it was called a baudelaire.

6. Servant on his horse. He is armed with a pike and a bodeler, also called a cutelas.

7. “A pacer with glasses” - a filly carrying a special cellar with provisions for the knight. The warriors rode only on horses.

8. A pack horse carrying bales of luggage.

9. Each “spear” included several foot soldiers. Here these foot soldiers are armed with anikrosh (a) and a hook (b), weapons specifically designed for capturing prisoners for whom the knight could receive a ransom.

The "spear" was the main tactical combat unit of the feudal army, starting from the 10th century. In the middle of the 15th century. This unit was replaced by a more clearly structured combat unit that arose among the knightly orders.

Caption for the picture:

"SPEAR" In the 15th century:

1. Knight, head of the “spear”. He is dressed in Gothic armor of the Milanese style, weighing 35 kg, and a dagger like an anelas hangs from the tree of his saddle. The regular army also used a combat mace.

2. Page. He carried his master's spear and was his servant, while mastering the art of war.

3. Coutilier - a squire, armed, equipped and equipped with a horse at the expense of the knight. He is armed with an iron half-spear, called a “bull tongue” or “bunch.”

4. Three horse archers, armed with bows or crossbows, sometimes culverins. They are armed with anelas daggers (a). In Fig. b a punch or piercing for a cuirass, derived from the ancient “knife of mercy”, the English called it “the prayer of departure”. They have two-handed or “one-and-a-half-handed” swords, also called “batard”. A German “bastard sword” (c) suspended on the left side of the saddle pommel. Horse archers were forbidden to wear pointed boots, long spurs, and masherets (mantles).

5. Crossbowman.

6. Kulevriner.

7. Pikeman. They had swords with which infantrymen fought, called “passot”, “passot sword” or “plate”, the common property of which was an edge formed by the convergence of the cutting edges. The third soldier carries a beauce or boset - a small shield for hand-to-hand combat, also called a fist rondel.

Since 1471, this “full spear” has been joined by various numbers of volunteers wishing to master the military craft.

A spear

A SPEAR

1. A SPEAR, -I; pl. spears, -drink, -drink; Wed A piercing or throwing weapon consisting of a long shaft with a sharp metal tip. Pierce with a spear. Arm yourself with spears. Javelin-throwing(type of athletics).

◊ Break spears. To argue passionately about something, to defend, to defend something.

◁ Spear, -a; Wed Decrease

2. A SPEAR, -I; Wed

◊ Without a spear. Up-down Without a penny, without any money at all. Not a spear (no). Up-down Not a penny of money, nothing, not at all.

1) piercing weapon - a shaft with a stone, bone or metal tip. Known since the Paleolithic. In the ancient world and in the Middle Ages, it was the main weapon of infantry and cavalry. 2) Athletics projectile for throwing; wooden or metal shaft with a sharp tip; length 2.6-2.7 m (for men) and 2.2-2.3 m (for women), weight 0.8 and 0.6 kg (respectively).

SPEAR, cold, piercing or throwing weapon - a shaft with a stone, bone or metal tip, with a total length of one and a half to five meters.
The spear has been known since the Early Paleolithic era and was originally a pointed stick; later a stone tip was attached to the shaft. In the Bronze Age, metal tips appeared, the method of attaching the tip to the shaft changed; if in the Stone Age it was tied on the outside of the shaft by the shank, then in the Bronze Age the tip was either put on the shaft or wedged out of the shaft itself. In addition, if there were external ring-shaped ears, the tip was tied to the shaft with a cord.
In Ancient Rus', the spear was one of the most common types of weapons. The Old Russian spear consisted of a shaft - a ratovishcha and an iron or damask tip, which in turn consisted of a feather (blade (cm. BLADE)), tule (tubes into which the shaft is inserted), necks (between the tule and the feather). Later, Russian copies had an apple - an extension on the neck. The sharpened iron forging at the end of the shaft, which served to rest on the ground, is called the undertow. To fasten the rod with the tip, two round holes were usually made in the tulle, into which nails were driven. Russian spears of the 11th-14th centuries were mostly flat, leaf-shaped. During this period, spears with a stinged tip were much less common and are associated by archaeologists with the cultures of the Siberian and Finno-Ugric peoples. Long faceted spears became widespread in Russia from the 16th century due to the strengthening of chain mail (cm. CHAIN ​​MAIL) on the chest and back with solid metal plates - mirrors. In the 16th century, braces, or strings, began to be pulled from the tule of the spear, reinforcing the shaft of the spear in the upper part. They especially intensified in the 17th century, when the Russian spear entered service with the spear companies of the new system.

encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

See what a “spear” is in other dictionaries:

Kop, and; pl. copy it... Russian word stress

See Mines... encyclopedic Dictionary

a spear- spear/e [y/o] ... Morphemic-spelling dictionary

Russian toponym. Kopyovo village in the Kologrivsky district of the Kostroma region (OKATO 34 212 824 003). Kopievo village in the Muromtsevo district of the Omsk region (OKATO 52 234 822 003). Kopyovo is an urban-type settlement, administrative center... ... Wikipedia

SPEAR1 Take/take something on a spear. Razg. Outdated Capture something. assault, attack. F 1, 255. Yegoryevo spear. Sib. Field wild carnation. SFS, 69. Fight with spears. Sib. Zealously protect someone or something. FSS, 12; SRNG 14, 307. Break (break... Large dictionary of Russian sayings

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

1. SPEAR1, spears, many. spears, spears, cf. A piercing weapon consisting of a long shaft with a metal tip; same as pike. In ancient times, warriors were armed with spears. Javelin throwing (one of the types of sports exercises). ❖ Breaking spears due to... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Spear, spears, spears, spears, spear, spears, spear, spears, spear, spears, spear, spears (Source: “Full accentuated paradigm according to A. A. Zaliznyak”) ... Forms of words

a spear- spear spear, spear... Dictionary of the use of the letter E

MINE, mine, female. see mines. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Books

• Tamerlane. Spear of Destiny, Semenova Tatyana Ivanovna. `... And Timur gathered all his soldiers and approached the borders of the Ryazan land, took the city of Yelets, and tortured many people and stood in one place for fifteen days, and was afraid to fight the Russian land, not...

A.V. Kurkin

1. Prerequisites for the creation of permanent military formations in Burgundy in the 15th century.

It is generally accepted that a constant, i.e. existing not only in wartime, but also in peacetime, the Burgundian army appeared in 1471 after the establishment of the so-called. "Ordinance mouths". In reality, the issue of the appearance of regular troops in the Principality of Burgundy is much more complicated. In addition, the term “standing (regular) army” itself is very conditional. So, for example, a certain part of the noble elite of the duchy had their own small “regular troops”. We are talking about guard units (“body archers”, “guard archers”, etc.), which had uniform weapons and equipment, paid for by their lord, and carried out constant service at the court of their master. The garrisons of the main fortresses of the country, who guarded them year after year for an agreed fee, could also be considered regular troops. In this regard, the French historian Philippe Contamine wrote:

““Standing army” is not a very clear expression, so it is necessary to outline the varieties of such an army. It can be considered proven that at least from the beginning of the 14th century. in a specific territory, if only it was large enough, there were always warriors, armed people capable of maintaining internal order, as well as detaining thieves and murderers, executing the decisions of the authorities and the judiciary and ensuring minimal security within the fortifications.”

Obviously, in a broad sense, the term “standing army” refers to large military formations that have their own institutions of supply, combat training and command. The maintenance of such an army presupposes the presence of permanent ones, i.e. regularly levied taxes and the awareness by the country's political elite of the unconditional advantage of an expensive but stable armed force over the cheaper and less controllable formations of feudal militia, city militia and mercenaries recruited from time to time. The events of the Ghent War (1452-1453), which required the Burgundian military-political leadership to keep large military forces in the field for two years, and strong garrisons in the cities of the uprising provinces, prompted the Burgundian Duke Philip the Good to look for alternative options for the feudal militia.

