[Jonathan Titterton]

Hi All,
I’m a member of a late 13th-mid 14th re-enactment society in Scotland and I’ve been looking through their regs for levies and they’ve got an example equipment loadout for Guardsmen/Milita Patrol.

“Guard/Militia patrol
All Cotters owe military service, and sometimes it’s just garrisoning a castle or fort, or policing the streets,
posted on a lookout tower for raiders and bandits. A kettle hat, full gambeson, big monster heater, an arming
spear and a blowing horn would suit the part.”

(A monster heater for them is a heater that’s chest width and knee length), this is me seems a little under equipped.

Would it be possible for anyone give me a list or link me to a list of equipment for Guard and Patrol duty for militia, please?

Many thanks 😊

[Anthony Clipsom]

The usual starting point would be Robert I arming laws of 1318 (Robert I 1318/29)

Item, it was ordained and assented that each layman of the kingdom having £10 in goods should have for his body in defence of the kingdom a sufficient haqueton, a basinet, and mailed gloves with a lance and sword. And anyone who shall not have a haqueton and a bacinet should have a good habergeon or a good iron* for his body, a cap of iron and mailed gloves, so that each should be prepared with the said equipment around the octave of Easter next to come [15 April 1319]. And whoever has £10 in goods [and] shall not then have all the said equipment of arms should lose all his goods. With the proviso that the lord king [Robert I] should have a half of the goods and the lord of he who was found to be in default should have the other half. And the lord king wishes that each sheriff of the kingdom with the lords of places should investigate concerning these things and immediately cause a muster after the aforesaid octave of Easter. Moreover the lord king wishes and commands that anyone having the value of one cow in goods should have a good lance or a good bow with a sheath of arrows, namely twenty-four arrows with the pertinents, under the prescribed penalty.



* previous discussion here have come down on the side of this being a coat-of-plates, though a fuller mail coat might also be intended.

So, your militia man is equipped pretty well - he is only short of his mailed gloves and his sword. He has, however, gained a shield (which probably was carried by many of the historical originals, whether it was legally required or not). Extrapolating, whoever envisaged your militiaman was thinking of someone who was a fairly well off peasant or urban dweller, having most of the kit of a man with £10 of goods, not a a very poor man.