Military Recruitment Traditions

It it is tradition to recruit soldiers from among the Gentry and Nobility, and these soldiers are recruited following certain specific traditions.
For households that have status of Low Gentry and upwards, it is tradition that the first son is sent, at a young age, to serve the liege lord as a man-at-arms, though they start off as paiges and work their way up. This tradition changes when the household primarily sustains itself through the practice of a trade or scholarly art, in which case the tradition is for the second son to be offered in this manner. When a household offers up a son in this manner, they are responsible for providing for the son's wife, her parents (if necessary), any wards the wife may obtain, the son's children and so forth, further more they are also required to provide their own arms and armor or pay a fee to outfit their son.
Members of the Gentry who enlist of their own volition are typically offered land in return for their services, giving them a chance to become Land Lords in their own right. The amount of land offered, as well as the requirements on how much equipment a man-at-arms has to furnish, usually goes hand in hand with the status of the recruit. A recruit from the High Gentry would be expected to furnish very expensive gear, but would also likely be offered a baronetcy, including the materials and being loaned the man-power to build a proper manor and fully develop the lands, whereas a recruit from the low gentry would be expected to furnish the minimum gear, barely more than what a peasant levy could muster, but would probably be offered only enough land for a large farm and probably limited resources to build and develop the lands.
Commoners who enlist are often given some basic equipment, because commoners cannot be expected to have the ready funds to furnish war gear, but the amount of land offered to a commoner is typically only just enough for a single household to thrive off it, and so the household must typically still rent some land from their liege to turn a large enough profit to support an extended family - which is necessary, because a soldier's spouse with children cannot be expected to run a farm on her own. The most prestigious position a commoner can expect to enlist into is as an archer, as archers are seen almost as equals of Cavalrymen.

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