Category:Members of the Black Company

From Glen Cook Wiki

There are approximately a thousand members of the Black Company at the outset of the series. Of these, only seven survive to the end of the first three books. Over the course of the remaining books, spanning nearly three decades, hundreds more join and perish. Of the original members, only Croaker survives through Soldiers Live; at the end of that book, the Company marches forth into the Land of Unknown Shadows with a new captain and a completely new membership.

It is supposed to be the Annalist's job to record the stories of all the Company's members over time. In practice, this seems a nearly impossible task. Croaker and successive Annalists focus on officers and noteworthy soldiers; many members of the Company are given just a passing mention, and little is known about them, except perhaps the battles in which they died. Many are, frankly, not very nice people. But they are nearly all good soldiers.

The Company survives and succeeds because it works to ensure that its members are well-equipped, well-trained, and well-invested in the identity of the Company. There is a formal membership oath, and a standard Company uniform or set of colors, although these seem to change over time and are never described clearly. By the time the Company is in Taglios, members wear a distinctive badge or pin modeled after the ones Soulcatcher gave them.

Company members change considerably over time. Originally, every member was supposedly black (hence the name of the Company). Members don't even always share the same language. But they share a strong bond of fellowship and professionalism that makes them stand out as formidable soldiers, as a group and individually.