Part 268

MAITRE d’armes, Fr. A term in general use among the French, signifying a fencing master. Every regiment has a maitre d’armes attached to it.

MAKE-Ready, a word of command in the firing, on which the soldier brings his piece to the recover, at the same time cocking it ready for firing.

MAL d’armée, Fr. A sort of contagious disorder which sometimes rages in an army, and is occasioned by too much fatigue, or by bad food.

MAL-de-Mer, Fr. Sea-sickness.

MAL-de-Terre, Fr. The scurvy is so called by the French.

MALABAR GUNS, Ind. Heavy pieces of ordnance, which are made in the Malabar country, and are formed by means of iron bars joined together with hoops. They are very long, and extremely unwieldy.

MALADES, Fr. The sick.

Soldats-MALADES, Fr. Soldiers on the sick list.

MALANDRINS, Fr. a set of free-booters, who under the reign of Charles V. infested France. During the 14th century, these plunderers made their appearance twice in considerable bodies. They consisted chiefly of discharged soldiers who formed themselves into marauding parties, and pillaged with impunity all the travellers they met. Abbé de Choisi, relates that it was extremely hazardous to oppose them in their first onset. These pillagers, whom the inhabitants called Malandrins, assembled in different cantons, chose their own leaders, and observed a sort of discipline in their depredations.

They usually contrived to station themselves in such a manner, that it was impossible to attack them.

They plundered or destroyed many places and buildings through which they passed, and paid no regard to church or state. Their principal and most notorious leaders, were the Chevalier de Vert, brother to the count d’Auxerre, Hugues de Caurelée, Mathieu de Gournar, Hugues de Varennes, Gauthier Huet, and Robert Lescot, who all belonged to some order of knighthood. Bertrand du Guesclin cleared the country of these dangerous and unprincipled men, by leading them into Spain under a pretence of fighting the Moors, when in reality his object was to attack Peter the cruel. See French Hist. de Charles V. liv. 1. page 86.

MALINGERER, (from the French) one who feigns illness to avoid his duty.

MALINGRE, Fr. peaking, sickly.

MALL. See MAUL.

MALLET, a wooden hammer, to drive the pegs into the ground, by which a tent is fastened; it is likewise used on various other occasions, especially in fortification and artillery.

MALLEABLE, in the art of founding, a property of metals, whereby they are capable of being extended under the hammer.

MALTA. The strongest place in the Mediterranean, taken by the French troops during the present war, from the knights of that order, and since re-taken by the British. The island of Malta may be considered as a key to the Levant. See MILITARY orders.

MAMMILLIARIA, (Mammellieres, Fr.) a word corrupted from the Latin, signifying a sort of armor, or that part of armor which formerly covered the chest and nipples. Etienne de la fontaine, who was silver smith to the French court, mentions among other articles two sets of Mammillieries, in an account which was delivered in the year 1352.

MAMALUKES, (Mammelucs, Fr.) Some writers assert that they were Turkish and Circassian slaves, originally purchased from the wandering tartars by Meliesaheh, and amounting in number to one thousand men. They were trained and disciplined to war, and some were raised to the first places of trust in the empire. Other writers say that the mamelukes were generally chosen out of christian slaves, and may be considered in the same light as the Turkish janizaries are; others again assert, that they originally came from Circassia, and attracted public notice by their valor, &c. in 869. See D’Herbelot, page 545. The mamelukes have made a considerable figure during the present war, especially in their contest against Bonaparte, for the defence of Egypt. They afterwards joined the French, and formed a considerable part of their cavalry.

MAN, to man the works, is to post the soldiers on the lines so as to be ready for their defence, &c. In the plural number it means soldiers, as an army consisting of 12,000 men.

Flank-front-rank-MAN. Each soldier upon the right and left extremity of the first line or rank of any given body of troops is so called.

Flank-rear-rank-MAN. Each soldier upon the right and left extremity of the last line or rank of any given body of troops.

When a company or battalion is drawn up three deep, the two men who stand at the extremities of the centre line may be called flank-centre-rank-men.

MANCELLE, Fr. a small chain which is fixed to the collars of carriage or dray horses, and which terminates in a large iron ring, that is attached to the shaft. It likewise means the ring itself.

MANCHE d’un Bataillon, Fr. literally means the sleeve of a battalion.--This word originally signified any small body consisting of 40 or 60 men, which were drawn out of the main-body of a battalion, and were posted by files upon the corners or angles of the same battalion.

At present the word manches means the wings of a battalion, the centre of which was composed of pikemen, whilst pikes were in use. Thus there were right and left wings, which were again divided into half-wings, quarter-wings, and half-quarter-wings.

Any battalion may defile or break off by wings, half-wings, or by the other proportions.

The term manche, or wing, was undoubtedly adopted for the express purpose of distinguishing several small corps, which, though at times connected and standing together, could suddenly detach themselves, and act against the enemy without occasioning the most trifling fluctuation or movement in the main body. The Greeks and Romans must have had a term synonimous to manche, in order to shew the several little portions into which the phalanx of the former, and the legion of the latter, were at times divided, when there was occasion for either to manœuvre upon the same principles that we do by wings.