Everything about Schiltron totally explained
A
schiltron (also
schiltrom or
shiltron) is a group of
soldiers wielding outward-pointing
pikes or other
polearms, to ward off
cavalry attacks. The term doesn't denote any particular shape or alignment of the formation, and is most often associated with Scottish pike formations during the
Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
Etymology
The term dates from at least 1000 AD and derives from
Old English roots expressing the idea of a "shield-troop". Some researchers have also posited this etymological relation may show the schiltron is directly descended from the
Anglo-Saxon shield wall, and still others give evidence "schiltron" is a name derived from a Viking circular formation (generally no less than a thousand fighters) in extremely close formation, intended to present an enemy's cavalry charge with an "infinite" obstacle (that is, a perimeter horses refuse to breach). The
Picts used to employ spears in a block schiltron formation as the backbone of their armies.
Examples
There are two recorded
Scottish instances of circular schiltrons:
William Wallace's army at
Falkirk (1298), and
Thomas Randolph's forces on the first day of
Bannockburn (1314). However, there are numerous accounts of rectilinear schiltrons -
Glentrool, the main battle at Bannockburn,
Myton (1319),
Dupplin Muir (1332),
Culblean (1335),
Halidon Hill (1333),
Neville's Cross (1346) and
Otterburn (1388).
At Falkirk, the formation was fortified by driving stakes into the ground before the men, with ropes between, and by employing short-bow
archery. The tactic was adopted by the
Flemish against
French cavalry at
Courtrai (1302).
Defensive and offensive use
Although the schiltron is often seen as a principally defensive formation, it was the offensive use of several of these formations that proved decisive at the
Battle of Bannockburn.
Robert the Bruce had drilled his troops in the offensive use of the pike (requiring great discipline), and he forced the English forces to fight on unfavourable ground. This was similar to the pike charges that brought victory at
Stirling Bridge (1297). Bruce's new tactic was a response to a crushing defeat for the Scots at
Falkirk (1298), when the traditional use of the schiltron failed in the face of
English archers.
Later evolution
Tactically, schiltrons are related to the 15th century
pike square, the
tercio of the 16th and 17th centuries, and the
Napoleonic infantry squares, which used either
pikemen or
bayonet-armed
infantrymen to defend against cavalry.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Schiltron'.
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