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The creation of a mercenary company in pre-industrial times

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Reichcube

Corporal
Apr 11, 2015
26
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How were mercenary companies created back then?
My gut instinct is to think of successful bandit groups growing in number and getting hired, but from your average bandit group, numbering from, say, five to twenty guys, to the White Company, mercenaries numbering in the thousands, there is a significant gap that I can't explain.

Any ideas?
 
The captain of a mercenary company was often effectively a wealthy businessman. He would supply the initial capital to set up a mercenary company, which would then recruit soldiers to it. As such these men were often from noble families who had the financial backing to establish such a group. A typical way for this to occur will be a king, noble or government will issue a commission to a noble to raise a company for a war. The noble will sometimes be paid an initial commission or may be paid on an ongoing basis. He will then recruit a force (often at his own expense) and go on campaign. Some of these companies will remain together at the end of the campaign and look for a new employer.

These companies were often based around groups of soldiers who already knew each other, either soldiers dismissed at the end of an earlier campaign or a core group from an existing or recently dismantled mercenary company. As such a profession soldier in the late medieval period could expect to fight under multiple commanders and for many different employers, often including both sides in a war. By the end of the Hundred Year War both sides' armies contained a mix of French, English, Scottish, Irish, Italian and German soldiers.

One interesting feature of mercenary contracts was how they were paid - many contracts specified the number of type of soldiers to be supplied at the beginning of the campaign and the amount to be paid but not a per soldier pay rate. This meant that the pay of dead and incapacitated soldiers went to the captain of the company. Other mercenary groups had specific clauses in their contracts such as the Swiss, who would not dig entrenchments or storm breaches in fortresses. The Swiss were also often raised on a stockholder basis - where each soldier was paid a 'share' of any monies earned from pay or loot and had various individual rights in terms of what the captains could or couldn't order them to do or punish them for. However, the Swiss also had a reputation for being the best mercenaries in Europe, so could make demands on their employer that regular mercenaries couldn't.
 
And then there was the city state who took enslaved boys, castrated them, worked them relentlessly, then made them kill their puppies; yeilding elite heavy infantry capable of fanatical feats of arms in combat. . . . but that is another story.

However, it is one way to build a mercenary company; just don't drop the whip. or try to trade your slaves for dragons :p
 
Henry IX said:
The captain of a mercenary company was often effectively a wealthy businessman. He would supply the initial capital to set up a mercenary company, which would then recruit soldiers to it. As such these men were often from noble families who had the financial backing to establish such a group. A typical way for this to occur will be a king, noble or government will issue a commission to a noble to raise a company for a war. The noble will sometimes be paid an initial commission or may be paid on an ongoing basis. He will then recruit a force (often at his own expense) and go on campaign. Some of these companies will remain together at the end of the campaign and look for a new employer.

These companies were often based around groups of soldiers who already knew each other, either soldiers dismissed at the end of an earlier campaign or a core group from an existing or recently dismantled mercenary company. As such a profession soldier in the late medieval period could expect to fight under multiple commanders and for many different employers, often including both sides in a war. By the end of the Hundred Year War both sides' armies contained a mix of French, English, Scottish, Irish, Italian and German soldiers.

One interesting feature of mercenary contracts was how they were paid - many contracts specified the number of type of soldiers to be supplied at the beginning of the campaign and the amount to be paid but not a per soldier pay rate. This meant that the pay of dead and incapacitated soldiers went to the captain of the company. Other mercenary groups had specific clauses in their contracts such as the Swiss, who would not dig entrenchments or storm breaches in fortresses. The Swiss were also often raised on a stockholder basis - where each soldier was paid a 'share' of any monies earned from pay or loot and had various individual rights in terms of what the captains could or couldn't order them to do or punish them for. However, the Swiss also had a reputation for being the best mercenaries in Europe, so could make demands on their employer that regular mercenaries couldn't.
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You seem to know your stuff; any books to recommend?
 
Charles_XI_of_Sweden.jpg

An illustration stimulating the Swedish allotment system.

Here's one example considering mercenaries during the pre-industrial era. This is Sweden's case.

