Armies composed of mercenaries and marginals predate modern states

Evidence

Louis XI’s innovation in 1474, of organizing a “French infantry without Frenchmen” was revolutionary in scale, not in character. The tactic of composing armies from mercenaries and from marginal peoples and social strata extended back into the Middle Ages and earlier. — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 193

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

Related

• Mercenary recruitment was one instance of a broader pattern of marginalization (similarity 0.88)
• Armies recruited marginal peoples to minimize political risk to the monarchy (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Pre-national armies held together only by force and pay, not loyalty #exemplifies (0.65) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1333
• Mercenary peoples were absorbed and erased by the absolute state #qualifies (0.60) — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 191