Man-at-arms

Man-at-arms was a medieval term for a soldier, almost always a professional. It was most often used to refer to men in a knight's or lord's retinue who were well-equipped and -trained (deriving from having men under arms - meaning to be trained in the use of arms).

Related Topics:
Medieval - Soldier - Knight - Lord - Arms

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The term was used during the Hundred Years War to refer to men not of the higher order, who fought either on horseback or on foot with swords and armour. A knight was technically a man-at-arms, but a man-at-arms was not a knight. In this way it was understood that a 'man-at-arms' was a man of the higher echelon of the military scale, but neither of noble birth nor a knight himself. By this time, the term was only ever used to refer to professional soldiers, usually of a distinctly higher order than archers or billmen. The term was phased out during the 16th century.

Related Topics:
Hundred Years War - Archer - 16th century

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It was also used to refer to a man who carried hand-weapons into combat during the medieval period (rather than billmen, spearmen or archers).

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When used in allusion to a professional soldier in a regular national army, the term is an honorary denotation and could be considered unusual usage.

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