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Milites

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Militeswere the trained regularfootsoldiersofancient Rome,and later a term used to describe "soldiers"inMedieval Europe.

Roman Era

These men were the non-specialist regularsoldiersthat made up the bulk of alegion's numbers. Alongside soldiering, they also performed guard duties, labour work, building and other non-combat roles, which increased their status in urban centers.[1]Milites would usually have to serve for several years before becoming eligible fortrainingto becomeimmunesand thus become specialists with better pay.[2][3]

Medieval Era

The Latin term eventually became synonymous with "soldier",a general term that, in Western Europe, became associated with the mountedknight,because they composed the professional military corps during the EarlyMedieval Era.[4][5][6][7]The same term, however, was expanded to mean less distinguishedinfantry soldiers(milites pedites).[7][8]During the13th centurythe term referred to the mounted horsemen who lacked knight-status, but still had similar properties and obligations to the dubbed knights.[9]

Other usages include the "Milites Templi,"referring to theKnights Templar,or Milites Sancti Jacobi (Order of Santiago).[10][11][12]

From theLatinroot, "Miles"derived words such as"Military"and"Militia".

References

  1. ^Wickham, Chris (2014) [2013].Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900–1150.OUP Oxford.ISBN978-0-19-103090-1.
  2. ^Berger, Adolf (1968).Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law,Vol. 43, p. 582. American Philosophical Society
  3. ^James, Charles (1810).A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary: In French and English,Vol. 1. T. Egerton
  4. ^Fleming, Donald F. (1990)."Milites as Attestors to Charters in England, 1101–1300".Albion.22(2): 185–198.doi:10.2307/4049596.ISSN0095-1390.JSTOR4049596.
  5. ^Bachrach, David Stewart (July 7, 2015)."Milites and Warfare in Pre-Crusade Germany".War in History.22(3): 298–343.doi:10.1177/0968344514524938.ISSN0968-3445.S2CID159106757.
  6. ^Morillo, Stephen (2001).Milites, knights and samurai: Military terminology, comparative history, and the problem of translation(PDF).[dead link]
  7. ^abKostick, Conor (2008)."Milites: Knights or Simply Mounted Warriors?".The Social Structure of the First Crusade.Brill.ISBN978-90-04-16665-3.
  8. ^Hanson, Victor Davis (2007).Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power.Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.ISBN978-0-307-42518-8.
  9. ^Holden, Brock (2008).Lords of the Central Marches: English Aristocracy and Frontier Society, 1087–1265.OUP Oxford. p. 89.ISBN978-0-19-156343-0.Retrieved2 July2021.
  10. ^Kostick, Conor (2008). "Milites:Knights or Simply Mounted Warriors? ".The Social Structure of the First Crusade.Brill. pp. 159–186.JSTOR10.1163/j.ctt1w8h1gw.10.
  11. ^Crawford, Paul (October 22, 2007) [1993].Milites Christi: A Categorization and Assessment of the Military Orders of the Middle Ages.Madison: University of Wisconsin–Madison.
  12. ^Constable, Giles (2008).Crusaders and Crusading in the Twelfth Century.Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.ISBN978-0-7546-6523-6.