Military Ranks in Glorantha

[hkokko]

Looking for a variety of military ranks used in the various armies of Glorantha. I think there must have been variety of different title names possibly corresponding to the normal Sergeant, Master Sergeant, Captain, Major, General or similar. 

Fonritan Armies

Umathelan Armies

Western armies

Sartar army

Lunar army

Esrolian Armies

 

 

[womble]

I don't think Glorantha is at a stage of military science development where such terminology will be either particularly well-developed, or consistent, even within what passes for the armed forces of the most organised nations.

For example, Sartar doesn't have an army. It has Kings and chieftains who maintain small bodies of 'professional' warriors (they're not soldiers) supplemented by different levels of levy from the general 'warrior-minded' populace. The force fielded is composed of numerous warbands of different sizes. A given warband (if large enough) might have some designated 'sub-leaders', but they'll just be assignments from the war leader: "Snorri, you take the South Hamlet levy and make sure they stay in line".

The forces of the Lunar Empire are so diverse as to almost defy categorisation, even the formations which could be described as being composed of 'soldiers' (rather than warriors). The ranks used by one regiment may well differ radically from those used by the one next to them in the battle line, even if they're similar troop types. Some might maintain a distinction between what we'd consider 'warrant' or 'non-commissioned' ranks, and the (generally drawn from the Nobility/upper classes) ranks we'd term 'commissioned'; others might just have a smooth 'progression'.

In general, though, the smallest subunit of a mass, muscle-powered unit will be much larger than our 'modern' TOs would call for. Troops operate over a much more restricted separation, and larger 'squads' are more resilient to losses than smaller ones. The equivalent of the modern (30-ish troops) 'platoon' would be an 80-man Century from the Romans, with few subofficers between the Centurion and the Legionaries. Tiro, Milites, Optio, Centurion, first spear, [appointed office holders] Just five ranks, really, in a 5000 trooper Legion, below the political appointments.

Cavalry squads are smaller, but so are the units.

But there's a fellow on here, M Helsdon, who's worked up a huge book describing (so far, his non-canonical take on) the militaries of Central Genertela; maybe that book gets published as Canon one day. I'd certainly like to see it. It's mentioned in https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/5540-swords-of-central-genertela/

 

[M Helsdon]

9 hours ago, womble said:

I don't think Glorantha is at a stage of military science development where such terminology will be either particularly well-developed, or consistent, even within what passes for the armed forces of the most organised nations.

For example, Sartar doesn't have an army. It has Kings and chieftains who maintain small bodies of 'professional' warriors (they're not soldiers) supplemented by different levels of levy from the general 'warrior-minded' populace. The force fielded is composed of numerous warbands of different sizes. A given warband (if large enough) might have some designated 'sub-leaders', but they'll just be assignments from the war leader: "Snorri, you take the South Hamlet levy and make sure they stay in line".

The forces of the Lunar Empire are so diverse as to almost defy categorisation, even the formations which could be described as being composed of 'soldiers' (rather than warriors). The ranks used by one regiment may well differ radically from those used by the one next to them in the battle line, even if they're similar troop types. Some might maintain a distinction between what we'd consider 'warrant' or 'non-commissioned' ranks, and the (generally drawn from the Nobility/upper classes) ranks we'd term 'commissioned'; others might just have a smooth 'progression'.

In general, though, the smallest subunit of a mass, muscle-powered unit will be much larger than our 'modern' TOs would call for. Troops operate over a much more restricted separation, and larger 'squads' are more resilient to losses than smaller ones. The equivalent of the modern (30-ish troops) 'platoon' would be an 80-man Century from the Romans, with few subofficers between the Centurion and the Legionaries. Tiro, Milites, Optio, Centurion, first spear, [appointed office holders] Just five ranks, really, in a 5000 trooper Legion, below the political appointments.

By no means canonical (but some parts are), here are the lists I've gathered/invented. For the Dara Happans, I've used the canonical use of Greek terminology, and for the Lunar regiments used Greek or Latin (but only Greek is shown below), and for Carmanian, Persian... Other older regiments taken over by the Lunars will be even more varied, and for the Daxdarian, I've used Assyrian for no reason other than it added another dimension.

In Peloria, some regiments predate Time, and where they are hoplite phalanxes, the basic unit (as for many others) will be the file for infantry and the section for cavalry. So a company/century is composed of files, each with a file-leader, and a file-closer.

If my fan book ever sees a wider audience, you'll find organization charts for these, and for the Lunars three or five different regimental structures...

