Cavalleggeri were an inferior category of

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

during the classic period of

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

cavalry. This included knife-armed cavalry,

lancer A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

s' pages and mounted

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fi ...

men. Later, ''cavalleggeri'' became a subsidiary arm of the

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

. In 1498,

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

gave this name (''

chevau-léger The Chevau-légers (from French ''cheval''—horse—and ''léger''—light) was a generic French name for several units of light and medium cavalry. Their history began in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, when the heavy cavalry forces o ...

'') to his mounted companies, forming a sort of mounted infantry, and this special body continued until 1570. In this era

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

formed a company of ''chevau-légers'', well-educated and called ordinance since it was used as the king's guard. Other Italian states and communal militias created ''cavalleggeri'' units. In the Florentine Republic it was established that 500 mounted crossbowmen would be regularly enlisted, with the option of arming 10% of them with lances. These were also known as drappelli and were formed into bands, each of which was made up of 50 ''cavalleggeri'' and commanded by a '' condotiere''. After 1600 this specialist cavalry was more and more streamlined and made more practical in the age of gunpowder. Such units were split up to increase numbers in heavy cavalry units, or turned into such units themselves. The ''cavalleggeri'' of this era were armed with

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighter ...

s or pistols. In 1799, new ''cavalleggeri''/''chevau-légers'' units were created, and under Napoleon these were once again armed with lances.

Bibliography

* Stato Maggiore Esercito - Ufficio Storico. Ezio Cecchini. ''Tecnologia ed arte militare ''. 1977, Roma * Stato Maggiore Esercito - Ufficio Storico. Ezio Cecchini. ''Le istituzioni militari''. 1986, Roma * Stato Maggiore Esercito - Ufficio Storico. Rodolfo Puletti. ''L'esercito e i suoi corpi. Sintesi Storica''. Volume I. 1971, Roma * Rodolfo Puletti. ''Caricat'' 1973, Capital, Bologna * Dario Temperino. Storia del Reggimento Cavalleggeri di Lodi (15°). 2001 www.cavalleriaitaliana.it Cavalry units and formations it:Cavalleggeri