Glossaire de la Renaissance

This glossary focuses on European troops et weapons from 1500 to 1660. Expressions (F)rançais, (I)taliens, et (E)spagnols are the most common. Types of cannon are listed separately at the end. Spelling can vary from what is listed here.

Term	Definition
argoulets (F)	Arquebusiers à cheval français.
aventuriers (F)	Mercenary foot soldiers de l’armée française, mostly français, usually armed avec a crossbow.
barche	A boat for 20 - 30 soldiers, avec small cannons et a sail, for river combat.
bonnachts	Infanterie légère irlandaise, usually armed avec sword et shield.
boyars	Eastern European nobles.
caballos corazas (E)	Cavalerie blindée espagnole du 17e Siècle (cuirassiers).
caballos ligeros (E)	Chevaliers blindés légers espagnols - demi-lances.
caliver	Arquebuse anglaise de grand calibre.
caracole (E)	A process in which pistol cavalry attacks in column, avec the front rank discharging their pistols, et wheeling to the rear to reload. Used against pike blocks.
carrack	The largest ship of the era. Usually Portuguese et usually armed. Used for overseas transport of valuable goods.
cavalleria leggiera (I)	cavaliers légers italiens - demi-lances.
chebeck	A mediterranean sailing ship avec square et lanteen sails. Also called a Xebec.
colunella (E)	Colonne d’infanterie espagnole du 16e Siècle, commandée par un colonel.
condotta (I) condottieri (I)	Contract soldiers. Mercenaries. Usually used to refer to their leaders.
cromster	A flat bottom sailing boat used par les Hollandais to operated out of marshy areas to supply besieged towns et harass enemy shipping.
drabant	Infanterie lourde polonaise.
drujina	Cavalerie moyenne russe.
elmeti (I)	Literally "helmets", chevaliers italiens (non-noble)
en haye (F)	Literally "in line". A cavalry line formation, usually only 1 to 3 riders deep, as opposed to the more common deep columns.
enfants perdus (F)	Literally, lost children ou Children of Hell. Arquebusiers français. See verlorne Haufe below.
escopeteros (E)	Arquebusiers/mousquetaires à cheval espagnols.
famiglia ducale (I)	Ducal bodyguard knights.
galleas	A combination galley et galleon avec oars et sails, et canons mounted fore, aft, et broadside.
galloglaich	Mailed axemen (like huscarls) in the pay d’un chef irlandais.
gendarmes (F)	Gents d’Armes. Heavily armoured (usually français) knights.
genitors	See jinetes.
gulyai-gorod	Portable palisade used by Eastern European armies to protect Shot et artillerie.
harquebusiers	Arquebusiers à cheval ou dragons anglais.
herguletiers (E)	Arquebusiers à cheval espagnols.
herreruelos (E)	Reîtres espagnols.
Huguenot	Protestant français
jinetes	Cavalerie légère espagnole, légèrement blindée, avec spear et shield.
Keil (G)	Literally a wedge. One third de l’armée suisse, ou un pike block suisse.
kern	Infanterie légère irlandaise, who usually carried a missle weapon ou firearm.
Landsknecht (G)	Un fantassin Allemand/Impérial, usually a pikeman et often a mercenary. Known for their brightly coloured clothes, et recklessness in combat.
lanze spezzate (I)	Literally a broken lance. Independent mercenary knights, who did not belong to a company ou band.
Millers	Cavalerie lourde protestante française, armoured nobles avec sword et pistols.
Morgenstern (G)	A two-handed Landsknecht sword.
pancerni	Cavalerie moyenne polonaise, armed avec axe et bow ou gun.
pedites (I)	fantassins italiens, often milices.
petronels	Mounted handgunners.
provisionati (I)	Milice italienne
Reiter (G)	Caracoling pistol cavalry, usually armoured, et usually allemand.
scapoli (I)	Ships crews used for land combat, usually by Venetians.
stradiots	Balkan light cavalry introduced into l’Italie by the Venetians. Unarmoured, but armed avec javelins, shield, mace et sword.
streltsi	Infanterie Russe, usually armed avec muskets.
tercio (E)	The standard pike et shot formation of the late 16th et early 17th C. Everything from 3000 man squares avec shot on the corners to 1000 man blocks avec "sleeves" of shot. Replaced in the 1630s et 1640s avec bataillons a la hollandaise.
verlorne Haufe (G) Forlorn Hope	Literally a "lost bunch" d’infanterie impériale escarmouchant, usually armed avec two-handed swords et halberds, who ran ahead of the army to disrupt enemy pike blocks. Musketeers et arquebusiers were similarly employed. The task was very hazardous, et these troops were written off as pertes as soon as they were comitted to battle.
Cannon	Description
culverin	A very long-barreled field gun firing 17-20 lb. shot. Demiculverins fired 10 lb. shot.
drake	Bras canons terrestres et navales firing 6 lb. shot.
falcon	Médiéval light gun.
falconet	Light swivel gun avec 2" bore.
minion	3.25" bore, 4 lb. shot.
ribaldequin	Organ ou battery gun avec several small-bore barrels mounted parallel on the same platform, the Renaissance equivalent of grapeshot.
saker	Land et naval gun, smaller than demiculverin, 5 lb. shot.
serpentine	Small gun avec 1.5" bore et removable breech.

Chris Salander

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