In 1457, from the volunteers - volunteers(volontaires) the first permanent Burgundian companies were recruited, which received half pay for service in peacetime. The companies had different numbers and were divided into chambers of 5-6 gendarmes with several companions in each. Once a month, three-day company training sessions were held, at which weapons and training were checked, and salaries were also issued. For 3 days of training, the gendarme was awarded 24 sous (2 Flemish gros), the companion - 6 sous. Most likely, such volunteer companies did not last long.

In 1466, infantry units were created in Burgundy, especially in the lands bordering the ever-rebellious Principality of Liege economic(mesnagers), somewhat reminiscent of the French “free archers”. Household workers garrisoned several fortresses and combined service with conducting personal affairs.

In 1467, after the Battle of Brustem and the capitulation of Liege, the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, again decided to revive the volunteer companies. Thus, according to a message from Jean d’Haenin, the Duke offered Jacques de Luxembourg, Seigneur de Fienne, and several other seigneurs to lead permanent companies of 50 spears with half pay in peacetime. Luxemburg diplomatically replied that he himself was ready to serve the Duke in any capacity and at any time, but first he must consult with the people of his company. During the meeting, most of the gendarmes of Fienne spoke out against the service, citing fatigue, concern for the families left behind and, most importantly, delays in payment of salaries, which were usually practiced by both Philip the Good and his son. Nevertheless, as Henin concludes, some of the gendarmes nevertheless signed up as volunteers and immediately received their salaries within 15 days.

However, these half-measures could not solve the main problem, which was the extremely clumsy mechanism for mobilizing the Burgundian army, which both negatively affected the timing of the campaign and did not allow timely response to sudden military threats. For example, the gathering of the Burgundian feudal militia (Aryerban) for the campaign against Liege in 1468 lasted for 2 months, while some of the troops never arrived at the rendezvous point, as a result of which the campaign was carried out in difficult conditions of rainy autumn and cold winter.

In addition, Charles the Bold was probably somewhat impressed by the regular army of Louis XI, with which he pitted his feudal army at Montlhéry (1465). Only thanks to regular ordinance companies, during the war of the League of Public Welfare, the French king was able to strike a preemptive blow against one of the League members, the Duke of Bourbon, and knock him out of the fight before the main forces of the Leaguers arrived. After the signing of the Peace of Conflans, the French royal army, battered by the Burgundians at Montlhéry, nevertheless, in two winter months of 1465-1466. during a lightning campaign, she again restored Louis's power in Normandy. Such combat activity and mobility were impressive.

In the autumn of 1469, Charles the Bold was in completely fair confidence regarding a new war with France, which was to begin in the very near future. For some time, the Duke pinned his hopes on the corps of Italian mercenaries: Prince Rodolfo Gonzaga was offered to recruit 1,200 spears (5 horsemen each), divide them into companies and send them to Burgundy for service. However, due to insufficient funding and political tensions, this plan failed.

In 1470, the problem of creating a regular army arose with all its urgency. On May 20, a decision was made to recruit 800 copies of the “ordinance”; on October 23, the number of “copies of 3 horses” recruited into the regular army increased to 1,000, with a payment of 15 francs monthly. It was from this moment that the formation of the first Burgundian ordinance companies began, which formed the backbone of the standing army of Charles the Bold.

In the winter of 1470-1471. The Duke's military officials began to inspect the emerging companies. So, on February 9-11, three commissioners of the duke conducted a review of the Burgundian company of the knight Ame de Rabutin, lord d'Epiri.

On February 10, a review was held of Peter von Hagenbach's company, temporarily stationed in Wavre. Hagenbach himself, busy with the administration of Alsace, was absent, so the company was actually led by his lieutenant Jean d'Yin.

On February 27, the ducal commissioners inspected Claude de Dammartin's company. During the review, the company commander and two foreman-disaniers were absent, so the company was commanded by Philippe de Saint-Léger, lieutenant and commander of the second disanier.

In May, government officials in Brabant received instructions from Charles the Bold to register volunteers for enlistment in permanent companies. It was necessary to recruit 1,250 spears consisting of 1 gendarme, 1 pikeman, 1 crossbowman and 1 culverinier - a total of 5,000 people. The fighters recruited in this way were ordered to be concentrated in Arras by June 15. However, the deadlines were not met, and the registration of volunteers stretched until the end of the year.

2. Military orders of Charles the Bold.

On July 31, while in the city of Abbeville on the Somme, Charles the Bold issued his famous decree (ordinance) on the formation of 12 regular companies.

“Monsignor the Duke announces that he is taking for his maintenance and support 1,250 gendarmes of the ordinance with three horses, and for each gendarme three horse archers and a foot crossbowman, a culverinier and a pikeman, the best and most trained that he can find in his lands on rights Señora."

Each ordinance company (compagnies d'ordonnance), according to the provisions of the Abbeville Ordinance, consisted of 100 copies, consolidated into 10 platoons - design(dixains - tens). Each design consisted of 10 copies, divided into two unequal chambers - chambre 4 and 6 copies each. Commander of the Quartet - chefdéchambre(chefe de chambre) was subordinate to the commander of the “six” - design(disenier - foreman), who, in turn, was directly subordinate to the company commander - air conditioning(conducteur, in the Russian-speaking tradition - conductor or conductor). The conductor carried out the orders of the commander-in-chief - the General Captain, i.e. Duke Charles himself, who, according to Olivier de La Marche “I wanted to be the only captain of my people and order them at my pleasure.”

Thus, the Burgundian order company included 900 people, of which 100 were non-combatants - pages or jacks. The combatants included 500 cavalry (100 gendarmes, 100 coutiliers and 300 horse archers) and 300 infantry (100 crossbowmen, 100 culveriniers and 100 pikemen). In general, copying the organizational structure of the French ordinance companies, Burgundian military functionaries, in the Italian manner, reinforced the traditional lance of 6 cavalry (including a mounted servant) with three infantry.

Each company was assigned 1 or 2 trumpeters - trompette(trompettes), surgeon, commissioner, keeping order (commissaire), notary nother(notaire) and treasurer- treasure(tresorier), otherwise dressed(auditeur, auditor) with an assistant who issued a salary once a quarter based on the following monthly payments:

The absence of a reveler and a page in the above list should not be confusing, because their salary was counted in the 15-18 francs that were given to the gendarme.

In fact, 12 ordinance companies (in reality, 13 companies were formed, but company No. 1 was immediately assigned to the guard) completed their formation and “became operational” already in 1472.

• Company No. 1, Conductor Olivier de La Marche;
• Company No. 2, conductor Jacques de Garchier;
• Company No. 3, Conducto Jean de La Vieville;
• Company No. 4, Conducto Jacques de Montmartin;
• Company No. 5, Conducto Giacomo de Vishy;
• Company No. 6, Conductor Philippe de Dubois;
• Company No. 7, conductor Gilles de Garchier;
• Company No. 8, Conducto Jacques de Rebrenne;
• Company No. 9, Conductor Claude de Dammartin;
• Company No. 10, Conductor Peter von Hagenbach;
• Company No. 11, Conducto Baudouin de Lannoy;
• Company No. 12, Conducto Hame de Rabutin.
• Company No. 13, conductor Philippe de Poitiers.

The national composition of the formed units was quite varied. Thus, companies No. 1, 13 consisted mainly of Picardians, companies No. 2, 3 - from Flemings, companies No. 4, 7-12 - from Burgundians, company No. 5 - from Savoyards, company No. 6 - from Dutch. Often, the actual command of the companies was carried out not by the conductos themselves, many of whom occupied important government or court posts and were forced to constantly be distracted from solving narrowly military tasks, but by their lieutenants. Some of these lieutenants, such as Jean d'Ygne, Antoine de Sallenowo or Ferry de Cousens, eventually replaced their immediate superiors and themselves took up the position of conducto.

