'Geogoth' meaning 'young warrior' used to be just the way the army referred to new recruits. Recently it has
been used to refer to a certain type of new recruit who has not been through the usual army training. In 1129
King Burgred gave his favourite
Cerdic the rank of Marshal (much to the displeasure of the regular army) and put
him in charge of a crusade against the use of magic. Cerdic disdained the use of the existing army and created
a force that only reported to him, having hand-picked its officers himself.
To make sure his soldiers did not pick up any 'bad habits' from the existing army who he said were 'not up to
the job of protecting the realm' his recruits were immediately deployed as they could he said 'learn on the job'.
The result has been a force that both lacks the discipline and respect for procedure that marks out the regular
army. 'Geogoth' has thus become a word signifying the contempt the army hold for these units and also the
fear and contempt the general population has for the brutal way they often go about their business.
Critics of the Geogoths (notable the recalcitrant Lords Fairchild and Elfwine and the Duke of Ragenport) point out that
if there really were powerful foreign magic users trying to undermine the realm they would make short work of the Geogoths.
Instead they mostly seem to be deployed to rough up village wise-women and steal their potions. These incidents are
then exaggerated by Cerdic at Court to justify the existence of the Geogoths.