The English Aristocracy at War: From the Welsh Wars of Edward I to the Battle of Bannockburn

Description

In 1277 the recently crowned king of England, Edward I, invaded Wales; his army, large for the time, was none the less modest by his later standards. Most of his countrymen had not been on active service outside the realm for twenty years and more, if at all, yet over the course of the following four decades, up to the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, they would be called upon to fight in four different theatres of war: in Wales, Gascony, Flanders and Scotland. Although the identities of many of the men who fought in these wars, particularly those of the thousands of peasant foot soldiers, will never be known, the names of a large proportion of the men-at-arms can be located in the records of central government. This book utilises these sources - pay-rolls, horse inventories, wardrobe books and others - to examine the military careers and activities of these men-at-arms, focusing on five main themes: mobilisation; military command; service patterns among the gentry; retinues and their composition; and 'feudal' service. List of Tables vi General Editor’s Preface vii Preface and Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xiii Introduction 1 1. Mobilisation 7 2. Captains, Retinue Leaders and Command 32 Rank and Title in Edwardian Armies 32 High Command: Powers and Responsibilities 39 Retinue Leaders 55 3. The Military Community 68 Men-at-Arms and the Fortunes of War 69 The Mounted Armoured Warrior at Falkirk 78 4. Recruitment Networks 112 Lords, Retainers and Followers 112 Tapping the Gentry Pool 119 Loyal Service, Shifting Allegiances 141 5. Feudal Service and the Pre-contract Army 151 Who was the 'Feudal' Soldier? 155 Structure and Organisation: An Intricate Fusion of Elements 165 The End of an Era 183 Conclusion 186 Appendix 191 Bibliography 193 Index 209