Pay Rates
Pay rates for the high offices of the realm and any special perquisites attached to said offices are difficult to determine. Each Marshal of France received up to 265,000 ducats annually, plus 132 more per man for the first month of any campaign, plus a percent of the loot. The only addition perk is that of the French Master of Arbalesters, who gets all the cannon and church bells captured once cannon become common.
Now consider that during the 1370s the Chaucers seem to have averaged about 70 pounds (D 42,000) a year in annuities and wages (15% from John of Gaunt, the rest from the Crown), plus a rent-free house, in his capacity as keeper of one of the gates of London, plus various miscellaneous gifts, such as a new suit twice a year and a gallon of good wine a day. During the 1390s he had a job as supervisor of some construction, which brought in about 22,000 ducats a year.
If we assume that the Chaucers' are typical of lower level retainers, and that the Marshals of France --and the Admiral?-- are typical of the highest level retainer (after all, the only people who outrank them are the King, the Connetable, and probably the Chancellier), we should be able to do some sort of mathematical division of the goodies.
The King of England's obligations in this regard appear to have been about 42,000,000 ducats per thousand officers, which was more than his personal income. However, the monies for a lot of the offices would be paid by the local folks (sheriffs, justiciars, lords lieutenant).
Based on the foregoing, we can attempt to estimate annual pay for Fourteenth Century big shots
Figures are assumed to include perqs (i.e., the annual new suit, wine rations, and free houses, etc.) Out of the indicated sums, of course, these guys would have to pay their retainers, so the King is getting more than one employee when he plops his money down.
Related Topics: