Concerning Levies, Banner Armies, Standing Guardsmen, And Noble Sers [First Draft]

[Komodo 140]

Concerning Levies, Banner Armies, Standing Guardsmen and Noble Sers

 

An essay upon feudal hosts and their variations.

 

 

When considering a nation’s strength upon the field and the field

alone, there is a multitude of factors that may be taken into account. These
factors do not account for a nation’s political strengths and weaknesses, nor
its economic or administrative advantages or disadvantages. Rather, it concerns
a host of aspects that are determined by three relative attributes; the World,
the Soldiery, and The Heavens.

 

 

The World concerns the lay of the field in which the battle is

being fought. Being brief on this topic of battles, I will only make it noted
that the Earth has a critical to combat on an open field as it does in siege.
The Heavens are also critical in a conflicts proceeding, as this determines the
outcome by sheer fortune and favor of the Seven Skies. Many victories are
attributed to the favor of the Seven Skies to one particular side or with
self-proclaimed luck going to another. The ecclesiarches tell us that the
Creator Above wields power to sway a battle by a single sword, so that the more
pious army succeeds.

 

 

However, in respect to these attributes, there is a third by which

most generals cling to the most. Their soldiery. Soldiery concerns all humanly
aspects of an army and its administration. A host can be judged on its soldiery
by the capability of its generals, the discipline of its sergeants, and the
tenacity of its men-at-arms.  Of these the final, the men-at-arms, will be
the focus of this chapter and its goal. The goal of the essay being to define
each of the types of rank and file soldiery, its advantages, disadvantages, and
its historical uses.

 

 

Of the common soldieries of the human realms, the bannermen

legions of lords are perhaps the most widely used. The idea of using
men-at-arms raised directly under a lord’s banner and trained specially for war
is not a new one at all. Records easily trace this form of military
organization all the way back to Aegis. A banner army is defined by several
aspects. To begin with, all men and/or women within the contingents are usually
raised from the lord’s estates, and have previous loyalties to him. They are
then trained and often paid in some fashion for their duties. In many cases
they have some form of disciplinary training along with officers appointed by
their lord. These soldiers owe their loyalty directly to the lord whose banner
they march under. In recent years, decades even; however, many have become
critical of banner forces, claiming them to be ineffective and disproportionate
to a lord’s taxable population. As lords scramble to establish their own
personal armies, they neglect the proportion of these professional standing
soldiers to that of serfs and peasants. One could question why a lord needs to
wield such an army when he has no subjects to protect except for his own
bannermen. There are countless examples of lords whose peasant population
dwindled so low that their banner armies had no common folk to defend.
Bannermen may also, as with many military administrations, possess a strong
urge for advancement. Since most bannermen, both those of modernity and
antiquity, fall into some form of ranked administration many of these men
strive to climb this “ladder.” This can lead to a form of elitism and an
entitlement complex among banner armies, something that is more easily
recognized in knightly orders and feudal states. As time wears on within the
ranks of a banner army, without proper pay, wartime activities, and a
population to defend and interact with bannermen can turn unruly. Orders,
companies, and other military organizations with proper discipline or values
can be kept in check by their superiors. However, a common lord’s banner army
without these will quickly fall to disorganization, inactivity, and even
banditry and hooliganism. An account of this are the bannermen of Lord Codrik
Green, who turned to attacking neighboring peasantry for sport and joining a
heretic cult which revered the poisonous spiders of the nearby woods. In
conclusion bannermen, while trained and equipped for war, can be just as much a
hindrance to their lords as support of not more so.

 

 

