Obseruations vpon the fiue first bookes of Cæsars commentaries setting fourth the practise of the art military in the time of the Roman Empire : wherein are handled all the chiefest point of their discipline, with the true reason of euery part, together with such instructions as may be drawn from their proceedings, for the better direction of our moderne warres / by Clement Edmunds.

THE FOVRTH OBSERVATION.

THe souldiers which Caesar sent to relieue Bibrax,* 1.1 were Archers of Creta and Numidia, and slingers of the Iles Baleares, which are now called Maiorica, and Minorica: which kinde of weapon, because it seemeth ridiculous to the souldiers of these times, whose conceites are held vp with the furie of these fierie engines; I will in briefe discouer the na∣ture and vse of this weapon.

The Latines (saith Isodore) called this weapon funda: quod ex ea fundantur lapides. Plinie attributeth the inuention thereof to the Insulairs called Baleares. Florus in his third booke and eighth chapter, saith, that these Baleares vsed three sortes of slinges, and no other weapon besides: for a boy had neuer any meate giuen him, before he had first strooke it, with a sling. Strabo distinguisheth these three sortes of slings, which the Baleares vsed; and saith that they had one sling with long raines, which they vsed when they would cast a farre off: and another with short raines, which they vsed neere at hand: and the third with raines of a meane sise, to cast a reasonable distance. Lipsius saith, that in Columna Antoni∣na at Rome, he obserued that the Balearean was made with one sling about his head, another about his bellie, and the third in his hand; which might be their ordinarie manner of carrying them. The matter whereof they were made was threefold, the first was hempe or cotton, the second haire, and the third sinewes: for of either of these stuffes, they commonly made them: the forme and fashion of a sling resembled a platted rope, somewhat broade in the middest, with an Ouall compasse; and so by little and little decreasing into two thongs or raines. Their manner of slinging was to whirle it twise or thrise about their head, and so to cast out the bullet. Virgill speaking of Mezentius saith,

Ipse ter adducta circum caput egit habena.

But Vegetius preferreth that skill, which cast the bullet with once turning it a∣bout the head. In Suidas we find, that these Baleares did commonly cast a stone of a pound waight, which agreeth to these dames in Caesar, fundas, librales. The leaden bullets are mentioned by Salust, in the warre with Iugurth; and by Li∣uie, where he saith, that the Consull prouided great store of arrowes, of bullets, and of small stones to be cast with slings. This weapon was in request amongst diuers nations, as well in regard of the readines, & easie reiterating of the blow, as also for that the bullet fledde verie farre, with great violence: the distance

which they could easily reach with their sling, is expressed in this verse,

Fundum Varro vocat, quem possis mittere funda.

Which Vegetius interpreteth to be 600 foote:* 1.2 Their violence vvas such, as the same author affirmeth in his first booke and sixteenth chapter, that neither hel∣met, gaberdine, nor corselet could beare out the blow; but he that was hit with a sling, was slaine sine inuidia sanguinis, as he saith in the same place. Lucrece, Ouid, and Lucan, three of the Latine Poets saie, that a bullet skilfully cast out of a sling,* 1.3 went with such violence that it melted as it flew: vvhereof Sene∣ca giueth this reason, motion (saith he) doth extenuate the aire, and that exte∣nuation or subtilitie doth inflame: and so a bullet cast out of a sling melteth as it flieth. But howsoeuer, Diodorus Siculus affirmeth, that these Balearean slingers brake both target, headpiece, or any other armour vvhatsoeuer.

There are also two other sorts of slings, the one mentioned by Liuie; and the other by Vegetius: that in Liuie is called Cestrophendo, vvhich cast a short ar∣rowe with a long thicke head: the other in Vegetius, is called fustibalus, vvhich was a sling made of a coard and a staffe. But let this suffice for slinges and slin∣gers, vvhich were reckoned amongst their light armed souldiers, and vsed chief∣lie in assaulting, and defending townes, and fortresses, vvhere the heauie armed souldiers could not come to buckle; and present the place of our Hargebusiers, which in their proper nature, are leuis armaturae milites, although more terrible then those of ancient times.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Slingers with their arte and vse.
• * 1.2

  Lib. 2.
• * 1.3

  Lib. 2. natu: questions.