Macedonian phalanx: overarm, underarm or both?

[Jim Webster]

I cannot see a man with a shield on his arm holding that sort of overarm pose for any length of time. Also the weight of the shield as he thrusts is going to drag his arm down

The Swiss seemed to have managed it fine -well enough to win their battles  .

I envisage a different grip if there is a shield on the forearm: left hand grips the shaft with the hand on top and the thumb below. The upper arm is held against the chest and the forearm is raised high - just below eye level. The left arm is thus contracted and the weight of the shield and pike is carried by the shoulder. That shouldn't be too tiring.

And surely such a pose would be useless for getting any force behind a thrust with the pike. Rather than having the power of both arms and shoulders behind the blow, one hand is restricted to being a holding loop that the pike just runs through

[RichT]

Justin:

Any link to Connolly?

Not online - I have a photocopy at home, I'll get a quote and a photo this evening if I remember, and am not snowed out.

Anthony:

I've been looking at pictures of reconstructed phalangites and they seem to go with a shield hanging from a shoulder strap not fixed to the arm.  Does this have any bearing, given it would mean that the shield would be more mobile and could perhaps adjust itself to where pikes contacted it?

Well as I've said before, this is a pet peeve of mine. It would certainly make the shield more mobile, to the extent so far as I can see that the shield would be completely useless. There's also no evidence for the strap aside from the (in my view misinterpreted) "they brought round their shields from their shoulders" at Pydna, and "not with a porpax but an ochane" for Philopoemen's reforms (see earlier discussions). I firmly believe (for what it's worth) that the whole shield on a strap thing is a complete red herring, for all that it is astonishingly deep rooted and pervasive.

willb

While younger people are able to hold their arms in a raised position for a longer period as people age the length of time they can hold their arms up diminishes significantly.

Significant for the Argyraspides at Paraitacene then! Though this could lead us into 'how long do battles last' territory (if not long, it's not a big problem).


Duncan (useful links):

None, though, show multiple ranks. That was one of the problems Christopher Matthew's version addressed, though I can't remember his solution, and nor do I have the energy to dig his book out of the archive and look it up.

That is the recurring problem with these reconstructions - what's the point of doing them if not to do them properly?

Matthew's solution is to conclude that phalangites did not (could not) use 18" spacing. At 3 foot spacing (his minimum), the spears fit through the gaps by being angled slightly and successively to the right. His is I think another example of error by diagram - I imagine (and wish someone would prove) that in real life small adjustments in spear height would make it fairly easy to have them all facing forward.

Bear in mind also in all this that the 18" spacing is a special ('forced') static defensive formation, and that 3 feet is the normal combat spacing - so if 18" is a bit awkward and suboptimal in terms of projecting the spears, that's not too surprising - the aim wasn't to optimise the poking of spears, but to provide a solid mass of men. Poking probably wasn't needed. Also Arrian Taktika has it that the second rank man alone can help the first with his thrusts (othismois ) - so others behind presumably didn't need to.

[Imperial Dave]

Yes, dug out my copy of Matthew's @An Invincible Beast' and he has the phalangites at 3 feet spacing (he calls it intermediate as opposed to open and close formations) in the oblique body position. re the shield, he does go for the combined central armband and shoulder strap
although he maintains that the shoulder strap is for carrying and you need the armband to make the shield effective in combat (as per the aspis)

[Justin Swanton]

One point about the shield - the phalangite doesn't actually 'carry' it at all. The porpax, or shield strap, is near the center of the shield, meaning the strap will be right up against the bearer's elbow. This consequently means the shield actually hangs from the bearer's upper arm. He needs very little effort to keep his forearm up at an angle. Think of the physics involved.

The only real weight he has to exert muscle power for is the sarissa, and with training (and a life much more physically active than we are accustomed to at present) that is hardly a problem.

[Andreas Johansson]

The pike is not held by the end, the intention perhaps  being more flexible usage.

The Swiss are noted as holding their pikes closer to the centre than Landsknechte did. Supposedly this had two purposes - better control and encouraging the men to close rather than stand off and "fence" - but I don't know if this is supported by any contemporary evidence or is latter-day rationalization.

[Erpingham]

The pike is not held by the end, the intention perhaps  being more flexible usage.

The Swiss are noted as holding their pikes closer to the centre than Landsknechte did. Supposedly this had two purposes - better control and encouraging the men to close rather than stand off and "fence" - but I don't know if this is supported by any contemporary evidence or is latter-day rationalization.

If you look at the Fornovo woodcut in magnification, you will see the Swiss are holding their pikes quite centrally.



