# Milites

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{{RomanMilitary}}
'''Milites''' were the trained regular [footsoldiers](/source/footsoldiers) of [ancient Rome](/source/ancient_Rome), and later a term used to describe "[soldiers](/source/Soldier)" in [Medieval Europe](/source/Medieval_Europe). 

== Roman Era ==
These men were the non-specialist regular [soldier](/source/soldier)s that made up the bulk of a [legion](/source/Roman_legion)'s numbers. Alongside soldiering, they also performed guard duties, labour work, building and other non-combat roles, which increased their status in urban centers.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wickham|first=Chris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qBg-BQAAQBAJ&q=%22Milites%22&pg=PT381|title=Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900–1150|date=2014|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-103090-1|language=en|orig-year=2013}}</ref> Milites would usually have to serve for several years before becoming eligible for [training](/source/Discens) to become [immunes](/source/immunes) and thus become specialists with better pay.<ref>Berger, Adolf (1968). [https://books.google.com/books?id=oR0LAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA582 ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law,''] Vol. 43, p. 582. American Philosophical Society</ref><ref>James, Charles (1810). [https://books.google.com/books?id=wElKAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA27-PA10 ''A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary: In French and English''], Vol. 1. T. Egerton</ref>

== Medieval Era ==
The Latin term eventually became synonymous with "[soldier](/source/soldier)", a general term that, in Western Europe, became associated with the mounted [knight](/source/knight), because they composed the professional military corps during the Early [Medieval Era](/source/Medieval_Era).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fleming|first=Donald F.|date=1990|title=Milites as Attestors to Charters in England, 1101–1300|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0095139000031331/type/journal_article|journal=Albion|language=en|volume=22|issue=2|pages=185–198|doi=10.2307/4049596|jstor=4049596|issn=0095-1390|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bachrach|first=David Stewart|date=July 7, 2015|title=Milites and Warfare in Pre-Crusade Germany|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0968344514524938|journal=War in History|language=en|volume=22|issue=3|pages=298–343|doi=10.1177/0968344514524938|s2cid=159106757|issn=0968-3445|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Morillo|first=Stephen|url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/38517396/Morillo_Milites__Knights__Samurai.pdf?1440008397=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DMilites_Knights_and_Samurai_Military_Ter.pdf&Expires=1601010965&Signature=SQ9lNg3RL0B~elURpXtZ30cmBsT-p4Jr6xIsWS3sQAGZOtzj3kA9bSvikxoQz7J3IjEEccJPXHwdoxiLgHwEybgcaE19XsgEivT~qKJoDkftxG~vsBoJKk5cMNiy9TL3BUWOLlk~rcFjte8hOtbGCa3wouoLS1uF5Dke9ku2Z38HkM9XxudLgIjuyPcc21umzn11ggg6ECMDwH5UmdBfx0BsEJaFdRDUHi7n5qqAx3Zxs6Uwvq98pLupAPN9ITHdL8wvr87G68~2jNloG6x4B30PpnFrh~S9x1iD-R1s61ac74fZt85kZA40FVBizswHZSAeA7fVkBC30BIW-vLqzQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA|title=Milites, knights and samurai: Military terminology, comparative history, and the problem of translation|year=2001}}{{dead link|date=May 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Kostick|first=Conor|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HQEM2MzGP58C&q=%22Milites%22&pg=PA159|title=The Social Structure of the First Crusade|date=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-16665-3|language=en|chapter=Milites: Knights or Simply Mounted Warriors?}}</ref> The same term, however, was expanded to mean less distinguished [infantry soldiers](/source/Infantry_Soldier) (''milites pedites'').<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Hanson|first=Victor Davis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGr16-CxpH8C|title=Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power|date=2007|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-42518-8|language=en}}</ref> During the [13th century](/source/13th_century) the term referred to the mounted horsemen who lacked knight-status, but still had similar properties and obligations to the dubbed knights.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holden |first1=Brock |title=Lords of the Central Marches: English Aristocracy and Frontier Society, 1087–1265 |date= 2008 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-156343-0 |page=89 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bwGgshT_ATQC |access-date=2 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

Other usages include the "[Milites Templi](/source/Milites_Templi)," referring to the [Knights Templar](/source/Knights_Templar), or Milites Sancti Jacobi ([Order of Santiago](/source/Order_of_Santiago)).<ref>{{Cite book |jstor=10.1163/j.ctt1w8h1gw.10 |jstor-access=free |chapter=''Milites'': Knights or Simply Mounted Warriors? |last1=Kostick |first1=Conor |title=The Social Structure of the First Crusade |year=2008 |pages=159–186 |publisher=Brill}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Crawford|first=Paul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xV5NAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Milites%22|title=Milites Christi: A Categorization and Assessment of the Military Orders of the Middle Ages|date=October 22, 2007|publisher=University of Wisconsin–Madison|location=Madison|language=en|orig-year=1993}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Constable|first=Giles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LJ7mtlSfawQC&q=%22Milites%22&pg=PA143|title=Crusaders and Crusading in the Twelfth Century|date=2008|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-7546-6523-6|language=en}}</ref>

From the [Latin](/source/Latin) root, "{{lang|la|Miles}}" derived words such as "[Military](/source/Military)" and "[Militia](/source/Militia)".

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Military ranks of ancient Rome
Category:Latin words and phrases

{{Military-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Milites](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milites) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milites?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.