Schiltron
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A schiltron or schiltrom or shiltron is a group of soldiers wielding outward-pointing pikes and/or other polearms to ward off cavalry attacks. The term does not denote any particular shape or alignment of the formation. There are two recorded Scottish instances of circular schiltrons: William Wallace's army at Falkirk, and Thomas Randolph's forces on the first day of Bannockburn. However, there are numerous accounts of rectilinear schiltrons - Glentrool, the main battle at Bannockburn, Myton, the Dupplin Muir, the Culblean, the Halidon Hill, the Neville's Cross and the Otterburn.
Although the schiltron is often seen as a principally defensive formation, it was not the defensive use of schiltrons that proved decisive at the Battle of Bannockburn; instead, Robert the Bruce had drilled his troops in the offensive use of the pike (requiring great discipline), and he engaged the English host on unfavourable ground. This was similar to the pike charges that brought victory at the Stirling Bridge. 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."[1]
Tactically, schiltrons are related to the tercios of the 16th Century and the Napoleonic infantry squares, which both used pikemen to defend against cavalry.
The word "schiltron" 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 rather large Viking circle 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).
[edit] Notes
- ^ Spencer-Churchill, Winston L. A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Volume 1, The Birth of Britain (New York: Bantam Books, 1974, 12h printing), p.225.
