Codes of Men and Armour for Gloucestershire

The codes used in Smith’s Men and Armour for Gloucestershire in 1608 are as follows:
The figure (1.) shows the age of that man to be about Twenty.
The figure (2.) shows the age of that man to be about Forty.
The figure (3.) shows the age of that man to be between Fifty and sixty.

The letter (p.) shows that man to be of the tallest stature fit to make a pikeman.
The letter (m.) shows that man to be of the middle stature fit to make a musketeer.
The letters (ca.) show that man to be of a lower stature fit to serve with a caliver.
The letters (py.) show that man to be of the meanest stature either fit for a pyoner or of little other use.
The letters (tr.) show that at the time of taking this view, he was then a trained soldier.
The letters (sub.) show that the said man was then a subsidy man.

3 thoughts on “Codes of Men and Armour for Gloucestershire

  1. I checked the Old English Dictionary (full version, i.e. about 12 massive volumes of it) and it said: “A subsidy man was a person liable to pay a subsidy, hence a man of means or substance”. From that, I assume the subsidy man was rich enough to pay towards the requirements of the conflict but not able or willing to go to battle himself. Certainly, in later times, when a man was selected from the militia list to go to fight, he was permitted to pay money, a subsidy, to someone else who was willing to go in his place.

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