Proof that Westerosi armies are professionals

Note on terminology: by "professional" here I mean "people whose job is fighting". It does not
mean that it is necessarily their only job or that they are under arms 365/y, but rather, that they are
trained and organized military force. Example of part-time professionals would be US Army
Reserve or US National Guard for modern-day forces, or else Byzantine themata. "Professionals"
as "troops whose only job is fighting" is what I consider to be specifically "standing troops" or
"full-time professionals" – such as US Army regulars today or Byzantine tagmata during 8th to 11th
centuries. Thus it should not be assumed that there is binary setup of "full-time professional" vs
"peasants with pitchforks". These are merely extremes of organization, but significant variation is
possible between those two end states, with differing advantages and disadvantages.
Looking at real life, it is almost certain that most of Westerosi soldiers are yeomen – commoners
who cultivate their own land – and thus socially peasants. However, that does not mean that they
are untrained conscripts, which is the unspoken implication of "peasant infantry" stance.
Historically, yeomen were wealthier peasants who possessed land, owned arms and took part in
fighting on behalf of their lord. Yeomen served as guards for their lord, and were expected to
regularly train with whatever weapons they used, which were typically of high quality. In fact, in
England, yeomen used weapons which were absolutely dependent on regular training, such as
longbows. All and all, they were professional soldiers. Socially, wealthier yeomen could easily be
wealthier than poorer knights.
These peasants – yeomen – did very well in many battles. English and Welsh yeomen did well at
Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt, even if greatest weight of fighting was carried by fully professional
men-at-arms. Flemish burghers were successful at Courtrai, and Swiss peasants likewise at
Granson, Morat and Nancy, as well as Scots at Bannockbourn.
Before getting into more technical/specialist elements, I will note a general argument for why
Westerosi armies cannot consist of conscripted peasants. Army is naturally a reflection of society
which spawned it, and will thus reflect relations of power within the society. Army which relies on
conscription of a large body of low-class individuals will have to give that class a stake in
maintaining the existing order. If society itself is oppressive, then soldiers become a danger to the
government, unless soldiers themselves are a separate social class. This is done by
professionalization – professional army is relatively separate from the society itself and is in fact a
society for itself. It is for this reason that a standing army is a very capable tool of oppression for
whoever rules the society. A citizen militia however transfers power into hands of citizens, and thus
automatically leads to a more equal society.
Therefore, one can have either a highly oppressive society or a highly distributed military system. It
is generally agreed that Westeros is a feudal dystopia rather than a healthy feudal society. Thus, it
makes no sense for Westerosi armies to consist of anything but professional troops. In Croatia,
relatively equal tribal system also meant that army itself is tribal; feudal banderial system came with
introduction of feudalism itself: army thus came to reflect inequality of the society. In Byzantine
Empire, introduction of thematic system in 7th century ushered in an era of political activism by
troops of provinces, which expressed itself in provincial armies overthrowing Emperors who
favoured the center. And in feudal system, magnates held all the power because military power of
the kingdom – and, often, of the king himself – depended on their retinues.

Clanking tin cans - Mobilization and equipment

Feudal knights and men-at-arms were full-time professionals, but they made up minority of the
army and often could have issues with discipline (or at least French did – English and German
knights could be highly disciplined). In 12th century Henry II of England could call on 6 000 to 7
000 knights. Between England, Normany, Anjou and Aquitaine he had maybe 11 – 12 million
people (England had 5 million people, France in total some 13,4 million, and Henry had western
half of France). Thus knights were between 0,05% and 0,064% of total population. In 1100,
England had 5 000 knights from population of 1,8 million, or 0,28%. However, heavy cavalry –
what is considered "knights" in common speech – were mostly not knights, but rather mounted
men-at-arms, of which knights would be a small part.
This is also the case in Westeros. Robb Stark fields perhaps 300 knights among 3 000 armoured
lancers (that is, mounted men-at-arms). Infantry, some 8 000 strong at that point, is comprised of
pikemen, archers and dismounted men-at-arms. Winterfell is guarded by crossbowmen. In fact, all
hosts of northern vassals are highly structured and professional. Karstark infantry consists of
pikemen, as does that of Manderlys and Freys. Freys lead "a long column of pikemen, rank on rank
of shuffling men in blue steel ringmail and silver grey cloaks". At same point, northern infantry is
described as consisting of "pikes and archers and great masses of men at arms on foot".
At Oxcross, Tywin Lannister fields archers, pikemen and dismounted men-at-arms:
His uncle would lead the center. Ser Kevan had raised his standards above the kingsroad.
Quivers hanging from their belts, the foot archers arrayed themselves into three long lines,
to east and west of the road, and stood calmly stringing their bows. Between them, pikemen
formed squares; behind were rank on rank of men-at-arms with spear and sword and axe.
These two descriptions are significant because all three groups have to be professional, that is,
trained troops. Pikemen are absolutely dependant on maintaining formation, which means that pikes
can only be used by well-drilled troops. This is especially true for offensive use of pike, which is
also seen in Westeros – untrained troops would see their formation fall apart long before reaching
enemy. Pike is useless for hunting and no peasant would have it unless he expected to regularly go
to fight. Dismounted men-at-arms would be equipped similarly to knights and belong to same social
group, or else well-paid professional soldiers. Therefore, both would receive at very least regular
training and drill. Archers could refer to either longbowmen or crossbowmen. Former have to
regularly practice, and are thus at least yeomen, while crossbowmen were usually full-time
(typically mercenaries) or part-time professionals due to expense of their equipment (rich cities
could also field them as part of their militia force). All of them – except men-at-arms – would be
socially peasants in Westerosi context, but would be neither untrained nor undisciplined. That this is
so can also be seen from mobilized numbers.
