I have been spending a lot of time listening to podcasts and reading books on history over the past couple of years. The history of revolutions. The history of Rome. The history of the late medieval period in Europe and the transition to the modern world.
The study of the Late Middle Ages is of particular interest to me because of Dungeons & Dragons and the World of Greyhawk. The early forms of D&D take place in something resembling our Middle Ages, with the exclusion of gunpowder and the addition of magic.
However, Dungeons & Dragons tends to be an idealised version of such a world. And often with very obvious good guys and bad guys. History is a lot messier.
Look deeper whenever you think you have a “good guy” and a “bad guy” in history. It isn’t that simple.
History is big. It is complicated. And, when you get down to it, it is a story we tell each other, which leaves out lots of stuff.
So, as I study the history of the Middle Ages, I’m aware that I’m missing lots of stuff, and then I will omit more as I adapt sections for my games. But the mere fact that I’m paying attention to our history helps inspiration.
Mercenaries and Free Companies
Something particularly fascinating to me at present is the rise of the Free Companies – mercenary armies that arose in the 12th century with allegiance to no lord. I think these are made possible by state finances not being able to maintain a standing army. So, instead, various states would hire these mercenaries to do their fighting for them.
You start with the feudal system – where each lord owes the king a certain period of military service. You end with the rise of nation-states, with a tax system that pays for standing armies. And in-between, you have a lot of mess and Free Companies.
And what do the Free Companies do when no one is hiring them? Often, they turn into bandits, descending on towns as they did during times of war and extorting money and goods.
The entries in the AD&D Monster Manual for “bandits” and “brigands are these the sort of forces. But as a teenager reading the books, I thought brigands were purely men who liked to break the lore. I didn’t understand they probably started as soldiers.
Of course, this also relates to how things change over the years. The Free Companies didn’t exist before the 12th century – because the conditions required for their creation hadn’t occurred. It’s not like medieval Europe was ever that peaceful, but battles were on a smaller scale with whatever feudal levies the lords could dredge up.
Once things get to a state where the lords have enough money to hire people, you get mercenaries. And what do mercenaries do when they’re not fighting? Some went home, but others, attracted by the free man’s life (with money from plunder!), stayed in the life and formed the bandits, brigands, and Free Companies.
I’m probably getting this explanation wrong. I need to revisit the literature.
War in the World of Greyhawk
However, knowing this gives me more context for my version of the World of Greyhawk. From AD&D, I was aware that the characters could hire mercenaries, but now knowing about the Free Companies, I have more context for this. I have a better view of how I can fit the historical reality of the Free Companies into the fictional reality of Greyhawk. And then thoughts for using this knowledge to create adventurers and opportunities for the players.
My current D&D Greyhawk campaign involves a war between the nations of Ket and Veluna, with gods stepping in on both sides. There isn’t a “right” side of the war. But reading about the Free Companies, it makes me wonder who is fighting this war.
Standing armies? They don’t have enough soldiers! They either go for conscription, or they hire mercenaries. And given that Perrenland – the Switzerland of the World of Greyhawk – is adjacent, I bet it provides quite a few!
But more than that, this is probably phrased as a holy war – for both sides. The Baklunish of the West enlist to fight, as do the followers of St Cuthbert in Furyondy and the Sheldomar Valley.
After the war finishes, what next for the mercenaries and other soldiers? They’re probably not going away – and so hordes of brigands are likely to be roaming around Ket and Veluna – which gives me ideas for the next campaign.
Further Listening
Most of my introduction to the Late Medieval period is coming through listening to Patrick Wyman’s “Tides of History” podcast, which I highly recommend. (The early episodes are behind a paywall; I’ve subscribed and don’t regret it in the least).
I’m getting more political history from Mike Duncan’s “Revolutions” podcast, which is again all sorts of awesome.
I’ll likely be continuing to dive deeper into these periods as I go forward, but those are good starting points to studying history!