The exact number or total strength engaged in a siege or a battle was difficult to estimate as medieval sources were always inaccurate or gave figures that were obviously exaggerated. As a general rule, the garrison of a castle was never numerous; it included the lord, his sons, a few mounted men of arms, a provost, and a few squires and pages. The Truce of God, an edict of the Church, clearly defined the non-combatant (women, children, peasants, traders and clergymen), but the institution was never fully respected; some lords encouraged their peasants to train with bows and arrows, giving them an opportunity for leisure and a game of skill, but with the intention of having additional troops in case of war. All men living in the castle were obliged to serve as guards. In case of a siege, all inhabitants were involved-some actively, with arms in hand, and others indirectly by supplying ammunitions. The defense of a free town was secured by a municipal militia, an armed force raised
Among the citizens.
As previously pointed out, the ost was the base of military organization. When a suzerain went to war, he levied his vassals for a period of forty days; most troops raised by ost were consequently temporary and disorganized. The ost service had other aspects, though; a vassal might be asked to remain neutral or to allow troops to cross his estate, or to furnish various supplies.
Medieval conflicts, at least until the Hundred Years’ War, never lasted for long. Battles were fought within hours; most campaigns and sieges lasted for days or weeks, the longest for a matter of months. Only kings, high princes, dukes and rich free cities could afford to maintain a permanent militia or a small armed force.
Again, medieval armies were never numerous. Between the years 600 and 1500, the greatest battles rarely involved more than ten thousand men in each camp. This figure was considerable in the Middle Ages, but today it corresponds to two military divisions. A state capable of raising such strength mobilizes, in doing so, all its potential and finance. Even the Crusades and the great medieval coalitions rarely include more than thousands of soldiers. During the Third Crusade in 1198, the French king Philippe Auguste had 650 knights and 1,300 infantrymen. The king of England, Richard Lion-Heart, had an equal number of troops. The Seventh Crusade, headed by the French king Louis IX in 1248, counted 12,000 footmen and 2,500 horsemen, an imposing force for the time. In 1467 for the siege of Dinant, the powerful duke of Burgundy had 30,000 men. By that time a lance was composed of a fully equipped and armored knight, three mounted archers, a page on horse, a crossbow man and three pikemen on foot.
As a general rule, medieval troops lacked coherence. They were merely irregular groups of vassals raised by feudal ost—rounded-up peasants with little warlike spirit and heteroclite armament. They formed low-value and ill-disciplined contingents that retained their individuality, independence and even rivalries right into the thick of the battle. Therefore, in the 14th century, kings, dukes, princes, and rich free cities encouraged their vassals to pay a special tax instead of submitting to the inconvenient ost. With the funds raised, they paid mercenaries and maintained permanent armed forces. Professional soldiers cost a lost, however, and their loyalty and determination in combat depended on the amount and regularity of their pay.
Mercenaries were recruited in the low gentry, among the homeless, social outcasts and adventurers. They were grouped in loose companies headed by a gang-leader proclaiming himself captain. During the Crusades, the Christians employed Turcopoles, who were autochthonous mercenaries forming units of light cavalry. Mercenaries were on the whole not reliable; they did not hesitate to pass into the opposite camp if conditions were better there.
In peacetime, mercenaries were dismissed and unemployed. They then formed gangs of bandits surviving by marauding the countryside, pillaging villages, robbing merchants and ransoming travelers—even in some cases by attacking castles. These unchecked gangs were particularly active in the 14th century. By that time, the Genoan crossbowmen were reputed for their skill. In the following centuries Swiss mercenaries were especially appreciated for their bravery. Certain Italian mercenaries (condotierri) were celebrated; some of them achieved high position, such as the famous Francesco Sforza, who became duke of Milan in 1450. The German Landsknechte were formidable mercenaries in the beginning of the 16th century.
The logistics of the marching army were completely improvised. Soldiers shifted for themselves, procuring food and supplies on the lands they crossed. Plunder and pillage were often the only means of survival, sacking a castle or a town the most convenient way to reward troops and pay mercenaries. The passage of an army, friend or foe, was always a calamity for the local population because the concept of indemnifying civilian victims was totally unknown.
This being said, it is important to underline a few points regarding medieval violence. It must be kept in mind that the period under consideration lasted a thousand years, and accordingly, times of peace and relative quiet were numerous. The frequency and intensity of medieval war are difficult to measure as they vary considerably in time and space. We who have witnessed and experienced industrial conflict, general mobilization, total war, mass extermination and nuclear fire can easily imagine how rudimentary and small-scale medieval warfare must have been.
Medieval Europe suffered many dark and disastrous periods, notably in the 9th, 10th and 14th centuries. However, it is very questionable to assert that the Middle Ages on the whole were more violent than any other period of history. Proportionally, how barbarous were the Middle Ages compared to the massacres during the wars of religion in the 16th century, the killings in the time of Louis XIV, the Napoleonic butchery and the two World Wars in the first half of the 20th century?
World History