In fact, northern infantry at Oxcross displays high degree of discipline: it takes infantry assault from
the front, missile bombardment and finally heavy cavalry charge to break them – and even then they
do not actually rout but rather stage a fighting withdrawal (most of Northern foot, in fact, survives
the battle). Peasant levy would have broken and likely routed already at step 1 or 2 of the listed.
Further, every northman Tyrion fights is described as wearing mail, which is very expensive form of
armour – even Byzantine Empire preferred to equip its infantry with textile armour as opposed to
metal one. By 15th century mail was actually more expensive than plate, though it is possible that
North lacks technology for mass production of plate. Whatever the case, mail is the sort of armour
which could only be really afforded by professional soldiers.
We also see new recruits being trained before being sent to battle: Lannister host at Oxcross was in
the process of training, and Rodrik Cassel also trains more men which would then be sent to Robb
as reinforcements. In fact, Stafford's army had already been training for a few months, yet that
amount of training was clearly considered insufficient as it was still encamped safely within the
heart of Lannister territory (Oxcross is within three days' ride from Casterly Rock and Lannisport).
Ser Stafford was also responsible for arming them – which means that they did not bring their own
weapons. Thus there would be no scythe-wielding peasants in that army.
Stannis' army which he brings to the Wall consists of "not only knights now but freeriders and
mounted bowmen and men at arms in jacks and kettle helms, dozens, hundreds of men". Again,
there are no conscripted peasants in evidence. The only conscripts present are the wildlings: and
they break hard and break fast, just like Gold Cloak conscripts at King's Landing. While
Northerners at Oxcross do get defeated, they do not actually break; and in few examples where
Westerosi armies do break, they last far longer and/or break under far less favourable circumstances
than is the case with wildlings.
Professionalism of typical Westerosi army is supported by Dunk novels:
Ser Lucas Inchfield appeared half a heartbeat later, armored head to heel... More knights
came after, half a dozen of them, attended by as many squires. A column of mounted
crossbowmen brought up the rear, and fanned out to either side of the road when they
reached the Chequy Water and saw Dunk waiting on the other side. There were three-and-
thirty fighting men all told, excluding the septon, the maester, and the Widow herself
Again, a proper force consists of knights, squires, mounted crossbowmen – all of these would be
professional troops, possibly even full-time professionals.
Feudal society could mobilize 10% of their population if going all-out. But population of Westeros,
ignoring estimates derived from size of military forces to begin with, should be between 75 million
and 100 million people (though 43 million to 54 million is not unlikely). Comparing this with army
sizes (~388 000 troops), the resulting proportion of troops as percentage of population goes from
0,4% to 0,5%. In 1189., Frederick I Barbarossa raised an army of 15 000 men, including 4 000
knights, according to modern estimates, or 100 000 men including 20 000 knights according to
contemporary sources. Population of Holy Roman Empire around 1200 AD was some 5 000 000
people, making for proportion of 0,3% according to today's estimates or 2% according to
contemporary sources. Smaller army is likely, as only 5 000 troops arrived to Holy Land after most
of the army went home. But even 2% would still assume professional army – and at worst plausible
population density of 7 people per km2, population of Westeros would still be 37 700 000 people,
which at 388 000 troops would give army proportion of 1%. This proportion cannot be explained in
any way other than assuming that all troops are at least part-time professionals. This is best
illustrated by the graphic below (by Imperator Zor, who thus saved me from having to make my
own).
(the medieval army ratio JPG)
Some people have estimated as few as 14 million, but that would lead to population density of 2,6
per square kilometer – for reference, Sahara desert is 0,27 per square km. More importantly, that is
overall population density of Westeros as such. But North, going by army numbers, has between
7,6% and 12,5% of total population. Even raising proportion to 10% and 15% to account for
presumably lesser efficiency of mobilization would still give it 1,4 to 2,1 million people. At two
million square kilometers, density would be 0,7 to 1 person per square kilometer – most of it
concentrated in the south. Yet we see castles and keeps very far north. In fact, Winterfell – seat of
Northern power, major castle and with a presumably large town nearby – is halfway between the
Neck and the Wall. Dreadfort, another major regional seat, is at similar latitude, while The Last
Hearth is less than 300 miles south of the Wall. Plus, even with 14 million people army would be
2% of populace which – as noted – still indicates a professional force and is in fact maximum which
can be deployed for long-distance campaigns.
An agricultural society could mobilize significant portion of population for short periods of time if
it went full "peasant conscription" route. Roman Republic was able to mobilize 10% of population
for Second Punnic War and 6% for Second Mithridatic War. This was because even in summer no
more than half of available population could be done without on the farm, so 7,5-10% of population
was absolute maximum which could be mobilized; only for local (town, village) defense could up
to 15% population be raised. For North, with army of 40 000 troops in total, this proportion would
mean population of 400 000 to 700 000. Resultant population density would be 0,2 to 0,35 people
per square kilometer. This is just around the density of Sahara desert – a place, it should be noted,
not well known for highly developed feudal societies.
