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Silla's Black Long-pikeman(新羅 黑衣長槍末步幢)

Seo Young Kyo 1

1중원대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Spear-armed troops continued to be important elements in many armies until the advent of reliable firearms. The Long-pike(長槍) was the spear used by the Ancient Silla(新羅) Forces. The actual length of the Long-pike(長槍) is now unknown, but apparently it was twice as long as the doru. This makes it at least 14 feet (about 4.3m), but 18 feet (about 5.5m) appears more likely. The great length of the spear was balanced by a counterweight at the rear end, which also functions as a butt-spike, allowing the Long-pike(長槍) to be planted into the ground. Due to its great length, weight and differing balance, a Long-pike(長槍) was wielded two- handed. This meant that the aspis was no longer a practical defense. Instead, the Long-pikeman(長槍步兵) strapped a smaller pelte shield (usually reserved for light skirmishers-peltasts) to their left forearm. Although this reduced the shield wall, the extreme length of the spear prevented most enemies from closing, as the spears of the first three to five ranks could all be brought to bear in front of the front row. This spear had to be held underhand, as the shield would have obscured the soldier's vision had it been held overhead. It would also be very hard to remove a Long-pike(長槍) from anything it stuck in (the earth, shields, and soldiers of the opposition) if it were thrust downwards, due to its length. The Silla(新羅) Long-pikeman(長槍步兵) phalanx could also lose its cohesion while moving through broken terrain; doing so could create gaps between individual blocks/syntagmata, or could prevent a solid front within those sub-units as well, causing other sections of the line to bunch up.

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