Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Ferentarii

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rich, Anthony (1849). The illustrated companion to the Latin dictionary, and Greek lexicon. p. vi. OCLC 894670115. https://archive.org/details/illustratedcompa00rich. 

FERENTA'RII. A corps of soldiers in the Roman armies, classed amongst the levis armatura, or light-armed troops. (Veg. Mil. i. 20. Non. s. v. p. 554.) They were not armed for close conflict, having no defensive weapons, and only such offensive ones as were intended to be discharged from a distance (quae ferrentur, non quae tenerentur. Non. s. Decuriones, p. 520. Festus, s. v.), whence they are sometimes ranked with the Accensi. They were posted on the wings in the battle array; and were chiefly employed to commence the attack by a discharge of missiles (Sal. Cat. 60. Veg. l. c.); or sometimes, like the Rorarii, to annoy the enemy from between the ranks of the heavy-armed troops. Tac. Ann. xii. 35.

2. Equites ferentarii. A mounted corps of the same description, furnished with javelins for throwing at a distance, instead of the fixed cavalry lance; qui ea modo habebant arma quae ferrentur, ut jaculum. Varro, L. L. vii. 57.