Feudal lords who could not or would not fight themselves certainly had to hire their swords, however, I have read not a few accounts of vassals who attended their lords in person and who also enjoyed finding excuses to bloody their maces in peacetime. I blame it on English weather and French cuisine.
I will have to read up on Michel Pastoureau, thanks for posting… it was my understanding that early feudal lords attended their liege’s in war as often as not and this only drastically changed roundabouts the hundred years war and beyond with the advent of large scale professional mercenary armies.
JBGarrison;81959 wrote:
Feudal lords who could not or would not fight themselves certainly had to hire their swords, however, I have read not a few accounts of vassals who attended their lords in person and who also enjoyed finding excuses to bloody their maces in peacetime. I blame it on English weather and French cuisine.
I won’t argue about the English weather but, apparently, you’ve never tried French cuisine.
kimon;81960 wrote:
I won’t argue about the English weather but, apparently, you’ve never tried French cuisine.
Exercise.
kimon;81960 wrote:
I won’t argue about the English weather but, apparently, you’ve never tried French cuisine.
You are correct as I have not tried it. This because a friend of mine growing up who left the states to serve in the French Foreign Legion told me all about French food (no, were’ not talking gourmet :snail: here). Tastes great in fact, especially the pastries however, after long exposure, let’s just say it can be painful to sit down for long periods. I didn’t want to have to explain an obscure attempt at humor, but I’ve been called out, haha, so there! 
Hmmm…I’d always heard that Heaven was French cooks, English police & German mechanics…which the other end of the elevator ride was English cooks, German cops & French mechanics.
Okay, I’ve doodled my dad’s achievement of arms so I can see what it looks like. I’ve prepared some plaques to paint this on to send down to him in CA.
http://www.americanheraldry.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=845&d=1305325107