Javelin
A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the Javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with the aid of a hand-held mechanism. However, devices do exist to assist the javelin thrower in achieving greater distances, such as spear-throwers or the amentum.
A warrior or soldier armed primarily with one or more javelins is a javelineer.
The word javelin comes from Middle English and it derives from Old French javelin, a diminutive of javelot, which meant spear. The word javelot probably originated from one of the Celtic languages.
Prehistory
There is archaeological evidence that javelins and throwing sticks were already in use by the last phase of the Lower Paleolithic. Seven spear-like objects were found in a coal mine in the city of Schöningen, Germany. Stratigraphic dating indicates that the weapons are about 400,000 years old.[1] The excavated items were made of spruce (Picea) trunk and were between 1.83 and 2.25 metres (6.0 and 7.4 ft) long. They were manufactured with the maximum thickness and weight situated at the front end of the wooden shaft. The frontal centre of gravity suggests that these weapons were used as javelins. A fossilized horse shoulder blade with a projectile wound, dated to 500,000 years ago, was revealed in a gravel quarry in the village of Boxgrove, England. Studies suggested that the wound was probably caused by a javelin.[2][3][4]
Classical age
Ancient Egypt
In History of Ancient Egypt: Volume 1 (1882), George Rawlinson depicts the javelin as an offensive weapon used by the Ancient Egyptian military. It was lighter in weight than that used by other nations. He describes the Ancient Egyptian javelin's features:
It consisted of a long thin shaft, sometimes merely pointed, but generally armed with a head, which was either leaf-shaped, or like the head of a spear, or else four-sided, and attached to the shaft by projections at the angles.[5]
A strap or tasseled head was situated at the lower end of the javelin: it allowed the javelin thrower to recover his javelin after throwing it.[5]
Egyptian military trained from a young age in special military schools.[6] Focusing on gymnastics to gain strength, hardiness, and endurance in childhood, they learned to throw the javelin – along with practicing archery and the battle-axe – when they grew older, before entering a specific regiment.[7]
Javelins were carried by Egyptian light infantry, as a main weapon, and as an alternative to a bow or spear, generally along with a shield. They also carried a curved sword, club, or hatchet as a sidearm.[8] An important part in battles is often assigned to javelin-men, "whose weapons seem to inflict death at every blow".[9]
Multiple javelins were also sometimes carried by Egyptian war-chariots, in a quiver and/or bow case.[10]
Beyond its military purpose, the javelin was likely also a hunting instrument, for food and sport.[11]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2009) |
Ancient Greece
The
The
Javelins were often used as an effective hunting weapon, the strap adding enough power to take down large game. Javelins were also used in the
Ancient Rome
Republic and early empire
In 387 BC, the
From the third century BC, the Roman legion added a skirmisher type of soldier to its tactical formation. The
Legionaries of the late republic and early empire often carried two pila, with one sometimes being lighter than the other. Standard tactics called for a Roman soldier to throw his pilum (both if there was time) at the enemy just before charging to engage with his gladius. Some pila had small hand-guards, to protect the wielder if he intended to use it as a melee weapon, but it does not appear that this was common.
Late Empire
In the late Roman Empire, the Roman infantry came to use a differently-shaped javelin from the earlier pilum. This javelin was lighter and had a greater range. Called a plumbata, it resembled a thick stocky arrow, fletched with leather vanes to provide stability and rotation in flight (which increased accuracy). To overcome its comparatively small mass, the plumbata was fitted with an oval-shaped lead weight socketed around the shaft just forward of the center of balance, giving the weapon its name. Even so, plumbatae were much lighter than pila, and would not have had the armour penetration or shield transfixing capabilities of their earlier counterparts.
Two or three plumbatae were typically clipped to a small wooden bracket on the inside of the large oval or round shields used at the time. Massed troops would unclip and hurl plumbatae as the enemy neared, hopefully stalling their movement and morale by making them clump together and huddle under their shields. With the enemy deprived of rapid movement and their visibility impaired by their own raised shields, the Roman troops were then better placed to exploit the tactical situation. It is unlikely plumbatae were viewed by the Romans as the killing blow, but more as a means of stalling the enemy at ranges greater than previously provided by the heavier and shorter ranged pilum.
Gaul
The Gallic cavalry used to hurl several javelin volleys to soften the enemy before a frontal attack. The Gallic cavalry used their javelins in a tactic similar to that of
Iberia
The Hispanic cavalry was a light cavalry armed with falcatas and several light javelins. The Cantabri tribes invented a military tactic to maximize the advantages of the combination between horse and javelin. In this tactic the horsemen rode around in circles, toward and away from the enemy, continually hurling javelins. The tactic was usually employed against heavy infantry. The constant movement of the horsemen gave them an advantage against slow infantry and made them hard to target. The maneuver was designed to harass and taunt the enemy forces, disrupting close formations. This was commonly used against enemy infantry, especially the heavily armed and slow moving legions of the Romans. This tactic came to be known as the Cantabrian circle. In the late Republic various auxiliary cavalry completely replaced the Italian cavalry contingents and the Hispanic auxiliary cavalry was considered the best.