It is true however than not all of them are full-time professionals. In fact, Westerosi armies can be
divided into several categories:
1. full-time professionals
2. part-time professionals (professional levies)
3. mercenaries
4. peasant levy / armed camp followers
Full-time professionals are soldiers whose only job is fighting, and nothing else than fighting. These
would be knights and men-at-arms – landed knights, household knights and either landed or
mercenary men-at-arms. Such troops would be well-equipped and very well-trained. This is
especially true for household troops of nobles, who would be elite within elite.
Professional levies are most likely similar to Hungarian banderial system. In this system, noblemen
contracted to provide a specified number of troops (mostly cavalry) for the crown. Banderium
("banner") numbered usually 400 or 500 men (depending on period). Smaller nobles would band
together to provide a single banderium, while magnates could field several banderia each. However,
term was also used for a force provided by any individual noble, regardless of its size. This
similarity is made quite clear by the phrase "calling the banners" which outright spells out that this
is the system being used. Problem is that in Westeros every lord and knight gathers his own men
and marches under his own banner, which may argue against this. Yet some form of banderium-type
formalization must exist, considering the sizes of armies being fielded, else logistics would be
impossible.
In Hungary, nobles had to raise one cavalryman per 20 houses, which would give army of
somewhat less than 1% of populace; later on this was raised to one cavalryman per 10 houses due to
Ottoman threat. Westeros is not under constant threat, but also has significant numbers of infantry,
which are much cheaper than cavalry (in Westeros, armies have some 20% - 30% cavalry, whereas
in Hungarian armies that proportion was between 60% and 80%). Thus 1% of professional soldiers
as proportion of populace is a reasonable assumption; as can be seen before, Westerosi army is
likely actually less than 1% of populace.
Mercenaries can be contracted individually or in groups. Latter also includes mercenary companies
such as those in Essos, though lack of domestically-grown mercenary companies in Westeros is
weird. Most mercenaries in Westeros appear to be contracted in small groups, or individually
(hedge knights).
Peasant levy is the last category. Impression among many fans of series is that it comprises a
backbone of Westerosi armies. Yet, as explained earlier, Westerosi armies are far too small relative
to total populace to contain any significant numbers of peasant levies. Historically, peasant levies
were relatively well-armed – with spear, axe, sword or bow – but would not use more expensive
weapons (e.g. Crossbow) and armour would be quilted gambeson at best, and possibly none.
Peasant levies were used as skirmish troops if needed, but their primary purpose was as local
defence militia. Maximum proportion of these troops would be 10% of populace, but they could
only ever be raised for short term and for local defence only. For longer campaigns, community
would band together to train and equip a certain number of people – which would thus be
equivalent to professional levies.
And there lies another argument against significant presence of conscripted peasants in armies of
Westeros. Peasants, unless being mobilized to defend their homes against immediate threat, tended
to desert on campaign. Edward I had to call off one of his campaigns in Scotland due to large
number of conscripted infantry deserting. Yet there are no such issues in Westeros; desertion when it
happens does not seem out of line for actually professional armies. Stark, Lannister and Tyrell hosts
stay in the field for many months – up to two years in some cases – yet losses they suffer are
primarily due to combat or else disease and supply problems – desertion as a problem hardly even
merits mention. Even looting does not appear to be significant problems, where in real world
conscripts would tend to carry off everything that was not nailed down – and even some things that
were. What looting we do see in Westeros – looting as terror tactic, looting dead bodies for
equipment and foraging for food – was something which was done by all armies through history up
until invention of canned food (and even afterwards although to smaller extent).
Forther, while historical peasant levy was well-equipped, Donal Noye's quote suggests that only
1/20 of peasants own swords. This may indicate that either peasant levy is not relied on or only
select peasants are levied.

Bashing the skulls – battlefield tactics

The only significant field battle described in the books is the battle of Oxcross, but it alone already
shows that army is highly professional. I will cite the description of Tywin's army in full:
In the dawn light, the army of Lord Tywin Lannister unfolded like an iron rose, thorns
gleaming.
His uncle would lead the center. Ser Kevan had raised his standards above the kingsroad.
Quivers hanging from their belts, the foot archers arrayed themselves into three long lines,
to east and west of the road, and stood calmly stringing their bows. Between them, pikemen
formed squares; behind were rank on rank of men-at-arms with spear and sword and axe.
Three hundred heavy horse surrounded Ser Kevan and the lords bannermen Lefford,
Lydden, and Serrett with all their sworn retainers.
The right wing was all cavalry, some four thousand men, heavy with the weight of their
armor. More than three quarters of the knights were there, massed together like a great steel
fist. Ser Addam Marbrand had the command. Tyrion saw his banner unfurl as his
standardbearer shook it out; a burning tree, orange and smoke. Behind him flew Ser
Flement’s purple unicorn, the brindled boar of Crakehall, the bantam rooster of Swyft, and
more.
His lord father took his place on the hill where he had slept. Around him, the reserve
assembled; a huge force, half mounted and half foot, five thousand strong. Lord Tywin
almost always chose to command the reserve; he would take the high ground and watch the
battle unfold below him, committing his forces when and where they were needed most.
