Milites

Milites were the trained regular footsoldiers of ancient Rome, and later a term used to describe "soldiers" in Medieval Europe.

Roman Era

These men were the non-specialist regular soldiers that made up the bulk of a legion's numbers. Alongside soldiering, they also performed guard duties, labour work, building and other non-combat roles, which increased their status in urban centers.^[1] Milites would usually have to serve for several years before becoming eligible for training to become immunes and thus become specialists with better pay.^[2][3]

Medieval Era

The Latin term eventually became synonymous with "soldier", a general term that, in Western Europe, became associated with the mounted knight, because they composed the professional military corps during the Early Medieval Era.^[4][5][6][7] The same term, however, was expanded to mean less distinguished infantry soldiers (milites pedites).^[7][8] During the 13th century the term referred to the mounted horsemen who lacked knight-status, but still had similar properties and obligations to the dubbed knights.^[9]

Other usages include the "Milites Templi," referring to the Knights Templar, or Milites Sancti Jacobi (Order of Santiago).^[10][11][12]

From the Latin root, "Miles" derived words such as "Military" and "Militia".

References

1. Wickham, Chris (2014) [2013]. Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900–1150. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-103090-1.
2. Berger, Adolf (1968). Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law, Vol. 43, p. 582. American Philosophical Society
3. James, Charles (1810). A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary: In French and English, Vol. 1. T. Egerton
4. Fleming, Donald F. (1990). "Milites as Attestors to Charters in England, 1101–1300". Albion. 22 (2): 185–198. doi:10.2307/4049596. ISSN 0095-1390. JSTOR 4049596.
5. Bachrach, David Stewart (July 7, 2015). "Milites and Warfare in Pre-Crusade Germany". War in History. 22 (3): 298–343. doi:10.1177/0968344514524938. ISSN 0968-3445. S2CID 159106757.
6. Morillo, Stephen (2001). Milites, knights and samurai: Military terminology, comparative history, and the problem of translation (PDF).^{[dead link‍]}
7. Kostick, Conor (2008). "Milites: Knights or Simply Mounted Warriors?". The Social Structure of the First Crusade. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-16665-3.
8. Hanson, Victor Davis (2007). Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-42518-8.
9. Holden, Brock (2008). Lords of the Central Marches: English Aristocracy and Frontier Society, 1087–1265. OUP Oxford. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-19-156343-0. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
10. Kostick, Conor (2008). "Milites: Knights or Simply Mounted Warriors?". The Social Structure of the First Crusade. Brill. pp. 159–186. JSTOR 10.1163/j.ctt1w8h1gw.10.
11. Crawford, Paul (October 22, 2007) [1993]. Milites Christi: A Categorization and Assessment of the Military Orders of the Middle Ages. Madison: University of Wisconsin–Madison.
12. Constable, Giles (2008). Crusaders and Crusading in the Twelfth Century. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7546-6523-6.