110-451: The English term lance is derived, via Middle English launce and Old French lance , from the Latin lancea , a generic term meaning a spear or javelin employed by both infantry and cavalry, with English initially keeping these generic meanings. It developed later into a term for spear-like weapons specially designed and modified to be part of a "weapon system" for use couched under
220-579: A medieval knight was said to have "earned his spurs", the awarding of spurs has continued in the modern era as an honour bestowed upon individuals in organizations with military heritages, and among motorcycle riders. Members of the Papal Orders of Knighthood receive gilt spurs direct from the hands of the pope ; members of the British Order of the Garter similarly receive gilt spurs from
330-528: A crimped swallowtail pennant , red above and white below. The New South Wales Mounted Police , based at Redfern Barracks, Sydney , Australia, carry a lance with a navy blue and white pennant on ceremonial occasions. "Lance" is also the name given by some anthropologists to the light flexible javelins (technically darts ) thrown by atlatls (spear-throwing sticks), but these are usually called "atlatl javelins". Some were not much larger than arrows, and were typically feather- fletched like an arrow and unlike
440-738: A demonstrative ( þis , þat ), after a possessive pronoun (e.g., hir , our ), or with a name or in a form of address. This derives from the Old English "weak" declension of adjectives. This inflexion continued to be used in writing even after final -e had ceased to be pronounced. In earlier texts, multisyllable adjectives also receive a final -e in these situations, but this occurs less regularly in later Middle English texts. Otherwise, adjectives have no ending and adjectives already ending in -e etymologically receive no ending as well. Earlier texts sometimes inflect adjectives for case as well. Layamon's Brut inflects adjectives for
550-815: A dialect of Old French , now known as Old Norman , which developed in England into Anglo-Norman . The use of Norman as the preferred language of literature and polite discourse fundamentally altered the role of Old English in education and administration, even though many Normans of this period were illiterate and depended on the clergy for written communication and record-keeping. A significant number of Norman words were borrowed into English and used alongside native Germanic words with similar meanings. Examples of Norman/Germanic pairs in Modern English include pig and pork , calf and veal , wood and forest , and freedom and liberty . The role of Anglo-Norman as
660-538: A double line, and the German method, with lancers drawn up in a deeper formation which was often wedge-shaped. It is commonly believed that this became the dominant European cavalry tactic in the 11th century after the development of the cantled saddle and stirrups (the Great Stirrup Controversy ), and of rowel spurs (which enabled better control of the mount). Cavalry thus outfitted and deployed had
770-508: A form of spur in certain orders of dress which is known as the box spur, having no spur strap, but a long metal prong opposite the neck, extending between the arms of the heel band, which is inserted into a specially fitted recess or "box" in the base of the boot heel. Due to the prong, such spurs can only be worn with appropriately equipped boots. This construction is shown in the photos of the swan neck and Waterford spurs below. Spurs seen in western riding may also have small curved-up hooks on
880-504: A full sweep with the spurs from shoulder to flank with each jump, requiring great concentration, and any error in balance puts the rider in a position to be quickly unseated. Bull riders are allowed a position that is the closest to that of classic riding, they are not required to spur the bull, but if they choose to spur, may do so with their legs down in a style that resembles a normal riding position. Spurs are divided into men's, women's, and children's, according to width (which must fit on
990-681: A lance-like shaft as a flagstaff . When the Canadian North-West Mounted Police was established, it was modeled after certain British cavalry units that used lances. It made limited use of this weapon in small detachments during the 1870s, intended to impress indigenous peoples. The modern Royal Canadian Mounted Police , the North-West Mounted Police's descendant, employs ceremonial, though functional, lances made of male bamboo . They feature
1100-502: A largely Anglo-Saxon vocabulary (with many Norse borrowings in the northern parts of the country) but a greatly simplified inflectional system. The grammatical relations that were expressed in Old English by the dative and instrumental cases were replaced in Early Middle English with prepositional constructions. The Old English genitive - es survives in the -'s of the modern English possessive , but most of
1210-494: A lengthened – and later also modified – pronunciation of a preceding vowel. For example, in name , originally pronounced as two syllables, the /a/ in the first syllable (originally an open syllable) lengthened, the final weak vowel was later dropped, and the remaining long vowel was modified in the Great Vowel Shift (for these sound changes, see Phonology , above). The final ⟨e⟩ , now silent, thus became
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#17327650547611320-495: A lesser extent), and, therefore, it cannot be attributed simply to the influence of French-speaking sections of the population: English did, after all, remain the vernacular . It is also argued that Norse immigrants to England had a great impact on the loss of inflectional endings in Middle English. One argument is that, although Norse and English speakers were somewhat comprehensible to each other due to similar morphology,
1430-491: A more analytic language with a stricter word order. Both Old English and Old Norse were synthetic languages with complicated inflections. Communication between Vikings in the Danelaw and their Anglo-Saxon neighbours resulted in the erosion of inflection in both languages. Old Norse may have had a more profound impact on Middle and Modern English development than any other language. The effect of Old Norse on Old English
