Malkioni men-at-arms

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_quicksilver.net.nz>
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 15:50:06 +1300


Simon Hibbs:

> I always wondered about the men-at-arms or soldiered militia of the
> Malkioni armies. Would these be of the Knight caste, in which case
> are there sub-orders of the Knight caste, or are they Farmer caste
> who have to fight at times? It would seem difficult to maintain a
> standing army of Knight caste soldiers, so do they have militia
> who are officially of Knight caste but don't fight that often,
> doing other things in the meantime? Is it different for each of
> the Malkioni types?

It's different for each Malkioni nation.

Among the Brithini, all men-at-arms are part of the Soldier Caste and there are no cavalry. I don't think cavalry is forbidden to the Brithini but rather their equestrian regiments were destroyed during the Ice Age and their Talars haven't bothered ordering replacements. There's some support for this in the myth of Orlanth and the Logic Tribe.

Among most Malkioni, I think the primary definition of being a member of the knight/soldier caste is the ability to ride a horse into combat. Knights and sergeants are members of the soldier caste according to this definition while men-at-arms are demoted to the farmer/citizen caste. A large minority (Loskalmi, Castle  -coast) treat men-at-arms as part of the Soldier caste because they consider Knights to be a separate riding caste.

I don't think the caste of the men-at-arms determines how well equipped they are or whether they work all the time. The Seshnegi men-at-arms are IMO better quality than the those on the castle coast.

 --Peter Metcalfe

--__--__--

End of Glorantha Digest

Powered by hypermail