On November 13, 1472, in the town of Boen-en-Vermandois, the next military order of Charles the Bold was issued. The Ordinance took into account the results of the French campaign and contained a minor adjustment to the size of the regular army of Burgundy:

The administrative division of the company into dizani, cameras and spears in battle and on the march, as follows from the text of the ordinance, was leveled. The company's fighters in field combat conditions were divided into three tactical units: a cavalry detachment of gendarmes and revelers, a detachment of archers and a detachment of infantrymen. Thus, the command functions of the directors and chiefs of cells were in demand only at the station, to resolve everyday and judicial-administrative issues. Each tactical unit on the march and in battle was controlled by gendarmes specially appointed by the company commander for this purpose.

The new ordinance also described in more detail the marching order of the company, its quartering, and clarified some elements of subordination. So, preparing for the march, the soldiers, at the first signal of the trumpets, rolled up their tents and packed their belongings, at the second signal, they gathered in units, at the third signal, they formed a common column and set out on a march. A mandatory roll call was introduced for all company soldiers, in connection with which the gendarmes provided lists of their people to the direct disagnies, who then at the command of the conductor, who, in turn, forwarded the complete list of the company to the military department, and kept the duplicate with him. In addition, the procedure for punishment for certain offenses was simplified, and decisions on fines were made locally, both conducto and disagne.

Dramatic changes in the organization of regular companies occurred after the issuance of the Saint-Maximin Ordinance in Trier (October 1473):

“The highest, noblest, most powerful and fearless Monsignor Duke of Burgundy, Brabant and others. Having an indefatigable zeal and desire to secure, protect and increase the welfare of the duchies, counties, provinces, lands and estates, which by natural right passed from his noble ancestors under his suzerainty, and in order to protect them from the encroachments of enemies and all who envy the welfare of the noble House of Burgundy, as well as those seeking by force of arms or criminal acts to undermine the wealth, honor and integrity of this noble House and the said duchies, counties, provinces, lands and estates, just as some time ago, formed and established companies of the ordinance, gendarmes and riflemen and others, mounted and foot soldiers, who, like other people, cannot constantly remain in obedience and good behavior without law and instructions, which describe their duties for maintaining discipline and virtuous order, as well as for punishing and correcting their shortcomings and mistakes. Therefore, our fearless monsignor, after leisurely, long and mature reflection, developed and approved the following laws, statutes and regulations.”

From now on, the company consisted of 4 squadrons - squadrons(escadres), which in turn split into 4 chambers of 6 copies each. The 25th squadron spear was the personal spear of the squadron commander - squadron chief(chief d'escadre). Three of the four squadron chiefs were appointed by the conductor, the fourth by the duke, usually from among the squires of his Hotel.

At the beginning of the year, the conductors were notified of their assumption of office and took an oath of allegiance to the duke. Next, the conductor formed companies and compiled lists of military personnel, which they provided to the Duke at the end of the year. At the same time, during a special ceremony, the conductor was presented with command batons, duplicates of the ducal ordinance with the necessary instructions and copies of their company lists. At the same time, the Duke personally greeted each conductor, promising timely cash payments, and assuring of his absolute desire to extend the contract in the future.

The paragraphs of the ordinance further tightened discipline: soldiers were forbidden to blaspheme, swear, or play dice. The Duke’s attempt to instill carnal abstinence in his soldiers looked no less utopian: the numerous prostitutes who accompanied the soldiers on campaign or at camp should have been dispersed, leaving only 30 of them for each company.

The section devoted to conducting exercises looked more sensible: soldiers were trained to master tactical techniques, taught how to interact on the battlefield, and practiced combat formations.

However, the Saint-Maximin Ordinance was soon supplemented by several instructions, the text of which has not been preserved. We can judge the changes that have occurred in the organizational structure of the companies in comparison with the provisions of the Saint-Maximin Ordinance, thanks to the reports of Olivier de La Marche.

In 1474, while with his company in the ranks of the Burgundian army that besieged Neuss, La Marche wrote his famous treatise “Services of the Hotel of Duke Charles of Burgundy the Bold”, in which, among other things, he left valuable comments regarding the organizational structure of the ordinance companies:

“The Duke /has/ one thousand two hundred gendarmes of his ordinance, each of whom has an armed reveler, and under /the command/ of each gendarme there are three horse archers, in addition, each gendarme has three foot soldiers armed with crossbows, culverins and pikes: thus, in the spear /counts/ eight combatants, but the foot soldiers are not controlled by their cavalrymen.”

About who “controls” the infantrymen, La Marche writes in another paragraph:

“So, we should talk about the service of the infantry, which is controlled by the knight, the chief of all the infantry, and /his/ deputy, who is responsible for all the infantry conductors. Each company has three categories of infantry, there is a captain, a mounted gendarme and a standard bearer with a guidon; and for every hundred people there is a mounted gendarme-centurion, who carries another, shorter flag..., in addition, for every thirty-one people there is one, called a thirty-man, to whom all the others are subordinate.”

Thus, according to La Marche, the company infantry was divided into 3 hundreds under the command of centurions - Santanye(centeniers), each of whom commanded thirty -trantanye(trenteniers). Each thirty was divided into 5 copies of 2 pikemen, 2 culveriniers and 2 crossbowmen in each. The general leadership of the company infantry was carried out by chefdepier(chef de pied). Horse archers along La Marche were consolidated into 4 squadrons of 75 people each. On the march and in battle, these units acted separately from the gendarmes.

Unfortunately, neither the authors of the Saint-Maximin Ordinance nor La Marche indicate how the positions of commanders of squadrons, cells, hundreds and thirty in a company were related. We can only assume that some of them were combined. For example, the commander of the first squadron was also a lieutenant (deputy conductor) of the company, the commander of the second squadron was also in command of all the gendarmes and kutiliers of the company, the commander of the third squadron controlled all the archers, and the commander of the fourth squadron commanded the infantrymen, i.e. combined the position of chief deputy. Each of the 4 squadrons of gendarmes may have been commanded by lieutenants (deputies) of squadron commanders from among the cell commanders. Other chamber commanders could concurrently hold positions as commanders of squadrons of archers and infantry squadrons. The total number of commanders at various levels in the company, including the conductor, according to La Marche, was 24 (5 for gendarmes, 5 for archers, 13 for infantry). Based on the premise that all command positions were occupied by gendarmes, we must admit that in this case at least 18 heavy cavalrymen of the company (commanders of archers and infantrymen) were distracted during the battle by solving tasks that were not typical for cavalry.

One way or another, such a multi-layered and cumbersome system of company hierarchy apparently significantly complicated the process of managing people during the march and battle. Each of the infantrymen and archers of the company had several immediate superiors: during the battle they were commanded by some people, on the march by others, and others sent them on leave. Burgundian military functionaries could not help but understand that the lowest administrative unit “spear”, inherited from the Middle Ages, which united fighters called upon to solve completely different tasks on the battlefield, was hopelessly outdated. Obviously, there was only one way out of the administrative-tactical impasse: it was necessary to divide the company fighters into 3 administratively independent parts - cavalry, archers and infantry. However, due to objective reasons, this process dragged on until 1476, when it was too late to change anything.