1540-529: A process called apophony ), as in Modern English. With the discontinuation of the Late West Saxon standard used for the writing of Old English in the period prior to the Norman Conquest, Middle English came to be written in a wide variety of scribal forms, reflecting different regional dialects and orthographic conventions. Later in the Middle English period, however, and particularly with
1650-540: A replacement, with the Spanish retaining the lance the longest. Only the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth with its far greater emphasis on cavalry warfare, large population of Szlachta nobility and general lower military technology level among its foes retained the lance to a considerable degree, with the famously winged Polish hussars having their glory period during the 17th and 18th centuries against
1760-571: A standard based on the London dialects (Chancery Standard) had become established. This largely formed the basis for Modern English spelling, although pronunciation has changed considerably since that time. Middle English was succeeded in England by Early Modern English , which lasted until about 1650. Scots developed concurrently from a variant of the Northumbrian dialect (prevalent in northern England and spoken in southeast Scotland ). During
1870-498: A tremendous collective force in their charge, and could shatter most contemporary infantry lines. Because of the extreme stopping power of a thrusting spear, it quickly became a popular weapon of infantry in the Late Middle Ages . These eventually led to the rise of the longest type of spears, the pike . This adaptation of the cavalry lance to infantry use was largely tasked with stopping lance-armed cavalry charges. During
1980-532: A wide variety of enemy forces. After the Western introduction of the horse to Native Americans , the Plains Indians used the bow and lance, probably independently, as American cavalry of the time were armed with the pistol and sabre , firing forward at full gallop. The mounted lancer experienced a renaissance in the 19th century. This followed on the demise of the pike and of body armor during
2090-457: Is a refined tool, designed to allow the rider to transmit very subtle signals to the horse that are nearly invisible to any other observer. No matter the discipline, it is important that a rider has a correct position before using spurs, with a deep seat, legs lengthened to the extent allowed by the stirrups , heels down, with knees and thighs rolled in so that the rider has a solid base of support. A swinging or unstable leg may inadvertently jab
2200-433: Is now rare and used only in oxen and as part of a double plural , in children and brethren . Some dialects still have forms such as eyen (for eyes ), shoon (for shoes ), hosen (for hose(s) ), kine (for cows ), and been (for bees ). Grammatical gender survived to a limited extent in early Middle English before being replaced by natural gender in the course of the Middle English period. Grammatical gender
2310-466: Is recorded in English from circa 1390. The parts of a spur include: Spurs are usually held on by a leather or leather-like spur strap that goes over the arch of the foot and under the sole in front of the boot heel. Some western designs have a leather strap that goes only over the top, with a heel chain or a rubber "tiedown" instead of a strap under the boot. Also, some styles have no straps, where
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#17327650547612420-481: Is those used on motorcycles . They are characterized by rowels worn as foot jewelry, hung off of boots. They can be similar in appearance to spurs worn by equestrians. Their bright material attracts motor vehicle drivers to the presence of motorcyclists, especially to their feet where riders are most vulnerable when stopped in traffic. Their owners may further customize them by adding miniature strobing LED lights. They are also awarded by motorcycle clubs. The spur
2530-569: Is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back up the natural aids (the leg, seat, hands, and voice). The spur is used in many equestrian disciplines. Most equestrian organizations have rules covering spur design and use, as well as penalties for using spurs in any manner that constitutes animal abuse . This very old word derives from Anglo-Saxon spura, spora , related to spornan, spurnan , to kick, spurn ; cf. Medieval High German Sporn , modern German Sporn , Dutch spoor . The generalized sense of "anything that urges on, stimulus"
2640-786: The Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, where the French cavalry suffered a humbling defeat, the victors hung up bushels of knights' gilt spurs in the churches of Kortrijk as trophies of what is still remembered by the Flemings as the Guldensporenslag (the battle of the golden spurs). The English named the French rout from Thérouanne as the Battle of the Spurs , due to the rapidity of the French cavalry's flight. Prick spurs were
2750-616: The Early Modern English and Modern English eras. Middle English generally did not have silent letters . For example, knight was pronounced [ˈkniçt] (with both the ⟨k⟩ and the ⟨gh⟩ pronounced, the latter sounding as the ⟨ch⟩ in German Knecht ). The major exception was the silent ⟨e⟩ – originally pronounced but lost in normal speech by Chaucer's time. This letter, however, came to indicate
2860-541: The Norman Conquest , had normally been written in French. Like Chaucer's work, this new standard was based on the East Midlands-influenced speech of London. Clerks using this standard were usually familiar with French and Latin , influencing the forms they chose. The Chancery Standard, which was adopted slowly, was used in England by bureaucrats for most official purposes, excluding those of
2970-722: The Northern England (corresponding to the Scandinavian Kingdom of Jórvík ), the East Midlands and the East of England , words in the spoken language emerged in the 10th and 11th centuries near the transition from Old to Middle English. Influence on the written languages only appeared from the beginning of the 13th century, this delay in Scandinavian lexical influence in English has been attributed to
