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I am wondering what a typical day for a soldier would look like. I am interested in a medieval setting. Like when do they get up, when do they train? What kind of food they have. Do they discuss tactics, or do their generals just give orders on the battlefield?

The time period is around the 1400’s - 1500’s in Europe. The armies are at constant battle with each other, but they are trained and elite armies. Not recruitments from the villages. Those armies do that for a living. Like in GoT: the "golden company" let say. The soldiers are currently at a camp.

Many many thanks in advance!

Cyn
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Chris Panayotova
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    Are you sure that you understand how a medieval army was put together? The non-noble men in the army wake up when the trumpet blows. They don't train. They eat whatever food is available, usually food taken from the unfortunate local peasants. Whether they discuss tactics or not depends on what you mean by "soldiers" in a medieval setting, unless you refer to something like Genoese mercenary crossbowmen. P.S. The word "battalion" has no place in a medieval setting. – AlexP Apr 22 '19 at 14:31
  • Are they deployed & at war? if so, I doubt there is a "typical" day - if they aren't at war, then they are probably working their "day job" as a farmer – user2813274 Apr 22 '19 at 14:51
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    Welcome to Worldbuilding.SE! We're glad you could join us! When you have a moment, please click here to learn more about our culture and take our [tour]. There were few standing armies during the Medieval period, and what any soldier would do is very dependent on where they were and who they were attached to. Soldiering during the crusades was not like soldiering during the 100-years war or any of the Norman wars. Worse, "medieval" covers a 500 year period with massive changes. Can you be (much!) more specific? – JBH Apr 22 '19 at 15:07
  • Thanks for the comments. Ok so, I am building this DnD campaign and there are two countries at fight with each other. My world resemble late medieval/early Renaissance. So these armies are at constant battle with each other, but they are trained and elite armies. Not recruitments from the villages. Those armies do that for a living. Like in GoT: the "golden company" let say. – Chris Panayotova Apr 22 '19 at 15:09
  • I just had this battle and my players are stuck in one of the camps. Half of them are in "dungeon", one of them is accused of being a spy and the other impose as the soldiers in that camp (they found some clothes, so they are safe) So I want to tell them how the day at the camp passes by, so they can find a suitable moment to escape.

    This is the long answer :)

     – Chris Panayotova Apr 22 '19 at 15:09
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    I was just doing a review but JBH already beat me to it, instead i’ll add to what he said and give you a link to our resources page, some of the links on there may be able to answer more generalised questions about worldbuilding you may have: https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/143606/is-there-a-list-of-worldbuilding-resources Also, as an aside, theres some free resources for big battles for 5E on the DM’s Guild : ). A lot of the PDFs are pay-what-you-want but you can get them for free. I also recommend Grimtooth’s Traps, they work in any system, including D&D. – Liam Morris Apr 22 '19 at 15:29
  • Regrettably, you're looking for a quick answer and I don't have one. Alexandre Dumas' book The Three Musketeers will give you an OK look into the basic conditions of a "soldier" during that period. The world back then was rarely as regimented and ordered as today (Roman Legions are an obvious exception). But to be honest, it might be simpler to look at modern soldiery as the basic behaviors really haven't changed. Try here. After all, you need suspension-of-disbelief, not historically precise. – JBH Apr 22 '19 at 15:40
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    I have taken the liberty of editing your question based on what you said in the comments. Feel free to edit these changes if they do not match what you intended to ask. – Liam Morris Apr 22 '19 at 15:45
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    Thanks guys for the answers! I see how my question would have been quite broad. Editing the question is perfect! And JBH, thank you for the link! I will put it into good use! – Chris Panayotova Apr 22 '19 at 15:54
  • Another good resource is The Archer's Tail by Bernard Cornwell. It's fiction, but very well researched as far as the culture, politics, and life-style stuff goes. – Nosajimiki Apr 22 '19 at 18:38

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