In the field
"Home is where you sleep?"
Women were allowed along to perform these vital services, and were supported by their husbands/fathers/brothers/protectors in the army. Although one of the period words for "Campfollower" is "Hure", which translated to "whore", by and large, the German women were not prostitutes. Other period terms include "Kampfrau"(camp wife), "Marketenderin"(Women who cares (goes to the market) for you) and "Schlachtenbummlerin"(Battle Loiterer). Most camp women were married to the soldier they cared for, or else were related in some other way.
Brother/sister or father/daughter relationships were not uncommon. According to the articles of war signed by every soldier, it was an offense for a man to have more then one woman in the baggage train, unless the excess were daughters or sisters. This kept the fighting among the women to a minimum, for an unattached female was a threat to their security. Women who were found prostituting themselves, especially with someone else's man, commonly had their hair cut off and were run out of camp by other women.
It was not uncommon for one women to have many husbands in her lifetime. Unlike their farming sisters, most campfollowers were not expected to produce one child a year from age fifteen to thirty. As childbirth was a leading cause of death among women, military wives had a slightly higher life expectancy then their civilian counterparts. That, coupled with the relatively short life expectancy of the men, virtually insured that every woman would be a widow at least once.
There is one documented case of a Landsknecht campfollower who went through seven husbands. Of course, most peasant women were not exposing themselves to the dangers the campfollowers were. Military camps were far from sanitary, and sixteenth century medicine had little chance of curing some of the nastier infectious diseases. Campfollowers were also considered plunder by enemy forces when an army was defeated, and could be slaughtered or carries away at the opposing soldiers whim. Nevertheless, like the men they followed, the opportunities for wealth and a better life were far greater with the army then back on the farm.
Another benefit of traveling with the army was that Landsknechts, as usually stated in their contracts with foreign powers, and authorized by Maximillian I at the Diet of Augsburg, were not subject to sumptuary laws, which restricted clothing, materials, and jewelry according to social rank.
As Max stated at that time, "Their lives are so brutish and short, that dressing well is one of their few joys. I am not going to take that from them."
The soldiers and their women had a reputation for bright, garish, and mismatched clothing, most often put together from what was plundered from a town, or left over on the battlefield. Still, it meant that even the lowliest soldiers and their wives could wear velvets, brocades, laces, pearls, and gemstones, provided, of course, that no one of a higher rank took a liking to what they had.
The women, who usually followed one hundred or so yards back from any actual fighting on a battlefield, took advantage of the fact, and looted the bodies of dead, and not so dead, soldiers, often of both sides. They also tended to and carried wounded soldiers away from the field, and killed enemy soldiers that were down, but not out. They were usually the first to start plundering an enemy town, taking everything they could carry as the men fought a few streets away. This way, even if the town held, and the soldiers were driven back, the women still gained something.
And it is indeed the women who had gained. If they had plundered stored of food, or even arms or ammunition from the town, it belonged to them, and if the army wanted those items, it had to pay the women for them. That was primarily how the Sutleress' got the goods they sold in camp, from taking what they could, and perhaps buying any excess from fellow campfollowers to resell. German women were allowed to own their own property, and many were shrew businesswomen.
In the camp
"Get Out of my Kitchen, NOW!"
Meals can be as simple or as elaborate as you have the time and energy to make them. Midday standard when the camp is cold (meaning no cooking fires) is bread, butter, pickles, cheeses, pre-cooked or smoked sausages, hard-boiled eggs, sliced apples, grapes, carrots, celery, water, juice, and something sweet s desert. When camp is Hot, menus can include spit-roasted meats, cooked vegetables, hot fresh sausages, pottages, pot-roasted or braised meats, and even fresh baked breads (if you're really ambitious). A good rule of thumb is to plan for the weather: hot stews, soups, etc. and bread on cold days, and the number of kitchen staff, don't try to cook sauerbraten, honey-glazed turnips, frumenty, spit-roasted chickens and baked custards from scratch if there are only two campfollowers. When in doubt, remember the women you are re-creating were on the march most of their days, meals were simple, quick and hearty. Anything elaborate was probably purchased ready-made from the towns they went through, and traveled very well.
