Valour and Morale

[Stazi]

Is valour gained during battle added instantly to a soldier or is calculated after the battle?

[drone]

As the others have stated, morale is the sole measurement as to whether a unit stands or runs. I think I got all of the morale modifiers in the wiki, most came from the official guide or the numerology threads. The page also has the sliding scale used to determine the morale state of a unit.

For #6, it's 50 meters for the +1 per general's star.

Valour adds +1 attack, +1 defense, and +2 morale per level. So it's important for unit effectiveness, and a high valour unit will have a high morale as a result.

[bunt0025]

it's 50 meters for the +1 per general's star.

Ever tested to see if it isn't JUST the general's stars that have a morale boosting radius? What about another leader (obviously not 'called' a 'general'... but a unit having a leader with many stars, also)? Think it excludes their influence, since... well basically they have no command... aside from their unit?

[econ21]

Is valour gained during battle added instantly to a soldier or is calculated after the battle?

I suspect it is instant. In later games (RTW onwards), you can see it being gained in battle, as there is a shiny, star glittering effect around the unit.

[Ironside]

Is valour gained during battle added instantly to a soldier or is calculated after the battle?

Instant. It's even calculated for every induvidual in the unit. The displayed value is an average.

[Gilrandir]

So, to draw a conclusion, valour (not morale) is a key factor for a unit to stay fighting longer. But several times I had an army headed by a six-star general (thus, the troops having valour 3) pretty close behind the frontline which routed a minute after the first impact clash with the attacking enemy headed by, say, an eight-star general. As it couldn't be explained by the significant valour supremacy of the enemy, I was told that morale of my army could be responsible for the rout. Well, in that case morale did matter?

[Stazi]

Morale is always key factor. Valour is one of the variables that changes it. One of the most important but not the only one. Your high rank general can e.g. has some vices that reduce morale. Commanders of each unit can have them too. There are several effects that reduce morale during battle (loses, flanking, fatigue, being under fire, far from general etc.). IMO the most dangerous is the chain reaction when one of your units starts to run away and others follow. So it's very important not to send morale weak units to the front line where they can initiate such a reaction.

[Ironside]

So, to draw a conclusion, valour (not morale) is a key factor for a unit to stay fighting longer. But several times I had an army headed by a six-star general (thus, the troops having valour 3) pretty close behind the frontline which routed a minute after the first impact clash with the attacking enemy headed by, say, an eight-star general. As it couldn't be explained by the significant valour supremacy of the enemy, I was told that morale of my army could be responsible for the rout. Well, in that case morale did matter?

To clarify about morale.
A 20/20 unit with -15 morale is almost impossible to deploy and will rout for almost anything. The thing with valour is that it's very hard to get such a unit, since having 10+ valour (the valour needed to get those stats) is giving 20+ morale simply by itself.
A -20/-20 unit with 15 morale will vaporize with enemy contact, but will fight to the last man.

So combat valour is the best stat because it boosts everything (well not arrow resillence, but the rest), but your troops' staying power is 90-95% decided by morale.

Low morale can be given by generals with severe morale penalties. -3 is possible to handle if the troops are upgraded and the general got a few star under his belt, but the only general with -6 that can still be reasonably deployed are a 6+-star one and his 4-star replacement will be more reliable. If -9, then you're lucky if your line even make contact with the enemy.

To understand morale, try to fight 6 units of early royal knights with 5 spearmen, all troops unupgraded. You'll win, if you can keep your spears from routing. That's at morale 0.

Roughly, troops at -4 morale can rout even when winning and beating the crap out of an enemy flank. This is why glutttony sucks on a general, since if he routs, he gives morale penalties afterwards.
Troops at 0 are a hassle, one minorly exposed flank on one unit can cause your entire army to rout, even if there's no real danger.
At 2 they start to become more reliable, but still fragile and at 6+, you won't see any unexpected routs (at this point, you can use them as horse archer bait and let the horse achers hit them in the back).