This wing too was all cavalry, but where the right was a mailed fist of knights and heavy
lancers, the vanguard was made up of the sweepings of the west: mounted archers in leather
jerkins, a swarming mass of undisciplined freeriders and sellswords, fieldhands on plow
horses armed with scythes and their fathers’ rusted swords, half- trained boys from the stews
of Lannisport… and Tyrion and his mountain clansmen.
This description is important because of two factors. First, it describes troop types which have to be
professional: archers, pikemen, men-at-arms and knights. Even left wing, which was supposed to
break, had "mounted archers, freeriders and sellswords" – which would be either mercenaries or
well-trained recruits. Mounted archers are foot archers riding a horse, and thus have the same
equipment as foot archers – meaning either longbow (which requires regular practice) or crossbow
(which is very expensive and can only be afforded by professional troops). Only "fieldhands and
half-trained boys" would be stereotypical peasant levy.
But more important factor is the deployment of army itself. Army is divided into three divisions:
left wing, center and right wing. Left wing is peasant levy, center is infantry and right wing is heavy
cavalry. Center itself is divided into four groups: archers on each wing, pikemen in the center and
men-at-arms in reserve. This is crucial piece of information. Center of army is "pivot": Romans
typically aimed at destroying enemy's center to destroy army's cohesion (which usually worked
well, but could be exploited as Hannibal did at Cannae). If center breaks, army is defeated. Thus
troops in the center have to be highly trained, highly disciplined and highly motivated. Fact that
center consists of infantry means that infantry in question has all three characteristics, and is thus
certainly not peasant levy. If infantry truly consisted of conscripted peasants, it would have been
placed behind cavalry.
Archers display discipline in shooting volleys instead of each archer loosing as many arrows as he
is able. Tywin himself was confident that his pikemen would be able to wheel left and take
Northerners in the flank once they broke Lannister left wing. Such a maneuver in face of opposition
is difficult enough for professional troops to make; for raw recruits or peasant levies, attempting it
would be hopeless and would only lead to a rout. In fact, such a maneuver is not something that
Greek phalanx – one of primary models for Unsullied – would be capable of. It would take Roman
legions for a force capable of such maneuvers to appear on the battlefield. Even just the fact that
pikemen advance to contact means that they are well-drilled force, but a pivot described would
require at least part-time professionals.
Further, each unit and individual apparently know where to go, where to deploy and what their role
will be. There is none of confusion typical for hastily trained conscripts. Chances are that many of
these troops actually saw service in Robert's Rebellion or even War of Ninepenny Kings. And
during the battle, pikemen of both Lannister and Stark armies advance to a clash: something that is
not simple to do, especially in relatively broken terrain, and thus again indicates high degree of drill
and discipline. Northern infantry is in fact described "advancing with measured tread behind a wall
of shields and pikes". This is something that only well-drilled and disciplined infantry can achieve.
Untrained infantry can either wait passively for attack in a shield wall or other similar formation
(e.g. schiltron), and would definitely not advance "with a measured step" since humans have
different natural walking speeds. Maintaining such a formation over broken terrain would likely be
beyond ability of raw recruits.
Northern infantry is eventually broken by a missile barrage followed by a cavalry charge – and even
then they initially stand and fight. This is much less like behaviour of conscripted peasants, and
much more akin to professional troops of various Caliphates faced by Byzantine Empire.
Byzantines in fact utilized exactly this process to break Arab lines: they would bombard enemy
lines with arrows followed by a heavy cavalry (kataphraktoi) charge.
In the end, entire reason why feudalism happened is because trained soldier cannot be replaced by
two – or twelve, or twenty – untrained peasants. Peasant revolts were frequent in feudal society, but
never successful. Assuming that Westerosi troops are conscripted peasants is equal to assuming that
Westeros is not a feudal society, but rather something closer to Paleolithic or perhaps Neolithic one.
While peasant armies did historically exist, they generally got shredded into tiny bits by more
professional troops rather quickly. Neither Western European feudal levies nor Byzantine thematic
troops were peasants (with possible exception of some of light infantrymen in both cases – but then
those served only as scouts and skirmishers, and were not expected to engage in a set-piece battle,
or any kind of hand-to-hand combat). Only in high-violence societies – such as pre-conquest Arabs,
Vikings, Mongols, Byzantine borderlands – could "average Joe" be militarily competent enough to
actually go soldiering. These groups could consequently punch well above their weight, as
professional armies or else well-trained militias were required to counter them.

Let's eat! - logistics of armies

Logistics are also important in another aspect. Fielding an army – as already seen from image of
ratios shown earlier – is a massive logistical undertaking. This is especially true in Westeros, where
armies are massive and also campaign over long distances. Distance alone argues for professional
troops, for two or three main reasons. First, sending peasants to fight over such distances is simply
not logistically feasible. Taking people away from their fields for a long time would cause
starvation, turning any long-distance campaign into self-inflicted genocide. Because of this, only a
relatively small force can be fielded over such large distances in any case, so it is only logical to try
and ensure that said force will also be the best possible qualitatively. Second, armies in Westeros are
not just large, but huge. Dark Ages "peasants with pitchforks" armies – such as what "untrained
peasants" argument assumes – were small. Anglo-Saxon law states that "We use the term "thieves"
if the number of men does not exceed seven, "band of marauders" [or "war-band"] for a number
between seven and thirty-five. Anything beyond this is an "army" [here]". Cyneheard had eighty-
four men with him when he slew King Cynewulf in attempt to sieze the throne of Wessex. In fact,
all early English sources give figures of less than 100, while Britonnic sources are in single-digit
thousands. In largest (legendary Arthurian) battle recorded number of casualties was 960 for the
losing side. Since losers saw casualties from 15% to 50% (or more), reasonable number of troops
on either side does not go above 6 000, and may be as low as 2 000.
