Almogavars

Almogavars (Spanish: almogávares; Aragonese: almugávares; Catalan: almogàvers; Portuguese: almogávares; originally Andalusian Arabic: المغاور, romanized: al-mughā́wir) is the name of a class of light infantry soldier originated in the Crown of Aragon used in the later phases of the Reconquista, during the 13th and 14th centuries.^[1]

Almogavars were lightly clad, quick-moving frontiersmen and foot-soldiers. They hailed from the Kingdom of Aragon, the Principality of Catalonia, the Kingdom of Valencia, the Crown of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal.^[2]^[3] In the Crown of Castile, the inner organization was managed by King Alfonso X of Castile in the Siete Partidas.^[4]^[5] At first, these troops were formed by farmers and shepherds originating from the countryside, woods and frontier mountain areas. Later, they were employed as mercenaries in Italy, the Frankokratia and the Levant.^[1]

^ ^a ^b Joseph F. O'Callaghan (2004). Reconquest and crusade in medieval Spain. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-8122-1889-3.
^ Enigmas y misterios de los almogávares. Guillermo Rocafort. p. 31.
^ Enigmas y misterios de los almogávares. Guillermo Rocafort. p. 35.
^ Jurg, Gassmann. "The Siete Partidas: A Repository of Medieval Military and Tactical Instruction". Archived from the original on 18 January 2022.
^ F, Maíllo Salgado. "Puntualizaciones acerca de la naturaleza de los Almogavares" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 January 2022.