04-28-2010, 02:29 PM
Thanks for you comments.
In fact this is the reason why I pointed out the fact of best quality circumstances :
small group but wide and deep enough to start figuring a little phalanx,
indoor (heated), lines on the floor, even ground, etc
no challenge (no ennemy), no run...
hoplites could just concentrate on marching without any other worries, and nevertheless, we went to the right !
I guess that in a more realistic situation (even mock battle with some tension), outdoors, wider and deeper phalanx, the drift would be all the bigger... may be ending in a big mess in the middle !
As far as men's width is concerned, we use to overlap shields by 20 % on each side.
In fact, to my opinion, in a very close order it must have been 30%, but we make it a bit wider so that our phalanx doesn't appear too narrow and ridiculous to the public ! 6 aspis wide is nothing !
And for me, overlap is inevitably right over left :
- if you put your bent left arm in front of you, it will not be 100% perpendicular to your marching direction, unless you make a special effort for it. I am rather tall and strong but my aspis is heavy enough not to create extra efforts in a unnatural position !
- when we go "en garde" the right foot goes bakwards to put us in a kind or matial arts position which you find everywhere.
- if you hold you shield on the left side (normal) and you close it in front of you, the right part of your rim will naturally overlap the left side of your colleague on the right.
(of course, by doing so, I find everytime one of ours to overlap the "wrong" way, which annoys the whole line... all the more when marching, not to mention running, nor the othismos...)
- when you come to shock, if your shield overlaps the "wrong" way,
1 you get it into your breast,
2 you prevent yourself from using your doru at ease (you cannot fence, change grip etc) while in the "right" way, you can open you shield to strike the way you want or can
3 you give an opportunity to your foe in presenting your left shoulder to his weapon.
- finally, when you abandon this position to go back to normal, you cannot open your shield without striking the one on your left side.
For all these reasons, I cannot see how one could willingly overlap left on right.
But if anybody experienced it otherwise please let me know.
In fact this is the reason why I pointed out the fact of best quality circumstances :
small group but wide and deep enough to start figuring a little phalanx,
indoor (heated), lines on the floor, even ground, etc
no challenge (no ennemy), no run...
hoplites could just concentrate on marching without any other worries, and nevertheless, we went to the right !
I guess that in a more realistic situation (even mock battle with some tension), outdoors, wider and deeper phalanx, the drift would be all the bigger... may be ending in a big mess in the middle !
As far as men's width is concerned, we use to overlap shields by 20 % on each side.
In fact, to my opinion, in a very close order it must have been 30%, but we make it a bit wider so that our phalanx doesn't appear too narrow and ridiculous to the public ! 6 aspis wide is nothing !
And for me, overlap is inevitably right over left :
- if you put your bent left arm in front of you, it will not be 100% perpendicular to your marching direction, unless you make a special effort for it. I am rather tall and strong but my aspis is heavy enough not to create extra efforts in a unnatural position !
- when we go "en garde" the right foot goes bakwards to put us in a kind or matial arts position which you find everywhere.
- if you hold you shield on the left side (normal) and you close it in front of you, the right part of your rim will naturally overlap the left side of your colleague on the right.
(of course, by doing so, I find everytime one of ours to overlap the "wrong" way, which annoys the whole line... all the more when marching, not to mention running, nor the othismos...)
- when you come to shock, if your shield overlaps the "wrong" way,
1 you get it into your breast,
2 you prevent yourself from using your doru at ease (you cannot fence, change grip etc) while in the "right" way, you can open you shield to strike the way you want or can
3 you give an opportunity to your foe in presenting your left shoulder to his weapon.
- finally, when you abandon this position to go back to normal, you cannot open your shield without striking the one on your left side.
For all these reasons, I cannot see how one could willingly overlap left on right.
But if anybody experienced it otherwise please let me know.
FROESSEL
