Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26281589-20131112205848/@comment-24891101-20141014054614

But there would historically be religious martial orders, specialists, protectors of outlying villages, and particular military units who specialize in slaying Grimm. Those would be the Hunters of ages past. Since mankind was so isolated from each other, wars among the kingdoms would be rare verging on unheard-of, since they could not move troops safely. Therefore, there would be little need for a standing army, except to fight Grimm. Those people who maintain the perimeter, and man the Long Walls, would be mankind's protectors. One would think that before the kingdoms themselves properly solidified, there would we small wars between neighboring fiefs, but always there needs must be Hunters manning the defences, lest the fiefs be overrun while squabbling. As a result, I imagine that these wardens would be prohibited from engaging in these conflicts, lest they be distracted from their charge. All of these groups would be Hunters, a romanticized and lionized figure in Renmant's culture. As the nations modernized, these groups would become centralized, and drawn under government control. Their mandate changes over time, of course, but they still remain Hunters.

I do agree, actually, that the modern institution of Hunting is a relatively recent thing, I just date it to before Ozpin, since I reject the notion that he's as old as the Great War, in whose wake the CCTs were established by Atlas as reparation, enabling at last constant international connectivity. The whole academy system is fairly new, but I think it would date to before the international body, and was simply the Hunting school for the kingdom, back when Hunting was a national endeavor, not an international one.