If you look at this Paul Dolstein sketch from the same time, which shows landsknechts foyning with their pikes, we can see they hold them much nearer the end (though not right at the end like the later style).  Dolstein's landsknecht pictures show formations too.  It is notable all of his front rank pikemen facing infantry are using the high position, all those facing cavalry the low position.

So there is some visual support.  I suspect a bit of searching might turn up some commentary on landsknecht v. Reislaufer technique.


Addendum :

Found it.

Blaise de Monluc, describing the fighting at Cerisoles 1544

`Gentlemen, it may be that there are not many here who have been in battle before, and therefore let me tell you that if we take our pikes by the hinder end and fight at the length of the pike, we shall be defeated; for the Germans are more dexterous at that kind of fight than we are. But you must take your pikes in the middle as the Swiss do and run headlong to force and penetrate into the midst of them, and you shall see how confounded they will be.'

[Duncan Head]

One point about the shield - the phalangite doesn't actually 'carry' it at all. The porpax, or shield strap, is near the center of the shield, meaning the strap will be right up against the bearer's elbow.

Of course one of the few things we are told about how the phalangite's shield was held is that it didn't have a porpax at all...

whom he taught to use a sarisa, held in both hands, instead of a doru, and to carry their shields by an ochane instead of by a porpax...

Any further statements about how the shield was held, and how its weight was supported, are more or less speculation. See, as Rich has said, previous discussions.

[willb]

J
willb

While younger people are able to hold their arms in a raised position for a longer period as people age the length of time they can hold their arms up diminishes significantly.

Significant for the Argyraspides at Paraitacene then! Though this could lead us into 'how long do battles last' territory (if not long, it's not a big problem).

At the age the Argyraspides were supposed to be this would be about 15  minutes maximum if even that long.   Easily verified by holding some weights in that position.   Per Diodorus "At the same time that this was going on, it so happened that the infantry for a considerable time had been engaged in a battle of phalanxes, but finally, after many had fallen on both sides, Eumenes' men were victorious because of the valour of the Macedonian Silver Shields. "  While not a definitive length of time, it is most likely more than 15 minutes.

[Justin Swanton]

One point about the shield - the phalangite doesn't actually 'carry' it at all. The porpax, or shield strap, is near the center of the shield, meaning the strap will be right up against the bearer's elbow.

Of course one of the few things we are told about how the phalangite's shield was held is that it didn't have a porpax at all...

whom he taught to use a sarisa, held in both hands, instead of a doru, and to carry their shields by an ochane instead of by a porpax...

Any further statements about how the shield was held, and how its weight was supported, are more or less speculation. See, as Rich has said, previous discussions.

Perfect. If the shield wasn't held by the forearm, it didn't weigh down the arm. If it was held by the forearm it didn't weigh down the arm anyway since the weight was borne by the shoulder.

Not having the shield born by the forearm makes bearing sarissas overarm much less of a problem from the visibility POV - the phalangites could raise their sarissas as high as they liked and still see over their not-raised shields.

[Justin Swanton]

I tried a little experiment this evening, wielding a stripped-down palm branch (you don't seem to find used sarissas lying around in the Durban area). In the first photo I kept my left upper arm angled straight down and my forearm held high. The branch rested on the arm like a fulcrum with very little muscle exertion. I added the shield later when editing (shields seem to be in even shorter supply)

Notice how in this position the sarissa should be able to project over the shield of the man in a front rank as the file leader holds his sarissa underarm and hence his shield is below his shoulder height.

Raising the sarissa a little in the second photo enables me to project it over the shield of the second man and still be able to see what I'm doing. Raising it any higher puts the shield in front of my eyes and I can't see what I'm doing.

So based in this, it seems hypothetically possible  for two, and possibly three, men to present their sarissas overarm to project over the shields of the men in front of them whilst permitting them to see their targets. Men further back would probably have to bear their sarissas underarm, to project - pointed low - between the files.

If however the shield is carried by a shoulder strap and not by the forearm then the rear ranks can bear their sarissas as high as they like, at least only whilst fighting to prevent fatigue, without their shields getting in the way of their eyes.

[RichT]

Here's an extended quote from the Peter Connolly article. He used 16 members of a Sealed Knot group, with pikes 8.844m long and shields 0.63m in diameter. As you see most experiments were done in the two cubit spacing, as you would expect, but he also described 'doubling' (halving the interval) and it still worked. Overall the account is frustratingly imprecise in some ways, but clear enough in general. There are accompanying photos but all of the two cubit spacing, so not strictly relevant to present discussion. Spears are held in standard underarm position, shield held by forearm band, hand loop and neck strap (the purpose of the neck strap is unclear to me).

