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SCHILTRON

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cassius

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Jan 1, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/1/97
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Can anybody help me?

I'm not english-speaking, and I have found in a book the word
"SCHILTRON". I don't find the meaning of this word in any dictionary.
It refers to a some middle-age army item.

The book is "The Lion in the North" of John Prebble.

The sentence says: " The King placed his four schiltrons along the
road through the New Park".

I will be thankful if somebody can explain me, what is the meaning of
schiltron.

Advanced Thanks

Brian J Goggin

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Jan 2, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/2/97
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The nearest I can get in the OED is "schilteroun", shown as a variant of
"sheltron", which is a phalanx, or a close, compact body of troops.
Would that fit the context? The word has been obsolete since the
fifteenth century.

bjg

--
Brian J Goggin (T/F +353 61 377057)
Wordwrights ---- education at work

Guidelines for bureaucrats: (1) When in charge, ponder. (2) When in
trouble, delegate. (3) When in doubt, mumble. (James H Boren, 1970)

Michael B. Quinion

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Jan 2, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/2/97
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In article: <32cbabd0...@noticias.ibernet.es> r...@tinet.fut.es
(cassius) writes:
> The sentence says: " The King placed his four schiltrons along the
> road through the New Park".

You should not be concerned that you cannot find this word in your
dictionary. It is an obsolete term which isn't even under that spelling
in the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, which says it is
a variant spelling of 'sheltron', meaning "A close, compact body of
troops; troops drawn up in battle array; a phalanx".

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael B Quinion <mic...@quinion.demon.co.uk> Thornbury, Bristol, UK
Web: <http://clever.net/quinion/> and <http://www.quinion.demon.co.uk/>
World Wide Words: */words/ : MQA: */mqa/ : Interpret Britain: */sibh/


Mark Brader

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Jan 3, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/3/97
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> I'm not english-speaking, and I have found in a book the word
> "SCHILTRON". I don't find the meaning of this word in any dictionary.
> It refers to a some middle-age army item.

The OED (the big Oxford English Dictionary) lists the word under
SHELTRON, though it gives many other spellings including SCHILTRON.
The definitions it gives are:

1. A close, compact body of troops; troops drawn up in a
battle array; a phalanx.

2. Applied to a compact body of ships.

[Posted and emailed.]
--
Mark Brader "... there is no such word as 'impossible' in
m...@sq.com my dictionary. In fact, everything between
SoftQuad Inc. 'herring' and 'marmalade' appears to be missing."
Toronto -- Douglas Adams: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

My text in this article is in the public domain.

John Lovie

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Jan 8, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/8/97
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In article <480438...@quinion.demon.co.uk>, mic...@quinion.demon.co.uk
says...

>
>In article: <32cbabd0...@noticias.ibernet.es> r...@tinet.fut.es
>(cassius) writes:
>> The sentence says: " The King placed his four schiltrons along the
>> road through the New Park".
>
>You should not be concerned that you cannot find this word in your
>dictionary. It is an obsolete term which isn't even under that spelling
>in the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, which says it is
>a variant spelling of 'sheltron', meaning "A close, compact body of
>troops; troops drawn up in battle array; a phalanx".
>
>

This bothers me a little, as I didn't think I was (yet) obsolete.

The word 'schiltron' I recognised immediately (maybe misremembered as
'schiltrom') without aid of dictionary as a solid phalanx indeed, particularly
of layered pikemen. Well, the pikes were layered, not necessarily the men.

Alas, I cannot find a single written reference for this. Wherefore do I seem
to 'know' this?

John Lovie
lov...@pc.jaring.my


murdoc...@hotmail.com

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Jan 25, 2015, 12:01:16 AM1/25/15
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We heard the word " schiltrons", on a show about the battle of Bannockburn. Robert The Bruce had his army form schiltrons, consisting of large bodies of men (200+) in close formation, but carrying 12 feet long lances, to repel the English army.

charles

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Jan 25, 2015, 1:23:18 AM1/25/15
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In article <78bf726c-7137-40ed...@googlegroups.com>,
to repel cavalry.

--
From KT24 in Surrey

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.18

Gootch Gootch

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Dec 29, 2023, 7:10:19 PM12/29/23
to
On Wednesday, January 1, 1997 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-5, cassius wrote:
> Can anybody help me?
> I'm not english-speaking, and I have found in a book the word
> "SCHILTRON". I don't find the meaning of this word in any dictionary.
> It refers to a some middle-age army item.
> The book is "The Lion in the North" of John Prebble.
> The sentence says: " The King placed his four schiltrons along the
> road through the New Park".
> I will be thankful if somebody can explain me, what is the meaning of
> schiltron.
> Advanced Thanks

The Schiltron is a multi-level spear or pike barrier, but unlike the phalanx, it is arrayed as a square. Difficult to break up with cavalry, but archers could loft arrows into the formation, striking the backs of the rear spearmen. My name is supposed to be derived from it.

soup

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Dec 30, 2023, 5:15:12 AM12/30/23
to
The first one to yell "FREEDOM! gets all their internet biscuits taken
away from them. :O)

Wallace is said to have '(Re[1])invented' the Schiltron, It was regarded
as a 'maneuver' or rather way of setting men that required no great
skill yet was very effective.

[1] Similar units/items/tactics were used in ancient times (by Greeks,
Macedonians, Persians etc). But this was unlikely to be known to Wallace.

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