Editing Army (section)

===Medieval Europe===
[[File:Belagerung von Calais 1346-1347.JPG|thumb|Armies of the Middle Ages consisted of noble knights, rendering service to their [[suzerain]], and hired footsoldiers]]
In the earliest [[Middle Ages]] it was the obligation of every [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocrat]] to respond to the call to battle with his own equipment, archers, and infantry. This decentralized system was necessary due to the social order of the time, but could lead to motley forces with variable training, equipment and abilities. The more resources the noble had access to, the better his troops would be.

Initially, the words "knight" and "noble" were used interchangeably as there was not generally a distinction between them. While the nobility did fight upon horseback, they were also supported by lower class citizens – and mercenaries and criminals – whose only purpose was participating in warfare because, most often than not, they held brief employment during their lord's engagement.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Strong of Body, Brave and Noble: Chivalry and Society in Medieval France|last=Bouchard|first=Constance Brittain|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=1998|isbn=0801430976|location=Ithaca|pages=13}}</ref> As the Middle Ages progressed and [[feudalism]] developed in a legitimate social and economic system, knights started to develop into their own class with a minor caveat: they were still in debt to their lord. No longer primarily driven by economic need, the newly established vassal class were, instead, driven by fealty and [[chivalry]].

As central governments grew in power, a return to the citizen armies of the classical period also began, as central levies of the [[peasantry]] began to be the central recruiting tool. England was one of the most centralized states in the Middle Ages, and the armies that fought in the [[Hundred Years' War]] were, predominantly, composed of paid professionals.

In theory, every Englishman had an obligation to serve for forty days. Forty days was not long enough for a campaign, especially one on the continent.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Carruthers|first1=Bob|title=Medieval Warfare|date=2013|publisher=Pen and Sword|isbn=9781781592243|page=10}}</ref>

Thus the [[scutage]] was introduced, whereby most Englishmen paid to escape their service and this money was used to create a permanent army. However, almost all high medieval armies in Europe were composed of a great deal of paid core troops, and there was a large [[mercenary]] market in Europe from at least the early 12th century.

As the Middle Ages progressed in Italy, Italian cities began to rely mostly on mercenaries to do their fighting rather than the militias that had dominated the early and high medieval period in this region. These would be groups of career soldiers who would be paid a set rate. Mercenaries tended to be effective soldiers, especially in combination with standing forces, but in Italy they came to dominate the armies of the city states. This made them considerably less reliable than a standing army. Mercenary-on-mercenary warfare in Italy also led to relatively bloodless campaigns which relied as much on maneuver as on battles.

In 1439 the French legislature, known as the  [[Estates General (France)|Estates General]] (French: ''états généraux''), passed laws that restricted military recruitment and training to the king alone. There was a new tax to be raised known as the ''[[taille]]'' that was to provide funding for a new Royal army. The mercenary companies were given a choice of either joining the Royal army as ''[[Compagnie d'ordonnance|compagnies d'ordonnance]]'' on a permanent basis, or being hunted down and destroyed if they refused. France gained a total standing army of around 6,000 men, which was sent out to gradually eliminate the remaining mercenaries who insisted on operating on their own. The new standing army had a more disciplined and professional approach to warfare than its predecessors. The reforms of the 1440s,  eventually led to the [[Battle of Castillon|French victory at Castillon]] in 1453, and the conclusion of the [[Hundred Years' War]]. By 1450 the companies were divided into the field army, known as the ''grande ordonnance'' and the garrison force known as the ''petite ordonnance''.<ref>Vale, M.G.A. (1992). ''Charles VII''. Berkeley: University of California Press.</ref>