Sheltron

A sheltron (also sceld-trome, schiltrom or shiltron) is a compact body of troops forming a battle array, shield wall or phalanx.

The term sheltron is obsolete, but is most often associated with Scottish pike formations during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.

Contents

Etymology

The term dates from at least 1000 AD and derives from Old English roots expressing the idea of a "shield-troop".[1] 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 Viking circular 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). Matters are confused by the fact that the term in Middle English could clearly refer to a body of soldiers without reference to formation, including cavalry and archers.[2] The first mention of the schiltron as a specific formation of spearmen appears to be at the Battle of Falkirk in 1297.[3] There is, however, no reason to believe this is the first time such a formation was used and, indeed, may have had a long previous history in Scotland, as the Picts used to employ spears in block formation as the backbone of their armies.[4]

Examples of the formation

Circular schiltrons

There are two recorded Scottish instances of circular schiltrons: William Wallace's army at Falkirk (1298), and Thomas Randolph's forces on the first day of Bannockburn (1314).[5]

The circular formation is essentially static. At Falkirk, the formation was fortified by driving stakes into the ground before the men, with ropes between.[6] Charles Oman describes the formation thus:

Rectilinear schiltrons

There are numerous accounts of rectilinear schiltrons — they were employed at the battles of Glen Trool (1307), Bannockburn (the main battle), Myton (1319), Dupplin Muir (1332), Culblean (1335), Halidon Hill (1333), Neville's Cross (1346) and Otterburn (1388).

Unlike the circular schiltron, the rectilinear formation was capable of both defensive and offensive action. The offensive use of the schiltron is a tactical development credited to Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn. He had drilled his troops in the offensive use of the pike (requiring great discipline) and he was able to fight the English forces on flat, firm ground suitable for their large force of cavalry. Bruce's new tactic was a response to a crushing defeat for the Scots at Falkirk when the first recorded use of the schiltron by a Scottish army failed in the face of a combination of English archers and cavalry.[8]

Detailed descriptions of the formation are rare but those given by English chroniclers of Bannockburn demonstrate the essential features:

English examples

The term schiltron is also used by Barbour to describe English infantry at Bannockburn.[11] It is also used by the author of the Lanercost Chronicle to describe the English spearmen at the Battle of Boroughbridge (1322).[12] In both cases, a rectalinear formation is being described, though that at Boroughbridge is curved, with its flanks bent back.

European parallels

While doubtless a Scottish development, the schiltron fits into a Northern European context of infantry combat. Parallels with Scandinavian practice have already been drawn (see Etymology above) and the multiple-ranked tightly-packed infantry formations were standard across Europe during the Middle Ages.[13]

Schiltron-like formations were also used by the Welsh troops at the battles of Orewin Bridge (1282) and Maes Moydog (1295), although this tactic was generally unsuccessful for the Welsh.[14]

Perhaps the closest parallel is with the armies of medieval Flanders. Here too can be seen the deep blocks of fighting men, with rows of spears braced in the earth to resist cavalry. The greatest of their battles was possibly Courtrai in 1302, where the Flemings destroyed a French army of knights and foot-soldiers.[15] The Flemings also made great use of a circular "crown-shaped" formation, similar to those used at Falkirk and Bannockburn.[16]

References

  1. ^ scildtruma,sceldtroman,scheltron Bosworth, Joseph; T. Northcote Toller (1898/1921). An Anglo-Saxon dictionary. p. 831. http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/html/oe_bosworthtoller/b0831.html. 
  2. ^ see examples in the Electronic English Dictionary
  3. ^ Fisher, Andrew (1986). William Wallace. Edinburgh: John Donald. p. 80. ISBN 0859761541. 
  4. ^ Aitchison, Nick (2003). The Picts and Scots at War. Stroud: Sutton. p. 88. ISBN 0750925566. 
  5. ^ Linklater, Eric (1968). The Survival of Scotland. Garden City, New York, USA: Double Day. 
  6. ^ Fisher (1986), op.cit.,p.80
  7. ^ Oman, Charles (1991 (originally 1924)). The Art of War in the Middle Ages. vol.2. London: Greenhill. p. 80. ISBN 1853671002. 
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Vita Edwardi Secundi, quoted inBrown, Chris (2008). Bannockburn 1314. Stroud: History press. p. 78. ISBN 9780752446004. 
  10. ^ Trokelowe, quoted in Brown, op.cit, p.90
  11. ^ Brown, op.cit., p.132
  12. ^ DeVries, Kelly (1996). Infantry Warfare in the Early Fourteenth Century. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. p. 94. ISBN 0851155677. 
  13. ^ Rogers, Clifford (2007). Soldier's Lives Through History : The Middle Ages. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 162. ISBN 0313333507. 
  14. ^ Oman, op.cit, pp. 69-71
  15. ^ Verbruggen, J.F. (1997). The Art of Warfare in Western Europe during the Middle Ages (2nd. ed. ed.). Woodbridge: Boydell Press. pp. 190–4. ISBN 0851156304. 
  16. ^ Verbruggen, op.cit, p.184

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