View source for Talk:Lance-Constable

Have this vague memory that in a mediaeval company of soldiers, a Lance was a unit of ten or twenty infantry/cavalry whose immediate officering would be done by a ''corporal of lance'', later ''lance-corporal''.  ''Lancia'' coming from the Italian mediaeval mercenary tradition, the ''condottieri'' or "free soldiers". (Ref Mary Gentle's ''''Ash''''', quoted in Reading Suggestions). 

A multiple of  Lances made a higher-order-unit officered by a Sergeant-At-Arms (another Pratchett connection there). A Knight might be nominally in charge of the company of armed infantry, but I suspect would be a bit of a Captain Tilden next to a Segeant Keele. --[[User:AgProv|AgProv]] 15:14, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

===Objection===
I wish to dissociate myself from the section on the meaning of the title, which I did write, of course, but had no intention of presenting as an annotation. I do not write annotations. I must acknowledge that whatever I add here is public domain and fair game for editing, and if the definition is rejected (in favor of AgProv's above, perhaps) it may be edited or eliminated. I protest being slandered as ''annotation'', however. This may be within the rules, such as they are, but it's rude.  --[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] 00:14, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

== ==
I would humbly suggest that TP may have been alluding to the rank of PCSO, or to give the full title [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_Community_Support_Officer Police Community Support Officer], a soft of half-way stop between Traffic Warden and full PC in the UK's police service.  Unlike PCs PCSO do not have a duty to act and do not have the same powers to arrest. --[[User:Megahurts|Megahurts]] 10:18, 23 March 2010 (UTC)

: Corrected somewhat.  In the USMC both Private First Class and Lance-Corporal are in use.  Removed the German reference because the Germans have about sixty-leven grades of 'lance-corporal'- Obergefreiter, Stabsgefreiter, Hauptgefreiter etcetera.  ''Gefreiter'' is NOT equivalent to lance-corporal (much less corporal)- it means, literally, "exempted one", that is a senior private excused from menial duties. The German equivalent of Corporal is ''Unteroffizier'', the first NCO rank.  The various grades of ''Gefreiter'' have no command authority. [[User:Solicitr|Solicitr]] 03:51, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

== ==
Re: the Dutch expert on British ranks, Wikipedia suggests that the Foot Guards actually retain Lance-Sergeants, while the Household Cavalry has a Lance-Corporal of Horse instead. It would be polite and informative, however, to discuss or at least explain the removal of big chunks of text. --[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] 01:54, 21 October 2010 (CEST)