The Sartar Free Army is a force in transition from purely tribal to regimental organization, and the new regiments probably use the same terminology as a Humakti battalion (a very long-lived template for Orlanthi regular armies).

Equivalent Military Ranks

The following table provides the equivalent ranks in a number of Gloranthan military traditions, together with the very approximate terrestrial equivalents.

 

Equivalent Rank	Lunar Regiments		Stonewall Regiments	Dara Happan Line Regiments		Daxdarian Regiments	Carmanian Regiments		Humakti Regiments
	Infantry	Cavalry
Colonel	Chiliarch	Hipparch	Polemarch	Polemarch		Rab Kisir	Hazarapatis		Warleader
Major	Senior Kentarch	Senior Tetrarch	Senior Kentarch	Senior Kentarch
Captain	Kentarch	Tetrarch	Kentarch	Kentarch			Satapatis		Hundred-Thane
Lieutenant	Optioon	Ilarch	Pentekontarch	Pentekontarch		Rab Hanse	Pascasatapatis
Sergeant	Lochagos	Dekarchos	Lochagos	Lochagos		Rab Eserti	Dathapatis		Ten-Thane
Corporal	Dimoirites	Ouragos	Dimoirites	Dimoirites			Pascadathapatis
Private	Soldier	Trooper	Hoplite	Hastatii	Sagittarii	Kallabu	Pasat	Asabar	Warrior

 

This is very much a summary table in the Appendices - there's (much) more in the book...

Edited December 30, 2018 by M Helsdon

[Sir_Godspeed]

If you want to play it safe, here are some suggestions:

1. Civic and military titles not differentiated. Example: Chieftain, king, Elder, etc.

2. Generic titles for leadership with no fixed hierarchy and applied ad hoc. Example: Chief, Warleader, etc.

3. In organized militaries: titles after number of men lead. Example: Tenman, Hundredman (RW title that pops up among Greeks, Romans and even in Old Norse), thousand-man, etc. For added flavor: play with the number system (in a base-six system units based on power of six would be applied instead of powers of ten - so "thirtysixman", or "two-hundred-and-sixteen-man".

4. Title based on royal or imperial favor. Example: Constable, Marshal (both derived from the king's stablemaster which merged with a commander of cavalry), Sergeant (literally servant), Cup-bearer, Sandal-bearer, etc. (used as titles of honor in Pharaonic Egypt, and like later Europe, often not applied literally, but implying a close personal confidence from the sovereign, which extends to leading military campaigns).

Not sure how many of these apply in Glorantha.

[Kloster]

3 minutes ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

Sergeant (literally servant),

IIRC, Sergeant comes from french Sergent (same meaning), which was a soldier whose role was to keep the ranks tight. His order was "Serrez les rangs" (tighten the ranks) and his role was of a "Serre gens" (People tightener).

Kloster

[Sir_Godspeed]

6 minutes ago, Kloster said:

IIRC, Sergeant comes from french Sergent (same meaning), which was a soldier whose role was to keep the ranks tight. His order was "Serrez les rangs" (tighten the ranks) and his role was of a "Serre gens" (People tightener).

Kloster

Most of the sources I've seen derive it via Old French "Serjeant" to Latin "Servire", ie. servant.

[Stew Stansfield]

30 minutes ago, Kloster said:

IIRC, Sergeant comes from french Sergent (same meaning), which was a soldier whose role was to keep the ranks tight. His order was "Serrez les rangs" (tighten the ranks) and his role was of a "Serre gens" (People tightener).

 

22 minutes ago, Sir_Godspeed said:

Most of the sources I've seen derive it via Old French "Serjeant" to Latin "Servire", ie. servant.

Aye, military ranks had distinctly functional linguistic origins, representing a variety of very particular roles, which we sadly lose a bit of sense of as time progresses and we tend to fall into the 'same thing, albeit with more men' mindset.

It's always been one of my criticisms of popular military history – how it tends to treat command as a structure, rather than as a process. I always like approaches that reflect why and how people did what they did, or try and build up from first principles.

Which is why I'll never give up my Lunar 'legates'.

[Sir_Godspeed]

5 minutes ago, Quackatoa said:

It's always been one of my criticisms of popular military history – how it tends to treat command as a structure, rather than as a process.

That's a fair criticism of most of modern Western scholarship on social dynamics up until the 70s-80s, or so, from my impressions. A lot has been done since then, but I assume very unevenly in different disciplines, and even less has permeated into popular science/culture.

[womble]

Medieval English used 'Vintner' for a leader of 20. I was told when I did my brief re-enactment stint.