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Military Justice, Regulations and Discipline in Early Modern Transylvanian Armies ...
During night time, after the officers received the password, all loud
noises were forbidden.
When hearing the sound of drums every soldier had to join the rest
of his company under their banner or flag.
Shepherds and herdsmen were not allowed to leave camp without
the permission of captains, if they failed to obey this rule they were punished
by hanging.
Ordinary soldiers had to obey their superior officers and always be
prepared to join their comrades under the flag of their company.
No soldier was allowed to offer protection or to ask money for
protection from other members of the royal army 11 .
Another regulation was issued by Stephen Báthory in Vilnius during the year
1579, in the context of the Livonian campaign. This second regulation is mostly
concerned with cavalry units, both in the matter of camp organization and marches. In
order to avoid the numerous problems that a moving army could face, the regulation
was mainly preoccupied with maintaining the position of soldiers in the marching
formation and also the marching order of the different troops. During the marching
period, horsemen were forbidden to leave their company. This regulation was
enforced by two sergeants in each company. Each sergeant, but also every single
soldier, was submitted to the jurisdiction of the provost. Fights between soldiers
ended in bloodshed, even in the case of light injuries, were punished by hanging. The
activity of merchants accompanying the army was limited by a particular set of rules.
In order to join the marching column every merchant needed the approval of the
general. Once they received the approval they were allowed to sell their wearers only
until dawn, outside the camp. They were forbidden to receive weapons as payment, or
any other belongings of the soldiers that might prove useful during the campaign 12 .
With the two regulations issued during his reign, Báthory attempted to maintain
discipline in an army with a very heterogenic structure (consisting of Poles,
Lithuanians, Cossacks, Germans, Hungarians and Transylvanians). An army engaged
in campaigns that lasted several consecutive years. Nevertheless we have to underline
the fact that these regulations were applied only to the troops receiving payment from
the royal treasury. The military organization of the Transylvanian principality
benefited greatly from the experience of the Polish wars of Stephen Báthory. The
following rulers of the principality continued the efforts of strengthening the central
authority by increasing their control over the military structures of the country.
Military regulations were usually enforced by officers and army leaders, which
were also representing the main justice courts for the soldiers during war time. If
lesser quarrels between ordinary soldiers were judged by captains and lieutenants
(hotnogi), officers were usually judged by the leader of the army, the prince or his
11
Andrei Veress, Báthory István erdélyi fejedelem és lengyel király levelezése, II, (1576-1586), Cluj,
1944, doc. 650, p. 185.
12
Samu Barabás, Báthory István lengyel király hadi rendtartása a lengyel seregben szolgáló magyar
huszárok számára, în „Hadtörténelmi Közlemények”, Budapest, 1890, 667-674.
187