sheltrons

Noun

sheltron (plural sheltrons)

1. (historical) A compact body of troops forming a battle array or phalanx, especially such a body of Scottish troops armed with pikes during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
   • The ſheltron of the foremen of the fyrſt ſort, ſhalbe ſet in the ryght corner, and wete thou well that cohort is not ellis but the numbre of fyfty hundred knyghtis, and eṽry legion is ten comportes. Than as I ſaid before, the ſheltron of foremen of the fyrſt cohort, ſhude be ſet in the fyr[ſ]t...[1408, R. Green, “Of the Warlike Weapons of the Ancients”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, volume XXIX, London: […] D[avid] Henry and R....