Forged in Time - Medieval Lore, Handmade Swords, Handmade Knives, Bladesmithing

When we hear the phrase “medieval mercenary” what usually springs to mind? Most often it is the picture of a violent maniac sacking, pillaging, murdering and raping his way through the countryside causing all sorts of chaos and mayhem. Well for the preceding centuries that really wasn’t too far from the truth. Mercenaries were considered to be a necessary evil. Full-time large standing armies were too expensive to keep around. It just was not cost-effective to pay a bunch of guys to stand around eating up your stores of food and taking up space when they could simply be sent back to the fields and shops.

Small forces of professional soldiers were hired full time of course, but this usually consisted of family retainers and guards for defensive structures such as castles. Mercenaries were the answer for filling in or creating a large military force in a relatively short period of time. The problem was that after the war was over, nobody wanted a large group of sell-swords milling about their fields. They didn’t fit in with the local socioeconomic structure, where jobs and positions were already severely limited and at a premium. Most often these groups of soldiers would then do what they did best to survive. Banditry was commonplace.

Now we come to the 15th century. The last century saw violent opposition to the old mercenary ways. Mercenaries were still one of the best ways to create or fill in a military force, but a mercenary company’s behavior off the battle field became of vital importance. Too many mercenary commanders learned to their pain that a poorly disciplined and mismanaged group of thugs was something doomed to destruction. Intelligent mercenary commanders of the 15th century understood that they had to play politics and maintain a disciplined and acceptable reputation if they were to succeed. The 15th century saw an interest in the idea of chivalry gain in popularity and many tried to instill these ideals and reinforce such behaviors amongst their rank and file. Chivalry, by simple definition, are four basic rules based upon Christian values of decent behavior. The rules of chivalry were: 1- bravery in battle; 2- mercy to the defeated adversary; 3- defense of the weak; and 4- courtesy to women. In reality few mercenaries, or indeed even knights, ever lived up to this ideal but the concept was important to the maintaining of discipline and therefore steady employment. The new condota (from the Spanish condotieri) system of mercenary employment where the troops were paid regardless of activity was a major contributing factor encouraging men to strive for some show of chivalrous behavior. Pay was also used to control behavior by having fines for breaching of the rules.

Keeping order and discipline in the military, especially amongst a mercenary company, has always been challenging. In a company of mixed nationalities and confusing loyalties, bitterness and rivalry can be very damaging. Eruption of fights, hampered training and distraction from essential duties can all result from a lack of discipline. Money may be able to buy mens’ strength and fight but not their hearts. Trust and respect of the companies leaders, in particular the commander, was highly influential in the discipline, morale and quality of a company. Decent treatment, food, pay, and equipment all helped to reinforce and convey that the individual soldier was cared for and valued. Thus the transformation of the earlier thug into the generally more refined, skilled and disciplined soldier of the 15th century.