“Mannen van Wapenen”: The Baesweiler Campaign and the Military Labor Market of the County of Loon in the Fourteenth Century

Abstract

This article examines the background and recruiting mechanisms of horsemen from the County of Loon who fought for the duke of Brabant at the battle of Baesweiler, 22 August 1371. It argues that socioeconomic incentives had a major role in fourteenth-century military recruitment and that the service of these men can be studied as a form of labor. The County of Loon became involved in the duke’s war effort through recruitment at different levels in which noblemen mobilized their relatives, friends and retainers. Mounted military service remained strongly associated with noble status, resulting in every man able to equip himself as a heavy cavalryman with two horses, a man-at-arms, being considered as noble to some degree. The article contextualizes the presence of these warriors within a larger spectrum of military service opportunities, and argues that chivalric ideals and military service as a form of labor are complementary.