3080-571: The Old English period. Scholarly opinion varies, but the University of Valencia states the period when Middle English was spoken as being from 1150 to 1500. This stage of the development of the English language roughly coincided with the High and Late Middle Ages . Middle English saw significant changes to its vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and orthography . Writing conventions during
3190-647: The Polish cavalry , which retained the lance for combat use until either 1934 or 1937, but contrary to popular legend did not make use of it in World War II . The German cavalry retained the lance ( Stahlrohrlanze ) as a service weapon until 1927, as did the British cavalry until 1928. The Argentine cavalry were documented as carrying lances until the 1940s, but this appears to have been used as part of recruit riding school training, rather than serious preparation for use in active service. The United States Cavalry used
3300-460: The Roman Empire . The spur also existed in the medieval Arab world . Early spurs had a neck that ended in a point, called a prick, riveted to the heel band. Prick spurs had straight necks in the 11th century and bent ones in the 12th. The earliest form of the spur armed the heel with a single prick. In England, the rowel spur is shown upon the first seal of Henry III and on monuments of
3410-645: The 12th century, incorporating a unique phonetic spelling system; and the Ancrene Wisse and the Katherine Group , religious texts written for anchoresses , apparently in the West Midlands in the early 13th century. The language found in the last two works is sometimes called the AB language . Additional literary sources of the 12th and 13th centuries include Layamon's Brut and The Owl and
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3520-422: The 13th century and was replaced by thorn. Thorn mostly fell out of use during the 14th century and was replaced by ⟨th⟩ . Anachronistic usage of the scribal abbreviation [REDACTED] ( þe , "the") has led to the modern mispronunciation of thorn as ⟨ y ⟩ in this context; see ye olde . Wynn, which represented the phoneme /w/ , was replaced by ⟨ w ⟩ during
3630-401: The 13th century, but it did not come into general use until the 14th century. The spurs of medieval knights were gilt and those of squires were silvered. To "win his spurs" meant to gain knighthood, as gilded spurs were reckoned the badge of knighthood. In the rare cases of ceremonious degradation , the spurs were hacked from the disgraced knight's heels with the cook's chopper. After
3740-409: The 13th century. Due to its similarity to the letter ⟨p⟩ , it is mostly represented by ⟨w⟩ in modern editions of Old and Middle English texts even when the manuscript has wynn. Under Norman influence, the continental Carolingian minuscule replaced the insular script that had been used for Old English. However, because of the significant difference in appearance between
3850-527: The 14th century, even after the loss of the majority of the continental possessions of the English monarchy . In the aftermath of the Black Death of the 14th century, there was significant migration into London , of people to the counties of the southeast of England and from the east and central Midlands of England, and a new prestige London dialect began to develop as a result of this clash of
3960-422: The 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, these weapons, both mounted and unmounted, were so effective that lancers and pikemen not only became a staple of every Western army, but also became highly sought-after mercenaries. (However, the pike had already been used by Philip II of Macedon in antiquity to great effect, in the form of the sarissa .) In Europe, a jousting lance was a variation of the knight's lance which
4070-604: The 1540s after the printing and wide distribution of the English Bible and Prayer Book , which made the new standard of English publicly recognizable and lasted until about 1650. The main changes between the Old English sound system and that of Middle English include: The combination of the last three processes listed above led to the spelling conventions associated with silent ⟨e⟩ and doubled consonants (see under Orthography , below). Middle English retains only two distinct noun-ending patterns from
4180-531: The 2.7-meter (8.9 ft) bamboo or ash lance with a steel head was reauthorized for general use on active service. The Russian cavalry (except for the Cossacks ) discarded the lance in the late 19th century, but in 1907, it was reissued for use by the front line of each squadron when charging in open formation. In its final form, the Russian lance was a long metal tube with a steel head and leather arm strap. It
4290-572: The Church and legalities, which used Latin and Law French respectively. The Chancery Standard's influence on later forms of written English is disputed, but it did undoubtedly provide the core around which Early Modern English formed. Early Modern English emerged with the help of William Caxton 's printing press, developed during the 1470s. The press stabilized English through a push towards standardization, led by Chancery Standard enthusiast and writer Richard Pynson . Early Modern English began in
4400-569: The Danelaw, this endings tended gradually to become obscured and finally lost, "simplifying English grammar" in the process. In time, the inflections melted away and the analytic pattern emerged. Viking influence on Old English is most apparent in pronouns , modals, comparatives, pronominal adverbs (like hence and together ), conjunctions, and prepositions show the most marked Danish influence. The best evidence of Scandinavian influence appears in extensive word borrowings; however, texts from
4510-418: The Middle English period varied widely. Examples of writing from this period that have survived show extensive regional variation. The more standardized Old English literary variety broke down and writing in English became fragmented and localized and was, for the most part, being improvised. By the end of the period (about 1470), and aided by the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1439,