15th century armies – largely professional in nature as opposed to previously-discussed levy – are
much larger, but still not Westerosi-large. After dissolving military system of Matthias Corvinus,
Hungary could not keep army in the field for half a year. When mobilized for Ottoman threat in
1521., army was gathered through July yet was not ready by August or September, and started
suffering from disease by September – and by early October it started to disperse. This army was
similar in size to that at Mohacs in 1526., which was 24 000 – 30 000 strong. And even before that,
keeping only 28 000 full-time professionals of Black Army constantly in the field was straining
logistical and financial resources of Kingdom of Hungary. Even king Matthias himself never – or at
most, once – mobilized armies larger than 30 000 – 40 000 troops. Nor were armies mobilized for
offensive campaigns and thus (partly) fed from plunder much larger. In 1501. for an offensive war
army mobilized was again some 29 000 strong but divided into three independent field armies,
while in 1502. a field army of 20 000 entered Bosnia (see: Palosfalvi – From Nicopolis to Mohacs).
Going westward, Battle of Crecy saw English army of =<15 000 face off against French army of
=<30 000. At Poitiers English had 6 000 against French 11 000, while at Agincourt some 6 000 – 9
000 English troops fought against French army which included 14 000 – 15 000 soldiers and up to
10 000 armed servants.
Westerosi armies are larger – sometimes vastly so. Tyrells can keep 60 000 troops in field for two
years, but these troops are merely what remains of 90 000 strong Baratheon-Tyrell army. Robb
Stark's initial host numbered some 20 000 men, but increased to 40 000 with addition of lords of
Riverlands. Tywin's army had 20 000 men, and Doran Martell kept two hosts of 10 000 men each in
field for a long time – representing likely majority of fighting strength of Dorne.
These army numbers at their lower end are in line with Wars of the Roses. Characteristic of those
wars was armies supported by indenture system. The indenture system introduced paid squadron
under professional captain. In this system commander contracted with the king to provide specified
force for military service. As indenture – among other things – laid down precisely size and
composition of such force, it meant that campaigns could be planned for. Soldiers thus provided
were able to serve for indefinite periods of time, producing essentially long-service professional
army. Similar to it was Hungarian banderial system which also proved capable of fielding armies in
low tens of thousands by contracting nobles to provide standardized banderies ("banners"). Each
banner consisted of 400 to 500 soldiers depending on timeframe. Several smaller nobles would
band together to provide a single banner while large magnates would provide multiple banners
each. Either way, it provided for a standardized military organization which allowed effective
logistical support. When said support failed to materialize it was always a failure of political
leadership, not of military system as such. Banderial system appears to be the closest to what is
used in Westeros.
But as seen earlier, neither indenture nor banderial system typically fielded armies larger than 30
000 troops. Even so, both systems still raised large numbers of professional soldiers, and any
system capable of organizing movement of armies much larger than English, French or Hungarian
armies discussed would also be capable of providing these armies with trained troops, be it part-
time or full-time professionals (while large peasant armies were attested historically – especially
during European defensive wars against expansion of Islam – their existence and movement
depended on logistical support of states capable of fielding significant (semi)professional forces).
Fact also remains that (going from Wall = 300 miles) distance from Winterfell to the Riverlands is
some thousand miles. Marching speed of an army is rather variable, but for a medieval army with
not-mounted infantry, large numbers of part-time soldiers and significant baggage train (note:
Westerosi armies apparently take cattle with them), marching speed would be around 8 – 10 miles
per day – at best. Crusader armies in Outremer moved at less than 8 miles per day. Byzantine army
could march at 12 – 14 miles per day in a very rough terrain, but this was a highly organized and
professional force using mules instead of ox carts and preferring food that was already dead.
Overall however, merely getting from Winterfell to Riverlands would – assuming some 25%
increase in travel time due to road not being straight line – take some 100 to 125 days, and
definitely no less than 80 days. This would be rather problematic for peasants, even in multi-year
summer. Crops need 90 days to grow (barley), yet merely walking there and back again would take
two or three times as long. And this is not including all the fighting, raping and pillaging. Thus,
Catelyn's thought that "No, she thought, not near so many, we have lost men in battle, and others to
the harvest.", makes no logical sense. At all. Except in a Parliament. Believing that Robb took
peasants with him would mean that Westeros had lost not one, but three to six harvests (there + FRP
+ back). But winters also last for years, which means that Westerosi troops have to be professionals,
otherwise fighting any war at all would mean mass starvation during the winter. Such self-inflicted
genocide is rather unusual for any long-lasting society. Even disregarding that, average peasant
certainly could not afford to be away from home for long periods of time – nor would landowner
want him to, as peasant's absence would affect lord's income as well.
