Sir Henry Echo
Regular
So does anyone out there know the names and sizes of medieval units and their sizes from lowest to biggest? I think say starting at numbers of 4 - 8.
Medieval Unit Names and Sizes?
- Thread starter Sir Henry Echo
- Start date
Users who are viewing this thread
Regular
HannibalTheCannibal
Sergeant at Arms
Outside of the "lance" (a knight, and a few mounted retainers) the medievals weren't very organized in their army organization, after lance it pretty much skips straight to a "battle" which is usually about a third or a quarter of the entire army. There are exceptions here and there, but that's the general method.
Remedius
Knight
Medeival Armies comprised an organisational structure loosely inherited from the Romans. At the top was the commander and depending on the size of the army he may have had a constabul and a marshal. The commander was typically accompanied by these men along with advisors and a bodyguard unit sometimes drawn from his own household or direct relations - hence huscarl or household cavalry.
The army depending on the time period would have been made of three units organised and structured under a commander of it's own - usually a prominent lord and one who would have either competed for the honour or have been of sufficient renown to merit the position. These three separate armies were named van main and rear and it would be the main part that the king or commander would lead though traditionally it was the van which did most of the fighting.
The title captain comes from the rank of centenar or a commander in charge of 100 men and may be where we get our meaning of centurion. It was a sub rank to an army commander and was one rank higher than vintanar or a commander of 50 men.
When we refer to a lance it is not a set number of troops under a commander per se - but a tactical unit headed by a mounted knight and usually the associated support troops to make a fighting unit and keep it operational in the field.
Later armies under indenture and commissions of array saw further subdivisions of knight and man at arms -
Knight banneret - highest tier of knightly class
Knight - knights of all ranks lower than banneret
Man at Arms - noble responsible for bearing arms for his leige
Constables numbers vary - generally a constable in the medieval period was a man put in charge of the raising and upkeep of an army but also filled a key command spot too - some instances of several constables are cited.
The Marshal was a man put in charge of the cavalry element of a medieval army - he was always a noble whereas the constable could be a commoner.
The army depending on the time period would have been made of three units organised and structured under a commander of it's own - usually a prominent lord and one who would have either competed for the honour or have been of sufficient renown to merit the position. These three separate armies were named van main and rear and it would be the main part that the king or commander would lead though traditionally it was the van which did most of the fighting.
The title captain comes from the rank of centenar or a commander in charge of 100 men and may be where we get our meaning of centurion. It was a sub rank to an army commander and was one rank higher than vintanar or a commander of 50 men.
When we refer to a lance it is not a set number of troops under a commander per se - but a tactical unit headed by a mounted knight and usually the associated support troops to make a fighting unit and keep it operational in the field.
Later armies under indenture and commissions of array saw further subdivisions of knight and man at arms -
Knight banneret - highest tier of knightly class
Knight - knights of all ranks lower than banneret
Man at Arms - noble responsible for bearing arms for his leige
Constables numbers vary - generally a constable in the medieval period was a man put in charge of the raising and upkeep of an army but also filled a key command spot too - some instances of several constables are cited.
The Marshal was a man put in charge of the cavalry element of a medieval army - he was always a noble whereas the constable could be a commoner.
FrisianDude
Archduke
Even a lance would not be so organized all the time, I think.HannibalTheCannibal said:
Uhtred Ragnarson
Knight at Arms
Not all the armies of medieval Europe were the same (if by medieval you mean specifically Europe, I assume so). I would argue that organization was significantly less than the Roman legions. Generally, medieval armies were hardly professional or standing. In an overall army, "companies" or similar units were hard to find. As mentioned, sections of an army were called "battles".
Remedius
Knight
Yes armies were called battles but there were plenty of professional soldiers - some even long term - I mention indenturing. Organisation was present in medeival armies as I said above there was an accepted command structure. It's true I was referring to mainly European forces in all these regards. Battle and lance are organisational groups as is company - though company refers to a group rather than a specific set number. It is worth mentioning though that each lord/vassal would raise troops from fiefs that he controlled and of course this formed his own retinue. Retinues of men could be considered companies and later retinues were retained ie a group of retainers and were quite often contracted under indenture.