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4620-675: The Middle English period, many Old English grammatical features either became simplified or disappeared altogether. Noun, adjective, and verb inflections were simplified by the reduction (and eventual elimination) of most grammatical case distinctions. Middle English also saw considerable adoption of Anglo-Norman vocabulary, especially in the areas of politics, law, the arts, and religion, as well as poetic and emotive diction. Conventional English vocabulary remained primarily Germanic in its sources, with Old Norse influences becoming more apparent. Significant changes in pronunciation took place, particularly involving long vowels and diphthongs, which in
4730-557: The Nightingale . Some scholars have defined "Early Middle English" as encompassing English texts up to 1350. This longer time frame would extend the corpus to include many Middle English Romances (especially those of the Auchinleck manuscript c. 1330 ). Gradually, the wealthy and the government Anglicised again, although Norman (and subsequently French ) remained the dominant language of literature and law until
4840-644: The Norse speakers' inability to reproduce the ending sounds of English words influenced Middle English's loss of inflectional endings. Important texts for the reconstruction of the evolution of Middle English out of Old English are the Peterborough Chronicle , which continued to be compiled up to 1154; the Ormulum , a biblical commentary probably composed in Lincolnshire in the second half of
4950-544: The Old English -eþ , Midland dialects showing -en from about 1200, and Northern forms using -es in the third person singular as well as the plural. The past tense of weak verbs was formed by adding an -ed(e) , -d(e) , or -t(e) ending. The past-tense forms, without their personal endings, also served as past participles with past-participle prefixes derived from Old English: i- , y- , and sometimes bi- . Strong verbs , by contrast, formed their past tense by changing their stem vowel (e.g., binden became bound ,
5060-494: The advent of trench warfare, lances and the cavalry that carried them ceased to play a significant role. A Russian cavalry officer whose regiment carried lances throughout the war recorded only one instance where an opponent was killed by this weapon. The Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), saw an unexpected revival of lances amongst the cavalry of the Turkish National Army. During the successful Turkish offensives of
5170-436: The arm (held horizontally). The length of the standard kontarion is estimated at 2.5 meters (8.2 ft), which is shorter than that of the medieval knight of Western Europe . Formations of knights were known to use underarm-couched military lances in full-gallop closed-ranks charges against lines of opposing infantry or cavalry. Two variants on the couched lance charge developed, the French method, en haie , with lancers in
5280-427: The arm during a charge , being equipped with special features such as grappers to engage with lance rests attached to breastplates , and vamplates , small circular plates designed to prevent the hand sliding up the shaft upon impact. These specific features were in use by the beginning of the late 14th century . Though best known as a military and sporting weapon carried by European knights and men-at-arms ,
5390-479: The beginning of the war. The combined effect was devastating, so much of the British cavalry was deployed as mounted infantry, dismounting to fight on foot. For some years after the Boer War, the six British lancer regiments officially carried the lance only for parades and other ceremonial duties. At the regimental level, training in the use of the lance continued, ostensibly to improve recruit riding skills. In 1909,
5500-507: The comparative and superlative (e.g., greet , great; gretter , greater). Adjectives ending in -ly or -lich formed comparatives either with -lier , -liest or -loker , -lokest . A few adjectives also displayed Germanic umlaut in their comparatives and superlatives, such as long , lenger . Other irregular forms were mostly the same as in modern English. Middle English personal pronouns were mostly developed from those of Old English , with
5610-593: The design changes were used because of barding , the use of barding had fallen out of fashion by the time the most elaborate spur designs were created. More likely, the elaborate designs reflected the increased abundance of precious metals, particularly silver , that followed the European exploration of the Americas that began in 1492. Spur designs in Spain and colonial Mexico were particularly elaborate. For example,
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#17327650547615720-486: The development of the Chancery Standard in the 15th century, orthography became relatively standardised in a form based on the East Midlands-influenced speech of London. Spelling at the time was mostly quite regular . (There was a fairly consistent correspondence between letters and sounds.) The irregularity of present-day English orthography is largely due to pronunciation changes that have taken place over
5830-495: The different dialects, that was based chiefly on the speech of the East Midlands but also influenced by that of other regions. The writing of this period, however, continues to reflect a variety of regional forms of English. The Ayenbite of Inwyt , a translation of a French confessional prose work, completed in 1340, is written in a Kentish dialect . The best known writer of Middle English, Geoffrey Chaucer , wrote in
5940-531: The double consonant represented a sound that was (or had previously been) geminated (i.e., had genuinely been "doubled" and would thus have regularly blocked the lengthening of the preceding vowel). In other cases, by analogy, the consonant was written double merely to indicate the lack of lengthening. The basic Old English Latin alphabet consisted of 20 standard letters plus four additional letters: ash ⟨æ⟩ , eth ⟨ð⟩ , thorn ⟨þ⟩ , and wynn ⟨ƿ⟩ . There