As such, armies can only be comprised of professionals. As noted, a levied army may be as large as
10% or even 15% of total population. But these armies were impossible to deploy on long-distance
campaigns. Even highly organized Byzantine armies caused heavy strain on local resources as they
moved through countryside – and typical Byzantine field army numbered 20 000 – 30 000 troops.
Professional and mercenary armies of 30 years war were elemental forces of destruction, wrecking
the countryside they passed over – some areas ended up completely depopulated as armies sucked
in resources like overblown vacuum cleaners. Yet all these armies were professional, supported by
modern states and absolutely huge by earlier standards.

Torches and pitchforks – peasants in the army

Now, all of the above does not prevent lords from fielding peasants as occasion demands. But such
peasant mobs will not be the rule, nor will they be fielded for long-distance campaigns. When and
how they might appear can also be seen from the example of Hungary. Engaged in life-and-death
struggle against expansionist Ottoman Empire from 1389. to 1526., Hungary – then including not
only modern-day Hungary but also Slovakia, Transylvania and Banate – was forced to mobilize its
resources to an extent never seen before. During Siege of Belgrade, Hunyadi's forces included 10
000 strong standing army of kingdom kept in arms from the proceeds of royal estates and revenues.
These were supplemented by crusaders mobilized by Giovanni de Capistrano, which were mostly
peasants armed with whatever. However, barons refused to help – Kosovo battle had decimated
their ranks, and just as importantly, harvests had not come in – which rather limited financial and
logistical resources available to the barons. Still, peasants proved more than able of defending a city
during the siege, though Hunyadi correctly avoided testing them against Ottoman army in the field.
Tactical situation however should be noted: Hunyadi's army which punched through the siege into
Belgrade consisted of professional troops and crusaders, but main work was likely done by the
former. Crusaders managed to disable some Ottoman cannons in a surprise assault, but overall they
were not used in a field battle.
Field armies based on peasant militia were also known in Hungary – so called Generalis Exercitus.
These armies however were unreliable and ineffective; as a result, Generalis Exercitus was called
for the last time in 1439., but king Albrecht released troops home after 15 days (or, rather, so levied
army could not be kept under arms for longer than that). Thereafter, kingdom relied solely on
banderial system until said system was supplemented first by standing garrisons of border forts and
then by standing field army (Black Army of Matthias Corvinus). It should however be noted that
original Generalis Exercitus was a levy of minor nobles, and only transformed into peasant levy
because said nobles were subsumed into peasant class. Lack of arsenals, leaders and basic
organizational units also made it unsuitable for offensive campaigns; and in any case, peasants were
usually archers (but not longbowmen or crossbowmen – they would use hunting bows). Westeros,
with its much greater distances, would face those same issues but in a much more pronounced form.
It is thus clear that generalis exercitus cannot form more than a minor, if any, part of armies seen
fighting in War of the Five Kings – or indeed, in any major war Westeros has ever fought.
Likewise, historical generalis exercitus was much better equipped than what "peasants with sticks"
trope assumes. Hungarian Generalis Exercitus assumed that people would have weapons – bows,
spears, swords etc. - and be trained in their use; as noted, original Generalis Exercitus was a levy of
minor nobles who with time became wealthy peasants. Swedish peasant levy (ledung) were
supposed to be equipped with a shield, a sword or an axe, helmet or mail coif, mail shirt or
breastplate, and a bow or crossbow with three dozen arrows. This equipment was completely out of
means for average peasant.
Another issue is quote from Catelyn which is often taken as meaning that Westerosi armies
predominantly consist of untrained peasants:
This host her son had assembled was not a standing army such as the Free Cities were
accustomed to maintain, nor a force of guardsmen paid in coin. Most of them were
smallfolk: crofters, fieldhands, fishermen, sheepherders, the sons of innkeeps and traders
and tanners, leavened with a smattering of sellswords and freeriders hungry for plunder.
When their lords called, they came… but not forever.
But this need not describe untrained conscripts. It can just as well apply to part-time semi-
professional soldiers of the kind I have already described. Such troops could have a peacetime
profession yet still be part of the army and participate in regular drills and training: similar to Army
Reserve as opposed to Army Active Service. But this does not mean they are significantly inferior
to full-time soldiers. In fact, reservists can often prove superior in some ways to full-time troops
because they bring their day-to-day skills to the battlefield. Fact that "sons of inkeepers and traders
and tanners" are mentioned confirms this, as such people would have more wealth than farmers and
likely be members of town militia. They would also be able to afford equipment such as spears,
maces, swords, helmets and gambesons.
In fact, this is how Northern host (the very same) is described later in the book:
The larger part of the northern host, pikes and archers and great masses of men-at-arms on
foot
As noted before, pikemen, archers and dismounted men-at-arms are all professional or at worst
semi-professional soldiers. They cannot, by their very nature, be untrained or hastily-trained
conscripts; their skills require regular training and long-term honing.
Neither does Meribald's speech mean much. Meribald describes peasants being conscripted to serve
in the army – but at no point does he indicate that these men form majority of the army. It is natural
that his speech focuses on conscripts, him being a (fantasy) Catholic monk and having been a
conscript during that war himself, but it is merely an understandable bias. It is especially
understandable because he is making a political/ideological point. Yet his speech also provides its
own refutation: "and the knights come down on them... and the man breaks". While it does have a
wider meaning in the context, rarely in story proper are infantry seen breaking merely because of
cavalry charge. His description is merely a "slice of life" and as such worthless on its own, seeing
how he is not a commander and thus not privy to larger picture.
