image: Norman cavalry armed with lances attacks the Anglo-Saxon shield wall. Notice the dominance of the spearmen in the front line of the formation. In the back of the formation there is one warrior armed with a battle-axe, one archer and one javelinman. There are Javelins in mid-flight and slain soldiers pierced with javelins on the ground.
A javelin is a light spear designed primarily for casting as a ranged weapon.
The word javelin comes from Middle English and it derives from Old French javeline, a diminutive of javelot which meant spear. The word javelotprobably originated from the Celtic language.
