As the Roman army ranks were overwhelmed by the intrusion of the Germanic Barbarians, the Roman Army eventually became "barbarianized" and the end of the heavy infantryman. It is, however, ironic that as the Roman Legionnaire evolved from the large rectangular shield and the heavy shorter sax of a foot soldier to the specialized units (with more and more emphasis on the horse), that the Germans and Franks were still "essentially a people of the forest, which precluded the extensive use of cavalry" (Beeler 8). …
