Warmatrix

War Matrix - Men-at-arms

Men-at-arms developed out of Medieval knights. After 1300 CE the term 'knight' became associated with nobility. Knights were men-at-arms, but so were squires, sergeants and mercenary leaders. The first term came to represent aristocratic rank, while the latter covered the military function. Men-at-arms were known as hommes d'arms / gents d'arms (gendarmes) in France, barbuta in Italy, or more generally as lancers.
Almost all men-at-arms were professional warriors who fought as heavily armored cavalry, much like the knights. They rode on strong, barded horses, were equipped with the plate armor and their primary weapon was the lance. Because of the expensive equipment, most men-at-arms came from the lesser nobility and upper middle class.
When firearms improved in quality and usefuleness with the invention of the wheellock, lancers were increasingly replaced by 'demi-lancers'. These were medium cavalry who wore 3/4 or 1/2 plate armor and rode on unarmored horses. They wielded pistols and swords as secondary weapons. Shortly after, lance-wielding cavalry gave way to gun cavalry, who use firearms not as secondary, but primary weapons.