What's in a name.

[Abbas-Al-Morim]

I'm stuck on a term for a specific type of soldier, employed by the church. So far, I've come up with the word "Contractor" because that's basically what they are, though not in the modern sense. And because of the modern implications (the term contractor is used almost exclusively in construction) I'd prefer to use another term.

These soldiers are tied to the church (or my equivalent of the church, which bears a different name) by a contract. They're basically mercenaries who have been given something akin to a Letter of Marque. This allows them to attack certain targets (decided upon by "church" officials) and it allows them to execute certain contracts (missions provided by the church, such as escort missions or guard missions or whatever). They're not an integral part of the Church (they're no holy order) but they are tied to the Church by their "Contract".

In effect, they're more like ruffians and bullies used by the Church to protect her assets and to intimidate rival organisations. They're not the most important military arm, they're used for smaller tasks. Again, you can compare them to privateers as opposed to the Royal British Navy. The slight difference being that the "Church" has a bit more control over these "Contractors".

 

[Hainted]

Partisan or Partizan is a party of irregular troops usually used in guerilla warfare.
Banneret since they fly whatever flag they're being paid to support.
Companion, just because of the seeming innocence of the word.
Yeth Hounds: Spectral dogs animated by the souls of unbaptized babies.
Wolfsheadutlaw
Ogerhunch:Frightful being
Outcumlins:strangers
Darkmuns: Bringer of death

 

[Hainted]

Guiltless since their actions are condoned and supported by the church, and cannot be considered sinful or unholy

 

[Queshire]

If you don't already have them in some other form then maybe Paladins? The irony would be nice with that. Other than that, Zealots? Inquisitors? Hunters? Blessed? (As in having the church's blessing to do this dirty work) Innocents as an alternative for the Guiltless Hainted suggested? (Same reasons though)

 

[Abbas-Al-Morim]

Great suggestions, all! I can definitely work with these ideas. Inquisitors or Zealots are the only ones which aren't an option for the very simple reason that they're already in use for a different type of official. I'll play around with these ideas and try to find one that covers the concept best.

 

[Miyran]

contractor sounds good.

 

[Rorick]

Have you looked into similar concepts in other religions? Or even just make something up.

I've been listening a lot recently to a radio series on BBC Radio 4 called "In Our Time". It's basically a discussion panel show where they take a scientific, philosophical, religious or historical subject and debate it for an hour with some experts. What I've found is that in the thousands of years of written human history, some of the most weird and bizarre concepts have happened. But there have been plenty of societies and civilisations that have had a kind of "church martial" aspect. Especially in ancient civilisations, where the lines between church and state were non-existent.

I have an area of a world I'm working on that has a lot in common with Anglo-Saxon/Norse mythology (yes, I know, very original) so I tend to try and describe what I want then borrow words from Old Norse or Anglo-Saxon/Old English. Sometimes, it's ace and i get what I want. Sometimes it needs a tweak to fit in with the feel of the language. Sometimes it's rubbish. Might work for you?

Also, don't worry about words that have been used before for a particular historical concept. They can add a bit of free clarity. For example, if you were to use Inquisitor, you probably wouldn't have to waste words with an infodump. People will probably just get it straight off the bat. It makes everything feel a bit more more natural...

 

[Guy]

Given your avatar and your question, all I can think of is a Monty Python skit about the church police.