Jeff says:
>Well put. And, of course, these ambitious carls and cottars are the
>folks who show up for the 'short call' muster of the Fyrd when there's
>a raid or the like. And these are the folks whom I (IMG!) give a 17
>Combat skill... They have a 5w in their 'job skill' as they are
>probably the folks who will become the leaders and moves of the clan
>over the future years.
>
>And of course, the old guys may just pull down the sword they hung up
>after Kallyr's Rebellion to go on one last raid... If one has only one
>breath left to give, spend it well.
There's a difference between defense (the fyrd) and raids (the warband?) and cattle raids (um, a bunch of guys). Everyone musters to block a big attack, everyone who can musters to block a smaller raid, everyone who's close pitches in to drive off cattle rustlers (except Torvald the Yellow, the skeevy bastard....). For attacking, I suppose a lot depends on whose getting attacked. Maybe your bloodline has pretty good relations with the Wind Apple clan over the ridge; you aren't going to be too keen on raiding them, so you don't go to the muster (you don't warn them or anything, mind you; kin is kin). On the other hand, your daughter married into the Gooseberry Clan and they treated her so badly that she demanded a divorce; when Ivor the Swift called for a raid against them, you shouted as loud as anyone. It's been 15 years since you left Destor for Durev, but you still remember the old skills pretty well, so you show up at Founder' Oak for the rites and go on a raid.
The military arm of the clan, the standing warriors, must be pretty small; people have better things to do. Depending on circumstances, however, the number of "better than fyrd" fighters probably fluctuates dramatically, especially if the Chief is popular or unpopular.
Peter Larsen
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