Research
MethodsWorks Cited
Infantry
Introduction
Infantry CommandsPike
PosturesAnalysis
Conclusions
Equipment
Instructions for Musters and Armes contains detailed weapons posture illustrations and descriptions, which I have designated the Sheffard Drill
. This drill contains postures for both pike and musket. The Sheffard Drill was apparently well accepted, and appears completely or nearly so, in two other works reviewed here.
Each image has an associated description of the posture, which actually describes the maneuver very clearly, in a manner that even 21st century readers can understand. It seems that 20 years of refinement on the original de Gheyn descriptions finally produced a clear and concise description. In addition there are several additional postures illustrated which we know needed to be there, but were always missing (handle your Pike
and Recover your Pike and put up your sword
for example). Other than these additional postures and better descriptions, these illustrations are classic de Gheyn.
Except for one thing... De Gheyn depicts a posture that we have seldom used: Shoulder your Pike and carry it level
. This is described in three motions, and results in a posture requiring the soldier to carry his Pike at approximately mid length, on his shoulder, parallel to the ground. Other than the fact that this requires ranks to be at least double distance (12 feet), and preferably further, the prospect of marching behind a Pike point at eyelevel seems less than exciting. This, I'm sure, is why we have never used it, and I doubt that we ever will. This is especially true when you consider that the alternative posture (slope
your pike) is just as comfortable, more maneuverable, and a lot safer. Achesone does make reference to the use of this option (his posture 17) and clarifies that it is to be used only while the ranks are at double distance on a long march. The Instructions for Musters and Armes uses the shoulder your Pike
command, without including the ...and carry it level
addition, and makes no mention at all of slope
your Pike. In fact, it seems to swap out slope your Pike
and replace it with an unqualified Shoulder your Pike
to mean the same thing.
A review of the remainder of our documents reveals the following:
shoulder you Pike and carry it level, and then moves on to
slope your Pike. By saying it this way, it leads us to believe that there may be two ways to shoulder your pike, carry it level, or slope. Two other works use the same sequence (although without description), and mention three separate commands: shoulder, level, slope (Markam and the ABC of Armes). Note that these do not mention the
andbetween
shoulderand
level, just shoulder, level, slope in a command sequence.
shoulderonly without mention of level or slope. Two of these have very clear illustrations labeled
shoulderfor what de Gheyn labels
slope.
Several authors have stressed the importance of clear unambiguous commands. It would seem that an unqualified slope
(as used by only one author) without a previous shoulder
could be confusing. Many a reenactor has hesitated on the distinction between port (forward) and slope (backward). As mentioned previously, I don't see a good reason to practice the level command, so perhaps a complete command would be shoulder your pike
and then slope your pike
(carry it at a slope, rather than carry it level, as if level or slope are qualifiers or modifiers of the basic command). This is the sequence which most of our authors have chosen to simply state as shoulder your Pike
.
Since musketeers also shoulder
their armes, it would certainly keeps thing simple if we just dropped the slope
command, and just used shoulder
to mean, for pike and shot: shoulder your weapon and carry it at a slope
For years, members of the Renaissance Military Society performing in Renaissance Faires and engaging in pike dill have used a procedure called check your pike
, meaning to slide your hands forward on the weapon and grasp it near the tip in such a way as to control the point in close quarters, such as when passing through a gate or under very low hanging branches.
The position for this command is clearly demonstrated in the The Exercise of Armes by Jacob de Gheyn. In the de Gheyn manual the command is called Cheeke your pike
. Spelling from the time being based on a rather different paradigm than we do today, it was always just assumed that cheeke
was a variant spelling of check.
In a world where warlike is spelled warlicke
and join is spelled ioyne
, this is no great assumption to make!
However, The Tactiks of Aelian (John Bingham, 1616) contains this description of a pike: ...the Pike of Ashen wood for the Steale, and at the upper end an yron head of about a handfull long with cheekes about the length of two foote...