Unlike recruiting infantry, cavalry drafting based much on voluntary and spontaneity. The Swedish cavalry serving for instance in the Thirty Year's War was mostly spontaneity drafted from its Österland - modern day Southern Finland. The Swedish light cavalrymen were the Finlanders, Hakkapeliitat - Hackapeliter. The Hakkapeliitta comes from Swedish-Finnish light cavalry charging, shouting and screaming...- Hakkaa Päälle, Pohjan Poika! And in English...- Cut Them Down, Northern Sons!

The distinctive cavalry draft was just every-day-life. The Swedish class society during the period was familiar with the nobility and farm estates (meaning that the estate holder owned the land and the property). Farming estates equipped a cavalryman or cavalrymen to do the duty and wage war in the Swedish Army. When a farm estate equipped cavalrymen to the duty it became as a rusthåll - cavalry estate. Combined rusthålls formed the Swedish Cavalry Institute which means the Swedish Cavalry. Farming estates received tax reliefs and the cavalryman might be granted with a status of a noble and also he received salary.

This drafting, known shortly as the allotment system was used all the way until the early 20th century.

If you want, you can listen the March of the Hakkapeliittas here.

 
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LizarDAMN said:
How do drafted cavalrymen relate to forming of mercenary companies?
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If you read carefully, I already left a link which tells you more about the Swedish allotment system. There was no actual cavalry draft in Sweden. Cavalry recruitment based widely on voluntary and spontaneity. The cavalrymen were former hired men working for the estate masters. If the estate owner decided, the working men in the estate were enlisted.

It's not traditional drafting when asking an estate and giving tax reliefs while hiring a horse and a man to serve for the country. While the working man was not asked would he like to be drafted or not, at least he was given a nobleman status plus salary. The Swedish state paid compensations in money, giving reliefs and granting prestigious statuses. It's not exactly hiring mercenaries, but neither ordinary drafting.
 
LizarDAMN said:
Aww, did I hurt your feelings when I called you out on needless off topic posting? You can always make a new topic instead of muddling the conversation here.
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I couldn't care less about your saying. If you do the same considering me, then just ignore me.
 
LizarDAMN said:
Well, obviously you care, why otherwise insult me, when I did nothing of the sort. But it's ok, we all have bad days.
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Now, where did I insult you exactly? Calling you an idiot while you suggest everything I write is only for the Finnish cause. Did you read my posts at all? It was only the Swedish cause. How can I tell the facts if not mentioning Finnish cavalry as a major part of the Swedish cavalry during the Great Power era of Sweden? If you more prefer, let's say it was only the Swedish Österland cavalry which was paid and their masters was paid even more, okay? Or are you just one of the fellas' with inquiry with my spelling?
 
Reichcube said:
How were mercenary companies created back then?
My gut instinct is to think of successful bandit groups growing in number and getting hired, but from your average bandit group, numbering from, say, five to twenty guys, to the White Company, mercenaries numbering in the thousands, there is a significant gap that I can't explain.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

your gut instinct is sort of correct also but in the wrong order
bandit groups were mostly made up of former mercenaries who were dismissed after a truce or peace was signed and thus were left to their fate
of course these groups could also be hired as mercenaries after they'd resorted to banditry

the biggest example of this AFAIK are the bandit groups ravaging leaderless france after poitiers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tard-Venus
 
The hiring of mercenaries goes back thousands of years, and includes such notable groups as Balearic and Benjamin slingers (from the Balearic Islands and the Israeli tribe of Benjamin), as well as phalanxes hired by various countries from several Greek city-states. In those cases, the mercenaries were recruited and hired out by their own governments. Alexander hired mercenaries in quantity for his wars, many of whom had served in the armies of Greek city-states, but had been released and were roving the countryside in search of work, and were becoming a major problem by waylaying travelers or threatening towns for food and/or money. Later mercenary groups were often recruited by a noble or businessman, as detailed by Henry IX, including several formations raised in the American Civil War.

As demanvanwezel points out, soldiers released from the army after a war formed a sizable pool of recruits, a few of which became bandits in groups from a few men up to sizable armies (such as in the First Crusade, where the Pope offered them support if they'd leave Europe and go pester the Moslems instead); others were hired by foreign armies as mercenaries.
 
Reichcube said:
You seem to know your stuff; any books to recommend?
Click to expand...

