Trimarcisia Explained

Trimarcisia (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: τριμαρκισία, trimarkisia), i. e., "feat of three horsemen",^[1] was an ancient Celtic military cavalry tactic or organisation;^[2] it is attested in Pausanias' Description of Greece, in which he described the use of trimarcisia by the Gauls during their invasion of Greece in the third century BCE.^{[3] [4] [5]}
According to Pausanias: Pausanias' view was that the Gauls had adopted this method of fighting by copying the Persian Athanatoi elite force with the difference that while the Persians waited until after a battle was over to replace casualties, the Gauls "kept reinforcing their full number during the height of the action".^[3]

Etymology

According to Pausanias, marka was the Celtic name for a horse.^[3] This corresponds to the root *mark-os of words for "saddle horse" attested in Celtic and Germanic but not in other Indo-European languages, a root that is of uncertain etymology.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Book: The Celts: A History. Dáithí Ó Hógáin. 2002 . 2003 . The Collins Press, The Boydell Press . 53 . 9780851159232 .
2. Encyclopedia: Trimarcisia. Perseus Project. Perseus Encyclopedia.
3. Book: Pausanias. Description of Greece in 4 volumes. Pausanias (geographer). W.H.S. Jones, H.A. Ormerod (translators). 10.19.10-11. 1918. Harvard University Press, William Heinemann Ltd. Cambridge, MA, London. Available online at the Perseus Project.
4. Book: Early Greek warfare: Horsemen and chariots in the Homeric and Archaic Ages. P. A. L. Greenhalgh. 1973. Cambridge University Press. 61. 9780521200561.
5. Book: The Celtic World. Miranda. Green. Miranda Aldhouse-Green. Routledge. 1995. Chapter 4, Celtic Horsemanship. 9781135632434. https://books.google.com/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&pg=PT68.
6. Book: The Celtic Languages in Contact. Papers from the Workshop within the Framework of the XIII International Conference of Celtic Studies. Bonn, 26–27 July 2007. Potsdam University Press. Hildegard L. C.. Tristram. 2007. 4–5. 9783940793072.