In May 1476, in Lausanne, Charles the Bold issued another military ordinance, in which he finally tried to eliminate the administrative and tactical contradiction arising from the isolated position of the infantry. From now on, the infantrymen were completely withdrawn from the companies and formed separate infantry detachments (enfants pied, 4 in total) of 1,000 people each. Each detachment was divided into hundreds, under the command of Santanier. Hundreds are divided into quarters quarts under command quartonnier(cuartonniers). The quarts were divided into cells of 6 people (probably 2 pikemen, 2 culveriners and 2 crossbowmen or archers), commanded by the chief deschambres. In battle, infantry detachments were divided into two parts of 500 people each and formed in two lines, one after the other. According to the Lausanne Ordinance, companies consisted of 100 spears and 300 archers. At the same time, the archers received a separate organization from the gendarmes and were divided, like infantrymen, into hundreds, quarts and cells. The division of the gendarmes retained the features prescribed in the Saint-Maximin Ordinance: 6 spears (in 1 spear - a gendarme, a reveler and a page) made up a cell, 4 cameras made up a squadron, 4 squadrons represented the cavalry of a company.

The ordinance was mostly devoted to tactical (combat formation, marching order, field camp arrangement) and disciplinary issues:

“Under pain of death, the Duke forbids any person, no matter what rank or position he may be, to leave the quarter of the camp that has been assigned to him as an apartment, or to leave his detachment during a campaign, even in the absence of the enemy. It is also prohibited to take food and other supplies without paying a certain amount; This is how it should be done in an enemy country. Our dear Englishmen, whose service /Duke/ values, should not be subjected to insults or other harassment. Enemy women and children should be treated with respect. Rape is punishable by death. Also, under /fear/ of severe punishment, soldiers are forbidden to swear in the name of God, the Holy Evangelists and to blaspheme. All women of easy virtue must leave the camp before the start of hostilities."

The Lausanne Ordinance (preserved in Italian translation thanks to a copy dated May 13 by the Milanese ambassador Giacomo Panigarola) was the last major military decree of Charles the Bold known to date. Only indirect evidence remains of the subsequent reorganization of the Burgundian army.

Thus, according to the reports of the military treasury, Karl the Bold in 1476 carried out the final division of his troops by type of weapon. All gendarmes were consolidated into 12 companies of heavy cavalry (100 soldiers per company), all horse archers - into 24 companies of light cavalry (100 soldiers per company). The Ordinance infantry was consolidated into three corps of 1,000 soldiers. The buildings were still divided into hundreds, quarters and chambers.

3. The process of forming ordinance companies.

In fact, the conductios appointed by the Duke commissioned companies a year after their appointment. For example, throughout 1471, the ordinance companies were replenished with recruits and gradually brought their quantitative composition closer to the declared standards, which were officially announced in the Abbeville Ordinance. Thus, the composition of Olivier de La Marche's company, stationed in January 1472 in Abbeville, included 9 designiers, 10 chief dechambres, 79 gendarmes, 293 horse archers and 160 infantry (94 pikemen, 34 culverigniers, 10 crossbowmen and 22 foot archers). Gradually, La Marche's company was completed and became operational (see table data).

TABLE. List of personnel of companies No. 1, 2, 3 in 1472.

The companies were formed from volunteers who arrived at collection points, passed a screening commission and were enrolled in the unit.

Thus, in the journal for registering the arrival of recruits for the formation of company No. 18 (conductor Jacques de Dommarien), which was kept by the bailiff of Aval Guy d'Uzy, for three days in February 1473 it was written:

• February 18: 1 gendarme with 4 horses, 4 Picardy archers;
• February 19: 6 gendarmes, each with 4 horses (2 gendarmes from Burgundy, 2 from Lorraine and 2 from Picardy), 2 Lorraine crossbowmen;
• February 20: 2 gendarmes, each with 4 horses, a squire from Chatillon with 4 horses, etc.
• On March 15, 1473, the duke's commissioners checked how the recruitment of company No. 19 (conductor Jean de Jaucourt, seigneur de Villarnoy) was progressing: 44 gendarmes and cranequiniers, mostly from Savoy. Also in the recruiting company, 2 of the 4 positions of squadron chief were occupied - by Antoine de Sallenovo (in 1476 he would lead company No. 10), a knight, and Jacques de La Sera, a squire. At the same time, the other part of the formed company stood as a garrison in the castle of Chatillon.

The shortage of volunteers could be covered by the feudal conscription. For example, in 1475-1476. The nobles of Walloon Flanders set up an Arrièreban to conduct military operations in Lorraine, as well as to saturate the garrison units in Picardy. The document contains the following entry:

“The lord de Wavrin, an old knight, wishing to serve the monsignor /duke/, sent his bastard to Lorraine, accompanied by three gendarmes and six horse archers; of these, six archers were sent to Saint-Quentin in the order under the command of Monsignor de Ravenstein.”

We are probably talking about Ordinance Company No. 6, whose commander, Bernard de Ravenstein, strengthened his riflemen at the expense of the feudal militia.

By the end of 1475, the Ordinance troops of Burgundy (including Italian contingents) included 20 companies. To the above listed connections the following have been added:

• the Burgundian company of Josse de Lalin;
• the Burgundian company of Louis de Soissons;
• Italian company Nicola de Montfort;
• Dutch company of Louis de Berlaymont (disbanded in 1475);
• the Italian company Trualo da Rossano (in December 1475 it was transformed into the companies of Alessandro da Rossano and Giovanni Francesco da Rossano);
• the Burgundian company of Jean de Dommarien;
• Savoy company of Jean de Jaucourt;
• Spanish-Portuguese company of Denis of Portugal;
• John Middleton's English company (was transferred to the guards);
• Italian company of Rogerono d'Accrocciamuro;
• Italian company of Pietro di Legnano;
• Italian company Antonio di Legnano.

The composition of the companies, especially the Italian, Dutch and English contingents, often did not coincide with the declared standards. The English company initially consisted of 100 gendarmes and 1,600 archers. Louis de Berlaymont's company consisted of 50 lances, 200 archers and 400 pikemen from Holland. Italian companies, as will be discussed below, also often did not meet the standards for numbers and composition. However, by December 1475 the number of company copies was brought to the standard hundred.

Despite the difficulties associated with recruiting and financing the ordinance army, its share in the armed forces of the principality steadily increased. At the end of 1472, a little more than a third of the entire Burgundian army consisted of soldiers on permanent pay. Thus, Chancellor Guillaume de Hugon in his report indicated that the “Army of Burgundy” included 1,200 copies of the ordinance, 1,000 copies of the feudal militia for the field army and 800 - 1,000 copies of the garrison troops. By the end of 1475, the regular army already accounted for two-thirds of all the armed forces of the principality and continued to increase its share. At the very beginning of 1476, three more ordinance companies were formed:

• Italian company of Ludovico Tagliani;
• the Flemish company of Josse d'Hellune;
• Italian company D. Mariano.

4. Armament and equipment of ordinance companies.

The armament and equipment of the soldiers of the ordinance company were spelled out in detail in the Abbeville Ordinance (the texts of the Boin-en-Vermandois and Saint-Maximin Ordinances slightly adjusted the original standards):

“The gendarme must have a full set of white harness, three good riding horses worth at least 30 crowns; he should have a war saddle and a chanfrien, and on the sallet the feathers are half white, half blue, and the same on the chanfrien. Without prescribing armor for horses, the Duke notes that he will be grateful to the gendarme who gets this /armor/

The gendarme's cutler must be armed with a steel breastplate or steel belly (?) on the outside and a brigandine on the inside; if he cannot have such armor, then he should have chain mail and a brigandine on the outside. In addition, he should have a salad, a ring necklace, small upper bracers, lower bracers, and plate gloves or gauntlets, depending on the armor he will be using. He must have a good dart or half-spear with a handle and a stop, and with it a good sword of medium length, straight, which he can hold with either one or two hands, as well as a good dagger, sharpened on both sides and half a leg long

The archer must ride a horse worth at least 10 crowns, dressed in a jacket with a high collar replacing a ringed necklace, and with good sleeves; he must have a ringed garment or a coat of chain mail under a jacket, which is made of no less than 12 layers of fabric, 3 of which are waxed, and 9 are simply sewn. To protect his head, he must have a good lettuce without a visor; in addition to a strong bow and a bunch of 2 and a half dozen arrows, he must be armed with a long two-handed sword and a dagger, sharpened on both sides and half-length

Foot culveriniers and crossbowmen must have chain mail. A pikeman must have a choice between jaque and mail, and if he chooses mail, he must also have a breastplate (glacon)."

