Why were medieval armies in Europe so small?

>>2945535
Because they had a small population.

>>2945535
Black plague took out 1/3 of Europe and they where under constant attack by invaders

>>2945535
The economy didn't produce enough surplus to equip large groups of men to do kill each other with no productive benefit. Its only with industrialisation that armies started growing.
At the beginning of the 18th century Louis XIV's army was considered huge at 200,000 men out of a population of 20 million, in world war one they mobilised they mobilised 8 million out of a population of 40 million.

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Because they have retarded military systems such as "hurdurr we need a village supporting the upkeep of a single cavalryman."

>>2945559
The Black death occurred towards the end of the Medieval period.

What made it where large Roman armies up to a hundred thousand disappeared and everything became about supporting small numbers of armored lancers?

>>2945569
>franks are germanic aryans!!!

Feels good to know we're franks and not gaulcucks

>>2945581
The collapse of a central government which could mobilize resources from a continent spanning empire and support a force of professional soldiers without providing them with land to settle and defend. (And even that was starting to fall apart as the empire decayed)

>>2945600
this

when the empire fell Europe went into a dark age