(WIP) High Medieval Infantry Tactics

This one will be a short one; I will be discussing infantry close-order tactics of the High Medieval (1000-1300 AD), with emphasis on the relationship with the shield-bearers and the archers (or crossbowmen). There will be some Islamic world sources to compare with the Christian European ones, so buckle up!

Las Huelgas Apocalypse, ~1220

"Our people arranged themselves as best as they could to receive their terrible assaults. So that they could hold together more firmly and remain steady they each placed their right knee on the ground and fixed the toes of their right foot in the soil and held the left foot forward with the left knee bent. They held a buckler in front of them in their left hand, or a targe or some other type of shield. In their right hand they held a lance, with the blunt end fixed into the ground, and the sharp end with its iron head pointing forward threateningly towards the attacking enemy. 

The king, who was very skilled in warfare, placed a crossbowman between each two who were protecting themselves with their shields like this, and another person next to him who could keep pulling back the crossbow quickly. So one person had the job of loading crossbows while the other kept firing bolts."

- attr. Richard de Templo, Itinerarium Regis Ricardi, ~1220

Now known as the Códice de las Siete Partidas, Alfonso el Sabio's ordinances mention a couple military formations, with one such formation dealing with infantry:

"They formed a corral, or enclosure, to protect their kings, so that they might remain in safety. They formed it with infantry, which was drawn up in three rows, one behind the other, and they tied their feet together so that they might not be able to run away, and made them hold the butts of their lances resting on the ground, with the blades pointed directly towards the enemy, and placed within their reach stones, darts, crossbows, or bows, by means of which they could shoot and defend themselves at a distance."

- Alfonso el Sabio, Livro de las legies, ~1260

Jean de Joinville likewise mentions crusaders thrusting the heels of their lances into the ground to resist a charge during the Seventh Crusade, which Joinville believed to be the cause of the Saracen horsemen to choosing not charge at all.

"Then we started to go ashore, and came up with the dinghy astern of the King's big ship; and his men began to shout to me, since I was getting ahead of them, to land alongside of the Banner of Saint Denis, which was going in front of the King in another vessel. But I paid no heed to them, but caused us to be landed opposite a big battalion of Turks, where there were about six thousand men on horseback.

So soon as they saw us touch they came spurring toward us. When we saw them coming, we stuck the points of our shields in the sand, and the staves of our lances in the sand with the points towards them; and when they saw that they could come no further without being run through the belly, they faced about and fled away."

- Jean de Joinville, Livre des Saintes Paroles et des bons Faiz de Nostre Saint Roy Looÿs, 1309

Notably, Fakhr-i Mudabbir's treatise likewise describes something quite similar:

"Place the infantry ahead of the cavalry to make a firm fortress [hisn]. In front of every foot soldier place a januvîyah or tariqah, or a sitārah as a protection against those who attack with sword, spear, or arrow. Behind each pair of men place an archer with a crossbow [jarkh] or with heavy arrows [nabalah]. Their role is to drive back the attackers."

 - Fakhr-i Mudabbir, آداب الحرب و الشجاعه, Adāb al-harb wa'l-Saja'a, ~1230

The "things" in front of the soldiers are types of shields.

And this too is similar to what the Andalusian al-Turtushi prescribed for fighting against the Franks of Northern Iberia:

"Here is the order of battle which we use in our country and which has shown itself to be the most effective in our encounters with our enemies. The infantry with 'complete shields' [al-daraq al-kāmilah], long spears [al-rumāh al-tuwāl] and pointed, piercing javelins [mazāriq], arrange themselves in several ranks [saff]. The butt of the spear is thrust into the earth with its front part pointing forwards towards the enemy and held against the man's chest. Each man has his left knee on the ground and holds the grip of his shield in his hand.

Behind these foot soldiers are the elite archers whose arrows can pierce mail hauberks [durū]. Behind the archers are the cavalry. When the Christians charge against the Muslims, the infantry remain in their positions, with their knees on the ground. When the enemy arrive at a short distance the archers shoot a cloud of arrows after which the foot soldiers throw their javelins and receive them [the enemy] on the points of their spears. After that the foot soldiers and the archers open up their ranks in an oblique movement to the right and to the left and, through the spaces thus made, the Muslim cavalry fall upon the enemy and put them to flight, if God has decided that this will be the case."

-  Abu Bakr Muhammad al-Turtushi, سراج الملوك, Siraj al-Muluk fi Suluk al-Muluk, ~1100

We should not assume that the practice of putting the shooters behind shield-bearers originated from the Franks and spread to the Saracens, or vice versa, since it is not a particularly unique thing (nor hard to come up with). The Tang, for example, likewise practiced it (at least according to the Song "武經總要"; neither the "通典" nor the "新唐書" mention it to my knowledge, but they do not go much in depth regarding formations). Nor should we assume that this practice was older than the 11th century amongst the Franks; European infantry doctrine prior to then placed relatively little emphasis on the shooters when compared to later periods, with the strength of their foot consisting, for the most part, of the spearmen.

This one was pretty short, but I hope you found it interesting!

- William