How do you harden men up during peace time?

[honorable men]

You're the 12th male in line, you have to represent your House, Tourneys/Melees/Jousting ain't cutting it. Its either joining a sellsword company or being foster off in a war torn area. Waiting for another blackfrye rebellion... Or hanging out in the dornish marches.

 

Why don't lords assemble some kinda Temporary Army Service on the wall, clearing out the stepstones, traveling with vulnerable cargo, Slapping the Ironborn reavers on neighboring shores etc...

 

Some Food for thought. Master-At-Arms is good and all but scars prove you're a bad ass.

[The_Eagle_Lord19]

There are always war's to be fought. The storm king and aegon joined the free cities before the conquest in some war against I forget who. But when they do it somehow they evade being identified as sellswords which I find interesting because I highly doubt that they were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.

So say a young heir who is a knight or a son of a lord who is a knight borrows money and takes several other knights and men under his command to war across the narrow sea the question for me is would that be dishonorable? Either way it seems highly beneficial for a young westerosi knight to do because at least once in a generation there will be war and having combat and command experience could be a difference maker.

Many lords and knights somehow receive commands in westeros even under lords such as stannis based on birth but the ones with real experience are appreciated

[Shouldve Taken The Black]

6 hours ago, The_Eagle_Lord19 said:

The storm king and aegon joined the free cities before the conquest in some war against I forget who. But when they do it somehow they evade being identified as sellswords which I find interesting because I highly doubt that they were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.

They weren't doing it for pay either, they went to war with Volantis alongside Tyrosh, Pentos and Bravos because they were concerned about Volantis's expanding power.

[rotting sea cow]

9 hours ago, honorable men said:

You're the 12th male in line, you have to represent your House, Tourneys/Melees/Jousting ain't cutting it. Its either joining a sellsword company or being foster off in a war torn area. Waiting for another blackfrye rebellion... Or hanging out in the dornish marches.

Ok, if I understand it correctly you want to harden up your household knights, guards, men at arms or younger sons, not your levies, so they have enough experience once war breaks up?

In principle, these people should see some fighting from time to time, besides that simply patrol your lands or man your walls. That's why there are not demobilized. Even in period of peace, there are outlaws, conflicts with neighbors, crime, revolts, etc. Your armed men should be enough for these low intensity conflicts and so they gain experience.

9 hours ago, honorable men said:

Why don't lords assemble some kinda Temporary Army Service on the wall, clearing out the stepstones, traveling with vulnerable cargo, Slapping the Ironborn reavers on neighboring shores etc...

- Temporary service at the Wall seems to me a good idea. So far, only Jon Snow has recruited people who will temporarily protect the Wall, chiefly wildings and some Stannis men.

- Clearing the Stepstones will raise geopolitical problems. The Free Cities will wonder what are Westeros plans for them, given their strategic position in the shipping lines. Whoever conquer them will have to fight the rest of the World, more or less.

- The main duty of the Redwyne fleet is exactly to guard cargo and keep the sea lines open. Probably the Royal Fleet does the same as well as other smaller fleets.

- Ironborn reavers are first, not that common and second quite unpredictable in both space and time, but indeed, guarding vulnerable areas is probably being done in the west coast, as well as against other pirates in east coast. 

 

 

 

[Rhaegar_Stark]

The same way you harden them up during times of war. Send them to a pleasure house.

[Stormking902]

You can always join a free company like the Red viper or hell even start your own company if you have the money and skilled men at arms to do so. 

Also knights get practice at ALL times whether it be from other house hold knights in the same service practicing in the yard or from tournements which occur a LOT in feudal society, all of the tournements arnt big like the ones we here about like Harrenhal, Ashford, Hands tourny etc but there still are smaller ones that are happening. The North have melees to test who is the best with sword and wresteling and maybe drinking :p. 

 

 

[argonak]

When your neighbor burns your village over a percieved slight and steals all your cattle, you're going to have a terrible time waiting for them to get back from across the entire continent so they can go back to doing their real job.

Westeros, especially at the current time frame, seems to be a barely held together land of strongmen.  There's no serious traditions of law and order, and you only have the security you can enforce. Lords need to have men on hand at all times to guard their territory and enforce their will.  A lot of those men are landed knights, who are expected to use the income of their lands to maintain themselves and a small entourage in a ready state for combat.  Those men are responsible for the low level protection of their territory.  Banditry is common, and even 9 years after the last major war, there's sellswords wandering all about the countryside, which speaks to me that westeros by and large suffers from great instability.

Westeros seems very different from other medieval countries that had more settled law and order system in place in that way.  In many regions unlanded or unatached men were considered barely above outlaw status, and would likely have been driven out of the region for vagrancy.

[Bowen 747]

How do you harden men up during peace time?

 

My dear honorable men.  This is what brothels are for.  They serve to keep the men's spirits up.  The professionals employed at these facilities know how to keep men fit for duty.  Do you agree this is preferable to the Master's way?  Make out rather than take out.  That foolishness of murdering puppies and babies, it's so yesterday.