>Yesterday, I nearly fell out of my chair when Joerg blithely mentioned
>Orlanthi carls in forming up in shield walls to fight scorpion men.
>While I agree that it's theoretically possible, especially in Heortland,
In fact, I have several reasons why I think Orlanthi form shield walls in Heortland.
To start with the designer's POV, my view of the Heortland Orlanthi is more Anglo-Saxon than Irish, with bits of Danelaw and (contemporary to 1700) Scotland thrown in. Generally, I steal from Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe for the situation in Heortland under Richard the LargeCat-Hearted.
Historically, the Elmali carls were apt at forming shield walls even before Monrogh Lantern told them that their sun god was named differently.
Mythically, the stand shield to shield is a reminder of the Unity Battle.
And on the strength of many people standing shoulder to shoulder, shields overlapping, I believe that this was a EWF magic to get the defensive strength of a dragon by imitating its scales. Since this was effective, not all of it was forgotten. Traces of this can be found in Pavis as well (see the Pavis shield, in Codex 1).
Also Esrolia has brought shield walls (in fact as their only major strength in battle except numbers).
> Martin Laurie and I discovered an appropriate page from one of the
>ancient texts at the College of War in Alkoth:
>Excerpt from the "Chronicles of the Victorious Campaigns of Emperor
>Eusibus, Gutter of Horse-Savages",
>Chapter III: Employment of Foreign Troops
Lovely piece. Too sad that it is about ancient Urlanthi.
The Heortlander shield wall is not formed by soldiers who obey a command, it is formed by a fyrd backing up their champions. The shield formation is static and cannot be moved much when in contact with the enemy, its real use is to stop cavalry (even heavy cavalry), and then dissolve to slaughter the disordered charge. As such, it is more popular with the traditional tribal Orlanthi of the Storm Mountain foothills than with the Westernized Hendriki of the lower plateau. The hill-people soon learned that their only chance to resist the mounted attacks of the lowland cnihts was to form shield walls, preferably atop slopes, and then finish off the casualties of such a clash. Cooperation against oppression.
Standing in a line with shields ready also is a common feature of the wapentake of the hill clans and tribes at their legal moots. I still have to write this up, but I believe that during the Heortland Civil Wars of 1320 to 1350 there also was some Braveheart figure who organized the hill-people (at least temporarily) along their wapentake formations.
This stance also is the logical formation to keep while the tribal or clan champions fight their preliminary duels between the lines of battle.
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