Battle cry

A battle cry is a word or phrase shouted by warriors in combat, intended to strengthen the morale of friendly troops and shake the morale of the enemy. Battle cries are also used to rally troops at need.

Many individual fighters and households have their own battle cries, as do Baronies and Kingdoms.

A line of armed fighters roaring a battle cry as they crash into an enemy shieldwall is a formidable sight, indeed.

Battle Cries in Period

In the medieval period, everyone had a battle cry. The various cries were usually religious in nature.

Some examples:

• Olicrosse! (Holy Cross!) was the French battle cry at the Battle of Bouvines.
• Santiago y Adelante! (Saint James and at them!) is a Spanish battle cry dating from the Reconquista.
• Hakka Paale! (Hack them down!) is a Finnish battle cry, likely dating from Viking times.
• Lamh Ladir Abu! is an ancient Irish battle cry.
• Allah-u Akbar! (God is Great) is the traditional Muslim battle cry, partly because it is the duty of a devout Muslim to say these words before death.

Battle Cries in the SCA

Anyone in the SCA can have a battle cry of their own, but ideally it will be short, easy to shout clearly, and not overly obscene.