Saturday, January 12, 2008

Pay and equipment for French "mail-shirts," ordinance of 1351

A reader of this post on the "mail-shirts" asked how much vallets (the group I think were also called "mail-shirts") were paid and what equipment they were expected to have. That reader has answered his own question, but I thought others might be interested. I've used the translation of equipment terminology from the 1973 source collection Society at War, edited by C.T. Allmand:

Banneret 40 sols Tournois a day.

Chevalier 20 sols Tournois a day.

Escuyer "bearing his own arms," 10 sols Turnois.

Vallet "accompanying him and armed with a [short] coat of mail [haubergeon (SM)], bascinet with mail [camail (SM)] gorget, gauntlet, and a tunic above the coat of mail," 5 sols Tournois.

And as a bonus, here's what crossbowmen were supposed to have in the way of armor (from the ordinance, no translation):

armé de plates, de crevelliere, de gorgerette, d'espée, de coustel & de harnais de bras de fer & de cuir [wages of 3 sols]
And an extra special bonus, the gear and wages of a shieldman (pavisier):

armé de plates ou de haubergeon, de bascinet a camial, de gorgerette, de harnais, de bras, de gantellez, d'espée, de coustel, de lance; de pavais ou d'autre armeure, de quoi il se porra ou saura miex aidier [wages of 2 1/2 sols].

1 comment:

  1. Note that it is specified that these are armed valets. I believe that there were also small (petit) valets, or valets without any modifier, who were noncombatants without the arms of a soldier

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