. (p. 153)
Cheekes
about two feet long? Is this the equivalent of langets
about two feet long? If so, the pronunciation of the word cheekes
, in this case, must be cheeks
not checks
, as these items are cheek-like, near either side of the head
of the weapon.
The 28 figure of the Sheffard Drill discusses the second motion, of Cheeke your Pike
: With your left hand hold the Pike a little below the head, your right hand more backward, as far as the cheekes or arming reach...
.
Every documented reviewed here clearly uses the cheeke
term (Bingham goes so far as to use cheeeke
), except for Instructions for Musters and Armes. This work uses checke
in its initial text, but in the included Sheffard Drill, the term is clearly represented as cheeke
(as mentioned above). The reason for this inconsistency cannot be known, but the preponderance of the evidence and common sense implies that the actual pike command is really cheek you pike
(i.e. grasp it at the cheeks) and not check your pike
.
Posture 13 from the Sheffard Pike Drill states:
Bear your right hand with the Pike backward as far as well
you can, with your left hand take the pike forward, and with the right hand
bear the pike upward.
This constitutes an inconsistent usage of the word
bear
. The drill uses the term bear
19 times, and each time it refers to an
action made with the pike, not with the hand. See the descriptions for
postures 21 and 22 for good examples. Posture 22 states Bear the Pike with
your right hand backward
. Here, Bear your right hand with the Pike
backward
, seems very likely to be a transcription error. This is impossible
to know, but since the use of the term bear
applies to the pike in every
other situation; we have chosen to represent the description in this manual as
Bear the Pike with your right hand backward
. Interesting to note that this
same anomaly is present in Hexham (compare with posture 11).
Posture 16 from the Sheffard Pike Drill states:
Raise the right hand and stretch it backward, your left
hand being at your breast, your left elbow against your hip.
It is not
possible to do this posture with your elbow against your hip
. Be this an odd
period usage or a transcription error, we have changed hip
to side
.
Posture 25 from the Sheffard Pike Drill states:
Forsaking the butt end of the Pike with your right hand,
bear up the Pike over your head with your left hand only, and that instant turn
your face to the right hand, and be ready with your right hand to take the Pike
more backward.
Hexham inserts an at
in and at that instant
. Since it more
clearly describes the maneuver, we have decided to accept the Hexham edit.
Posture 26 from the Sheffard Pike Drill states:
Having the Pike in the right hand, forsake it with your left
and with the right hand only, lay it on your shoulder, as in the 12 and 20
figures. Hexham uses upon your shoulder
rather than on your
shoulder
, and we have chosen to accept the upon
version.
Posture 28 from the Sheffard Pike Drill states:
This is to be done by several palming postures, first with
the right hand bear the butt end of the Pike backward, as far as you can and so
continue palming till you come to the head of your Pike.
This language does
not clearly describe what is implied by palming
and omits any discussion of
what you should be doing with your left hand. The description for posture 31
does it much better, even though it is describing the same process in reverse:
bring forward your right hand as far as well you can, and with the left hand
grip the Pike backward as far as you can.
We have decided to employ this same
sort of language for posture 28: This is to be done by several palming
postures, first with the right hand bear the butt end of the Pike backward, as
far as you can and with the left hand grip the Pike forward as far as you can,
and so continue palming till you come to the head of your Pike.
Posture 26 from the Sheffard Pike Drill states:
Remove your Right hand to your left, and in your right hand
only carry your Pike, your hand being upon your hip.
This is very confusing
language. To improve clarity while maintaining period feel, we have changed
the language to Remove your Right hand to the place of your left hand
.
Posture 34 states Order at close order
. To avoid
confusion over the term order
(which is both a pike posture and a distance)
we have chaged the command to Order your Pike at close order
.
Although the Sheffard Drill adds two postures not used by de
Gheyn to handle and recover the pike, there is no mention made regarding what
to do at the end of the drill. For this, a good example (sadly without
illustration or description) is found in the A,B, C, of Armes: Lay down your
Pike
(p. na:14)