Further, while peasants may be pressed into combat roles if necessary, fact that peasants are present
does not, alone, mean much. Any medieval army would have a large number of noncombatants –
even in Roman legions trail of civilians may be as numerous as soldiers in the legion, and
legionaries were known to take personal slaves (calones) with them to perform menial tasks. In
medieval armies, noncombatants could outnumber the combat element by a wide margin. It stands
to reason that civilians could be pressed to fill combat roles if need appeared to do so, and in fact
Romans did occasionaly arm slaves as well (though they always freed them beforehand). This is
what appears to be the case, with Frey force being 4 000 strong before and after battles it had
fought, but gaining peasants with sticks in latter case.
So what proportion would peasants actually be? Making some assumptions [marked as (?)], Tywin's
army can be divided as follows:
• 20 000 troops total
• 4 000 heavy cavalry on right wing (professionals)
• 2 500 heavy cavalry in reserve (professionals)
• 2 500 infantry in reserve (professionals)
• 7 000 (?) infantry in center (professionals)
• 4 000 (?) cavalry on left wing
◦ mounted archers (professionals)
◦ freeriders (mercenaries or conscripts)
◦ sellswords (professionals)
◦ fieldhalds (conscripts)
◦ sweepings of Lannisport (conscripts)
Assuming that all five components of left wing are equal in proportion, Tywin's army would consist
of 17 600 professional troops (88%) and 2 400 conscripts (12%). Thus, while Westerosi armies do
have conscripted peasants as part of their manpower, they are also quite clearly predominantly
professional force. And Tywin himself only deploys peasants on the wing which was supposed to
break, serving as a bait – and there they serve to shock Tyrion with their low quality, indicating that
deploying such troops is not a normal practice at all.
Similar situation is with Frey troops:
Three days later, the vanguard of Roose Bolton’s host threaded its way through the ruins and
past the row of grisly sentinels—four hundred mounted Freys clad in blue and grey, their
spearpoints glittering whenever the sun broke through the clouds. And at the rear, more
Freys. At least a thousand, maybe more: bowmen, spearmen, peasants armed with scythes
and sharpened sticks, freeriders and mounted archers, and another hundred knights to
stiffen them.
It is clear that "peasants with sticks" form only a minority of the army. Assuming, as before, equal
proportions, there would be 500 knights, 400 freeriders and mounted archers, 400 bowmen and
spearmen and 200 peasants. Thus proportion is 87% professional troops and 13% conscripts, almost
exactly the same as in Lannister army. Of course, as before, exact proportions are a guessimate;
peasants could be either more or less numerous than estimated. And these were troops which were
returning from campaign in the South; peasants are nowhere in evidence in the original muster.
Thus they are likely camp followers who were armed with whatever was available to act as
auxilliary troops as professionals took losses.
This can also be seen in The Sworn Sword. Small barely-lord with falling-apart holdings which had
been devastated by disease, drought and war deploys a force of untrained peasants who can barely
tell one end of spear from another and have to be drilled post haste. To basically everyone, Ser
Eustace is a joke. And despite that training, his peasants are not expected to actually hold in battle.
Lady Webber however deploys a fully professional force despite her own holdings being relatively
small (but economically prosperous).
Historically, even a well-equipped militia was not capable of standing up to a professional army in
open field. Romans, Byzantines and many medieval states did use militias, but these were used for
home defence only, where walls could serve as a great equalizer – and they were typically equipped
with missile weapons. Battle of Visby in 1361. shows what happens when militia encounters a
professional army. Gutes fielded some 2 000 troops to similar number of Danish troops. Gute troops
were almost entirely peasant militia – around one-third of the force consisted of the elderly, the
children and the crippled – but due to richness of town were well-equipped, with armour consisting
of mail and coat-of-plates, while Danes wore transitional armour. Gutnish yeomen army was beaten,
suffering 1700 – 1800 casualties to 300 Swedish casualties. Important point to note is mobilization
of "unsuitable" troops (elderly, children, cripples) because it suggests that equipment was actually
easier to come by than bodies to wear it. Further, such well-equipped militia was completely
crushed, showing that nobody would field non-professional troops in a field battle if they had a
choice.
Another argument against "untrained peasants as basis of the army" is Vulture King of Dorne.
Doran is quite clear that Dorne's strength of 50 000 men is highly overstated. My own estimate
comes to 25 000 – 30 000 troops, similar to North. Yet Vulture King alone raises 30 000 men – and
that is clearly not the majority of strength of Dorne. Not only is it nowhere mentioned that Dorne is
left defenseless or similar, but there is also the fact that Dorne obviously supporting him would have
caused an unwinnable war against the Iron Throne. This means that troops of Dornish lords and
House Martell could not have been with the Vulture King. The only way to solve this seeming
contradiction is to assume that 30 000 troops of Dorne refers to professional soldiers (full-time and
part-time professionals) while Vulture King had a small core of professional soldiers with majority
of his troops being peasants with pitchforks.
There are a few pieces of evidence supporting the argument for "peasants in the army", however.
