Soldiers and adventurers, diplomats and conspirators, students and monks, beggars and merchants…the itinerant nature of the Scottish emigrants has been the subject of interest to many early modern historians. Scotland was then a territory rich in men, but it lacked a standing army, so it was able to develop a whole expeditionary tradition without ties. This article will focus on the expansion of foreign military service among these individuals during the 17th century, for which the works of Steve Murdoch, David Worthington and Alexia Grosjean are particularly interesting. Today we are talking about the Scottish mercenaries during the Thirty Years War
The issuing country: Scotland and the profession of arms
The use of troops of this type will be a very characteristic phenomenon of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), in which mercenaries were widely used in all contending armies, thus ushering in the golden age of “military entrepreneurs.” Mercenaries are often spoken of despite the fact that, while some levies were recruited by private captains, many others were sanctioned by the British Crown and promoted from power by foreign policy interests. Despite everything, the word is convenient to describe the soldiers who fought for a commander or a State other than the one that, due to their place of birth, could be considered theirs.
But a mercenary is often characterized by being free from social ties or obligations as much as by not participating in a conflict without the incentive of soldiering and loot, conditions that do not apply to all Scots who fought on the Continent. . Often, his involvement responded, beyond the prospects of enrichment, to the defense of the faith or the search for relief from the persecution and political and religious censorship existing in his homeland.
Robert Monro, who wrote the first regimental history in the English language, argued that highly confessional motives explained why “so few of our nation are driven to serve Catholic potentates.” This did not mean that the relations of blood, dependency and kinship that prevailed in all clan societies weighed less. It is possible that many men were induced to serve by considering themselves obliged to enlist if their lord asked them to (Parker, 2014: 255-256).
Although many soldiers were of humble origin, the officer ranks were occupied by sons of nobles and lairds, especially those without the possibility of inheritance or by illegitimate descendants, who saw in a military career the effective vehicle for social advancement both at home and abroad. Exterior. They often had to compete with each other or with foreign contractors and paid for their enlistment on personal credit, in addition to providing their soldiers with equipment, sustenance, and transportation to their appointed destination.
A non-native officer would always have a better chance of finding his place in a continental army if he came with his own contingent of men, which is why indebtedness became a real problem. Cavalry Colonel Daniel Hepburn was forced to borrow money from Wallenstein. Upon his death, he left a debt of 8,000 taleros that the general later collected from his widow. (Brockington, 1968: 58)
Finding employment as a soldier on the Continent became almost a tradition within a few extended families, for example the 10th Lord Forbes would lose all his sons, three brothers and the illegitimate son of one of the latter in the Thirty Years’ War. . In addition, there was a high degree of hereditary employment and a predisposition to marry among Scots even after two or three generations abroad. Colonels often shared a surname with officers under his command, such as James Ramsay, who had seven subordinates of the same name in his Swedish regiment. The most novices were left in the care of their relatives or godparents within the unit and linked through patronage relationships of adoption and protection (Murdoch & Grosjean, 2014: 174).
The emigration of so many soldiers represents the loss, occasionally temporary but often permanent, of a substantial proportion of the country’s young and able-bodied men. But the incentives to emigrate were high due to socioeconomic difficulties at home, as well as the desire for glory and fortune. The government also encouraged conscription as a way to deal with shortages, get rid of undesirables, and as an instrument of foreign policy. Between 1550 and 1650 the Scottish government, either the monarch himself or his Privy Council, allowed more than 70 levies destined for continental Europe (Miller, 2013: 169). But when Scots mercenary activity might have had a negative effect on relations with other kingdoms, steps were taken to restrict or prevent it. Of course, attracting soldiers from outside the royal service was forbidden.
All this was made easier by the existence of a domestic military custom with a propensity to fight each other. In medieval and modern Scotland the nobles kept private bands of armed men in their own service. Special mention deserves a class of soldiers that emerged from among the Hiberno-Norman clans of the Hebrides Islands, the gallowglass, an anglicized term of the Gaelic word galloglaigh, which means “foreign warrior”. These professional mercenaries found their place in the retinues of Irish chiefs between the 13th and 16th centuries, arousing the curiosity of artists such as Dürer.
