# Schiltron

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{{Short description|Army formation}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
A '''schiltron''' (also spelled '''sheltron''', '''sceld-trome''', '''schiltrom''', or '''shiltron''') is a compact body of troops forming a battle array, [shield wall](/source/shield_wall) or [phalanx](/source/phalanx). The term is most often associated with Scottish [pike](/source/pike_(weapon)) formations during the [Wars of Scottish Independence](/source/Wars_of_Scottish_Independence) in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
thumb|Depiction of the Battle of Bannockburn, with schiltron of pikeman on the left.
== Etymology ==
The term dates from at least 1000 AD and derives from [Old English](/source/Old_English) roots expressing the idea of a "shield-troop".<ref>scildtruma,sceldtroman,scheltron {{cite book |title= An Anglo-Saxon dictionary|last= Bosworth|first= Joseph|author2=T. Northcote Toller  |year= |page= 831|url= http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/html/oe_bosworthtoller/b0831.html}}</ref> Some researchers have also posited this etymological relation may show the schiltron is directly descended from the [Anglo-Saxon](/source/Anglo-Saxons) [shield wall](/source/shield_wall), and still others give evidence "schiltron" is a name derived from a [Viking](/source/Viking) circular formation (generally no fewer than a thousand fighters) in extremely close formation, intended to present an enemy's cavalry charge with an "infinite" obstacle (that is, a perimeter horses refuse to breach). Matters are confused by use of this term in [Middle English](/source/Middle_English) to clearly refer to a body of soldiers without reference to formation, including cavalry and archers.<ref>[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/m/mec/med-idx?type=byte&byte=176821441&egdisplay=compact&egs=176834765 see examples in the Electronic English Dictionary]</ref> The first mention of the schiltron as a specific formation of spearmen appears to be at the [Battle of Falkirk](/source/Battle_of_Falkirk) in 1298.<ref>{{cite book |title= William Wallace |last= Fisher|first= Andrew|year=1986 |publisher=John Donald |location=Edinburgh |isbn=0-85976-154-1 |page=80}}</ref> There is, however, no reason to believe this is the first time such a formation was used and it may have had a long previous history in Scotland, as the [Picts](/source/Picts) used to employ spears in block formation as the backbone of their armies.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Picts and Scots at War|last= Aitchison|first=Nick |year=2003 |publisher=Sutton |location= Stroud|isbn=0-7509-2556-6 |page= 88}}
</ref>

==Examples of the formation==

===Circular schiltrons===
There are two recorded [Scottish](/source/Kingdom_of_Scotland) instances of circular schiltrons: [William Wallace](/source/William_Wallace)'s army at the 1298 [Battle of Falkirk](/source/Battle_of_Falkirk), and an element of [Thomas Randolph](/source/Thomas_Randolph%2C_1st_Earl_of_Moray)'s forces on the first day of the 1314 [Battle of Bannockburn](/source/Battle_of_Bannockburn).<ref>{{cite book  | last = Linklater  | first = Eric  | title = The Survival of Scotland  | url = https://archive.org/details/survivalofscotla00link  | url-access = registration  | publisher = [Doubleday](/source/Doubleday_(publisher))  | year = 1968  | location = Garden City, NY  }}</ref>

The circular formation is essentially static.  At Falkirk, the formation was fortified by driving stakes into the ground before the men, with ropes between.<ref>Fisher (1986), op.cit., p. 80</ref> [Charles Oman](/source/Charles_Oman) describes the formation thus: "The front ranks knelt with their spear butts fixed in the earth; the rear ranks leveled their lances over their comrades heads; the thick-set grove of twelve foot spears was far too dense for the cavalry to penetrate."<ref>{{cite book |title=The Art of War in the Middle Ages |last=Oman |first= Charles |author-link=Charles Oman|year=1924|volume= 2|publisher= Greenhill |location=London |isbn= 1-85367-100-2|page=80}}</ref>

===Rectilinear schiltrons===
There are numerous accounts of rectilinear schiltrons – they were employed at the battles of [Glen Trool](/source/Battle_of_Glen_Trool) (1307), Bannockburn (the main battle), [Myton](/source/Battle_of_Myton) (1319), [Dupplin Muir](/source/Battle_of_Dupplin_Moor) (1332), [Culblean](/source/Battle_of_Culblean) (1335), [Halidon Hill](/source/Battle_of_Halidon_Hill) (1333), [Neville's Cross](/source/Battle_of_Neville's_Cross) (1346) and [Otterburn](/source/Battle_of_Otterburn) (1388).{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

Unlike the circular schiltron, the rectilinear formation was capable of both defensive and offensive action.  The offensive use of the schiltron is a tactical development credited to [Robert the Bruce](/source/Robert_I_of_Scotland) at Bannockburn. He had drilled his troops in the offensive use of the pike (requiring great discipline) and he was able to fight the [English](/source/Kingdom_of_England) forces on flat, firm ground suitable for their large force of cavalry. Bruce's new tactic was a response to a crushing defeat for the Scots at Falkirk when the first recorded use of the schiltron by a Scottish army failed in the face of a combination of conscripted [Welsh](/source/Wales) [longbowmen](/source/Welsh_longbow), English [archers](/source/Archery) and English [cavalry](/source/cavalry).<ref>[Spencer-Churchill, Winston L.](/source/Winston_Churchill) ''A History of the English-Speaking Peoples'', Volume 1, ''The Birth of Britain'' (New York: Bantam Books, 1974, 12h printing), p. 225.</ref>

