Byzantine Arms - Heavy Infantry

Now that we have completed our overview of armor, let's turn our attention to the arms of the Byzantine soldier. What would he carry into battle?

We'll start with the skutatoi, the heavy infantry.

Look at the above three soldiers. Notice that two of the three carry spears. That would be the standard armament of the heavy infantry. Accordingly, the Chimera Legion will outfit itself with spears. Byzantine spears ranged from 8 to 16 feet. Those can be a tad impractical for the modern battle gamer, so the Legion plans to experiment with 6 foot spears.

Take a look at soldier one. He is also carrying a sword. That was also standard equipment. The Byzantines typically used two types - the straight-edged spathion and the curved paramerion. We can replicate the spathion with the typical boffer "blue" sword.

Soldier 3 is one of the Varangian guard - a Viking in Imperial service. He carries and axe. This shows that there is some variety within the arms of the skutatoi. Axes and maces were also common.

Finally, notice one other feature common in most of the posted pictures - shields. The heavy infantry are invariably shown carrying shields. Even the name skutatoi means shieldman. To create an appropriate representation of the Byzantine heavy infantry, we're going to need shields.

What kind did the skutatoi employ? As shown below, they wielded all kinds - oval, round, teardrop, heater.

This gives us a lot of options. A round shield (recommended size is 28" diameter) is a good starter shield that is easiest to make or to buy. The Legion also intends to experiment with 24" by 36" teardrops. But any shield is fine. We are going to dress our shields up. The Legion standard will be a red background with the chimera sigil in yellow/gold. We have a stencil for the sigil.

What about shield-breaking, two-handed weapons that are so common on the mock medieval battlefield? I didn't find any reference to use of these weapons. However, given their utility on our battlefields, the Legion may experiment with them. Given that many Anglo-Saxons joined the Varangian Guard in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest, it seems plausible that they would introduce their two-handed axes.

How can one acquire heavy infantry arms suitable for our mock battles? Weapons are readily available from online vendors. Make sure you are buying weapons for boffer combat or full contact combat. They may also be listed as Belegarth, Dagorhir, or Amtgard weapons. I have found two sources currently operating:

• Forged Foam - the oldest maker of boffer weapons. Postage can get a bit pricey
• Gorg the Blacksmith - highly respected manufacturer. He is based in Florida, which means you can pick up weapons in person if you attend an event he is at.

Of course, you can make your own equipment. Here are some tutorials:

• Omniblade "sword" - Many boffer fighters use these "omnis" because they are easier to construct and maintain. I recommend replacing the pool noodle with Frost King pipe insulation.
• Light flat blade sword - When you want a weapon that looks more like a real sword
• Shield - TBD. The Legion plans to use all-foam strap shields using a shield blank, but I cannot find a tutorial using this design. Talk to the Legion officers and we'll show you how.
• Spear - An older design. You should replace the PVC with a fiberglass or bandshoppe pole
• Other weapons - Amtgard, Belegarth, and Dagorhir have useful tutorials.

Regardless of the route you go, the Legion recommends that you speak to an experienced member before acquiring new weapons. We have loaner weapons so you can try out different types before making a final decision, and we can show you how to make your own equipment.

NEXT - Light infantry