Usually, the gendarme armed and supplied his assistant, the reveler, with a horse, and also supplied his page with a horse (sometimes the gendarmes equipped archers). Warriors of all other listed categories had to arm themselves, mainly at their own expense. But there were also centralized supplies of weapons, mainly related to ammunition and siege equipment:

“The artillery service, which the Duke ordered to be ready by April 1, 1473, taking into account past purchases for this purpose, must provide:

200 wuzhes, 1,600 lead hammers without blade and tip, 1,000 other lead hammers with blade, tip and hook, 4,000 forged pikes, 600 slingshots, 600 wooden blanks /shafts/ for ash darts, 1,200 ash blanks for shafts of powder loads /priboynikov or shuffle?/, 600 blanks for half-copies, of which 300 are from willow and 100 from spruce, shuffle 800, 300 forged shovels, 150 iron shovels, 300 wooden non-forged shovels, 800 crowbars and 600 hoes, 500 axes of two species, 300 sickles of two types, 3,030 bows made from wood purchased by the Duke and consisting of 4,300 blanks of yew wood, 600 old bows repaired, 600 feet of Antwerp rope, 100 salads repaired, 253 huvettes (?), 287 vuzhes, 623 pairs /tips?/ of spears, 172 chain mail, 172 gorgets, 80 chapels, 98 crefs (?), 17 hand mills, 50 old bow shafts, 100 purchased new bow shafts, 50 cases with a lid and 100 other cases without a lid, so that store the mentioned arrows and bowstrings and spindles /i.e. arrows for krenikin/, 50 small boxes for packing lead for serpentine, 15 lanterns, 200 wicks for lanterns, 80 carts, 200 repaired ribbed pavois, stored in Arras, covered with leather and oil painting in white and blue with the red cross of St. Andrew; purchased 120 hanging /with straps?/ pavois and 120 repaired others; purchased 4,000 shields of the Lombard type, painted in white and blue with the red cross of St. Andrew and gold flints, purchased 50 ribbed pavois, painted in black, in order to cover sappers<…>»

In May 1476, Charles the Bold ordered the purchase of several thousand pikes for his army in Lausanne.

5. Unification of ordinance companies. Liveries and flags.

The mass clothing of military contingents of medieval Europe, bearing one or another unification heraldic symbolism, is usually called liveries(livree, from Latin liberare - to free, to endow). In French texts of the second half of the 15th century. we find analogues of this term - coat(paletot or paltot) and journalade (journades). This or that type of clothing, endowed with heraldic symbols, also turned into a livery. Therefore, in chronicles and archival documents there are many references to livery robes, jackets, hooks, aketons (octons), etc.

The main unification sign placed on the liveries and weapons of Burgundian soldiers in the 15th century was the St. Andrew's Cross, first red (under John the Fearless), then white (under Philip the Good) and again red (under Charles the Bold). La Marche, in his Memoirs, gave a legendary story about how the St. Andrew's Cross became the main symbol of the Burgundian rulers:

“After the death of the first Christian king of Burgundy, Etienne, his son, reigned, who was king of Burgundy for fifty years. Obeying the will of Magdalene / those. New Testament Mary Magdalene/ and being a good Catholic, he ordered the cross to be delivered from Marseilles, on which the sacred body of Lord Saint Andrew was crucified... And as a sign of admiration for the Lord and respect for Saint Andrew, this King Etienne raised this cross over his army in many battles and wars. From that time on, it became customary among the Burgundians to honor the cross of St. Andrew with their sign.”

In fact, a piece of the cross of St. Andrew appeared in Burgundy under Philip the Brave, who received this relic from the monastery of St. Victor in Marseille. The image of the St. Andrew's cross as a military unification sign was probably first used by the Burgundians at the Battle of Aute (1408). More precise information regarding the use of the image of the scarlet St. Andrew's Cross by Burgundian soldiers dates back to 1411, when open armed struggle began between the Armagnac and Bourguignon parties. At the same time, the French royal troops supporting the Burgundians “they took off the straight white cross, which was the true sign of the king, and adopted the cross of St. Andrew, the motto of the Duke of Burgundy”

In Article No. 33 of the Treaty of Arras (1435), the French king officially recognized the right of Burgundian soldiers to wear the cross of St. Andrew, regardless of which united army they were currently in. If earlier the Burgundians who fought in the ranks of the French royal army were theoretically obliged to carry a straight white royal cross on their clothes and banners, then from now on their permanent emblem became the “oblique” St. Andrew’s cross, which was called the “Burgundian” cross.

The cross could be made up of either straight crossbars or knotted rods (the so-called “stumpy cross”). The latter style of the cross probably served political propaganda purposes and reflected the emblem of Orleans in the form of a knotted staff.

In 1471, the Abbeville Ordinance legalized the white and blue mi-parties and the red St. Andrew's crosses among the various military contingents of the ordinance companies:

“The archers and revelers will receive from the Duke for the first time a two-color blue and white coat, divided by mi-parti, and then they must dress in a similar way at their own expense. They may wear these coats in the presence of a lieutenant and wear them with the standard of a captain. The Duke also gives the gendarmes for the first time the cross of St. Andrew made of scarlet velvet, which they will attach to the white harness and which they will subsequently replace at their own expense.”

It is interesting that the text of the ordinance does not contain a direct indication that red St. Andrew's crosses were sewn onto the soldiers' liveries. At the same time, there is a sufficient amount of written and visual evidence confirming compliance with the decree of 1435 on the mandatory wearing of the St. Andrew's Cross on soldiers' clothing. For example, in 1472, the magistrate of Lille paid for the supply of material for the liveries of his militia sent to the contingent of the bastard of Burgundy: “forty missing pieces of cloth, half blue, half white, 14 sous 6 denier for one piece(aun is a measure of length equal to approximately 1.2 m.) for the coats of forty archers, pikemen and pioneers..., and one he with half a scarlet / cloth / at 16 sous for one he, to use for the cross of St. Andrew for these coats"

Ordinance companies, according to the message of the English herald-Pursivan Blumenthal, who saw them in September 1472, had 3 flags: "every one From the spearmen / those. company of gendarmes / had a standard and two pannons, one pannon for the revelers riding in front, the second for the infantry and a standard for the spearmen.”

In November 1472, the Ordinance of Bohin-en-Vermandois structured the flags of the regular companies. The main company flag, as before, remained the standard of the company commander - the conducto. Gendarmes and revelers gathered around him on the march and during the battle. The company also had two guidons: a large one for horse archers, and a small one for infantrymen. In addition, each of the 10 company dizanes had two cornets, probably also of different sizes: the first for horse archers, the second for infantrymen. Thus, the company should have had 20 cornets, 2 guidons and 1 standard.

In 1473, the Saint-Maximin Ordinance changed and at the same time streamlined the use of flags in the ordinance companies:

“The flags of different conductos will be of different colors. The cornets of each company will be the same color. First / those. cornet of the first of four squadrons of the company / will carry a large gold C, the second - two SS, the third - three SS, the fourth - four SS. Cell commanders' parcels / four in each squadron / will be the same color as the squadron's cornets. The first banderole of the first cornet will bear one C of gold and below 1; on the second parcel there will be one C and below 2; on the third - one C and below 3; on the fourth - one C and below 4. The parcel of the second cornet or squadron will four times carry two SS and below numbers 1,2,3,4, according to the chambers. The third squadron's parcels will all carry three SSS and below, according to the cameras, numbers 1,2,3,4. The parcels of the fourth squadron will carry four SSSS and, according to the cameras, numbers 1,2,3,4.”

