Almogavars

Page 114r of the Chronicle of Ramon Muntaner, in which the war cries used by the Almogavars are described: "the Almogavars shout: Rise Iron! , Rise! ... What do we say? The battle was so strong and cruel, but in the end, all the Franks rose up in one cry: Aragon! , Aragon!."

Almogavars (Spanish: almogávares; Aragonese: almugávares; Catalan: almogàvers; Portuguese: almogávares; originally Andalusian Arabic: المغاور, romanized: al-mughā́wir) is the name of a class of light infantry soldier originated in the Crown of Aragon used in the later phases of the Reconquista, during the 13th and 14th centuries.[1]

Almogavars were lightly clad, quick-moving frontiersmen and foot-soldiers. They hailed from the Kingdom of Aragon, the Principality of Catalonia, the Kingdom of Valencia, the Crown of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal.[2][3] In the Crown of Castile, the inner organization was managed by King Alfonso X of Castile in the Siete Partidas.[4][5] At first, these troops were formed by farmers and shepherds originating from the countryside, woods and frontier mountain areas. Later, they were employed as mercenaries in Italy, the Frankokratia and the Levant.[1]

  1. ^ a b Joseph F. O'Callaghan (2004). Reconquest and crusade in medieval Spain. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-8122-1889-3.
  2. ^ Enigmas y misterios de los almogávares. Guillermo Rocafort. p. 31.
  3. ^ Enigmas y misterios de los almogávares. Guillermo Rocafort. p. 35.
  4. ^ Jurg, Gassmann. "The Siete Partidas: A Repository of Medieval Military and Tactical Instruction". Archived from the original on 18 January 2022.
  5. ^ F, Maíllo Salgado. "Puntualizaciones acerca de la naturaleza de los Almogavares" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 January 2022.