So, once lunch has been made, served and devoured, and the dishes have all been washed and put away, there's nothing to do in camp, right? WRONG!! There is always something to do, just as the campfollowers then always had something to do. Everyone should have a small portable hobby, that they can pull out of their basket and do, when activity is slow. This can be sewing, embroidery, spinning, carding, lace tatting or bobbining, mending, singing, music playing, dicing, reading, writing, or even just brushing and braiding your hair.. In fact, you'll find that once you pull out whatever it is that you're working on, things will no longer be slow, because an audience member will inevitably stop and ask, "What are you doing?"
On the street
"We Want to go Shopping!"
Even if there is a lot to do in camp, that doesn't mean you have to feel chained to the pavilion.
There are lots of good theatrical bits to do in the street. Two, or more, women can very loudly take a mildly reluctant soldier off to spend his pay on them. Other ideas for good gigs include asking patrons for directions, after all, you're not from around here, and all those English look alike, playing dice or cards while sitting in the street, being careful not to block too much of the road, taking a large group out for a picnic, this saves the clean up in camp, and you can usually get the men to carry the platters while a few of you loudly try to decide on a good spot.
Or, simply, go wandering through the streets, saying hello, and maybe singing, and of course, the eternal favorite, the cat-fight (make sure you have plenty of room, that your opponent knows what to do without giving/getting hurt, and don't be surprised or upset if someone else ends it by throwing water on you).
If you're going to involve other participants and/or merchants in your gigs, you should talk to them beforehand, so that they are agreeable, and know what/when to expect. Be theatrical, be loud, and have fun.
On the march
"Are they protecting the Women from the Townspeople, or the Townspeople from the Women?"
Marches and progresses are the campfollowers chance to shine! Unlike units from other nations and time periods, the Landsknecht women march with their men, usually in the baggage train.
Since most units don't have carts, the campfollowers generally march behind the soldiers, in a clump, after all, we're not supposed to be drill perfect, or in between the columns, if there are only two. Whether marching between or behind, its your responsibility to keep an eye out for customers who want to cross the road in the middle of the parade, or worse yet, take pictures from the center.
It's also your job to be on the lookout for anything the soldiers might drop. Additionally, when the march stops, whether the command is given for the men to stand down, or to hold the road, its your job to immediately move among them and offer water, a cool rag, and/or pickles and olives, depending on what you are carrying.
Marches are not all work however, since they do tend to showcase the campfollowers quite well. You will hear customers up and down the route remarking "Why, they have their women with them!" "Wow, that's neat, look at the girls!" "Hey, I didn't know women were in the army back then!" Of course they didn't. That's why we are here to tell them.
In conclusion
"Burn last!"
When all is said and done, usually there's a lot more that's said then gets done. A campfollowers life, then and now, is not necessarily as easy one.
They did it because they followed their loved ones to war, or because it was the only lifestyle they'd ever known, or because they were themselves plunder and had no choice. These women made a life bearable for themselves and their families under very difficult circumstances. We can only hope to remind our audiences of the sacrifices made by these women, and in doing so, honor their memories and achievements in a way that none of their contemporaries would have though to.
Most of us have many reasons for campfollowing: our husband/boyfriend/brother/dad got involved in the Landsknechts; we've done other time periods and/or nationalities, and this looked like fun; we're hams; we learned german in high school; we like the "time travel"; we like feathers.
There are as many reasons as there are women. What is important is not the reason for joining, but the reasons for staying, and what you so when you are with the group. German campfollowers, by and large, get to do much more then camp-women from other times and countries. Along with that comes the fact that we are expected to do a lot more then camp-women from other times and countries. "Decorative" is a word that should never be applied to you.
It means you are pretty to look at, but serve no useful purpose.
However, and above all else, German campfollowing is supposed to be fun. After all, you probably didn't get into this to work like a dog ALL the time. You shouldn't expect to, or be expected to. There are always many things to be done, but most of them can be fun.
Anjabeth's Happy Little Rules for Life in the Fahnlein