"battle formations" Topic

Greetings, dropping in again from the C21st. I should appreciate opinion of Medieval battlers.

When I read references to a Hispanic Christian army of the 13th or 14th century arranged in battles described variously in sequence of (eg) avaward/vanguard/vanguardia, main or central battle and rerward/rearguard/ retaguardia (etc)- is this principally a description of a column of march or also of an army arrayed for battle in successive lines.

I have read suggestions that an army described as above would deploy from column into line with the avaward taking the right, the main battle taking the centre and the rerward. Does this have basis in fact?

Many thanks

Yes, with the caveat that they didn't always arrive at a battlefield by the same route. The terminology comes from their position in the approach march to the battlefield.

It was a fairly standard terminology used in most of western Europe in one form or another. Each battle would be made up of a number of smaller forces, often of very different sizes.

And I think you'll find that typically the van would be on the right flank of the battleline, the main in the center, and the rear on the left. But that was if the army got to deploy without too much interference from the enemy.

Jim

Thanks gentlemen. That is helpful.

If that was the case, with a conventional deployment taking place unhindered, was there then some correlation between being in the 'vanguard/avaward' and the tradition of the right of the line being the 'post of honour'?

Greetings again, gentlemen.

It would be useful to find a citable source reference, primary or secondary, that the avaward (etc) would be expected- all things being equal- to take the right of the line?

Many thanks,
JF