What is "hueste"

Hueste (in Spanish), hoste (in Portuguese/ Galician) or host (in Catalan) was the designation, used in the Iberian Peninsula, during the Middle Ages, to refer to a group of armed men under the command of a prelado or rico-hombre, with the obejctive of executing expeditions or warfare. Huestes were initially drawn from the broader population, but later became more selective as combat skills became more specialized.