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BIDET, 12th-13th CENTURIES
An extract from Armies of Feudal Europe 1066-1300by Ian Heath
67. BIDET, 12th-13th CENTURIES
Bidets (bidsaux, bibaldi) were good quality Spanish - especially Aragonese, Navarrese and Basque - javelin-armed light infantry, employed in France from the mid-12th century until the 14th (by which time they were more usually referred to as 'bidowers', for whom see figure 23 in Armies of the Middle Ages, volume 1). The 14th century chronicler Guiart, describing 13th century bidets, records their equipment to have consisted of a thrusting spear, 2 'darts', and a coutel at the waist. The coutel, or cultellus, (whence 'cutlass'), was a popular lower-class sidearm by the 13th century, giving rise to term cultellarii sometimes used of infantry by contemporaries; it clearly varied considerably in shape and size but was basically a stabbing weapon, either a short sword or a long dagger such as that shown in 67a. It is possible that leather, quilted or other light armour was worn by some bidets, but contemporary sources generally speak of them as shieldless and unarmoured.
The later Almughavari (for whom see Armies of the Middle Ages volume 2) were very similarly equipped, the javelin remaining a popular weapon amongst the Spanish throughout this era, and particularly amongst those from mountainous areas. Almughavari appeared in the service of both Aragon and Castile in the 13th century, though strictly-speaking they were a Catalan troop-type. Their name derived from the Arabic al-mughawir, meaning 'one who makes hostile incursions' (or, more simply 'raider' or light-armed soldier'), and a late-13th century source actually records them as including 'Saracens' in their ranks. They featured particularly prominently in Aragon's war with Philippe III of France, cutting his army to pieces at Roussillon in 1285, and fighting for both King Pere III and his son Federigo (Frederick III) in the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282-1302). Some 300 even found their way into the employ of the Guelf League by 1305, increasing to 500 by 1307.
Other noted users of javelins (gavelocs or dards) during this era were the Frisians. Matthew Paris records that these wore linen tunics and light armour, Geoffrey de Visnauf adding that their javelins had thongs, presumably designed to make them spin in flight and thereby increase their penetration.
[See spanish infantry with spear and javelin in Cantiga 096 and in Cantiga 022]