6050-676: The early 18th century, with the reintroduction of lances coming from Hungary and Poland , having retained large formations of lance-armed cavalry when they had become more or less obsolescent elsewhere in Europe. Lancers became especially prevalent during and after the Napoleonic Wars : a period when almost all the major European powers reintroduced the lance into their respective cavalry arsenals. Formations of uhlans and other types of cavalry used lances between 2 and 3 meters (6.6 and 9.8 ft) in length as their primary weapons. The lance
6160-558: The eleven Uhlan regiments continued in existence until 1918, armed with the standard cavalry sabre. During the Second Boer War , British troops successfully used the lance on one occasion - against retreating Boers at the Battle of Elandslaagte (21 October 1899). However, the Boers made effective use of trench warfare , rapid-fire field artillery , continuous-fire machine guns , and accurate long-range repeating rifles from
6270-468: The end of the Middle English period only the strong -'s ending (variously spelled) was in use. Some formerly feminine nouns, as well as some weak nouns, continued to make their genitive forms with -e or no ending (e.g., fole hoves , horses' hooves), and nouns of relationship ending in -er frequently have no genitive ending (e.g., fader bone , "father's bane"). The strong -(e)s plural form has survived into Modern English. The weak -(e)n form
6380-418: The exception of the third person plural, a borrowing from Old Norse (the original Old English form clashed with the third person singular and was eventually dropped). Also, the nominative form of the feminine third person singular was replaced by a form of the demonstrative that developed into sche (modern she ), but the alternative heyr remained in some areas for a long time. As with nouns, there
6490-459: The final stages of the war across the open plains of Asia Minor , Turkish mounted troops were armed with bamboo shafted-lances taken from military storage and inflicted heavy losses on the retreating Greek Army. The cavalry branches of most armies which still retained lances as a service weapon at the end of World War I generally discarded them for all but ceremonial occasions during the 1920s and 1930s. There were exceptions during this era, such as
6600-553: The foot moved. Rowels can vary in size and number of points. In the history of veterinary science , the word "rowel" described a small disk of leather or other material that was used as a seton stitch . The spur was used by the Celts during the La Tène period, which began in the 5th century BC , and is also mentioned by Xenophon ( c. 430 – 354 BC). Iron or bronze spurs were also used throughout
6710-461: The heel band is simply very tight and slips on wedged between the sole and heel of the boot. Some spur designs have a slot for running the spur strap through, others have "buttons", sometimes on the heel band itself and sometimes attached to the heel band by hinges that allow a strap with buttonholes to be attached. When used in military ranks, senior officers, and officers of all ranks in cavalry and other formerly mounted units of some armies, wear
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#17327650547616820-441: The horse or bull at every stride. This requirement is designed to resemble the behavior of old-time horse-breakers, who would deliberately provoke a horse to buck. In modern times, riders are required to use spurs in a manner that is merely encouraging a horse that is already predisposed to buck; they are not to produce pain. Spur design and use is strictly defined by rodeo rules, spurs are dull, and rowels must turn freely. In fact,
6930-399: The horse with the spur as the rider sits, thus irritating, harming, and frightening the horse, and chronic misuse may deaden it to the leg aids. Improper use may also provoke dangerous or undesirable behaviors such as bucking or bolting. Spurs are rarely used in sports such as horse racing , where the rider's leg is not significantly in contact with the horse. Most spurs are activated by
7040-598: The increasing common usage of ash , bamboo , beech , or pine wood for lance shafts of varying lengths, each with steel points and butts, adopted by the uhlan regiments of the Saxon, Württemberg, Bavarian, and Prussian armies. In the American Civil War , the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment was equipped with lances modeled after Napoleon Bonaparte 's forces in France. American troops had never previously used
7150-412: The indicator of the longer and changed pronunciation of ⟨a⟩ . In fact, vowels could have this lengthened and modified pronunciation in various positions, particularly before a single consonant letter and another vowel or before certain pairs of consonants. A related convention involved the doubling of consonant letters to show that the preceding vowel was not to be lengthened. In some cases,
7260-491: The knight himself, one to three men-at-arms , and possibly an archer . Lances were often combined under the banner of a higher-ranking nobleman to form companies of knights that would act as an ad hoc unit. The advent of wheellock technology spelled the end of the lance in Western Europe, with newer types of heavy cavalry such as reiters and cuirassiers spurning the old one-use weapon and increasingly supplanting
7370-583: The lack of written evidence from the areas of Danish control, as the majority of written sources from Old English were produced in the West Saxon dialect spoken in Wessex , the heart of Anglo-Saxon political power at the time. The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 saw the replacement of the top levels of the English-speaking political and ecclesiastical hierarchies by Norman rulers who spoke
7480-504: The lance argued that the weapon was clumsy, conspicuous, easily deflected, and inefficient in a melee. Arguments favoring the retention of the lance focused on the impact on morale of having charging cavalry preceded by " a hedge of steel " and on the effectiveness of the weapon against fleeing opponents. Lances were still in use by the British , Turkish , Italian , Spanish , French , Belgian , Indian , German , and Russian armies at