Within recent decades, though not without historical examples,

another form of soldiery has been reemerging from the ancient feudal “pyramid”
that governs the lives of most human realms. In its simplest form, this
“pyramid” dictates that lords are the tip and peasants the base. Lords are to
act as administers and leaders of the peasantry, while peasants work under and
defend their lords whom are given right to rule by blood and divine investment.
Soldiery known as levies are men raised directly from a lord’s serfs and
peasants. Unlike bannermen, they are not professional in their military career
and are not a permanently standing army. Lord’s which hold to a levy system
instead of bannermen will oft times have a small household guard to defend
their personal estate, though during times of war with will call their
peasantry to arms. These men are levied into units which are led by unofficial
levy masters. Most of these impromptu officers have past experience in the
levies, are local leaders and political figures, or are trained sworn swords to
the lord. The levy is then roughly drilled, armed, and organized in a manner
that allows them to hold their own against common foes. If the lord is active
in war, many of these peasants will already have been a part of battles and
skirmishes, allowing them some experience to bestow upon fresh recruits. Once
the lord’s campaign is over, the peasants will once more switch out their
swords and hoes, returning to their lives they carried before they were levied.
Levies permit a lord to have an able army that is practically as capable as
another’s bannermen. However, in this case the lord’s soldiery are in fact is
own peasants. Unlike with banner armies, which trade the critical economic
assets of peasants for the swords of soldiers, levies ensure that a lord has
the economic base to supply his army, and an army to fight for him. In many
cases, levies will be armed and armored more efficiently than even bannermen
because they supply themselves instead of relying on the lord’s personal funds
to do so. In many cases it would seem that a peasant levy lacks the same amount
of morale and motivation as a trained force. However, as can be seen in most
levied armies, morale is hardly an issue. While mercenaries fight for coin and
bannermen fight for their liege, the peasants of a levy fight for their own
land, friends, and family. A strong sense of brotherhood seeps through the
ranks of a levy, infecting its contents with a sense mutual desperation and
ambition to defend what is really worth fighting for. Perhaps the finest of
contemporary examples of a levy is the strelts of Kralta. These men and women
cling to one another in war, fighting for their homelands and loved ones. Many
a battle has been turned by the tenacity of such resolved fighters, Carrion or
no.  

 

Perhaps the most written of and romanticized of the different

soldieries is that of the knight and Orderly. There are many a tale of the
chivalric horse-riding men whom would rescue maidens in peril and slaying a
terrible foe. Knighthood and other militant orders and guilds have a long
tradition in the human realms. So long, that there are many variations of a
knight’s title, responsibilities, and powers. In Oren knights are addressed in
as “Ser”. In some cases they were landed, granted an estate for their military
service to a lord. Some banded together to found Orders based upon common
ideals, beliefs, and purposes. While this is common for a knight of Oren, not
all human realms hold true to these details of a knight. However, most scholars
can agree to a single definition that fits all knights. “A warrior sworn to an
ideal, order, or lord from which he receives some form of compensation be it
moral, spiritual, or worldly.” In many cases, orders, kings, lords, and the
like turn to knights for a true warrior. However, over time the only thing that
can be for certain attributed to knights is the definition above. The quality
of the knight has degraded and the title “Ser” has become more and more a title
than a true honor. In previous ages, the numbers of knights have been
oversaturated by young men ill fit to bear the ideals of knighthood
illegitimatizing knighthood. There are many accounts, particularly from Asulon
and the islands of Kalos and Elysium of knights abusing their power and
bringing terrible crimes upon commoners in the name of their Emperor. Down the
course of history the skill of which knights are required to possess has
slipped and slipped. Modern technology and techniques allow a man-at-arms or
levied peasant to kill “professional” knight with ease.  During the Battle
of Crowsfield, Carrion levies and Blackmont men-at-arms fought against a host
of the Teutonic Order. Consisting of a number of Sariants, Teutonic elite
orderlies, the host sustained significant casualties by the commonly trained
Carrions and Blackmonts before being routed. In this historical occurrence, the
Sariants, knights of the Teutonic Order, believed that by honor the petty
spears and blades of the Carrion serfs would be turned away, leading to
victory. These egotistical sers may have learned a valuable lesson on the field
this day. Once the blood is spilt and the battle said and done, a blade is a blade,
and no amount of chivalric virtue can prove any more fatal than the fanaticism
of a nationalistic peasant. Many knights forget that they are meant to earn
their title, that their skills are what give them the right to hold it, not
their ideals and beliefs. A sturdy foundation of martial prowess must first be
established before they can boast their causes. In this day and age, most
knights lack both skill and virtue, as the example of Alexander Valois, who was
publicly spanked by the common born Toveah Goldman.  The number of true
knights dwindles, and most of these “pious” and “holy” soldieries may as well
be accounted as brigands and bandits. Only a handful of these men remain who
can truly claim a virtuous, yet now defunct, honor.

 

 

