The noble private soldiers were less heavily armed than I'd expected. Forget plate armor—they weren't even in chainmail. Most wore light armor made of thick leather. The truth is, outfitting men in heavy armor isn't as easy as people think.
The idea that all nobles are wealthy is a misconception. Even back in my duchy knight days, court noble positions were so limited that I'd taken on grunt work from low-ranking bureaucrats just to earn copper coins.
Prince Louis's faction was made up mostly of idle nobles who hadn't even managed to secure court positions. The reason they'd gathered around Prince Louis was so that, in the event something happened to the crown prince, they could ride Louis's coattails to power.
All they had to their names were their titles and bloodlines. Could men like that really afford to invest properly in a private force, which costs enormous sums to maintain? The quality of a noble's soldiers' equipment was, in effect, a measure of his wealth.