Numidia
The
Middle ages
Norse
There is some literary and archeological evidence that the Norse were familiar with and used the javelin for hunting and warfare, but they commonly used a spear designed for both throwing and thrusting. The Old Norse word for javelin was frakka.[13]
Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxon term for javelin was france.
Iberia
The Almogavars were a class of Aragonese infantrymen armed with a short sword, a shield and two heavy javelins, known as azcona.[17] The equipment resembled that of a Roman legionary and the use of the heavy javelins was much the same.
The
Wales
The
Ireland
The
Chinese
Various kingdoms and dynasties in China have used javelins, such as the iron-headed javelin of the Qing dynasty.[19]
Qi Jiguang's anti-pirate army included javelin throwers with shields.[20]
Modern age
Africa
Many African kingdoms have used the javelin as their main weapon since ancient times. Typical African warfare was based on ritualized stand-off encounters involving throwing javelins without advancing for close combat. In the flag of Eswatini there is a shield and two javelins, which symbolize the protection from the country's enemies.
Zulu
The
Mythology
Norse mythology
In Norse mythology, Odin, the chief god, carried a javelin or spear called Gungnir. It was created by a group of
During the
When the god Baldr began to have prophetic dreams of his own death, his mother Frigg extracted an oath from all things in nature not to harm him. However, she neglected the mistletoe, thinking it was too young to make, let alone respect, such a solemn vow. When Loki learned of this weakness, he had a javelin or dart made from one of its branches and tricked Hod, the blind god, into hurling it at Baldr and causing his death.[27]
Lusitanian mythology
The god Runesocesius is identified as a "god of the javelin". [citation needed]
See also
- Aklys
- Angon
- Assegai
- Atlatl (Spear-thrower)
- Cirit
- Falarica
- Ger (weapon)
- Lancea (weapon)
- Leister
- Mesangylon
- One flue harpoon
- Plumbata
- Soliferrum
- Vel
- Toggling harpoon
- Two flue harpoon
- Yari
Notes
- S2CID 10774765.
- ^ Punctured Horse Shoulder Blade | The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program
- ^ The Prehistoric Society – Past No. 26
- ^ World's Oldest Spears
- ^ a b Rawlinson, George (1882). History of Ancient Egypt. S. E. Cassino. pp. 474–475.
- ^ "Ancient Egyptian History for Kids: Army and Soldiers". www.ducksters.com. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ Gosse, A. Bothwell (1915). The Civilization of the Ancient Egyptians. T.C. & E.C. Jack. p. 24.
- ^ Rawlinson, George (1882). History of Ancient Egypt. S. E. Cassino. p. 462.
- ^ Rawlinson, George (1882). History of Ancient Egypt. S. E. Cassino. p. 476.
- ^ Rawlinson, George (1882). History of Ancient Egypt. S. E. Cassino. p. 469.
- ^ "The Guide to the World of Ancient Egyptians". EgyptianDiamond.com. 7 February 2017.
- ^ Connolly, 1998, p. 233.
- ISBN 0-19-815050-4.
- ^ Tacitus 1999, p. 40
- ISBN 0-7524-1910-2.
- ^ The Thegns of Mercia: Weapons
- ISBN 978-8401440663.
- ^ Romanoni, Fabio (January 2020). "Gli obblighi militari nel marchesato di Monferrato ai tempi di Teodoro II". Bollettino Storico- Bibliografico Subalpino.
- ^ "A Chinese javelin head".
- ISBN 978-1598842449.
- ISBN 0-460-87616-3.
- ^ Faulkes (1995), p. 97.
- ^ Faulkes (1995), p. 54.
- ISBN 0-19-283946-2.
- ^ Underwood (1999), p. 26.
- ^ Larrington (1999), p. 34.
- ^ Faulkes (1995), pp. 48–49.
Further reading
- Anglim, Simon et al., (2003), Fighting Techniques of the Ancient World (3000 B.C. to 500 A.D.): Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics, Thomas Dunne Books.
- Bennett, Matthew et al., (2005), Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World: Equipment, Combat Skills and Tactics, Thomas Dunne Books.
- Connolly, Peter, (2006), Greece and Rome at War, Greenhill Books, 2nd edition.
- Jorgensen, rister et al., (2006), Fighting Techniques of the Early Modern World: Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics, Thomas Dunne Books.
- Saunders, J. J., (1972), A History of Medieval Islam, Routledge.
- Warry, John Gibson, (1995), Warfare in the Classical World: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons, Warriors and Warfare in the Ancient Civilisations of Greece and Rome, University of Oklahoma Press.
- Rawlinson, G., (1882), History of Ancient Egypt, E. Cassino.
- Bothwell Gosse, A. (1915), The Civilization of the Ancient Egyptians, T.C. & E.C. Jack.