Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-26890432-20170729181907/@comment-26890432-20170729220431

Well Trained would be the key words there. The bulk of Rohan's army is well trained militia, and this is represented in the mod by 13-pt armour and 6.5 damage weapons. A historical example of a well-trained, citizen army mustered in times of war would be the pre-Marian Republican Roman Army. The Levies of Dale and Gondor, however, are clad primarily in leather, with weapon quality dropping as low as that of a bronze axe. This clearly indicates that they are more of a "town watch" sort of unit, which would certainly not be carried off to war, at least in a primary combat role, by any sensible commander.

Also, about the passage from Machiavelli. He claims that it is dangerous to endorse a caste of war-fighting professionals for fear of being "enforced to make war always" or risk losing the Kingdom. In Gondor at least, and in Dale a few years later, making war was a necessity for survival. The "dangerous warrior caste" mentioned by Machiavelli would be already heavily employed and occupied by keeping their Kingdoms from ruin. Being in a drastically different situation than Machiavelli's Rennaisance Italy, these states in Middle-Earth would by this time be totally reliant on a seasoned core of professional soldiers for their very survival.