In addition, certain historians have defended the idea that mountainous regions and political borders plagued by internal conflicts produced many more mercenaries than monarchies based on plains because their people tended to be tougher. This would be the case in the sub-alpine territories of Germany, the Balkans, the Swiss cantons and parts of Scotland, in contrast to those “flabby, soft and drunk” men, which was the way some military recruiters described the inhabitants. of the Rhineland plains (Glozier, 2004: 25).
The fourth-century Roman treatise writer, Flavio Vegetius Renato, one of the classic references of the first modern military theorists, highlighted the existence of a basic countryside-city division when he said that:
The best soldiers of all are the country servants. They are hardened against fatigue and accustomed to digging in the ground, and have been trained to endure coarse food and the rigors of the seasons..
At least that is what the Marquès Silva quotes in his work Think about tactics and strategy (Turin, 1778).
Scotland itself exhibited notable internal differences in the contrast between the Lowlands and the Highlands.. The Lowlands had the initial preponderance as a recruiting ground. It was the most stable and populated area, which also provided most of the cavalry and had in its favor the proximity of the ports on the east coast. On the other hand, conscription in the Highlands did not become significant until much later, with the creation of the Mackay Regiment in 1626. The northern highlands had a more Gaelic and rural culture, characterized by a marked ethos warrior, and his involvement shows how easily a clan society could be mobilized.
Despite everything, this unit begins to have problems finding men at the end of the same decade. Since then, the offer of pardons to criminals in exchange for military service has become increasingly common, for example, in 1629 Colonel Sir James Spens received 47 inmates (including a woman) from the London prison (Parker, 2014: 254 ).
There is increasing evidence of resistance, also among respectable sectors of the community, who denounce the arbitrariness of the tactics of recruitment officers in their desperation to recruit “men without masters” (unemployed), drunks, vagrants, public agitators , “egyptians” (gypsies) and fugitives from other levies. In July 1627 the leading burghers of Edinburgh protested that their sons at the university were being induced to enlist (Miller, 2013, 187).
Armament, equipment and conditions of the soldier
To maintain a certain degree of readiness, there were the so-called wappenschaws, levies gathered in parades to see the state of the arms, which were held about four times a year in local districts since 1424. This custom consisted of a call to all men in age for them to start practicing archery or, after technological change, the use of firearms, officially at least since 1535. Those who lacked the necessary skill to handle them could always go with pikes, axes or halberds. Despite everything, the arrow industry was still in good health at the beginning of the 17th century. In fact, the last use of archery in Scotland is recorded in a battle between clans at Maol Ruadh (1688) (Murdoch & Grosjean, 2014: 22)
At this time the single- or double-edged basket-hilted sword also began to become widespread, replacing greatswords (claymore) allowing a free hand with which to hold a dagger or the targe (a small round Highland shield). In addition, the Scottish firearms had some particularities, such as being made entirely of metal or the lack of a trigger guard (the part that surrounds the trigger or trigger), when they were not acquired in Holland. As for his clothing, another striking anachronism is the survival of chain mail.
Some historians have speculated that the name of the so-called Green Brigade within the Swedish army was due to the color of the tartan worn by its men. However, beyond a handful of officers and men, many of the troops in this unit were German. Foreign officers often complained that Scottish colonels did not bother to dress their recruits properly before embarking them, which is why it was common to refer to these mercenaries as “redshank” because of the ruddy color of their legs. From this it follows that if on many occasions they went to war in tartan, it was not because of a kind of national pride, but because they had nothing else to wear (Brzezinski, 1991: 40).
The absence of written contracts versus verbal agreements shows the prevalence of existing conditions of trust and hierarchy. The soldier serving overseas can generally expect regular pay and the provision of food, new clothing, and lodging. Conditions accepted at the time as reasonably fair, for rural wages were often supplemented in the same way, although the hardships of civil servitude seemed much less compared to what soldiers could expect.
Furthermore, enlistment did not necessarily remove the mercenary from family life. As early as July 1581 the Privy Council complained that the women who followed the troops abroad were bringing dishonor to the country and…