Byzantine Weapons and Warfare

[Orlirva]

On page 2&3 of this thread the menavlion is discussed (and later 17-18). Great info there. I am at the point where the rubber hits the road and I will make myself one or two, so wanted to take this opportunity to review & ask advice.
I reviewed Phokas last night (Sowing the teeth of the Dragon) and went through the facts... that it was heavy – as thick as you can hold comfortably and securely (which to my medium large hands is 1.5 inch diameter) , with a long metal point in the 20-30inch range with another 5-7 foot shaft so possibly in the 7-10 foot range total… I think 8-9 feet total is good. One of the published articles seemed to argue for an ancient roman-style sword & (heavy) philium soldier, one seemed to suggest it was something along the lines of a polearm and perhaps something like a boar spear, as mentioned in one of the posts above
(Anastasiadis is quoted above, the other is McGreer, Infantry versus cavalry: the Byzantine response, REB 46 1988 pp 135-45 Menaulion-menaulatoi, Diptycha, 4, 1986-8 pp 53-57.)
Also, the shaft should be not from hewn lumber, but from a complete sapling… perhaps with the implication that it should still be somewhat green. This would certainly be springier than a shaft cut from a hewn oak tree, which may be critical if the planted spear is taking the weight of a moving dying warhorse. (However, I don't really buy the idea suggested by Dawson's illustration that it’s a bark-covered somewhat crooked tree branch. It might be in emergency field conditions, but I expect the normal item to be straight, tapered, and with bark stripped off.)

The menavlatoi story seems extraordinary and well worth telling in a living history setting. The role of the menavlatoi is that of elite light infantry, armed with the short spear and a slightly smaller shield. The roles include (in the early 10th C. ) running out many yards in front of the infantry to attack heavy cavalry, especially by gutting the horses and then killing the riders as they fell. (A contemporary source was quoted who assured us that it looked lunatic but worked marvelously. ) It sure would be courageous. Possibly, it worked best as a surprise tactic, such as if the cavalry was approaching to fire missiles rather than to charge home, thinking it was out of range of any danger save for the odd arrow, and the menavlatoi changed the agenda with a spirited shock attack. (Presumably the heavy infantry would start advancing to cover the menavlatoi and drive back the enemy who would otherwise cut down the menavlatoi as they tried to disengage)

Later the role was to reinforce – at the last moment- the line of heavy infantry but not from the rear, but as the front rank. Presumably, the longer spears of the heavy infantry would partially cover the menavlatoi.
Another role was to plug any normal gaps between formations and stop incursions of cavalry, and also to plug potentially catastrophic gaps forced by the enemy; another was skirmishing.
All roles for only the best most independent self-possessed, self-motivated, fit and mobile, highly trained professionals. All NCO material, at least.

Having reviewed the evidence, I personally feel the menavlion is a sort of polearm, (not to be thrown). When I was reading the requirements I envisioned something like a hunting spear, with a long blade and a smaller set of flanges that perhaps hooked back, so that a missed thrust might still serve to hook and dismount a rider. I thought that partisans, glaives, voguls and ranseurs and others might be along the right path. As I researched the various shapes, I noted that several seemed to originate from around 1000CE, and primarily as an infantryman’s anti-cavalry tool. Thus these seem entirely in the spirit of the menavlion. However, I think that if the menavlion was something like an axe on a stick that would have been mentioned. So if I think of it as something like a partisan, it would be a very simple partisan that is mostly just a slightly wide spear blade with some small wings. (Question…Do we know of a collection of ca 1000ce roman polearms?) I looked at the iconography and found some interesting items.

Also see picture of the ponty narrow heads... a possible take that can't be ruled out, but I think unlikely.

First, a couple of fellows sitting around on a plate holding what seem to be heavy 7foot long spears with an interesting blade that looks a bit like a stylized skinny Christmas tree…. Mostly a thrusting blade but would be nasty if swung at or raked across an unprotected target, like a human face or equine nose. They are wearing sandals and have bare legs, so probably they are infantry… infantry with smallish shields. I am curious about the helmet the figure on the right has on… any opinion? Any other period pictures of guys hanging around with short spears? This is my candidate pictured menavlion - but I expect variety in actual use over time.

Since the hunting spear is a possible model, I attached an interesting set of hunting spear illustrations. One (with tiger) seems to have a fairly simple spearhead that is fairly long – 12 inches at least on a modestly heavy pole that may be 1.5 inches diameter.

The bas-relief one seems to show a perhaps 2 inch diameter pole with a simple triangular head.

The mosaic with boar is most interesting. It shows a venabulum as a stout 6-7 foot pole that seems to taper from very thick in the back ( 2.5 inches?) to 2 to about 1.5 inches in the handling area. The blade is a wide triangle that narrows, and is followed by a curved hook back blade that will also serve to keep the animal from running up the shaft.

I illustrated this venabulum point, and a speculative menavlion war variant that is longer, say 20-26 inches as called for in the documentation, and also pointier, as would be appropriate against a potentially leather or mail armored warhorse or warrior instead of an unarmored boar. for war use.. given the larger size and reach of the target, I think the overall length would be a bit longer than the 6-7 foot used for boar hunting… but not by much so I'm still thinking in the 8 or at most 9 foot length. (since this does not seem to be a close formation unit, the length may be customized to the man's height)

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