In addition to 4 cornets and 16 parcels attached to the helmets of the cell commanders, each company retained the main standard and one guidon. According to La Marche, in 1474, gendarmes and revelers gathered under the standard on the campaign and in battle, and horse archers gathered under the guidon. La Marche made his recording in the siege Burgundian camp near Neisse. Another valuable eyewitness testimony dates back to the same time:

“At that time, the Duke had a large standard with the image of St. George, as well as various guidons and cornets for parts of the court troops, guard archers and twenty ordinance companies; The standard of the first company was golden with the image of St. Sebastian, as well as the duke's motto, flint, flint, flame and the cross of St. Andrew. 2 - image of St. Adrian in an azure field, 3 - image of St. Christopher in a silver field, 4 - St. Antoine in a red field, 5 - St. Nicholas in a green field, 6 - St. John the Evangelist in a black field, 7 - St. Martin in blood red, 8 - St. Hubert in gray, 9 - St. Catherine in white, 10 - St. Julian in purple, 11 - St. Margaret in beige, 12 - St. Avoy in yellow, 13 - St. Andrew in black and purple, 14 - St. Etienne in green and black, 15 - St. Peter in red and green, 16 - St. Anne in blue and purple, 17 - St. James in blue and gold, 18 - St. Magdalene in yellow and blue, 19 - St. Jeremiah in blue and silver, 20 - St. Lawrence in white and green.”

Rice. 6, 7. Standards and cornets of the Burgundian Ordinance Companies, 1472-1475.

Based on the above text, as well as an analysis of the surviving Burgundian flags and their painted copies, we can conclude that each order company was assigned a certain “supervising” saint - a practice that was generally common for European armies of that time: just remember “ Detachment of St. George" and "Detachment of the Banner of St. George" of the Italian condottieri Visconti, Landau, Urslingen and Barbiano, the brotherhood of the crossbowmen of St. George, the archers of St. Sebastian and the culevrinier of St. Barbara of the Flemish and Belgian urban communes or the French ordinance companies under "heavenly patronage" of St. Michael.

Another constant component of company flags was the motto and flint - either with the cross of St. Andrew (on the standards of the gendarmes and the cornets of the infantry?), or crossed arrows (on the guidons and cornets of the archers?) which demonstrated the company's affiliation with the House of Burgundy. The company conductor, if he was a banneret, brought into the regulated “pattern” of his unit only his “livery” color - it is in this vein, in my opinion, that the phrase of the ordinance should be interpreted: “The flags of different conductos will be different colors.” For example, in the position of conductor of company No. 13 (Probably St. Andrew) in the period from 1472 to 1477. Three people managed to visit: Philippe de Poitiers, Jean de Longueval and Fanaseoro di Capua. The colors of the flags of St. Andrew changed at least three times: black-violet, white-blue and yellow-white. The colors of St. Peter's flags changed at least three times: red-green, green and red. Moreover, it is known that in the post of conductor of company No. 15 (probably St. Peter) in the period from 1473 to 1477. Walerand de Soissons, Louis de Soissons and Philippe de Loyette stayed in turn.

In the “Lucerne Book of Flags” (Bern Historical Museum) 4 identical white and blue guidons of St. Anne, St. Trinity, St. Hubert and St. Andrew, captured at Murten, are copied. What caused such an extraordinary, emphatically ducal coloring of the flags? We can only guess.

Another mystery: the vast majority of Burgundian cornets known today contradict the provisions of the Saint-Maximin Ordinance. Contemporary researcher Nicolas Michel wrote in this regard:

“Unfortunately, the author has not found a single flag on which the numbers and letters denoting a company and a squadron would have been applied in strict accordance with the rules set forth in Ordinance 1473; perhaps these rules had been changed by the time the flags were captured, or the artist copied the symbols incorrectly in the 17th century.”

At the same time, the Burgundian flags are clearly subordinated to a certain system. Thus, many of them depict regulated symbols in the form of the letters “C”, Latin numerals and small rhombuses (I will denote them with the symbol *): cornet of St. James the Younger “*I**”, cornet of St. Bartholomew “C”, St. Andrew's cornet "VIIJ", St. Philip's cornet "C/VI" (red field), another St. Philip's cornet "C/*III*" (white field), two white and blue cornets (guidon?) St. George (?) “*III*” and “II”.

The "Friborg Book of Flags" (Friborg Archives) contains an image of a Burgundian cornet (or a fragment thereof), on the red field of which, immediately after the golden St. Andrew's cross, three intertwined letters "C" are placed. This flag, and perhaps even the aforementioned cornet of St. Bartholomew, can only be considered as examples of more or less accurate implementation of the instructions of the Saint-Maximin Ordinance. The numbers “VIIJ” and “VI” indicate that there were clearly more cornets than the regulated ones 4. O. de La Marche wrote that the instructions of the Saint-Maximin Decree regarding the typification of flags in the company and their practical use were not followed already in 1474 , who himself was the conductor of company No. 1 during the indicated period:

“Each company has three ranks of infantry, there is a captain, a mounted gendarme and a port-enseigne (i.e. standard bearer) with a guidon; and for every hundred people there is a mounted gendarme-centurion, who carries another, shorter flag-enseigne"

La Marche also noted that the company horse archers were organized into 4 squadrons of 75 people each and had a common guidon. Thus, according to La Marche, the Burgundian company order of 1474 had the following flags: 1 standard of gendarmes, 1 guidon of horse archers, 1 guidon of infantry and 3 ansenes (probably larger cornets) of infantry “hundreds”. If we assume that each infantry hundred, in accordance with its administrative division, had 3 cornets of smaller size, not indicated by La Marche, then the number of flags in the company infantry will increase to 12. In this case, the presence of the number “VIIJ” on the cornet of St. Andrew can be explained .

6. Field camp of the Ordinance companies.

A sharp surge in Burgundian military activity, which coincided with the reign of Charles the Bold, forced the Burgundian army to spend a significant amount of time in field camps. In this regard, the importance of tent and marquee services, headed master of tents. Noting the importance of this service and the great responsibility of its chief, O. de La Marche wrote:

“The Duke pays for a good thousand awnings and a thousand pavilions for his companies, for receiving foreign ambassadors, for servants and gendarmes of the Duke’s Hotel; and for each campaign, the master of tents prepares new tents and new pavilions with funds /allocated/ by the prince; the maintenance of the teams, the work and the purchase of fabric alone costs more than thirty thousand livres.”

Temporary housing for field conditions were divided into:

• awnings(tentes) - vertically oriented tents with a round or oval base, with one, less often, two central support poles;
• tentlets(tentelletes) - smaller tents, often with a square or rectangular base;;i>
• pavilions or pavilions(pavillons) - horizontally oriented tents with two or more main support poles.

The variety of names for temporary camp dwellings is reflected in numerous documents of that era. Thus, the accounting sheet of the Lille Arsenal for 1473 lists "renovated old tents and pavilions, 271 purchased square pavilions, 32 tents, a wooden house for the Duke, two pavilions for the Duke of Brittany, a stable for the said Duke"

For the Lorraine campaign of 1475, the Burgundian army was sent “the house of the Duke, for /transportation/ which requires 7 carts, 3 pavilions, an awning for the Duke, 400 pavilions for the ordinance companies and gentlemen of the services of the Duke's Hotel, 350 new stables, 26 awnings with two poles, 7 pieces of awnings for the Duke's stable, 2 awnings for sentries, 16 other tents and pavilions for masters.”

