Fyrd, warriors, weaponthanes

From: Tim Newman <ins_hyacinth_at_...>
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2003 13:28:25 -0000

IMO most male Heortlings would go through a stage of being warriors (the Thunder Rebels keyword) shortly after they are initiated. In part this is because they are initiates of Orlanth Adventurous cults and are expected to behave that way. Also these are the people who have free time and few responsibilities. So the clan puts them to work doing something useful such as patrolling the tula or perhaps they go off cattle raiding on their own. If the seasons demand it they help out their families with agricultural work such as planting, calving, lambing or harvest when every pair of hands is critical. The rest of the year they are at the disposal of their chief except that some of the time their family will need them. Older ones will settle down, marry and gain various responsibilities that prevent them from adventuring much. A young man with no attachments of responsibilities can go adventuring with little to lose; married men with farms have less willingness to take unnecessary risks. Most will switch their worship to Orlanth Allfather. These are the men who make up the bulk of the clan fyrd when it is called out.
A few young warriors will become weaponthanes. These are the only Orlanthi who are really full time fighters. Young men are doing it till they settle down and fyrdmen are doing it only when they are called but a weaponthane is doing it full time. These are the people who guard the chief, lead patrols, and are in contention to be clan champion or warband leader. They and the clan chief are almost certainly the only people in the clan with metal armour, and they also have superior weapons and some warrior followers. For the clan as a whole these are my figures. If the clan has 1000 members there are perhaps 50 who are mainly fighters and when called on the fyrd can add another 200 to this. Of the 50 full time fighters you have the clan chieftain with four weaponthane followers, the warband leader with four warrior followers, and the clan champion with another four warrior followers (all from Thunder Rebels). That leaves 35 more who could be 5 weaponthanes and 30 warriors or roughly similar figures. A Barbarian Adventures clan patrol uses one weaponthane and a dozen of the warriors. When the clan joins a tribal muster they provide the chief, champion, warband leader, 9 weaponthanes, 35 practised warriors and 100 fyrdmen, leaving 100 fyrdmen to guard the clan lands. With 6 clans that makes 900, add the Tribal King, Champion, and Leader plus their followers and some representatives of the tribes favourite warrior god/goddess and you probably get around 1000 fighting men/women.