Should one find himself unable to raise a levy large enough for

his campaign, arm and recruit enough bannermen to fight his war, or grant
lands, titles, and order charters to certain men, he will eventually find
himself considering the purchasing the services of individuals trained in the
art of war. Mercenaries are certainly an option for men with the need for an
army and the coin to buy one. Most companies arm themselves, provision
themselves, and provide their own leadership. They only require a field to
pitch their tents in and the coin to sway their sword to a cause. However
useful these willing, trained, experienced men can be though, it must be noted
that mercenaries can be devious individuals and can be more trouble than they
are worth. Sellswords are notoriously fickle when it comes to gold. They
possess for being honorless and willing to sell their services to the highest
bidder, easily breaking a contract with a previous employer to serve another
with more coin. Sellswords hold no bond or boundary.  Unlike banner forces, orderlies, and levies,
they have no reason to fight except for the gold they are being paid. Even
then, it is easy to turn tail and run once the ledger has been fulfilled.
Hiring swords can easily break a treasury. During the landings on Anthos one particular
group of mercenaries was the Valden Company, a group of armed men hired by
Siegmund Carrion to defend his newfound lands, prior to his levee en masse. The
Valdens were notorious for being hard negotiators, greedy, brutish and
quarrelsome. During their stay in Carrion lands they established friendships
with the local strelts. As with most companies, they lacked the pride and
discipline of other armed men. After the construction of Kralta and the
training of the strelt levy, many Valdens, lacking strong morale and common
cause, assimilated into the population. The remaining Valdens degenerated into
bandits and brigands, watching the roads and caves of Brigands Pass. Valden
Company rose and fell like any other, another group of vagabonds now left as footnotes
in history. Sellswords cannot fight alone. They require an employer, a lord’s
patronage to provide them land to base themselves and capital to purchase arms.
From here, the lord is free to handpick the finest of the hired men, growing
his own retinue, leaving the rest for destitute. The finest will be
assimilated, and the remaining put out into the cold. It is for this reason
that true companies never last. Smart mercenaries will swear themselves to a
lord, as the wise members of Valden Company, and the less prudent continue
their nomadic lifestyle. It is in this, that there are no “good” Sellswords
remaining. Mercenaries are not an ideal forces, with their greedy,
untrustworthy, and thuggish tendencies. In the end, they are best used as
auxiliaries, if to be used at all.

 

A special note must also be made to the standing guard forces of

towns, cities, and other various institutions. While they may be initially
lumped in with banner armies, guard forces play more so an auxiliary role in a
state’s military. Their duties are to defend their lord’s populated
settlements, keep their lord’s peace, and protect his subjects.  In
wartimes, guardsmen can be accounted among the many other human soldieries.
Their role is primarily one of auxiliaries. They act as garrisons in times of
war, at points instituting marshal law to keep the peace. As a lord, one must
be careful to ensure that his guardsmen are well selected and trained. Guards
have perhaps the greatest amount of interaction with the citizenry than any other
form of soldiery. Thus, they must treat them with utmost respect, while still
keeping order in their city. A guard who lives only to jail his charges is only
another brigand.

 

Among these, there are many other forms of soldieries, minor and

major. Above are but the most common of those found within the human realms and
throughout their histories. Further points, observations, and interpretations
of these structures will be added and amended in this essay. Any inquires on
its text should be made to the author, Diedrik II Carrion.

 

 

[ToenailTickler 290]

((Tl;Dr))

[Shadowjax 140]

Borikdan hopes the Lord Marshall (or regent) takes note of the points expressed in the writings.

[Knox213 10]

Borikdan hopes the Lord Marshall (or regent) takes note of the points expressed in the writings.

 

((This is essentially pretty much what the Imperial Army will do, lords will no longer having standing militaries, rather just levymen they call up for war. Interesting read, i'll continue to read the rest of it shortly. +1))

[Komodo 140]

((First draft. I hope to add onto my paragraph concerning guardsmen, and why it's a terrible idea to have guards. Power to the Abresian people.)) 

[Archbishop John 85]

Looks at the paper and gives a light smirk "Tis seems the author forgot that the Order of the  White Rose which where Knights was the true reason why the Blackmont/Carrions could defeat the Teutonic Order but not only that the Blackmont forces where mostly manned by former Knights that still retained there Ser title but where no longer part of the Order of the Lion." he places the parchment back on his disk.

[Komodo 140]

Notes By The Author

 

• The White Rose consisted largely of trained footmen, not just knights. The Essay does not state explicitly that all knights are water trash cowards. True knights still exist, those who are properly trained in both word and hand. The primary point is that a serf with crossbow and pike can kill a knight just as well as one knight can slaughter another. The White Roses knights are a fine example of what knighthood should be, though as regarded by the author, the White Rose along with most men fit to wear their title of "ser" are no longer as prominent in this world as they once were. 
• The vast majority of Blackmonts were simple brigands, Men-at-arms of House Flay. Their training reflects this, as they lacked the discipline or moral fiber of knights. It is important to note that "ser" is a mere title at the end of the day. Your skills and ideals make you a "ser", not just a word before your name. Even if the Flays may have been knights by common definition, though their skill is what made them great, not their title. 

[Gathius di Silvari 73]

Well said.

[Terafir 90]

Aret very much enjoyed reading the analysis.

((As did I.))

[lιoɴ 248]

Moved to the Great Library. It shall be sorted into appropriate category shortly.