In 1476, they were sent to the Burgundian army camp in La Riviera “600 small tents and pavilions, 100 square pavilions, 2 wooden houses, 130 square tents, 50 square tents, 6 large tents and 6 large square pavilions, and one more wooden house”

The number of people and horses housed in standard army tents and stable tents is easily calculated, thanks to an archival record from 1473: “In addition, the Duke ordered the calculation of 20 pavilions for 100 spears and one / pavilion / for the conducto, the cost of which would be 2,804 florins, and for each company of 100 spears 101 stables, each for 6 horses, which in total for 16 the mouth is 1616 stables, the price of which, at the rate of 20 florins per stable, will be about 32,320 florins.” Based on the prescribed strength of the ordinance company of 900 people (800 combatants and 100 servants), it turns out that 1 pavilion was designed for 45 people.

Judging by the miniatures and engravings of that era (especially worth noting is the series of prints by V. A. Crews “Pavilions and Awnings of the Duke of Burgundy” and miniatures from the “Chronicles” of Schilling and Schodoler, which, taken together, depict precisely the Burgundian field camps), as well as surviving invoices for the work of the Burgundian artist Jean Annekar, the outer layer of tents and marquees could be painted with oil paints or tempera. Most often they depicted the cross of St. Andrew and a flint with tongues of flame. The tents of noble gentlemen could bear images of their coats of arms. Bright pennants made of silk (for the nobility) or linen were mounted on the flagpoles.

The canopies of tents and tents consisted of separate parts - the roof and the walls laced to it (later the roof and walls were sewn into one whole). The central poles were dug into the ground with their bases and reinforced with guy ropes. Streamers could be placed both inside the tent (this is clearly visible in the engraving by V. A. Crews “Tent”) and outside. Several dozen Burgundian rope bays for the camp structure have been preserved (the Swiss mistakenly took them for ropes for tying up prisoners) - in the Historical Museum of Thun and in the Historical Museum in the Lucerne Town Hall (inv. No. 877). The ropes are woven from hemp threads, their average length is 14 m. The Burgundian army was accompanied during the Lorraine campaign of 1475 “2 other comrades to carry 4 gates for tensioning awnings, 20 carpenters for awnings and pavilions, 200 other awning installers.” During the hike, tents and pavilions were stored in canvas bags.

The Lausanne Ordinance (1476) prescribed the procedure for setting up a field camp and its internal structure. Obviously, Charles the Bold created this decree, being under the impression of ancient descriptions of the field camp of the Roman army:

“The quartermaster is responsible for the quartering of the army in the following order:

Each of the parts of the camp assigned to one of the army corps should first of all be divided into two separate quarters for the two battle lines, each of these quarters should be divided into three parts, the first two for the companies and the third for the infantry of each battle line. In addition, the conductor must place separately the gendarmes and separately the archers of his company, distributed among squadrons and cells. Infantrymen must also live in hundreds, divided into quarts of 25 people

For every high commander there will be accommodation established in the center of his army corps, captains will be lodged in the center of their battle lines, company commanders in the center of their companies, squadron commanders in the center of their squadrons, and chamber commanders in the center of their detachments."

Often the Burgundian camp was surrounded by coupled wagons, which formed a fortified perimeter - Wagenburg(German: Wagenburg). Burgundian Wagenburgs are known to have been installed near Versailles (1417), Rupelmonde (1452), Montlhéry (1465), Neuss (1475), Lausanne and Murten (1476). This is what the Burgundian Wagenburg looked like near Ecluse (Sluys) (1468) in the description of Georges Chatellain:

“The camp was perfectly organized, like no other in the world; it resembled a large city, in which tents formed streets and crossroads, with squares and markets in which merchants sold their goods; and with taverns, like in Paris. The walls, built from carts, were very carefully guarded by armed men, so that no one dared to approach them.”

For every night, the Wagenburg guard received a “night cry” and a password:

• Sunday - “Jesus Christ”;
• Monday - “Virgin Mary”;
• Tuesday - “St. Mark";
• Wednesday - “St. John the Theologian";
• Thursday - “St. Jacob";
• Friday - “Holy Cross”;
• Saturday - “St. Nikolai."

7. Italian companies.

In the system of the Ordinance Army of Charles the Bold, companies consisting of Italian mercenaries occupied a special place.

In 1465, two Neapolitan condottieres Nicola de Montfort, Comte de Campobasso, and Giacomo Galeotto, whose troops were part of the contingent of Charles the Bold's ally Jean of Calabria, Duke of Lorraine, helped the Burgundians besiege Paris.

In 1471, the ranks of the Burgundian army were supplemented by contingents of Italian mercenaries under the leadership of the brothers Antonio de Corradi di Legnano and Pietro de Piemonte di Legnano. From February to April 1472, the company of Antonio, the eldest of the brothers, consisting of 100 spears, was stationed in the Picardy city of Corby, on the border with France.

It should be noted that initially Charles the Bold assessed the Italian mercenaries as the most disciplined, experienced and warlike soldiers in Europe. Fascinated by ancient history and the exploits of Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Pompey and Caesar, the Duke of Burgundy expected to see in the Italian fighters the descendants of the invincible Roman legionnaires. It is no coincidence that Charles the Bold negotiated with the government of Venice regarding the possibility of recruiting the famous Venetian condottiere Bartolomeo di Colleoni into his service, who, as planned, was supposed to "bring 1000 Italian gendarmes and 1500 infantry to serve the Duke of Burgundy for three years." Negotiations continued for two years until they finally reached a dead end.

On September 29, 1472, Charles the Bold entered into a contract with the Neapolitan condottiere Trualo de Muro da Rossano, who led an Italian company in Burgundian service consisting of 150 "Italian copies"(in 1 spear - 1 gendarme, 2 revelers, 2 armed servants and 1 page), 100 mounted crossbowmen and 200 infantrymen - provisions.

The contract, drawn up in Latin, specified the armament of the soldiers, their salaries and the time frame for recruiting the company. The gendarme had to have full armor of the “Italian style” with a plume on the helmet, the revelers were armed with salad helmets, cuirasses, bracers and darts, and one of the armed servants also wore a cuirass. The service fee was set in the following amounts:

• gendarme - 30 francs;
• horse crossbowman - 7.5 francs;
• infantryman - 6 francs.

The monthly salary of Trualo da Rossano himself (“conducto and captain of the Italian company”) was 100 ecus (150 francs 32 sous). Moreover, in January 1473, Rossano was supposed to receive a loan in the amount of 21,500 ecus to recruit a company. In addition, the contract specified a number of details. So Trualo’s two sons, Alessandro and Giovanni Francesco, took command of detachments of 50 copies from their father’s company, the company itself had to leave Italy before March 1, 1473 and on April 1 stand under the Burgundian banners.

Rossano met the deadlines specified in the contract, in the spring of 1473 he led the formed company to Burgundy and, according to the instructions of the duke's commissioners, occupied apartments in the city of Salins and its environs.

At the same time as Rossano’s company, 100 Italian copies of the “six horses” of Giacomo de Vishy, ​​Count of Saint-Martin, stood under the Burgundian banner. On November 10, 1472, Charles the Bold entered into a contract with the Count of Campobasso, who entered Burgundian service as captain of the largest mercenary Italian contingent. In January 1473, Campobasso’s old ally Giacomo Galeotto also concluded a similar contract with the Duke of Burgundy. At the same time, Galeotto brought with him detachments of condottieri Olivero da Sommo, Giacomo da Mantua, Antonello di Verona and others, personally selected by him.

