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Milites

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

Roman Era

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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

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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

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  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.