The town guard is quite sure, the long arm of the law in Flintwhenia. The men who serve in its ranks are of various descents and birth-rights but they're all oath-bound to serve the earldom. Constant petty thievery inside and outside the capital's walls made the presence of a militia a matter of paramount importance. The core of the guard is formed of battle-hardened men, several of them being participants in the battle of .
Their aim is to expand into a full-blown garrison that can ensure the safety of the entire realm if need be.
Their privileges and obligations are as follows:
1. No man of the guard who shall serve on the wish of his own substance for more than a dozen nights shall fear for his household left unattended. Other men of the guard shall watch over his land as if it were theirs, and shall they refuse to do so, willingly or not, they shall pay a fine of 23 silvers to the guard's family or thrice what was damaged or stolen.
Regarding town guards' watching over one another's house should they find themselves patrolling different districts at night.
2. All men of the guard are bound by oath to their sergeant and his lord. His command is final, for he has witnessed death firsthand in his battles and he has been appointed so by God himself who passed judgment through his earthly subjects. The sergeant will nay wish harm upon his men or send them in interests of his own gain. Such crime shall be punished by whipping and a fine of two ox heads. Shall the sergeant repeat this foul deed, he and his household shall be considered oath-breakers and treated as such.
Regarding the sergeant's absolute command over the men of the guard and their duties to him as well as the sergeant's responsibilities.
3. All able-bodied men of the earldom shall take part in the town guard's activity. They must commit a full day of work as a town guard every month or week, as the lord calls for. They shall provide their own arms and armor and during that day, their household can not take part in any other task their lord has given. The man of the house is pledging his life for Flintwhenia, his faithful wife and sons shall rest at home while he watches over them. They will not get paid for this work unless they willingly want to take up combat training and become a guard by craft.
Regarding each household's obligation to provide one able-bodied man to serve in the town guard, for a certain length of time as decided by the lord.
4. They shall take pride in their duty and act for the better of the realm. No guard shall take one side or another in a conflict if there are no witnesses. They are mere servants of their lord and they do not have the power of death and life over anybody unless there are oath-bound witnesses to attest for their crimes. Then and only then may a guard pursue and maim or kill the criminal.
Regarding a guard's course of action should he stumble upon a crime.
5. A town guard's duties: He shall patrol the streets with his fellow men before and after curfew. He will shout the curfew for all to hear and he will ensure that no lawless activities take place under the cover of dark. He will stand watch over the streets at night and protect those who rest in their households. He will ensure that all laws and writs passed by the lord are brought to the attention of all city-folk or otherwise.
Regarding some of the guard's duties.
Town guards back then didn't have fancy cuirasses or shining swords as they're depicted in the imagery of the Late Middle Ages. Iron was expensive to process and hard to come by so blunt weapons or farming implements were commonly used by the militia. Clubs, spears, scythes or pitchforks were the most frequent choices for the volunteered militia.
As for the armor used, nothing more than a gambeson and a padded cap. Chainmail or cuirasses were reserved for knights and those of noble birth while peasants were considered expendable. The strength of the militia relied on numbers for the most part and the punishments they handed out were nothing short of maiming one's body if the situation asked for it.
The upper echelons of the town guard comprised the royal guard, tasked to guard entrances to the royal quarter of the capital and the duke himself, should he want to wander through the town's streets. They were better equipped, trained daily and more often than not, were already hardened by battle.
Below you'll find some relevant information:
- The idea of the town/city guard as a "professional" force (i.e. as an occupation akin to merchant, blacksmith,etc) is largely false. There were some professional guards (only a few, usually guarded the gates), but, for the most part, guardsmen were citizens. In many European cities, guard duty was a civic duty - a requirement of "citizenship" of a city (or even a guild membership).
- The unit captain would decide personally who would serve, and inform those individuals when it was their turn. All men were required to serve on a somewhat regular basis, but were permitted to send a "substitute" (a son, an employee, etc) instead.
- It was a terrible job. Guards served long, boring hours, in poor weather conditions with insufficient clothing and shelter. Walking the walls at night, especially in winter, was one of the most undesirable requirements of guard duty. There are many, many examples of insubordination and dereliction - men largely did not want to serve, especially night watch when instead they could be out drinking, gambling, etc. There are numerous examples of guards giving preferential treatment to friends, and using their "authority" to persecute rivals.
- Remember, this was not their job. It was a requirement of citizenship. Men were not trained, and rarely were they monitored (regulations and ordinances started appearing in the 16th century when local governments realized what a poor job civic militias were doing).
- Men were required to provide their own arms and armor, which often was nothing more than a halberd (or later, a gun) and a leather vest. They were untrained, poorly organized, cowardly and undisciplined. Weapons were rarely used in anger. Often, guards simply put out fires or walked the streets, calling the hours. They would have been completely useless in defense if attacked by a hostile force.
- Usually there was a stipend for some regular watchmen, often veterans, with the ranks being filled up by legbreakers and toughs if the situation required it.
Investigation were, for the most part, not part of the purview of these people. Criminals were either caught in the act or not. Suspects might be brought in to be questioned (with or without torture) but the questioning was not what the cityguard did: They just brought the people in.