Depreciation of Military Service Costs in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries in Central-Eastern Europe

Abstract

The article presents the depreciation of soldiers’ equipment in the fifteenth–sixteenth centuries in Central-Eastern Europe based on the data from a dedicated financial institution existing in the Polish Kingdom until the 1560s. Soldiers received their pay, and the king additionally paid them compensation for any war damage. Owing to meticulous records, data were collected on 9,371 individuals. Based on the collected data, it has been established that the average losses in cavalry were equivalent to 40% of the pay and in infantry, the corresponding ratio was 13.7%. This formation was not only cheaper to equip, it was also less cost-intensive. The article elaborates on the background of the liquidation of this institution in the Polish Crown, combined with an increase in soldiers’ pay, who gained only seemingly. It was mainly a profitable operation for the state. It improved the budgeting process, increased the combat value of the soldiers, facilitated military bureaucratisation and prevented extorted compensation. After the reform, the depreciation in the cost of the soldier’s pay is estimated to have been about 1/3. The percentage chance of losing a horse, arms and armour was also calculated, demonstrating a huge equine mortality rate of 48.2% over three months of fighting.