Pay scale for Soldiers

[FlyByU]

Always wanted to know what a Different soldiers were payed back then for a month. Was it like 2 silver coins for the militia and 5 gold for a knight? Does anyone know?

 

[Vermin]

I've known some wages of medieval troops, but the only one I remember is that the average French man-at-arms earned about 25 livres Tournois(pounds of Tours, 1£ is about 5 l.t.) a month in 1350, and those are silver coins. They could also be paid in livres Parisis or livres Bordelais. The Parisian pound, however is worth less than the two others(dont remember how much exactly).
Gold was rarely used to pay soldiers. Gold was even rarely used as a payment method in England save for large sums.

Edit; an English archer earned about 10 shillings a month, 14 shillings by the end of the 14th century. And fyi there's 20 shillings in 1£

 

[Kvedulf]

From regia: (Link: http://www.regia.org/misc/costs.htm)

A Fyrdsman's pay per month: 10 shillings = 77g silver = 1000 pound (modern) = $1435.37 (US)

Neglecting your fyrd duty brought a fine of 40-50 shillings.

Also, quite amusing:
Holding a woman's breast brought a fine of 5 shillings
Raping a slave woman = 65 shillings
Seducing a free woman = 60 shillings
Throwing a woman down and not lying with her = 10 shillings
You were actually fined for deciding you really didn't feel like having sex after all.  Can you just imagine the argument if an Anglo-Saxon woman said "Not tonight.  I have a headache"?

Cheers
Kvedulf

 

[AWdeV]

I'm not sure if the last part would work that way. It looks more like IF the man was to throw down a woman, seemingly to rape her, but then doesn't then he STILL owes 10 shillings. He did throw her down, afterall.

Pouring gasoline on a building and lighting it on fire would net you a larger punishment than just pouring the gasoline, wouldn't it?

 

[Kvedulf]

Finally!  Why did that not click.  I've been trying to work out the purpose of that law.  I know my scenario ain't real, that was just an amusing image.  But I just couldn't work out the purpose of the fine.  Don't know why I didn't think of that

Cheers
Kvedulf

 

[AWdeV]

Because you had an amusing image stuck in your head. Happens to me often enough.

 

[Boombaye]

Roman soldiers got 250 denarii per year, which was eventually bumped to 300 and then 500, but was never adjusted for inflation.

Slaves and bounty from war would be added to this amount.

Upon finishing their service, they got 3000 denarii and or some good farmland. The 3000 was also bumped up to 5000.

 

[Kasimir]

Landsknecht soldiers would earn 4 Guilders per month, plus loot. For reference an unskilled labourer would earn between 1.5 & 2 Guilders per month, a skilled craftsman would earn between 2 and 3.

This is for your regular pikeman, the doppelsoldners would earn double wage (8 Guilders) - either (according to some sources) for taking extra risks of trying to force the pikes aside, or (in my opinion more likely) for just being higher-quality troops like the slightly earlier man-at-arms. Some (but not all) officers would command higher wages such as 12 Guilders for the Feldwebel (sergeant-major and line officer), 20 Guilders for the Fahndrich (standard bearer), and 40 Guilders for the Hauptmann (captain of a company of about 400 men).

 

[Kvedulf]

Just looking at this, I'm going to see if I can work out an exchange rate.  Because we have soldiers being paid in livres, shillings, denarii, guilders and if this thread continues, half a dozen other currencies.  So off to work I go, unless someone else wants to do it for me

Cheers
Kvedulf

EDIT: Right, here goes the first part: Anglo-Saxon shilling and Roman Denarii.  The plan is to give the historic coin, its worth in silver or gold and then that amount of silver's value in mordern pound and American dollars.

Please note that the value of the Denarii is based on its worth during the reign of Claudius, as it seems the debasement of the denarius really begins sometime during the reign of Nero.  However, it had been debased earlier in the Republic, but had been at that value for quite some time.

AS Shilling = 8g = 100 pound, $144.68 (US)
Roman Denarius = 3.9g = 48.75 pound, $70.56 (US)

I think that's right.  The guilder and livres are a bit more difficult as I'm unable to even find average weights of the coins at the moment.  To make matters worse, the guilder is a gold coin, which means more working out.

 

[Vermin]

With the livres you have to remember that several French kings loved(especially Phillipe IV) manipulating the coinnage by increasing monnayage(difference between face value of the coins and their intrinsic silver value).

 

[CountArtha]

Pay for Soldiers in the American Civil War

- Union private: 13 dollars a month in July 1861, raised to 16 dollars in June 1864 ($307 to $217 today - the '64 rate was actually less because of wartime inflation)
- CSA private: 11 dollars a month, raised to 18 dollars in June 1864

Confederate NCOs:
- Corporal: 13 CSA dollars a month, raised to 20 dollars in June 1864
- Sergeant (Infantry): 17 raised to 24
- Sergeant (Cavalry/Artillery): 20 raised to 27
- Sergeant (Engineers): 34 raised to 41

Union officers:
- Lieutenant: 105.50 dollars a month or $2,200 today
- Captain: 115.50 dollars a month or $2,500 today
- Major: 169 dollars a month or $3,600 today
- Colonel: 212 dollars a month or $4,500 today
- Brigadier General: 315 dollars a month or $6,700 today
- Major General: 457 dollars a month or $9,700 today
- Lieutenant General: 758 dollars a month or $16,100 today

 

[Captain Pyjama Shark]

It pays to stay loyal to the Union. 

 

[Iron Count]

The question is such a broad one.  Even comparing the rates of Shepherds across history from the Canaanite time to present would be easier and more specific than "how much do soldiers get paid".  There is an excellent and comprehensive book on English medieval salaries duties and feudal ties called:

Michael Powicke, "Military Obligation in Medieval England", 1962, Clarendon Press.

 

[Urlik]

the doppelsoldners would earn double wage (8 Guilders) - either (according to some sources) for taking extra risks of trying to force the pikes aside, or (in my opinion more likely) for just being higher-quality troops like the slightly earlier man-at-arms.

I read somewhere that the doppelsoldners had to be graduates of fencing schools (fencing school being the general term for schools teaching all aspects of sword fighting rather than modern sport fencing) and trained to use 2 handed swords.
because they were swordsmen who fought alongside pikemen they would naturally be in the front line and bear the brunt of the enemy attacks, so their double pay is probably a combination of their higher skill and risk taking.

 

[Vermin]

I talked about english archers before and found another payscale. That of mercenaries in english service
12 pennies a day and 40 marks a year.

 

[CountArtha]

It pays to stay loyal to the Union. 

Especially since the Rebels had to buy their own clothes and horses.

 

[Captain Pyjama Shark]

And also because they suck.

 

[CountArtha]