Burgundian officials periodically held reviews of the Italian companies, checking the actual strength of the troops with those stipulated in the contract. Thus, on May 29, 1474, a review of the Rossano company was held in Montjustin, which revealed 96 copies of “six horses” (instead of the standard 150), 128 mounted crossbowmen (instead of 100) and 333 infantrymen (instead of 200). The captain general of Burgundy, Claude de Neufchatel, who led the inspection, pointed out to Rossano the discrepancies that made it difficult to pay for the service. Subsequently, Rossano rectified the situation and brought the size of the company in line with the contract schedule.

On June 7 of the same year, an inspection of the company of the Comte de Saint-Martin was held in Lux, which revealed 102 gendarmes (instead of the required 100). However, for each gendarme there were not 5 auxiliary assistants, but significantly fewer (instead of the required 600 horses, only 512 were available). Saint-Martin explained the shortage of men and horses by the fact that some of the soldiers deserted because they were dissatisfied with the six-month delay in the payment of salaries (according to the contract, payments were supposed to be made once every 3 months). As a result, the General Financier of Burgundy, Jean Vury, allocated money only to pay for the service of 86 spears from the Saint-Martin company.

At the beginning of June 1475, reviews of the mercenary Italian contingents were held near Neuss. The Campobasso company had 237 gendarmes, 132 mounted crossbowmen and 164 infantrymen in service. In Galeotto's company, the inspection revealed 144 gendarmes, 294 infantrymen and 25 non-combatants. Saint-Martin's company was brought up to the standard strength of 100 six-horse spears and 300 archers. 27 German culveriniers and 13 non-combatants were assigned to it. The companies of Rogerono d'Accrocciamuro, Count de Celano, and the Legnano brothers were also brought to the standard composition. Moreover, this was done due to the numerical strength of Campobasso’s detachment. The latter lost not just his soldiers, but also the privileged position of captain of the largest mercenary contingent and, of course, the main material incentive of any mercenary - money. Probably the echoes of Count Campobasso's resentment associated with the redeployment of his company near Neuss played an important role in the tragic events that unfolded in the vicinity of Nancy at the end of 1476 - beginning of 1477.

According to the list dated May 29, 1474, among the 242 soldiers of Rossano's company, marked by name, mostly Lombards, there were 7 Germans, 7 Slavs, 5 Savoyards, 3 Greeks, 2 Burgundians and 2 Spaniards. Most of the Italian cavalry contingent itself consisted of residents of cities such as Milan (19 people), Venice (16 people), Verona (10 people), Cremona (8 people), Parma (8 people), Brescia (7 people), Pavia (7 people), etc. In the service records, only the name of the gendarme and his place of birth were often noted, for example: Jacobo from Verona, Laurenzio from Modena, Salvator from Novara, Gianni from Brescia, Carlos from Ferrara, Francisco from Verona, Paolo from Modena. There were also very simple options: Domenico-Lombardian, Florentine, Modenetian.

Based on the surviving archival data, it is possible to trace the combat path of certain Italian companies in Burgundian service. Thus, the Rossano company was stationed in Burgundy from April 1473, with headquarters in Zalen. In January 1474, the company garrisoned Ranev, after which it departed for Nivernay, where it resisted the French invasion forces. On November 14, 1474, together with the company of Antonio di Legnano, Rossano's soldiers took part in the unsuccessful battle of Ericur. Rossano's company met the spring of the following year in the vicinity of Pontaille, where it fought with the Swiss. Rossano himself, with 30 spears, stood as a garrison in the border fortress of Chateau-Lambert. In September 1475, the company took part in the Lorraine campaign as part of the corps of Antoine of Burgundy.

In December, on the basis of the disbanded Rossano company, two new companies were created under the command of his sons, Alessandro and Giovanni Francesco. On March 2, these companies took part in the battle of Granson, and then, together with the rest of the Burgundian army, were concentrated near Lausanne. Trualo da Rossano himself was appointed captain of the battle, which included the companies of both of his sons and a detachment of 1000 infantry. During the battle of Murten, Italian companies suffered heavy losses (up to 2/3 of their personnel, according to Panigarola). Giovanni Francesco’s company was also defeated, and the company commander himself was killed.

After the rupture of the treaty of alliance between Burgundy and Milan (August 9, 1476), Troileau returned to Italy. His son Alessandro, commanding a company, survived the disaster at Nancy, after which he entered into a contract with the heir of Charles the Bold, Maria, and continued to serve under the Burgundian banner.

Close acquaintance with the Italian mercenaries soon freed Charles the Bold from illusions about them. The Lombards turned out to be ordinary “soldiers of fortune,” no better or worse than others, greedy, unbridled and not as warlike as the Duke wanted. Among the mercenaries there were many criminals hiding from Italian justice under the cross of St. Andrew. Some of them were trying to elude the vendetta waiting for him at home, others simply wanted to earn money without risking much of their own skin.

The very first defeat of Charles the Bold at the Battle of Granson led to mass desertion of Italian mercenaries. The Duke tried to combat this by introducing a system of fines. However, deductions from salaries, which were already paid very irregularly, embittered the remaining soldiers and captains. After Granson, Count Giberto da Correggio deserted, taking 50 copies with him. After Murten, Ludovico Tagliani deserted, having managed to thwart the Burgundian plan to kidnap Philibert, the young Duke of Savoy.

The stationed Italian companies often became a scourge of God for the surrounding residents. Thus, in 1474, the magistrate of Dijon flatly refused to place a Lombard garrison in the city, and also demanded compensation for the atrocities committed by soldiers from the company of Trualo da Rossano. In April of the following year, heavily armed Lombards recaptured one of their compatriots, accused of robbery, from the Dijon prison guards.

However, in the last years of the Burgundian Wars, companies of Italian mercenaries became the most significant part of the army of Charles the Bold, paying for the Duke's defeat with the greatest losses of personnel.

8. Assessment of the fighting qualities of the ordinance companies of Karl the Bold.

In general, the national composition of the Ordinance army of Charles the Bold, as already indicated above, was very diverse. The Burgundian element itself was greatly “diluted” by the Flemings, Picardians, Gennegausians, Dutch, Savoyards, Spaniards, Portuguese, English and Italians (Lombards), and among the latter there were even Moors.

Such a multinational composition had an extremely negative impact on discipline and the degree of interaction in battle. It is safe to say that the Burgundian army was corroded by deep internal contradictions, which sharply reduced its combat effectiveness. This was especially evident during long stays and during siege. Thus, the Picardians refused to live in a joint camp with the Italians, accusing the latter of being addicted to sodomy. At the same time, there were eyewitnesses who claimed that the corpses of the pawnbrokers allegedly smelled terrible.

The British, distinguished by their athletic build and quarrelsome disposition, staged repeated soldier riots and fights with soldiers of other nationalities. Charles the Bold almost became a victim of one of these brawls, which happened in the camp near Neuss, and the British themselves were then killed throughout the camp, and their property was robbed.

In the Lausanne camp in May 1476, a massive fight took place between the Lombards on one side and the English, Picardians and Guelderns on the other. At the same time, the “allies” planned to completely destroy the Italian quarter of the camp. Panigarola noted with horror in his reports that every day in the Burgundian camp someone was certainly killed, and that he himself feared for his life.

The Burgundian army appeared before the eyes of observers far from everyday military life as a grandiose military machine: trellises of gendarmes in armor sparkling in the sun, detachments of archers in uniform liveries, first-class artillery, a forest of colorful silk banners splashing in the wind, the sounds of trumpets and drums, a snow-white blanket of tents and the tents of gigantic field camps, larger in size than many European cities! But behind the brilliant façade there were disastrous metastases of decomposition and interethnic enmity. Therefore, the Burgundian army, overcrowded with mercenaries who did not receive their salaries on time and hated each other, became easy prey for the homogeneous national militias of the enemy, who was less experienced in military affairs.

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XLegio © 2012