Experiments with the sarissa - the Macedonian pike and cavalry lance - a functional view
Peter Connolly, JRMES 11 2000, 103-112

Using a measuring stick two 'Polybian' cubits (0.834m) long they formed up in three files with a two cubit allowance for rank and file just as Polybius described. Many physical problems had to be resolved. For example, I was worried about the weight of the shield but nobody mentioned it. It had also been suggested that one could not use a pike with Andronicos' butt spike in mass phalanx formation without injuring the person behind. In total eight problems were put to the test. To our surprise all produced satisfactory solutions.

Our worries about the butt spike proved unfounded. In practice each person was able to hold their pike in position without endangering the person behind. Polybius' allowance of four cubits behind the front hand ensured that the butt spike passed well beyond the groin of the next person in file.

Another concern was whether the pikes could be held in formation without fouling the hands of the people in front and behind. On paper this seemed a serious problem but in reality each pike passed just above the hands of the person in front. This was not contrived but happened naturally because gravity made the pikes curve slightly.

The ability to thrust was tested. In formation it proved impossible to make a thrust of more than one cubit.

On the thorny and much debated question of flexibility we found that, advancing in formation with pikes levelled, it was impossible to wheel the three files on less than a fourteen cubit radius from the inside file. We concluded that it would have required intensive drill to wheel a 16 x 16 strong speira effectively.

Marching and changing direction had to be done with the pikes held upright. Once in position the pikes had to be levelled rank by rank starting at the front. This was tried starting at the back but resulted in the fouling of the spears of the men in front.

Doubling the files proved far easier than expected. Formed up in the standard two cubit formation, with pikes in the upright position, the right hand file turned about, marched towards the rear, wheeled and came up the interval between the other two files. They then levelled their pikes proving that it was possible to 'double' the formation allowing only one cubit per man.

I had assumed that the group would not be prepared to charge in formation deeming it too dangerous but after advancing in formation they broke into a run and charged. This required great discipline; had one of the spear points hit the ground there could have been serious injury.

At the Battle of Pydna (168BC) the Macedonian pikes became locked in the Roman shields as the phalanx tried to push the Romans back. This was one of the primary functions of the Macedonian formation. Wanting to see what happened to the formation in such circumstances we had the front rank stand firm and the other four ranks push forward. This resulted in the formation condensing to one cubit per man in file.

Conclusions

The phalanx experiment proved that with practice it would be possible to use a 5.8m long pike effectively. The experiment with the phalanx pushing back the enemy showed that in this situation using a 4m long pike as proposed by Tarn and Manti held in the manner described by Polybius five or even seven ranks could have their pikes sticking out of the front of the phalanx. However one could not march let alone charge with only a 0.69m allowance per rank and if a wider space were allowed between ranks during the charge there would be a danger of the front ranks being speared by those following. Alternatively, if the pikes of the second to fifth ranks were only levelled after impact, much of the effect of the charge would be lost.   

[Justin Swanton]

Doubling the files proved far easier than expected. Formed up in the standard two cubit formation, with pikes in the upright position, the right hand file turned about, marched towards the rear, wheeled and came up the interval between the other two files. They then levelled their pikes proving that it was possible to 'double' the formation allowing only one cubit per man.

I would love to have seen a photo of this.

[Justin Swanton]

Maybe, though you can't read too much into the (translated) word 'surrounded'.

Finally found it: it's the participle of the verb phrasso, which means "To shut up or shut in; to secure by enclosing or shutting up." Just a word, but it does convey the image of a phalangite surrounded by the pikes of his file rather than have them low down and all on one side.

[Erpingham]

Just a word, but it does convey the image of a phalangite surrounded by the pikes of his file rather than have them low down and all on one side.

But he has the pikes of the next file about the same distance from his other side and the pikes of the rear ranks sloped over his head in the established model.  Might a Greek writer have not thought that was "enclosed"?

[Justin Swanton]

Just a word, but it does convey the image of a phalangite surrounded by the pikes of his file rather than have them low down and all on one side.

But he has the pikes of the next file about the same distance from his other side and the pikes of the rear ranks sloped over his head in the established model.  Might a Greek writer have not thought that was "enclosed"?

The passage talks about the front ranker being enclosed by the 5 or 6 pikes of his file, not neighbouring files. Again, this is not forensic evidence, but does tend to support the overarm model.