Constantine looked at Crocus and saw the same bewilderment in the eyes of the young Frank that he felt himself. The lance used by the equites in battle was a lighter and longer version of the pilum, the heavy spear with which the legions had conquered most of the known world, and only a little less important a weapon than the sword. Almost a third of the metal point of the lance was sharpened so it could penetrate armor, and the wooden socket to which the head was attached occupied another third of the shaft, serving not only as a place to grasp the weapon but also as a guard for the hand. It was a murderous weapon in skilled hands and, armed as the two were with only scale armor, swords and the MI round shields of the equites, it would be difficult indeed to conduct even a sham battle on horseback without one or both of lliein being wounded or killed.
It was Dacius who noted an inequality in their weapons, just as Constantine was mounting. For the exercise that morning he had used a training sword, a short weapon manufactured of an inferior steel and poorly tempered. Crocus, however, was wearing his personal sword, a fine weapon of Spanish steel, longer and much more able to take the clash of metal upon metal as they banged each other’s shields in mock attack.
“Here, Constantine.” Dacius unbuckled his own sword and tossed it to the younger rider. “Wear this.”
While Constantine buckled on the longer weapon, Dacius moved close to the horse and spoke in a low voice. “Crocus is your friend but these Gauls are easily excited in battle and he is an experienced fighter. Guard yourself and keep your shield close to your body, or he will tear it from your arm on the first pass.”
Constantine nodded and swung into the saddle. Crocus’ mount was prancing a few paces away, eager to be off, and they galloped across the field to the space before the reviewing stand. There, the two saluted with upheld lances, then turned and trotted until perhaps a hundred paces separated them. When the cornu signaled the beginning of the mock battle, each urged his mount forward and closed the distance between them at a gallop.
Classic pattern such passagesatarms
In the classic pattern such passagesatarms were supposed to follow, the first few passes were carried out with the lance held level, as each man sought to strike the body of his opponent and either kill or unhorse him. But, in a sham battle such as this, each was supposed to aim for the shield of the other instead, hoping to strike it such a blow that the bearer would be unhorsed and forced to fight from the ground, placing him at a considerable disadvantage. Constantine therefore gripped his lance tightly in his right hand and held the shield before him with his left, making it an easy target for the weapon of his opponent, as they raced toward each other.
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