My proposal for those who practice magic, or 'mages'.
In a military context:
Mages are powerful force multipliers, and while they COULD be used to destroy/weaken an enemy army, once a mage is exhausted he would leave himself AND his forces (I won't say army because realistically field-armies would probably have a fair number of mages in their ranks and one mage would not be able to protect even a sizable fraction of one) open to obliteration courtesy of an enemy mage. Therefore, mages act a lot like cavalry or skirmishers in that their first duty on the battlefield is to seek out and neutralize/hamper/kill enemy mages.
Also, given the potential scope of a mage's ability they are most likely a breakthrough weapon in that they would be used to open up enemy lines for assaults by the much more numerous infantry/cavalry. (Or for destroying walls during sieges, but again given mages want to conserve their power, that is a task perhaps better left to the siege engines.) Unfortunately, given that they would almost likely be using their full powers for duels or aforementioned breakthroughs mages would tire quickly and once stripped of most of their supply of magic would be very liable to counterattack by enemy infantry/cavalry/missiles.
To partially counteract this, I imagine many nations would maintain at least small contingents of warriormages/battlemages/etc. who would be trained/armored/equipped for combat.
Of course, magic would also probably play a large part in enchantments/wards for weapons/armors, etc. etc. and also in the baggage train/supplies areas.
In a civilian context:
Although mages have HUGE potential for shaping materials, I like to think that their primary use in the civilian fields would be for transport. Transport for building materials, and to a lesser extent, for trade. Furthermore, I imagine that engineers, builders, and mages often work close together to more quickly construct larger works. Castles, public works, etc. Magic also makes a poor building material. Magic is just energy and over time, dissipates. (arguements for how long magic takes to dissipate may very, but I'll stick to my guns!) So mages can really only HELP the building process instead of doing all the building.
Seeing as mages are relatively scarce, I imagine most would 'belong' to the crown, and a smaller amount would work for nobles, especially in and around cities. Smaller towns and villages, would almost certainly NOT have access to magic under normal circumstances.
Magic would also be used for various other aspects of life, and most readily attainable by those rich and/or powerful, but ultimately a large percentage of the world's population doesn't have access to magic on a normal. day-to-day basis.
On the nature of mages/magic:
Magic would be viewed differently by all cultures, from cherished to abhorred, but either way no-one can deny the pros of using magic and thus all nations/states/etc. use it.
How nations treat/use/misuse their mages, differ. Some might give them relatively free reign, others may treat them similar to the mentally ill, and still others might use them as slaves. Regardless, it's common that there are STRICT guidelines and regulations places on magic and mages.
ADDENDUM: I think that the use of magic my better be fleshed out once physical nations are defined and characterized.
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