lanzknecht

Latin lancea was a type of light spear, possibly of Spanish or Iberian origin, used in the Roman army and eventually giving its name to the weapon across Romance languages: lance in French and English, lanza in Spanish and Italian. The Lanzknecht — literally lance-servant or lance-man — were Swiss and German mercenary infantrymen who emerged in the late 15th century as the most feared professional soldiers in Europe.

Emperor Maximilian I created the Landsknecht regiments in the 1480s partly to counter the Swiss mercenaries who had come to dominate European warfare. Trained in pike and later arquebus, the Landsknechte — German men rather than Swiss — became notorious for their ferocity in battle, their independence from aristocratic command, and their extravagant clothing. Imperial law that normally governed dress did not apply to them, so they dressed in slashed, multicolored extravagance that became their trademark.

The mounted lancer — a cavalryman armed with a long lance — had parallel development through the same linguistic root. Polish Winged Hussars, carrying lances up to five meters long, were the most famous cavalry lancers of the 17th century. Napoleon's Polish Lancers at Somosierra in 1808 charged a defended pass in a suicidal attack and succeeded, carving out a legend. The light lancer cavalry remained in service into World War I.

Today lancer designates cavalry or armored cavalry units in several armies — the 17th/21st Lancers in the British Army, the 1st Cavalry Division's lineage through Lancer units in the US Army. The spear is gone; the name carries the prestige of the weapon that once defined mobile, aggressive combat.