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ofspear points; to provide the missile factor; and to provide a firm base from the cover of which the knights could charge, or behind which they could rally between charges. The crossbowmen played a particularly important role, freąuently being sta-tioned at the front and/or wings of the battle linę, and almost all battles of the late i2th and i3th centuries in the Middle East mention the good service given by the crossbowmen. It is notable that at Mansourah in 1250, for example, Louis IX considered his position extremely hazardous until he could get his corps of crossbowmen across the river to support his cavalry.

A light cavalry arm was supplied by the Turcopoles, who were mercenaries recruited from the native Syrians and were the offspring of mixed marriages between the lower classes of Franks and Syrians. Some of these troops used the bow, and appear to have followed the Turkish method of fighting as mounted bowmen with hit-and-run tactics, but this was probably only when employed for reconnaissance and screening duties, and their real role was to bolster the number of knights, with whom they normally rode, by forming a second linę of cavalry.

Organization

The armies of Outremer were organized at the muster for each campaign according to the task that lay ahead and there was no permanent organization as such. However, it was customary to divide most medieval armies into a number of divisions, and in Outremer each division was allotted a specific task and given strict orders so that the commander-in-chief could maintain control over all the divisions on a battlefield for as long as possible. This was vital if the Turkish tactics, of attempting to break up the crusaders' formations with lightning missile attacks from all directions, were to be defealed. Great attention was therefore paid to the allotting of positions and the mainten-ance of rigid, tight-knit lines. This rigidity of formation was not abandoned until the decisive charge of the heavy cavalry was launched, after which the commander-in-chief in any case lost overall control. Freąuently the infantry was deployed in front of the cavalry to protect the horses of the knights, enduring the Turks’ barrage ofarrows but suffering little damage, until the right

A brass from a reliąuary case or similar, dated I2th or early i3th century and probably madę at Limoges. This illustrates the generał appearance of many knights until the 3rd Crusade, and most spearmen (without the long gown, shown here under the hauberk) until about 1225. (Reproduction by permission of the Trustees of the Wallace Collection)