11-21-2006, 11:12 PM
I would appreciate some thoughts on the Menavlion / menaulion.
(borrowed from an old thread I posted elsewhere)
The military system described in Nikephoros Phokas' Praecepta Militaria is similar to that of Maurice’s time, with horsemen trained in shock and archery being the dominant arm, supported by a heavy infantry base with missile infantry arrayed amidst/behind the heavy foot. There is an additional component which puzzles me somewhat: the menavlatos. These are a variant of the heavy infantry, armed with a menavlion.
The standard heavy foot, like their predecessors in the time of Maurice, have large shields, long spears (pikes, really), and their main job is to provide a base of maneuver for the cavalry. They are formed up in blocks, with intervals between each block for the horsemen to retreat through, but also for missile troops to assemble and harass the foe. The menavlatoi are shock troops, but form up with the missile troops in most cases. The exception is when a strong enemy cavalry attack seems likely to break through the heavy infantry. In this case the menavlatoi are formed behind the pikemen, to form the final line of resistance to the enemy.
The regular heavy foot are armed with a shield of 6 spithames in length, and spears of (up to?) 25 – 30 spithames. The spithame is supposed to be about 8 inches, which makes for 48 inch shields and 16-20 foot pikes. The menavlatoi have smaller shields than the heavy foot, and a 1 orguia (1.8 m / 6 ft) shaft to the menavlion. The head of the menavlion is up to 2 ½ spithames (20 inches).
The question is: what sort of weapon is a menavlion, and how was it used? The text emphasizes the need for a strong shaft on this weapon, whereas the composition of the pike shafts is never discussed. The role of these men is clearly more dynamic than that of the pikes, and they are specifically mentioned as the last force to stop an enemy cavalry breakthrough. With a relatively short shaft and large head, the menavlion sounds suspiciously like a polearm of some sort. The menavlatoi do carry shields, but they are smaller than the body shields of the pikemen, and could be as small as a buckler, which would not interfere with polearm use.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
(This comes from Eric McGeer's Sowing the Dragon's Teeth, a translation of Nikephoros Phokas and Nikephoras Ouranos.)
(borrowed from an old thread I posted elsewhere)
The military system described in Nikephoros Phokas' Praecepta Militaria is similar to that of Maurice’s time, with horsemen trained in shock and archery being the dominant arm, supported by a heavy infantry base with missile infantry arrayed amidst/behind the heavy foot. There is an additional component which puzzles me somewhat: the menavlatos. These are a variant of the heavy infantry, armed with a menavlion.
The standard heavy foot, like their predecessors in the time of Maurice, have large shields, long spears (pikes, really), and their main job is to provide a base of maneuver for the cavalry. They are formed up in blocks, with intervals between each block for the horsemen to retreat through, but also for missile troops to assemble and harass the foe. The menavlatoi are shock troops, but form up with the missile troops in most cases. The exception is when a strong enemy cavalry attack seems likely to break through the heavy infantry. In this case the menavlatoi are formed behind the pikemen, to form the final line of resistance to the enemy.
The regular heavy foot are armed with a shield of 6 spithames in length, and spears of (up to?) 25 – 30 spithames. The spithame is supposed to be about 8 inches, which makes for 48 inch shields and 16-20 foot pikes. The menavlatoi have smaller shields than the heavy foot, and a 1 orguia (1.8 m / 6 ft) shaft to the menavlion. The head of the menavlion is up to 2 ½ spithames (20 inches).
The question is: what sort of weapon is a menavlion, and how was it used? The text emphasizes the need for a strong shaft on this weapon, whereas the composition of the pike shafts is never discussed. The role of these men is clearly more dynamic than that of the pikes, and they are specifically mentioned as the last force to stop an enemy cavalry breakthrough. With a relatively short shaft and large head, the menavlion sounds suspiciously like a polearm of some sort. The menavlatoi do carry shields, but they are smaller than the body shields of the pikemen, and could be as small as a buckler, which would not interfere with polearm use.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
(This comes from Eric McGeer's Sowing the Dragon's Teeth, a translation of Nikephoros Phokas and Nikephoras Ouranos.)
Felix Wang