7590-415: The lance in combat. The lances proved ineffective in battle and were replaced with carbine rifles in 1863. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 saw the extensive deployment of cavalry armed with lances on both sides. While the opportunities for decisive use of this weapon proved infrequent during the actual conflict, the entire cavalry corps (93 regiments of hussars , dragoons , cuirassiers , and uhlans ) of
7700-523: The lance survived the initial impact without breaking, it could also prove inappropriate for more static, closer engagements where its length became a hindrance. The name is derived from the word lancea , the Roman auxiliaries' javelin or throwing spear; although according to the OED , the word may be of Iberian origin. Also compare λόγχη ( lónkhē ), a Greek term for "spear" or "lance". A lance in
7810-434: The lance, often tapering for a considerable portion of the weapon's length. These are the versions that can most often be seen at medieval reenactment festivals. In war, lances were much more like stout spears, long and balanced for one-handed use, and with sharpened tips. As a small unit that surrounded a knight when he went into battle during the 14th and 15th centuries, a lance might have consisted of one or two squires ,
7920-760: The language of government and law can be seen in the abundance of Modern English words for the mechanisms of government that are derived from Anglo-Norman, such as court , judge , jury , appeal , and parliament . There are also many Norman-derived terms relating to the chivalric cultures that arose in the 12th century, an era of feudalism , seigneurialism , and crusading . Words were often taken from Latin, usually through French transmission. This gave rise to various synonyms, including kingly (inherited from Old English), royal (from French, inherited from Vulgar Latin), and regal (from French, which borrowed it from Classical Latin). Later French appropriations were derived from standard, rather than Norman, French. Examples of
8030-485: The late 3rd century the weapons of the cavalry attached to each Roman legion evolved from javelins and swords to sometimes include long reaching lances ( contus ). These required the use of both hands to thrust. The Byzantine cavalry used lances ( kontos or kontarion ) almost exclusively, often in mixed formations of mounted archers and lancers ( cursores et defensores ). The Byzantines used lances in both overarm and underarm grips, as well as being couched under
8140-403: The later Middle English period began to undergo the Great Vowel Shift . Little survives of early Middle English literature , due in part to Norman domination and the prestige that came with writing in French rather than English. During the 14th century, a new style of literature emerged with the works of writers including John Wycliffe and Geoffrey Chaucer , whose Canterbury Tales remains
8250-417: The masculine accusative, genitive, and dative, the feminine dative, and the plural genitive. The Owl and the Nightingale adds a final -e to all adjectives not in the nominative, here only inflecting adjectives in the weak declension (as described above). Comparatives and superlatives were usually formed by adding -er and -est . Adjectives with long vowels sometimes shortened these vowels in
8360-522: The monarch. Inductees into the American Order of the Spur receive gold-coloured (usually brass) spurs if they have earned their membership through combat, or silver-coloured (usually nickel) spurs if they have not seen combat, but complete a rite of passage . Spurs are worn with the tip of the neck pointed downward, sitting on the spur rest of the riding boot , if there is one, with the buckle of
8470-427: The more complex system of inflection in Old English : Nouns of the weak declension are primarily inherited from Old English n -stem nouns but also from ō -stem, wō -stem, and u -stem nouns, which did not inflect in the same way as n -stem nouns in Old English, but joined the weak declension in Middle English. Nouns of the strong declension are inherited from the other Old English noun stem classes. Some nouns of
8580-460: The most studied and read work of the period. The transition from Late Old English to Early Middle English had taken place by the 1150s to 1180s, the period when the Augustinian canon Orrm wrote the Ormulum , one of the oldest surviving texts in Middle English. The influence of Old Norse aided the development of English from a synthetic language with relatively free word order to
8690-693: The old insular g and the Carolingian g (modern g ), the former continued in use as a separate letter, known as yogh , written ⟨ȝ⟩ . This was adopted for use to represent a variety of sounds: [ɣ], [j], [dʒ], [x], [ç] , while the Carolingian g was normally used for [g]. Instances of yogh were eventually replaced by ⟨j⟩ or ⟨y⟩ and by ⟨gh⟩ in words like night and laugh . In Middle Scots , yogh became indistinguishable from cursive z , and printers tended to use ⟨z⟩ when yogh
8800-420: The older gendarme type Medieval cavalry. While many Renaissance captains such as Sir Roger Williams continued to espouse the virtues of the lance, many such as François de la Noue openly encouraged its abandonment in the face of the pistol's greater armor piercing power, handiness and greater general utility. At the same time the adoption of pike and shot tactic by most infantry forces would neuter much of
8910-515: The original sense is a light throwing spear or javelin. The English verb to launch "fling, hurl, throw" is derived from the term (via Old French lancier ), as well as the rarer or poetic to lance . The term from the 17th century came to refer specifically to spears not thrown, used for thrusting by heavy cavalry , and especially in jousting . The longer types of thrusting spear used by infantry are usually referred to simply as spears or later as pikes , though many other terms existed. During
9020-423: The other case endings disappeared in the Early Middle English period, including most of the roughly one dozen forms of the definite article ("the"). The dual personal pronouns (denoting exactly two) also disappeared from English during this period. The loss of case endings was part of a general trend from inflections to fixed word order that also occurred in other Germanic languages (though more slowly and to
