STANDING ARMY ARNAOUTS. 



273 



ARMV, STANDING. In modern times, we designate 

 by the name of standing armies bodies of troops 

 which, in time of peace, are kept under arms for the 

 defence of the state, within and without, trained to 

 war, and paid by the government (whence the name 

 soldiers, from soldati, from the Italian soldo, the 

 French sous, for pay). These troops may be com- 

 posed of persons obliged to bear arms, or not, of na- 

 tives, or of foreigners. In this sense of the word, we 

 find standing armies first in the monarchies of modern 

 times, when the general introduction of fire-arms had 

 changed the whole art of war, rendering personal 

 courage of less consequence, and supplying its place 

 with dexterity and mechanical skill, which can only 

 be acquired by practice. The first standing armies 

 consisted of mercenaries, assisted, indeed, at first, by 

 the feudal militia, who, however, gradually disap- 

 peared, as military service and discipline assumed a 

 more systematic character by means of the standing 

 troops. The expense of mercenaries, which increased 

 with the number of troops, and the security of the 

 state, which could not be committed solely to hired 

 troops, now required that a great proportion of the 

 citizens capable of bearing arms (to be determined 

 by the population, size, geographical and political 

 situation, and civilization of the state) should be con- 

 tinually under arras, and supported by the state, in 

 connexion with the professional soldiers. These 

 were, in a peculiar sense, called standing troops. 

 The introduction of standing armies has been gene- 

 rally referred to the reign of Charles VII., king of 

 France (1423 1461), who, by means of them, over- 

 awed his rebellious vassals, and increased not a little 

 the power of the crown. King Philip Augustus, in 

 consequence of the absence of great numbers of his 

 vassals, in the crusades, had introduced, as early as 

 1215, the troupes des communes (communice ; com- 

 mitnitates parochiaritm), composed of the inhabitants 

 of the cities and villages, of which no city furnished 

 more than 400 or 500. These served with the feudal 

 militia, at the expense of the cities to which they be- 

 longed, and only at a certain distance from them. 

 The power of the cities was thus increased, and the 

 citizens formed, in war, a separate order, independent 

 of the nobles. It was, in a great measure, owing to 

 this cause, that they came to form a third estate in 

 the administration of government. These troops, 

 however, like the feudal militia, were never summon- 

 ed, except in cases of emergency. Thus the troops of 

 Philip and his successors consisted of feudal militia, 

 of the troupes des communes, and of irregular troops, 

 who were taken into pay (whence soldats, soudoyers), 

 and formed certain companies, as they were called, 

 (compagnies). The imperfection of the first class, 

 who often made war on each other, and paid but 

 little regard to the public summons, and the rapine 

 ' of the Tatter, led Charles V. to meditate a change, 

 and Charles VII. resolved to establish a better 

 military system. After long consultation with his 

 nobles, he laid the foundation in 1445, by selecting 

 fifteen captains (capitaines), whom he ordered to 

 choose the bravest men from all the troops, and 

 form them into as many companies. These companies 

 received the name ofcompagnies d'ordonnance, which 

 was, perhaps, earlier applied only to the royal troops, 

 and were maintained, in war and peace, by the cities 

 and villages. Each of these Companies, at first, con- 

 sisted of 600 horsemen (gens d'armes), exclusive of 

 the volunteers, who soon became numerous, and wen- 

 distributed in the different cities. Henceforward the 

 feudal militia fell more and more into disrepute, and 

 the vassals assembled their forces only on occasions 

 of great emergency. The feudal militia was not, 

 however, wholly supplanted by mercenaries until the 

 18th century. In 1448, Charles established a corres- 



ponding infantry, called Francs- arc/ters, which, in 

 conjunction with the troops just described, constituted 

 a very respectable army. The military system thus 

 established in France spread thence through the 

 other countries of Europe. (See Daniel's Histoire de 

 la Milice Francaise, c.) With the progress ot 

 standing armies in France, and the increase of wealth, 

 the standing armies of other countries increased also ; 

 e. g., those of Holland, Britain, and Germany. 

 When this increase arrives at its highest point, and 

 the decision of war, becomes almost entirely depen- 

 dent on numbers, the duty of military service is ex- 

 tended to all the citizens, and a system of conscription 

 is introduced, adapted to the condition, population, and 

 necessities of a state, by which all the citizens, of a 

 certain age, capable of bearing arms, are called upon 

 to do military duty, for a longer or shorter period. 

 In this way, standing armies, and the military, con- 

 sidered as a separate profession, are, to a great 

 degree, abolished, and, all the citizens (with few 

 exceptions) able to bear arms being disciplined for 

 the protection of their country, and obliged to act in 

 its defence, the numbers of troops becomes propor- 

 tionate to the natural relations of states to each other, 

 and military discipline becomes more liberal and 

 honourable. At least, this has been the case upon 

 the European continent. The increase of the militia 

 renders it also more difficult to give the proportion of 

 the military power of some states to their population, 

 because the standing army is no longer the sole, and, 

 with some governments, not even the chief, military 

 power. Malte-Brun in his Geography, estimates the 

 proportion, in the principal states of Europe, as fol- 

 lows ; though, for the reason just given, the estimate 

 is necessarily imperfect : 



Inhabitants. 



In Britain, one soldier to 140 



France, 110 



Austria, 10O 



Russia, 90 



Bavaria, 69 



Prussia, 68 



Poland, , 60 



Wirtemberg, 59 



Sweden, 58 



Denmark, 57 



The two Hesses, 49 



The proportions in other states are much lower: 



In the Two Sicilies, 180 



Tuscany, 200 



The Roman states, 300 



Malte-Brun thinks tliat, on the European continent, 

 one soldier to 100 inhabitants would be found a pro- 

 portion not injurious to the resources of the states. 

 The United States of America have now on foot not 

 even 6442 men, to which number the army is limited 

 by the law of 1821. The importance of militia is daily 

 increasing. (For further information in regard to 

 the militia, and the great changes which have tuken 

 place in standing armies during the last twenty years, 

 see Militia and Army?) 



ARNAOUTS, or ALBANIANS ; a people of mixed origin, 

 probably the primitive inhabitants of Illyria and 

 Macedonia, intermixed with Goths, Huns, and Scla- 

 vonians. who have spread in the western part of 

 Rumelia, along the coasts of the Adriatic and Ionian 

 seas, and have sent colonies to the Neapolitan and 

 Sicilian coasts. Their language has not risen to the 

 dignity of a written one. They call themselves &ky- 

 pelars ; by the Turks they are called Amaouts. 

 They are divided into several tribes, among whom 

 the Suliotes (q. v.) are partly of Greek origin. Strong 

 and warlike by nature, the Arnaouts were the best 

 soldiers in the Turkish army. They are frank to- 

 wards friends and superiors, but allow themselves 



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