Hi All,

I am new to this forum and in many respects, to the history of Medieval armor and weapons. This is a wonderful website an forum and I look forward to learning from the people here.

My questions concern the soldiers and mercenaries from 1050 to 1490's in Western Europe and England.

1. Did the Western soldiers march in step as soldiers from more modern times?

2. If so, where might I find detailed information about marching in step?

Any information would be appreciated.

Best Regards,

R. Robert Palmer

I could be wrong but I think marching in step is more a 17th or 18th century thing where it makes a lot of practical sense as well as psychological impact in intimidating and opponent and giving one's troops a sense of mutual support.

In mediaeval times I really don't know if it was a normal practice or something that some armies might have used.

I tend to " assume " that the Romans, Greeks, Macedonians, Chinese, Persians or any ancient armies using complex manoeuvres and formations might have used marching in step ...... but I really also don't know for sure: So I'm looking forward to getting answers from those who might know with documented sources: Good Topic question. :D :cool:

( Oh, and welcome to the site. :cool: ).

There is a debate (link) whether Roman soldiers marched in step, although its pretty clear that they did so sometimes. You might try asking on the RomanArmyTalk forums for more information. We know that Romans (and many other ancient soldiers) could do sophisticated maneuvers on the battlefield or the parade ground, but there's room for debate on how they achieved this.

I don't know of any evidence of medieval infantry marching in step, except for the Swiss at the very end of the middle ages. There isn't a lot of evidence for medieval armies drilling in large groups, but the armies of some towns had some kind of regular training. Late medieval infantry were often used to hold ground on the battlefield, where drill wasn't as necessary.

The traditional narrative of iron classical discipline brought back by the Swiss in the Renaissance falls apart when you read J. E. Lendon's Soldiers and Ghosts. The Romans weren't robots, but fiercely competitive warriors who fought to win individual honor. And of course Roman armies varied dramatically. I'm deeply skeptical of assigning drill and order superiority to an entire period. Both medieval and classical times include examples that span the spectrum.

Is marching in step really indispensable to keep order when doing complex manoeuvres ?

Fashion in military discipline or useful way to keep a line of infantry moving together without one side of a line getting ahead of the other side or have the front of a column and the rear of a column move together simultaneously at the same speed instead of having the first line move, then the second then the third etc .... each line with a small delay meaning that a formation gets stretched out or everyone bumping into each other if the first line suddenly stop.

Coordinated to music or drums or visual commands ( or a combination of all of these ) a large formation can move as one man.

So I think that any army using large units that must move with precision in coordination with other formations would have discovered the usefulness of marching in step.

Psychologically seeing an enemy force form up and march on your position would have great impact as it give an impression of professionalism and competence and quite frankly must have been " scary " to face.

In contrast a shambling disorganized mob might be lest than impressive.

A well drilled force would also be less likely to charge without orders or get suckered in by a false rout.

Just as an example from the movies: Do you all remember the scene in Spartacus ( The version with Kirk Douglas ) where the slave army watches the Romans form up in squares and instantly changes formation ? This scene is very powerful because as the audience in sympathy with the slave army we get that " sinking feeling " of " WE ARE IN TROUBLE NOW " !

I just wanted to add something to my previous post. I'm not suggesting that there wasn't any discipline present in medieval warfare, but it was on a much smaller level.

This might not be considered marching in step, but a column of mounted knights could arrange themselves in several different formations to prepare for a charge. I think one of the coolest skills they had was the ability to 'wheel' the whole column around to face their target. This is a complicated maneuver that requires great riding skill from each horseman involved and well disciplined steeds.

HI All,

I want to thank all of you for the information, I had checked a lot of sources and was unable to find any mention of marching in step by medieval soldiers. One would think that if the soldiers of that period did march in step, there would be some mention of it.

I'm wondering if the evolution of marching in step (post Medieval period) came about through the use of polearms and spears and then to firearms. It would seem the natural progression of things.

Again, thank for the discussion and answers!

R. Robert

The Scots of the 14th century were known as "trained infantry" thanks to the Scottish Wars of Independence and employed as mercenaries across parts of Europe.

I'm under the impression they might have done "marching" as the weapon of choice was the 14 ft "Scottish" pike. if you ever tried to walk with a bunch of guys packing pikes without "marching" the pike clack and get in the way.

There's reasons I suspect this...

You could get any group of people and tell them all to stay togther and walk in the same direction. After a while most of them will be walking in step whether they intended to or not.

Hi All,

I've never tried Medieval or Ancient Re-enacting but It makes sense that a group of men, carrying polearms, in a formation would naturally tend to move in step. It may also have evolved in part, if a group used drums or other musical instruments to advance with.

I'm new to the detailed study of the Medieval soldier. I have noticed that even though the weapons were simple compared to modern weapons, the life of the soldier has remained similar in many ways.

My area of interest is the life, times and events of the soldiers and mercenaries in Western Europe and England. I've collected quite a few books on the period but if anyone has recommendations please feel free to point me in the right direction.

Thank you, and Best Regards,
R. Robert Palmer