9130-489: The outbreak of World War I . In initial cavalry skirmishes in France this antique weapon proved ineffective, German uhlans being "hampered by their long lances and a good many threw them away". A major action involving repeated charges by four regiments of German cavalry, all armed with lances, at Halen on 12 August 1914 was unsuccessful. Amongst the Belgian defenders was one regiment of lancers who fought dismounted. With
9240-521: The period in Scandinavia and Northern England do not provide certain evidence of an influence on syntax. However, at least one scholarly study of this influence shows that Old English may have been replaced entirely by Norse, by virtue of the change from Old English to Norse syntax. While the Old Norse influence was strongest in the dialects under Danish control that composed the southern part of
9350-459: The post-war Imperial German Army subsequently adopted the lance as a primary weapon. After 1893 the standard German cavalry lance was made of drawn tubular steel, covered with clear lacquer and with a hemp hand-grip. At 3.58 meters (11.7 ft) it was the longest version then in use. The Austrian cavalry had included regiments armed with lances since 1784. In 1884, the lance ceased to be carried either as an active service or parade weapon. However
9460-562: The power of the lancer's breakneck charge, making them a non-cost effective type of military unit due to their expensive horses in comparison to cuirassiers and reiters, who usually charging only at a trot could make do with lower quality mounts. After the success of pistol-armed Huguenot heavy horse against their Royalist counterparts during the French Wars of Religion , most Western European powers started rearming their lancers with pistols, initially as an adjunct weapon and eventually as
9570-569: The resulting doublet pairs include warden (from Norman) and guardian (from later French; both share a common ancestor loaned from Germanic). The end of Anglo-Saxon rule did not result in immediate changes to the language. The general population would have spoken the same dialects as they had before the Conquest. Once the writing of Old English came to an end, Middle English had no standard language, only dialects that evolved individually from Old English. Early Middle English (1150–1350) has
9680-435: The rider flexing the heel slightly up and in. A roweled spur permits an additional type of action: a rider can roll the spur lightly against the side of the horse rather than being limited simply to pressing inward. The exception to the use of spurs in a subtle fashion is in the rodeo events of bull riding and saddle bronc and bareback riding , where the rider is required to spur in an elaborate, stylized fashion, touching
9790-423: The rider's leg a bit farther from the horse. Spurs in English riding tend to be very sleek, slim, and conservative in design, with a shorter neck, as the saddle and leg position are closer to the horse. They usually have a rounded or blunt end. Rowels are not as popular as the plain blunt end, although some types include a rowel or smooth disk on the end. When used in sports requiring finesse, such as dressage ,
9900-740: The second half of the 14th century in the emerging London dialect, although he also portrays some of his characters as speaking in northern dialects, as in " The Reeve's Tale ". In the English-speaking areas of lowland Scotland , an independent standard was developing, based on the Northumbrian dialect . This would develop into what came to be known as the Scots language . A large number of terms for abstract concepts were adopted directly from scholastic philosophical Latin (rather than via French). Examples are "absolute", "act", "demonstration", and "probable". The Chancery Standard of written English emerged c. 1430 in official documents that, since
10010-458: The second person singular in -(e)st (e.g., þou spekest , "thou speakest"), and the third person singular in -eþ (e.g., he comeþ , "he cometh/he comes"). ( þ (the letter "thorn") is pronounced like the unvoiced th in "think", but under certain circumstances, it may be like the voiced th in "that"). The following table illustrates a typical conjugation pattern: Plural forms vary strongly by dialect, with Southern dialects preserving
10120-400: The shank in front of the rowel, called "chap guards", that were originally used to prevent the rider's chaps from interfering with the rowels of the spur. The shank angle from the yoke can vary from "full" to "one half" to "one quarter" to "straight". Some cowboys also added small metal pajados, also known as jingo bobs or jingle bobs, near the rowel, to create a jingling sound whenever
10230-428: The spur strap worn on the outside of the foot. Spur styles differ between disciplines. Spurs for western riding tend to be heavier, often decorated, and have rowels that rotate. The neck of western spurs is usually longer and the rowel wide in diameter, to accommodate the leg position of the western-style rider, where the stirrup is adjusted long, and the heavy leather used for the saddle 's fenders and stirrups places
10340-570: The spur's purpose is not to speed up the horse but to give accurate and precise aids in lateral and complex movements such as pirouettes, travers , and renvers , and the airs above the ground . Dressage riders tend to ride in Waterford-style spurs with a rounded knob at the end. Conversely, show hunter and jumper riders may use a flatter end to encourage forward movement, such as the Prince of Wales design. Another type of modern spur
10450-609: The spurs of the Spanish conquistadores were sometimes called espuela grande, the "grand spur", and could have rowels as large as 15 cm (6 in) around. In northern Europe, the spur became less elaborate after the 16th century, particularly following the Stuart Restoration , but elaborate spur designs persisted, particularly in the Americas, descendants of which are still seen today, particularly in Mexico and
10560-496: The standard form until the 14th century, when the rowel began to become more common. The prick design never died out entirely, but instead became a thicker, shorter neck with a dulled end, such as the modern "Prince of Wales" design commonly seen in English riding . Though often decorated throughout history, in the 15th century, spurs became an art form in both decoration and design, with elaborate engraving, very long shanks, and large rowels. Though sometimes it has been claimed that
