>
> Given what Sandy Petersen has said about heavy (melee) cavalry vs.
light
> (missile) cavalry ( link
> <http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha/aow.html> )
>
I looked at the article above and it has a few arrors in it - maybe quoted from Archer Jones' book?
In general it seems to assume that all missile armed troops were light infantry skirmshers whereas in fact many archers drew up in close order and didn't skirmish.
The examples suggest that the Persian infantry at the Battle of Marathon were skirmishing light infantry. In fact it is generally believed that the majority were sparabara (close order archers drawn up 10 deep with the front rank man armed with a short spear and a large shield called a spara). These weren't skirmishers at all. The English longbowmen at Crecy weren't skirmishers either. They were heavy archers equipped with bow, sword, dagger, sallet and jack. English archers often relied on a line of stakes to protect them against a charge from mounted French men-at-arms.
The other problem is the straight forward division of cavalry into
light and heavy. In fact there were more types of cavalry in ancient
times-
Skirmishing light cavalry armed with bow or javelin and shield but
little armour. E.g. Numidians, Parthian horse archers, Roman Equites
Ilyricani.
Cavalry who were missile armed (either with bows or javelins) but
were prepared to charge home against suitable targets with sidearm or
spear. They often wore armour and some rode armoured horses. E.g.
Achaemenid Persians, Neo-Assyrians, Roman Equites Alares.
Shock cavalry armed with just melee weapons such as a kontus, xyston
or sarissa (various types of long two-handed spears) most wearing
some armour. E.g. Alexander's Companions, Hellenistic Xystophoroi.
Cataphracts - fully armoured men on fully armoured horses armed with
a kontus or xyston and sometimes a bow. These formed up in close
order and advanced at the trot. E.g Seleukid or Parthian cataphracts,
Roman clibianarii.
Also many infantry often don't fit neatly into the light or heavy model presented.
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