There are no specific books on this topic that I know of. I have gathered the information from many sources, but the Wikipedia pages on condottieri, free companies and routiers link to a number of solid sources, including a few which are freely available. Sadly mercenary finance in the medieval period is bafflingly not a topic of wide excitement and interest.
 
Kovax said:
The hiring of mercenaries goes back thousands of years, and includes such notable groups as Balearic and Benjamin slingers (from the Balearic Islands and the Israeli tribe of Benjamin), as well as phalanxes hired by various countries from several Greek city-states. In those cases, the mercenaries were recruited and hired out by their own governments. Alexander hired mercenaries in quantity for his wars, many of whom had served in the armies of Greek city-states, but had been released and were roving the countryside in search of work, and were becoming a major problem by waylaying travelers or threatening towns for food and/or money. Later mercenary groups were often recruited by a noble or businessman, as detailed by Henry IX, including several formations raised in the American Civil War.

As demanvanwezel points out, soldiers released from the army after a war formed a sizable pool of recruits, a few of which became bandits in groups from a few men up to sizable armies (such as in the First Crusade, where the Pope offered them support if they'd leave Europe and go pester the Moslems instead); others were hired by foreign armies as mercenaries.
Click to expand...

Not sure about governments. One of the most famous bands are the "Ten Thousand" Greeks who served Cyrus the Younger and are featured in Xenophon's "Anabasis". They were raised piecemeal from demobilized men at the end of the Peloponnesian Wars. There is no suggestion of approval by their respective city-state governments. Each contingent was separately hired and led by a general, who tapped into networks of bored former comrades who were not quite ready to settle down in civvy street, on the promise of some quick cash (indeed, many had not even gone home yet).

And I still entertain the theory that the Israelites of the "Exodus" might be nothing more than a Canaanite mercenary company returning home from Egyptian service.

The great "Catalan Company" of Roger de Flor in 1303 follows more the pattern you suggest. Again, just gathered from demobilized Aragonese soldiers in Sicily. But this one had the blessing of King Frederick III of Sicily, who was certainly eager to get demobilized veterans out of the country before they turned to banditry. Indeed, far more joined than were originally sought to be hired by the Byzantine emperor.
 
It's important to remember that "mercenaries" covers a wide variety of different types of soldiers, and organizations. You have inhabitants of a state who take up arms for that state in exchange for pay; think of today's Private Military Contractors, but you could argue it even applies to most modern volunteer militaries to some extent (certainly a medieval noble who was teleported here would think so; there's hardly any feudal contract involved at all!). You have foreigners who show up and join for pay (think the Varangian Guard). You have foreigners who take on a long-term contract to defend a nation (this was common for Italian condotierre, where a city-state would hire a foreigner to command its armies, under the premise that a foreigner would be less likely to gain enough political support to stage a successful coup than would a native-born commander). You have auxiliaries who are loyal to another state, may even be members of another state's regular army, where such things exist, and are hired out by their ruler to supplement another nation's army (think of the Hessians during the American Revolution, or the Flying Tigers in China during World War II). All of these can (and usually do) have various motivations, ranging from greed to patriotism to boredom, in varying proportions.

In the same way, how they are organized tends to vary. Generally, you're looking at veterans of a previous conflict; they have experience, and are comfortable with the lifestyle. Even today, retirement benefits for veterans tend to be somewhat spotty and the transition back to civilian life is often difficult; that was true in pre-modern times as well. If the war is over, and your liege no longer needs you, you may want to find someone else who will pay you to keep doing what you're good at. If your side lost the war, you may no longer be welcome in your native land. Maybe your relative or employer is already (or aspires to be) a mercenary captain, and recruits you. Maybe you just don't want to go back to the farm once you've seen (and looted) foreign lands.
 
there are also dedicated mercenary companies who only fought for one nation and were on continious payroll
the varangian guard was one of these, also the swiss guard for the papacy
a half example are the landsknechts who were formed by the HRE maximilian I as a response to the swiss mercenaries
these didn't necesarilly fight for the HRE at all times but were sworn to never fight against the HRE, a unit of "black" landsknechts was for example slaughtered to the man by their imperial counterparts at the battle of pavia
 
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