How large of a role did mercenaries play in medieval armies?
955338
A large role in many armies.  The Swiss were well known for hiring the services of lesser German princes to supply troops for guard duty, etc.\n\nMany can argue that the bulk of troops used in the various wars between the Germanic states in this time were mercenary soldiers.  Some families became rather wealthy based on the number of men serving as mercenaries from generation to generation.
263956
role play, students have to make up a play using characters of that time such as king, Barron, serfs for medieval and then act it out
611377
I believe it meant Wagoneer.  Many men had this designation and were in the support batallions.  Support would have meat bringing supplies to the front.  They would have been in wagons and carts.  Therefore these men would have been assinged to these wagons, loading and unloading them.
103587
today or in ancient times?  in any case: with a military
1093586
If you take the account of the Battle of Troy (not the movie) as fact then you could say that the Trojan horse was an instance of the guards of Troy not being "on guard." According to Homer in the Illiad (I believe) they went out and brought in the horse and thus allowed the city to be taken and completely destroyed.
410605
Archery Due to its history in particular Medieval European archery:\n\nDuring the Middle Ages, archery in warfare was not as prevalent and dominant in Western Europe as popular myth dictates. Archers were quite often the lowest paid soldiers in an army or conscripted from the peasantry. This was due to the cheap nature of the bow and arrow as compared to the expense needed to equip a professional man-at-arms with good armour and a sword. The bow was seldom used to decide battles and viewed as a "lower class weapon" or a toy by the nobility. This disdain was countered by the Vikings, whose widespread use of archery gave them success in their numerous raiding expeditions all over the Western European seaboard (and even well into the Mediterranean) in the 9th and 10th centuries.\n\nBy the time of the Hundred Years' War, the English had learned how to employ massed archery (as opposed to dispersed skirmishing) as an instrument of tactical dominance with their English longbows. Archers were drawn from the freeholding farmers known as yeomen, and trained rigorously from childhood. Every boy was given a bow of his own height and was required to train with it. Tournaments were sponsored to encourage proficiency.\n\nIn combat, they would often shoot two arrows, one on a high trajectory, and one on a low trajectory. These two arrows would hit the enemy simultaneously from two different angles, making defense difficult. The advent of the bodkin point also gave arrows better penetrative power.\n\nThe crossbow, while dating from classical times, became quite popular during the Middle Ages. While it took many years to train a longbowman, someone could become proficient with a crossbow with remarkably little training. The crossbow had about the same power and range as a longbow. Its major drawback however was that it took a long time to reload. The renowned armour piercing power of the crossbow caused fear amongst the well armoured nobility, and it was banned by the Second Council of the Lateran (at least between Christians), although to little avail.\n\nThe advent of firearms rendered bows obsolete in warfare. Although bows had a longer range and could shoot much more frequently than the earliest guns, guns could penetrate most armour and required minimal training. Later development gradually gave firearms advantages over bows in range, accuracy and eventually in reload time. An illustration of the declining popularity of the bow could be seen in the various edicts promulgated by 16th-century English monarch to make archery a mandatory practice for all men of fighting age, including Henry VIII's famous ban against the practice of all sports other than archery on Sundays.\n\n\nPS\n\nAnd the fact it is fun and could be useful in order to protect/feed yourself if need be.
196659
Medieval Guilds were centered on trades mostly. So you could try the merchants guild. They were very strong in advocating their rights as to the privileges of the middle class. Especially when it came to not only ownership of land but also the ability to determine their own destiny.
1076138
It's not so much who made royalty who they are, as what. What made royalty who they are is the sword. The big big sword swung repeatedly at anyone fool enough to question their rule. Sure they were normal people with big big swords once. Nowadays, they'd only be normal in Tennessee.
339037
Money, basically. As long as they got paid, the soldiers would fight.
240822
Medieval period. I'm interested in it.
39612
Man you guys realy gotta learn how to google.\n\nThe earliest 'hand gonne' was developed in the fifteenth century, but was not a great influence in battle. It was a small cannon with a touch-hole for ignition. It was unsteady, required that the user prop it on a stand, brace it with one hand against his chest and use his other hand to touch a lighted match to the touch-hole, and had an effective range of only about thirty to fourty yards. It surely must have taken iron nerves to use one of these against a charging knight, nearly within his lance's reach, when the powder might not even ignite.
370179
My guess is that you're looking for information on "courtesy," which in medieval society refers to the whole wad of behaviors that we'd associate with being a member of court: politeness, knightliness, treating a lady nobly, etc.  I don't have my copy of the Tales with me, but I believe the Knight is praised in the General Prologue for his courtesy, which in his case simply means that he knows how to behave like a knight. You might think of it as the non-fighting aspect of chivalry.
187876
The role of mathimatics in warfare throughout history is well documented. There are so many examples it's hard to know where to start. Most of it has been converted into computer programs in modern warfare.\n\nAn example might be a sniper and scout. The scout ranges the distance of the enemy. The sniper takes into consideration wind speed, trajectory of the bullet, etc. in order to aim and strike the target.
936197
Hi. I think it was around 20,000 cavalry, but that's just an educated guess. Wish I could be of more help. :(
251436
Mostly, they're the average height. During the middle ages the average height for men in Europe was 5'4"-5'7", judging by the length of the armor they wore.
21307
The French Foreign Legion?\n\nMercenaries, cutthroats, and occasionally good soldiers who joined the Legion for fun, to escape the law, or for money. It's had a reputation as a strong fighting unit but it's generally looked down on by professional soldiers because they are a very motley crew.
670592
I believe it started with the French and British back in the castle age. The French would capture an enemy solder and cut there middle finger off so they couldn't fire a cross bow. So before battle they would flip off the other to show the other side they could still shoot a crossbow. I am pretty sure it was one or the other.