10670-409: The strong type have an -e in the nominative/accusative singular, like the weak declension, but otherwise strong endings. Often, these are the same nouns that had an -e in the nominative/accusative singular of Old English (they, in turn, were inherited from Proto-Germanic ja -stem and i -stem nouns). The distinct dative case was lost in early Middle English, and although the genitive survived, by
10780-554: The use of lances was widespread throughout East Asia , the Middle East , and North Africa wherever suitable mounts were available. Lances were the main weapon of Lancers of the medieval period and beyond, and so these troops also carried secondary weapons such as swords , battle axes , war hammers , maces , and daggers for use in hand-to-hand combat , since the lance was often a one-use-per-engagement weapon, becoming embedded in their targets or being broken on impact. Assuming
10890-468: The vast majority of spears and javelins (one exception would be several instances of the many types of ballista bolt, a mechanically thrown spear). A "tilting-spear" is a heraldric term for a lance. Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME ) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following
11000-415: The way spurs are to be used in bucking events generally makes it harder for the rider to stay on; in bareback bronc competition, the spurs must be above the point of the horse's shoulder at the first jump and remain forward at all times, deliberately creating a very awkward position for the rider that requires both strength and coordination to stay on the horse. In saddle-bronc competition, the rider must make
11110-498: The western United States , where the spur has become an integral part of the vaquero and cowboy traditions. The spur as an art form, as well as a tool, is still seen in western riding , where spurs with engraving and other artistic elements, often handmade and using silver or other precious metals, are still worn. Collecting of particularly beautiful antique spurs is a popular pastime for some individuals, particularly aficionados of western history and cowboy culture. Just as
11220-425: Was indicated by agreement of articles and pronouns (e.g., þo ule "the feminine owl") or using the pronoun he to refer to masculine nouns such as helm ("helmet"), or phrases such as scaft stærcne (strong shaft), with the masculine accusative adjective ending -ne . Single-syllable adjectives added -e when modifying a noun in the plural and when used after the definite article ( þe ), after
11330-416: Was intended as a shock weapon in the charge, to be dropped after impact and replaced by the sword for close combat in a melee . While demoralizing to an opponent, the lance was recognized as being an awkward encumbrance in forested regions. The relative value of the lance and the sword as a principal weapon for mounted troops was an issue of dispute in the years immediately preceding World War I. Opponents of
11440-474: Was modified from its original war design. In jousting, the lance tips would usually be blunt, often spread out like a cup or furniture foot, to provide a wider impact surface designed to unseat the opposing rider without spearing him through. The centre of the shaft of such lances could be designed to be hollow, in order for it to break on impact, as a further safeguard against impalement. They were on average 3 meters (9.8 ft) long, and had hand guards built into
11550-460: Was not available in their fonts; this led to new spellings (often giving rise to new pronunciations), as in McKenzie , where the ⟨z⟩ replaced a yogh, which had the pronunciation /j/ . Spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It
11660-520: Was not yet a distinct j , v , or w , and Old English scribes did not generally use k , q , or z . Ash was no longer required in Middle English, as the Old English vowel /æ/ that it represented had merged into /a/ . The symbol nonetheless came to be used as a ligature for the digraph ⟨ae⟩ in many words of Greek or Latin origin, as did ⟨œ⟩ for ⟨oe⟩ . Eth and thorn both represented /θ/ or its allophone / ð / in Old English. Eth fell out of use during
11770-417: Was ousted by it in most dialects by the 15th. The following table shows some of the various Middle English pronouns. Many other variations are noted in Middle English sources because of differences in spellings and pronunciations at different times and in different dialects. As a general rule, the indicative first person singular of verbs in the present tense ended in -e (e.g., ich here , "I hear"),
11880-475: Was some inflectional simplification (the distinct Old English dual forms were lost), but pronouns, unlike nouns, retained distinct nominative and accusative forms. Third person pronouns also retained a distinction between accusative and dative forms, but that was gradually lost: The masculine hine was replaced by him south of the River Thames by the early 14th century, and the neuter dative him
11990-411: Was substantive, pervasive, and of a democratic character. Like close cousins, Old Norse and Old English resembled each other, and with some words and grammatical structures in common, speakers of each language roughly understood each other, but according to historian Simeon Potler the main difference lied on their inflectional endings, which led to much confusion within the mixed population that existed in
12100-933: Was usually employed in initial charges in close formation, with sabers being used in the melee that followed. The Crimean War saw the use of the lance in the Charge of the Light Brigade . One of the four British regiments involved in the charge, plus the Russian Cossacks who counter-attacked, were armed with this weapon. During the War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870), the Paraguayan cavalry made effective use of locally manufactured lances, both of conventional design and of an antique pattern used by gauchos for cattle herding. The 1860s and 1870s saw
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