milites
{{RomanMilitary}}
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.{{Cite book|last=Wickham|first=Chris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qBg-BQAAQBAJ&q=%22Milites%22&pg=PT381|title=Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900–1150|date=2014|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-103090-1|language=en|orig-year=2013}} Milites would usually have to serve for several years before becoming eligible for training to become immunes and thus become specialists with better pay.Berger, Adolf (1968). [https://books.google.com/books?id=oR0LAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA582 Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law,] Vol. 43, p. 582. American Philosophical SocietyJames, Charles (1810). [https://books.google.com/books?id=wElKAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA27-PA10 A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary: In French and English], Vol. 1. T. Egerton
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.{{Cite journal|last=Fleming|first=Donald F.|date=1990|title=Milites as Attestors to Charters in England, 1101–1300|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0095139000031331/type/journal_article|journal=Albion|language=en|volume=22|issue=2|pages=185–198|doi=10.2307/4049596|jstor=4049596|issn=0095-1390}}{{Cite journal|last=Bachrach|first=David Stewart|date=July 7, 2015|title=Milites and Warfare in Pre-Crusade Germany|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0968344514524938|journal=War in History|language=en|volume=22|issue=3|pages=298–343|doi=10.1177/0968344514524938|s2cid=159106757|issn=0968-3445}}{{Cite book|last=Morillo|first=Stephen|url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/38517396/Morillo_Milites__Knights__Samurai.pdf?1440008397=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DMilites_Knights_and_Samurai_Military_Ter.pdf&Expires=1601010965&Signature=SQ9lNg3RL0B~elURpXtZ30cmBsT-p4Jr6xIsWS3sQAGZOtzj3kA9bSvikxoQz7J3IjEEccJPXHwdoxiLgHwEybgcaE19XsgEivT~qKJoDkftxG~vsBoJKk5cMNiy9TL3BUWOLlk~rcFjte8hOtbGCa3wouoLS1uF5Dke9ku2Z38HkM9XxudLgIjuyPcc21umzn11ggg6ECMDwH5UmdBfx0BsEJaFdRDUHi7n5qqAx3Zxs6Uwvq98pLupAPN9ITHdL8wvr87G68~2jNloG6x4B30PpnFrh~S9x1iD-R1s61ac74fZt85kZA40FVBizswHZSAeA7fVkBC30BIW-vLqzQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA|title=Milites, knights and samurai: Military terminology, comparative history, and the problem of translation|year=2001}}{{dead link|date=May 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{Cite book|last=Kostick|first=Conor|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HQEM2MzGP58C&q=%22Milites%22&pg=PA159|title=The Social Structure of the First Crusade|date=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-16665-3|language=en|chapter=Milites: Knights or Simply Mounted Warriors?}} The same term, however, was expanded to mean less distinguished infantry soldiers (milites pedites).{{Cite book|last=Hanson|first=Victor Davis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGr16-CxpH8C|title=Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power|date=2007|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-42518-8|language=en}} 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.{{cite book |last1=Holden |first1=Brock |title=Lords of the Central Marches: English Aristocracy and Frontier Society, 1087–1265 |date= 2008 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-156343-0 |page=89 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bwGgshT_ATQC |access-date=2 July 2021 |language=en}}
Other usages include the "Milites Templi," referring to the Knights Templar, or Milites Sancti Jacobi (Order of Santiago).{{Cite book |jstor=10.1163/j.ctt1w8h1gw.10 |jstor-access=free |chapter=Milites: Knights or Simply Mounted Warriors? |last1=Kostick |first1=Conor |title=The Social Structure of the First Crusade |year=2008 |pages=159–186 |publisher=Brill}}{{Cite book|last=Crawford|first=Paul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xV5NAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Milites%22|title=Milites Christi: A Categorization and Assessment of the Military Orders of the Middle Ages|date=October 22, 2007|publisher=University of Wisconsin–Madison|location=Madison|language=en|orig-year=1993}}{{Cite book|last=Constable|first=Giles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LJ7mtlSfawQC&q=%22Milites%22&pg=PA143|title=Crusaders and Crusading in the Twelfth Century|date=2008|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-7546-6523-6|language=en}}
From the Latin root, "{{lang|la|Miles}}" derived words such as "Military" and "Militia".
References
{{Reflist}}
Category:Military ranks of ancient Rome
Category:Latin words and phrases
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