Squires as we think of them were generally combatants as well! But yes, they would handle many functions of a servant. Knights, as dedicated cavalrymen to begin with, would generally have multiple horses, though, typically at least a pack horse in addition to their mount and their squires’ mount, so the horses would handle more of the carrying burden.
Medieval armies, until the development of professional mercenary forces, often found making involved siege-works difficult because of that reluctance for manual labor - as late as the 16th century, it was still considered a job for local conscripts instead of ‘real’ soldiers!
Interesting.
Now I suppose etymologically there’s arguably a range of meanings upon the totality of the word “squire,” but in terms of common Medieval-Ren Euro parlance and ideas upon such, I trust we’re talking the same word. I find it a fun subject, in any case. Thank you!
Squires as we think of them were generally combatants as well! But yes, they would handle many functions of a servant. Knights, as dedicated cavalrymen to begin with, would generally have multiple horses, though, typically at least a pack horse in addition to their mount and their squires’ mount, so the horses would handle more of the carrying burden.
Medieval armies, until the development of professional mercenary forces, often found making involved siege-works difficult because of that reluctance for manual labor - as late as the 16th century, it was still considered a job for local conscripts instead of ‘real’ soldiers!
Interesting.
Now I suppose etymologically there’s arguably a range of meanings upon the totality of the word “squire,” but in terms of common Medieval-Ren Euro parlance and ideas upon such, I trust we’re talking the same word. I find it a fun subject, in any case. Thank you!