ABSTRACT
All the many ways in which militarism can be 'seen' are of particular interest to sociologists who tend to derive their theories from an analysis of the structure of society. The notion of military preponderance connotes the privileged nature of the military within society, and all the perquisites that go with military status, as has been the case in petty dictatorships. Slavery is largely a thing of the past; in the developed world, at least, there is better and more universal education; people are medicated and hygienically housed on the whole; it is a better world both actually and potentially, yet war and militarism are still with us, and the overall death toll continues to increase. A reiterative theme in sociology has been the relationship between militarism, war and capitalism. Knights were a small proportion of the fighting force. The core of the army was the infantry, especially Welsh bowmen who won a high reputation in the Hundred Years War.
