Battle

## Army Organization

Commanders use drums, horns, flutes or bagpipes but especially their command flag to convey orders. It’s simple: Flags are tilted forward to signal advance, back to signal withdrawal, and stand upright as rally points. They are kept close to their officers, and if the flag falls, it’s assumed by all that the officer has fallen too.

“Flag” is a generic term here. The size and shape of flags are determined by noble rank.

### Lance

Your character, a mounted and armored knight, is the most powerful weapon on the battlefield. On his lance flies a pennon, a pointed flag that’s long (3-5 feet) and narrow (less than 1 foot at its widest). It displays his household badge. When the knight is leading his own small group of men (who are wearing his badge), his upraised lance is their rallying point. When he lines up with other knights for a charge, all their pennons fall at the same angle, then flap, flutter and fly along the lances as the chargers trot, canter and then gallop headlong to their destiny.

The knight so dominates the field that lesser soldiers receive little notice in historical or heroic literature. If a knight’s vassalage contract requires it, he brings additional troops to the fight. Collectively, they’re called a lance, after their most important component.

A vassal knight is normally accompanied by his mesnie, the martial part of his household (compared to the famuli). This includes his squire, any archers or mercenaries and so on.

Professional lances are not based on old fiefs with odd numbers of knights required, but on simple contracts. The earliest contracts, in the Conquest Period, state that a “combat lance” is composed of a knight, his squire and horses, two spearmen, one bowman, one varlet and a pack horse. Later the “livery lance” includes a knight, three mounted sergeants, two bowmen, a spearman and horses to transport them (the bow and spearmen only fight on foot). When the army musters several lances are grouped into a larger body, called an eschille. The foot soldiers from each lance are combined into their own unit or units (typically spear men and archers). Thus the lance is an organizational unit, but not a maneuver unit.

### Eschille (squadron)

The smallest unit of multiple knights is an eschille, usually ten men. These knights train together to perfect their timing, maneuvers, and teamwork. This is the common player knights’ “Unit” as used in this book. The knights’ squires are considered to be part of the formation.

The eschille commander bears a pennocel (if a banneret) on his lance to signal what maneuver to execute. It’s long and rectangular ~ in fact, it’s his ordinary knightly pennon that was cut short to show his battlefield promotion to banneret. (Subsequently, he will have a nice new one made).

Due to the erratic nature of feudal organization, the number of knights in a vassal levy eschille varies greatly, ranging from 5 to 20 but averaging 10. The initial royal squadron of ten combat lances has ten knights, with squires, plus 30 foot men, totaling 50 combatants. The later livery squadron has 10 knights, 30 cavalrymen, 20 archers and 10 spearmen.

### Conroi (company)

Eschilles are collected into a conroi. In vassalage armies the conroi is a baron’s muster of one to three eschilles (20-30 knights). The baron himself commonly leads one of his eschilles. In the muster of an earl or the king, each conroi is led by a court officer, usually one of the marshals or constables, but perhaps by the butler, steward or other known and trusted veteran.

A company flag is the banner, six feet by six feet square, and borne on a flag pole longer than a lance, so it’s visible over the pennons of the knights. It’s held with two hands by a knight who won’t fight, but always bear the banner aloft next to or just behind his lord. A banner shows the coat of arms of the owner, exactly as it appears on his shield. Royal companies begin when King Arthur contracts several noblemen to each raise units to fight against the Romans. He sets the number of fifty lances, as well as a prearranged rate of pay and the division of loot and time (in this original case for “one full year.”) The leader of the company is titled Captain, and is gifted the right to show his arms on the company banner. At the end of that year, in Paris, Arthur rehires all his original companies, and several more to replace the vassals who prefer to go home. The custom of hiring troops continues after the war.

During the Romance and Tournament Periods several families grow strong and rich, and they create their own family companies. When the royal court becomes divided into factions the custom of livery and maintenance begins, wherein wealthy nobles give money to followers (they maintain them) and the followers pledge loyalty, and wear the noble’s colors and badge (the leader’s livery.) The family companies form the core of these private armies for the factional lords. In these eras, changes in warfare have changed troop requirements. Thus the livery company has two to six eschilles.

### Division

Several conroi under one command is the exclusive privilege of earls, high-ranking barons and royal officers during the time that vassals provide the bulk of the army troops. The average division has six (four to eight) conroi, divided into the usual three battalions for battle. A battalion command is a temporary position, given to whichever officer of the conroi is senior. Lords with a large contingent, like counts and dukes, lead their own divisions.

In battle, the divisional commander’s position is marked by his standard, a large flag which might hang like a flag from the pole, or from a cross pole. They vary widely in size and shape. A lord’s standard usually bears some traditional sign, commonly the coat of arms of the baron, but sometimes an old Roman standard, religious symbol or odd artifact from ancient times. The division as an organizational unit comes later. It’s a collection of mercenary companies. It might be a special force sent on a mission (to pillage Anjou, for instance) or a subgroup of an even larger army. The division flag is a standard, and is ten feet long and four feet high at the pole, narrowing to about two feet, ending with a rounded or swallow tail. The field is divided into the two most prominent colors of the holder’s livery, and the rest of the standard with the badges of his faction. Later, factional armies are the size of divisions, and march under a factional standard.

### Battaile (battalion)

Battle, or bataille, is a medieval military term that is not used in King Arthur Pendragon, in favor of the more modern “battalion.” A battalion comprises one-third of the troops ~ one of the traditional three parts of an army (Vanguard, Center and Rearguard). Sometimes the armies are so large that more batailles are needed for organizational purposes, or to suit the honor of commanders. Arthur had eight battalions in his full army!

These units are divided into the usual three divisions when marching, but the actual chain of command goes from the Army Commander to the many Battalion Commanders. Battalions carry the standard of their commanders. Battalion Commander is a temporary position held by a man of high rank, like an earl or minor king, who has his own banner to display.

### Army

An army is any collection of troops. When the entire army of a king musters, it’s called the Royal Army.

Kings have their own battlefield banners. This always appears when the king is present. Occasionally the banner may be there representing the king’s person, when a campaign is in his name. On such occasion the commander (generally Sir Griflet the Warlord for King Arthur) speaks in the king’s name, and can perform many otherwise strictly royal prerogatives, especially that of battlefield promotion to banneret for men of great prowess.

### The Pendragon Banner

The Pendragon banner is a unique design ~ a draco banner. It’s a gold dragon’s head, its mouth open; and behind a silk wind sock that fills with wind and snakes back and forth over the king. Merlin caused the dragon to breathe fire at least once. From this symbol comes the family name. Pendragon literally means “head dragon” in Cymric, popularly interpreted to mean “chief warlord.”

## Commoners in War

Vassals do not have any rights to summon the peasant levy. Only the king can do that, and only to defend his kingdom of Logres from invasion. A general levy of commoners includes “all able bodied men of every class.” Nonetheless, when a lord’s land is attacked the commoners will seek refuge in his fortifications, along with their livestock and valuable chattel goods; and they will all join into the defense of that fortification to the best of their abilities. Even the women join in if they can, carrying stones and arrows to the men on the walls and fighting fires.