Detailed descriptions of the formation are rare but those given by English chroniclers of Bannockburn demonstrate the essential features:
*"They had axes at their sides and lances in their hands. They advanced like a thick-set hedge and such a phalanx could not easily be broken."<ref>''Vita Edwardi Secundi'', quoted in {{cite book |title= Bannockburn 1314 |last= Brown|first= Chris|year=2008 |publisher= History press|location= Stroud |isbn= 978-0-7524-4600-4|page=78}}</ref>
*"They were all on foot; picked men they were, enthusiastic, armed with keen axes, and other weapons, and with their shields closely locked in front of them, they formed an impenetrable phalanx ..."<ref>''Trokelowe'', quoted in Brown, op.cit, p. 90</ref>

===English examples===

The term schiltron is also used by [Barbour](/source/John_Barbour_(poet)) to describe English infantry at Bannockburn.<ref>Brown, op.cit., p. 132</ref> It is also used by the author of the [Lanercost Chronicle](/source/Lanercost_Chronicle) to describe the English spearmen at the [Battle of Boroughbridge](/source/Battle_of_Boroughbridge) (1322).<ref>{{cite book |title= Infantry Warfare in the Early Fourteenth Century|last= DeVries|first=Kelly |year=1996 |publisher= Boydell Press |location= Woodbridge|isbn= 0-85115-567-7|page= 94}}</ref> In both cases, a rectilinear formation is being described, though that at Boroughbridge is curved, with its flanks bent back.

==European parallels==
While doubtless a Scottish development, the schiltron fits into a Northern European context of infantry combat.  Parallels with Scandinavian practice have already been drawn (see Etymology above) and the multiple-ranked tightly packed infantry formations were standard across Europe during the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages).<ref>{{cite book |title=Soldiers' Lives Through History : The Middle Ages |last=Rogers |first=Clifford|year=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location= Westport, CT|isbn=978-0-313-33350-7|page=162}}</ref>

Schiltron-like formations were also used by the [Welsh](/source/Wales) troops at the battles of [Orewin Bridge](/source/Battle_of_Orewin_Bridge) (1282) and [Maes Moydog](/source/Battle_of_Maes_Moydog) (1295), although this tactic was generally unsuccessful for the Welsh.<ref>Oman, op.cit, pp. 69–71</ref>

Perhaps the closest parallel is with the armies of medieval [Flanders](/source/County_of_Flanders).  Here too can be seen the deep blocks of fighting men, with rows of spears braced in the earth to resist cavalry. The greatest of their battles was possibly [Courtrai](/source/Battle_of_the_Golden_Spurs) in 1302, where the Flemings destroyed a French army of knights and foot-soldiers.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Art of Warfare in Western Europe during the Middle Ages |url=https://archive.org/details/artwarfarewester00verb |url-access=limited |last= Verbruggen|first=J.F.|year=1997| edition= 2nd. |publisher=Boydell Press |location= Woodbridge |isbn= 0-85115-630-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/artwarfarewester00verb/page/n219 190]–4}}</ref> The Flemings also made great use of a circular "crown-shaped" formation, similar to those used at Falkirk and Bannockburn.<ref>Verbruggen, op.cit, p. 184</ref>

A similar square formation ("formação em quadrado") of pike-armed foot soldiers was used by the English-assisted Portuguese troops against [Castilian](/source/Crown_of_Castile) armies in the late 14th century at [Aljubarrota](/source/Aljubarrota) (1385).

Another example is during the [Battle of Legnano](/source/Battle_of_Legnano) (1176) between the Milanese Army against Federico Barbarossa, in defense of the Carroccio by the Milanese armies commanded by Guido da Landriano.

== See also ==
* [History of infantry](/source/History_of_infantry)
* [Infantry in the Middle Ages](/source/Infantry_in_the_Middle_Ages)
* [Infantry square](/source/Infantry_square)
* [Warfare in Medieval Scotland](/source/Warfare_in_Medieval_Scotland)

===Comparable formations===
*[Phalanx](/source/Phalanx_formation)
*[Pike Square](/source/Pike_Square)
*[Shield Wall](/source/Shield_wall)
*[Tercio](/source/Tercio)
*[Testudo](/source/Testudo_formation)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|sheltron}}

*[https://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/W/weapons/lance2.html Channel4.com, "Weapons that Made Britain"]

Category:13th-century military history of Scotland
Category:14th-century military history of Scotland
Category:Tactical formations
Category:Military units and formations of the Middle Ages
Category:Wars of Scottish Independence
Category:Phalanx
Category:Pikes (weapon)

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