Military in the world of Merceria

Military Background
Merceria was founded over 900 years before the story takes place. They have a long history of fighting and warfare. Over the course of that time, they adopted a loose military organization that has been emulated by its neighbours.


Organization

• The most common grouping of troops is called a company. This could be a company of horse or foot and, in later years, it became common to name the companies, such as the Wincaster Heavy Foot. A company is, at least on paper, 50 men, but the actual numbers varied considerably. The commander of a company was given the title of captain, and he was usually assisted by a sergeant, though if the numbers warranted it, there might be two sergeants. In the prologue to Servant of the Crown, Gerald Matheson is a sergeant. His company is commanded by Lord Walters, a minor noble. (Minor nobles come from titled families but have no title of their own, save for being called Lord).

 

• Any grouping of companies was considered to be an army. Anyone who commanded more than one company was simply referred to as a commander. The exception was when the Royal Army marched. This would be commanded by the king, or, in his absence, the marshal-general.

 

• The rank of marshal-general evolved over several centuries. Originally there was a Marshal of Horse, Marshal of Bow and Marshal of Foot. The marshal was so named because they had the authority to marshal or assemble the appropriate troops. The individual titles were combined in the 700’s to become the marshal-general, in charge of commanding all troops.

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• Should the marshal-general be required to command an army in the field, the title Field Marshal-General is applied. At the beginning of Servant to the Crown, the marshal-general of Merceria Roland Valmar, formerly captain of the King's Bodyguard.

 

• Sergeant-at-Arms is an older position that was not in common use. It denotes a non-noble soldier who is given control over a lord's forces. When Baron Richard Fitzwilliam makes Gerald Matheson his Sergeant-at-Arms, he is giving him permission to act on his behalf. In Mercerian society, this type of appointment was rare and shows the level of trust that the baron bestowed on his sergeant.

Troop Types

• Troops are categorized into foot and horse. Foot soldiers can be light, medium or heavy, depending on their equipment.

 

• Light foot, as the Mercerians referred to them, are unarmoured and carry spears and, sometimes, shields. They are principally used for guarding the camp and carrying out messenger duties.  Well trained militia could also fall into this category.

 

• Medium foot are typically armed with sword and shield and have light armour, principally leather or possibly some chainmail shirts. This was the bulk of the army for many years. These troops, not slowed down by heavier armour, can march longer distances and are considered more versatile.

 

• The heavy foot is armoured, head to foot in chainmail, sometimes with greaves or bracers. They typically are more experienced troops but, due to their encumbering armour, were slower to march.

 

• Light horse is lightly armed and unarmoured. They carry out scouting and message delivery and often form guard duty like their light foot counterparts. These troops are rarely employed in any numbers, though most armies might boast one company.

 

• Medium horse are armoured much like the medium footmen. They form the bulk of the cavalry of Merceria. The horses they ride are, on average, smaller than the great mounts used by the heavies. The neighbouring realms of Norland and Westland (as Merceria called them) rely on soldiers of this type to form the core of their armies. Westland heavies, despite their name, would fall into this category.

 

• Heavy horse at this time are the knights. Mounted on large horses known as Mercerian Chargers, the knights of Merceria are unique. Other kingdoms lack horses big enough to carry the heavy armour that these troops enjoyed. It is believed, by Mercerians, that the Mercerian Heavy Horse is the epitome of military accomplishment.

Weapons and Armour

• The relative rarity of quality steel in Merceria held back the development of amour for some time. Early armour consisted of iron rings sewn onto a leather backing of leather, often referred to as ringmail. Eventually, as the iron mines of Redridge starting producing more iron ore, chainmail was used, though it required greater effort to produce. For centuries chainmail was the best armour that could be forged, but ringmail was still used for light cavalry. This changed when Mercerian smiths began producing solid metal plates to wear over top of their mail. It started with leggings and arm braces and eventually led to breastplates.

 

• The main weapons used by the Mercerian army are varied. Most commonly in use is the Mercerian Longsword, so named because it was longer than the traditional shorter blades used in ancient times.  This weapon has a blade which varies in length up to about three feet and is used one handed. The Mercerian version has a wider blade than its Westland counterpart; this may have been to compensate for the poor quality of steel that was being produced in Merceria. Axes, warhammers and other weapons such as maces also see use, but the sword is considered the mark of prowess. Knights will often have their swords decorated with expensive decorations. Even a footsoldier will tend to use a sword since Merceria has such a martial history, but a foot soldier's sword would be unadorned and plainer. Swords are not the exclusive right of the nobility.

 

• Foot soldiers will often use spears; these can range in size from about 5 feet up to 6 feet or so. They are typically used for hastily organized militia or light troops but can also be used by more professional soldiers. It is a fairly standard practice to arm the second rank of a shield wall with spearmen so that they could reach over the shield wall to attack.

Knights

• Mercerian knights are, historically, nothing more than heavy cavalry. The cost of maintaining the large horses and expensive armour evolved them into an elite class. By the time of Servant of the Crown, it is exclusively the noble families can afford the cost. Only a member of the royal family can bestow knighthood to a worthy recipient and rarely is it anyone other than the king. This is usually just a process of a noble family suggesting such a thing and bearing the cost to equip him. The king would typically knight them, though in many cases a gratuity was given to the king to say thank you. There are exceptions; a soldier can be knighted for heroism, in which case they would need a sponsor to pay for their armour and mount. All knights, in theory, swear fealty to the king but the King, burdened by the expense sends them to other nobles for quartering, incidentally making their host pay for their upkeep. It was this arrangement that led to a steady stream of knights travelling to Bodden. This worked well for Baron Fitzwilliam since he didn’t have to equip them, just feed and board them.

 

• Knights are typically ill-disciplined. Though very tough fighters individually, they do not take orders well or efficiently operate as a group. This can change with experience, and at the time of Servant of the Crown, the knights at Bodden are some of the best knights in the Kingdom.

Female Warriors

• Female warriors are not unknown in Merceria, but they rarely hold any position of influence. Although Beverly Fitzwilliam is singled out, there are other female knights. When Lady Beverly is knighted there is surprise, but not shock. It is not unheard of, just rare, but Lady Beverly’s is another story. That tale is told in the next book, Sword of the Crown.