Early Lancers
damaris
damaris at geocities.com
Thu Nov 21 06:28:57 PST 1996
> Mari gives greetings to all!
>
> On Wed, 20 Nov 1996, Keith Ewing wrote:
>
>
> The earliest vaguely "SCA-period" lancers I can think of were the
> Sarmatians (200BC to 200AD). They are often lumped together with the
> Scythians, probably the most renowned horse-archers of antiquity. The
> Sarmatians, however, rode into battle clad in scale mail and weilding
> light lances and swords.
>
> Of further interest is the fact that sometime during the 2 c AD, while
> the Romans were still cleaning up all over Europe, these same Romans
> conquered the Sarmatians back east, enlisted a bunch of their lancers
> and packed them off to north Britain for the usual 20 year enlistment
> period.
> Afterwards, as attested by stone memorials, at least some of them married
> local girls and settled there. That puts lancers in Britain as of the
> 2nd c (around 180 AD if memory serves).
>
> The Britons were also noted horse warriors (lance, sword and chainmail).
> Some scholars think this might be the influence of the "British"
> Sarmatians. Coincidentally, the Sarmatians may have come to Britain
> bearing tales of a tribal god/hero who possessed two swords, one of them
> given to him from a lake goddess, and whose name was something akin to
> "Artos". Intriguing, yes?
This is interesting, Mari. What book did this come from. Herodotus
refers to the Sarmatians in his history. I believe this is where the
legend of Amazons came from. There is a book, which is no longer in
print called The Sarmatians. In it they give some evidence of the Huns
scattering them across Europe to as far as the British Isles.
> Incidentally, I think the "King's Lancer" idea is pretty cool. Makes me
> want to get on a horse and practice.
Yeah. Makes me wonder what ever happened to the Bryn Gwlad Horse Guard.
--
Damaris of Greenhill /mka Susan Wieland
"Mead brewer extrodinaire"
---Azure, three labryses in pall inverted hafts to center
within a bordure or---
A great many people think they are thinking when they are
only rearranging their prejudices. William James.
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