Glovers and Karstarks lost their last harvest for the want of men to harvest it, and most of Lannister
army is released home to "bring in one last harvest". But as shown already, it is not just last harvest
that would have been lost, if manpower truly was an issue. Multi-year winters combined with long
distances mean that any campaign outside borders of a kingdom – even in middle of summer – has
to rely on professional troops, otherwise it would do more damage to kingdom mounting the
campaign than to the enemy. Possible solution is that troops were only raised from vicinity of the
castles and did indeed include peasants. More likely however is that peasants were taken as camp
followers – as we do know is the practice, in both Westeros and real world – and that harvest loss
was localized to those parts where followers were taken from (that is, immediate surroundings of
the castles).
Likewise, in AdwD, Karstarks and Umbers have "old men and green boys". This can be interpreted
two ways. First possibility is that entirety their military-age male population had been wiped out in
war, and that old men and green boys are all that remain of male populace. This fits the "conscripted
peasants" view, which would neatly explain why they are forced to rely on such troops. Problem is
that it makes no sense, simply for reason of logistics. Another reason is that it would mean the
North has suffered an outright genocide against its population. Second possibility is that these are
not peasants at all, but merely what remains of soldiering / warrior class (similar to situation
Gamling faced at Hornburg). North after all is a feudal society, so lords would avoid arming
peasants if it could be avoided at all. This is preferable explanation, as it explains why North is able
to wage war south of the Neck while still being strapped for manpower afterwards. It also fits
historical model. Hungray, which as I have already explained closely resembles what we know
about Westerosi military organization and recruitment practices, faced significant manpower
shortages and could not mobilize properly after losses at Battle of Kosovo in 1448. This was not
because – as was "popular" explanation at the time – Hungarian barons were cowards, nor because
losses incurred were demographically significant (they weren't) – or even militarily significant in
terms of number of soldiers lost. Rather, battle had decimated ranks of both barons and nobility and
thus significantly restricted the ability of Kingdom of Hungary to actually mobilize the resources
available for defence. This scenario has repeated itself on a smaller scale at Battle of Krbava Field
in 1493., when decimation of ranks of Croatian nobility significantly hampered defensive
capabilities of the kingdom despite losses otherwise not being demographically significant.
Structure of armies both argues for presence of peasants and conscripts in the army and also against
them as basis of the army. When knights and men-at-arms are mentioned, there are no mentions of
squires and pages. In proper medieval armies there would be at least one squire and one page per
man-at-arms, and possibly more than one. Each lance fournies in French army consisted of "six
horses and four men": that is, four combatants and two support personnel. Man-at-arms and his
squire were both fully armoured and fought as heavy lancers. There were also two mounted archers
who may have fought from horseback in a manner similar to 16th and 17th century reiters, or else as
dismounted crossbowmen. There are indications mounted crossbowmen in Hungarian army actually
shot from horseback, and 15th century German hauptbanners and Polish choragiews consisted of a
combination of lancers and mounted crossbowmen. Noncombatants included a page, who helped
with horses and armour.

Conclusions
As can be seen from above, Westerosi armies are definitely professional armies. They have soldiers
– be it full-time or part-time ones – who are paid for service. More importantly, they clearly have
organizational and logistical support capability to stay in the field for months at the time and to
organize tens of thousands of people for campaigning and battles alike. Everything which can be
seen from Westerosi armies argues against the notion – itself supported by only a few out-of-context
statements – that Westerosi armies consist of peasants conscripted off the fields, with little training
and garbage-level equipment. While such may be occasionally present, they will be a minority of
any army.
Does the fact that most Westerosi soldiers are part-time professionals make them inferior to armies
composed of full-time professionals such as the Unsullied or Essosi mercenary companies? Not
necessarily. Fact is that full-time standing army is superior in offensive, expansionist / imperialist
warfare. But part-time soldiers are often better in defensive warfare: they are more motivated, know
terrain better, can be fielded in greater numbers and are better integrated into society. This can be
seen clearly from Byzantine thematic armies.
Disadvantage of feudal armies of Croatia, Hungary etc. compared to their Ottoman counterparts did
not lie in the armies themselves: smaller battles were usually won by the West. Disadvantage was in
command cadre, logistical support and political organization which prevented mobilization of all
resources of a kingdom. As a result, in larger battles Ottomans enjoyed advantage in numbers and
C3ISR. Westeros may have similar problems, but level at which full mobilization can still be
counted on – level of individual kingdom – is so large that most of the time it simply does not
matter.
To sum up, Westerosi armies consist of a combination of full-time and part-time professionals.
There is no evidence for mass employment of conscripted peasants even in infantry, though there is
evidence for limited use of such. Even if George Martin stated that most soldiers in average
Westerosi army are untrained peasant conscripts, that statement is wrong. It would not be the first
time that author is wrong about his own book – see here – and it is indeed likely as Martin has no
real interest in depicting warfare (or, for that matter, Eastern societies – but that is whole another
can of worms). Thus he likely took what "feels" right without considering whether it fits the
dystopian, incorrect and rather illogical picture of medieval society he wanted to present. However,
overtall weight of evidence points towards what has been described so far.
Fun fact: Roman term "legion" means "selection" or "levy": as in, selection of people to be levied.
These guys conquered whole Mediterranean basin.