C1250-C1500 Medival Warfare And English Society

Question 1

What were armies a fundamental part of medieval British society?

Answer 1

• England was at war for most of the period c1250-c1500, either in civil war or war with France, Scotland or Wales
• Armies were therefore a fundamental part of medieval British society

Question 2

What was the composition of armies (what were they made up of)?

Answer 2

Infantry
Mounted knights (cavalry)

Question 3

Who were the infantry?

Answer 3

Peasants who fought on foot
They were at the bottom of the social hierarchy & were treated poorly compared to other soldiers
They may have worn skull caps & leather jackets for protection

Question 4

Who were the cavalry (mounted knights)?

Answer 4

• Gentry (wealthy landowners below noble classes) & nobility who fought on horseback
• Were superior in status to other types of soldier
• Armed with swords & lances
• Protected with helmets & chainmail

Question 5

How many soldiers were typically in the army?

Answer 5

• Between 5000 & 10000 soldiers
• Usually, there were twice as much infantry as mounted knights

Question 6

What was the battlefield role of the cavalry (mounted knights)?

Answer 6

• Most powerful force on battlefield
• Weakened enemy in first round of attack by using the mounted charge & the rout and chase

Question 7

What was the mounted charge?

Answer 7

charging through the enemy lines to reach & kill the enemy commander

Question 8

What was the rout & chase?

Answer 8

used to scatter enemy infantry & attack them once they were dispersed

Question 9

What was the battlefield role of the infantry?

Answer 9

to hold the enemy attack & then defeat the enemy infantry
to do this they used the shield wall & melee

Question 10

What was the shield wall?

Answer 10

• a shield wall with overlapping shields, & spears or pikes
• held enemy attacks

Question 11

What was the melee?

Answer 11

where the infantry engaged in hand-to-hand fighting with swords, pikes & daggers

Question 12

Who were the archers & how did they impact the battlefield role of infantry?

Answer 12

• archers were infantry who used bows or crossbows
• they played a minor role working with the cavalry (mounted knights) to break down the enemy at the beginning of battle

Question 13

What is the social structure of the army (most significant to least significant)?

Answer 13

• Kings
• Lords (commanders)
• Noblemen & gentry (knights)
• Peasants (infantry)

Question 14

What was the use of warfare for kings & lords?

Answer 14

• it was used so that they could protect their power & take power from other kings & lords
• as a result, warfare was usually limited & focused on castles

Question 15

Why did the quality of leadership often vary?

Answer 15

a person’s combat experience or skills were less important than their social status in the feudal system
as a result, the quality of leadership varied

Question 16

What was the feudal system?

Answer 16

it organised society into groups based on people’s roles
land was granted in return for service to the Lord
those serving the Lord in battle provided their own equipment & provisions

Question 17

What was the impact of the feudal system breaking down?

Answer 17

when the feudal system broke down & it was more difficult to persuade people to fight, kings paid for soldiers to fight for them
these men were called mercenaries

Question 18

What was the impact of introduction of new weapons & formations?

Answer 18

the introduction of new weapons & formations had an impact on warfare, tactics & strategy between 1250 & 1500
by the end of the period, the use of mounted knights was in decline

Question 19

What were longbows?

Answer 19

in the 1290s, longbows were introduced into English armies
Edward I’s successes made them a key part of English armies for 150 years

Question 20

What were the uses of longbows?

Answer 20

15 arrows a minute could be fired, five times more than the rate of the crossbow
their increased power meant arrows could pierce through a knight’s chainmail
they had an effective range of 200 metres, twice that of shorter bows & crossbows

Question 21

What were pikes & schiltrons?

Answer 21

the Scots under William Wallace used schiltrons - tight formations of infantry gathered together in a circle or square, with pikes facing outwards towards the enemy

Question 22

How were pikes & schiltrons used effectively in warfare?

Answer 22

a strong defensive formation, Wallace used the schiltron to move infantry forwards & attack
the schiltron was used effectively in battles against English infantry in 1297 & English cavalry in 1314

Question 23

What was the impact of gunpowder & the development of cannon?

Answer 23

in the 13th century, the formula for gunpowder arrived in Europe from China
Gunpower was used to fire cannon, and, by 1450, cannon were becoming a standard seige weapon
this, in turn, affected the design of castles as old styles became increasingly vulnerable to cannon fire

Question 24

What were the limitations of cannon?

Answer 24

heavy & expensive - to transport them involved complicated logistical planning
inaccurate - generally they could only be used against large targets, such as walls
short range - they had to be close to their targets, making them vulnerable to attack
unreliable - they were likely to blow up or fail to fire
slow to reload
trained personnel needed

Question 25

What were the advantages & improvements of cannon?l

Answer 25

useful in destroying city & castle walls, shortening sieges
improvements were made in range & aim with new technology, including trunnions (rods to raise the height of the barrel)
specialist cannon were developed that could launch cannonballs high over defensive walls or over longer distances
metal was used for cannon barrels & balls, rather than stone, which made cannons more effective & accurate

Question 26

What was the impact of cavalry (mounted knights)?

Answer 26

the introduction of new weapons led to the decline of the mounted knight in numbers & importance. this was because:the longbow was more effective in taking down knights, horses and infantry
the schiltron was effective at defeating cavalry, increasing the infantry’s importance
the cavalry became more integrated, taking on specialist tasks, like patrolling & scouting, & they often dismounted to fight defensive battles

Question 27

How did the feudal system eventually lead to reducing the link between social class & command?

Answer 27

the feudal system had led to small armies in which noble knights were the superior fighters
the decline of mounted knights had important consequences for society
instead, kings paid for mercenaries rather than relying on the nobility for their military power
this reduced the link between social class & command

Question 28

What was the overall impact of combatant recruitment?

Answer 28

how combatants were recruited into medieval feudal armies changed between 1250 & 1500
there was less change in how combatants were trained for battle

Question 29

How can we see change through recruitment of cavalry (mounted knights)?

Answer 29

in 1250, mounted knights were recruited through the feudal levy: knights owed 40 days’ knight service & tenants owed their lords a set number of knights based on the amount of land they owned
as these dues became harder to enforce, extra forms of recruitment emerged e.g. the Assize of Arms, mercenaries and scutage & the Royal Household

Question 30

What was the Assize of Arms?

Answer 30

a tax on wealth
it required all men with land to provide a number of fully equipped knights

Question 31

What were mercenaries & scutage?

Answer 31

mercenaries & scutage increasingly replaced feudal service & the Assize
subjects paid scutage (shield money) instead of performing military service, allowing the king to hire mercenaries

Question 32

What was the Royal Household?

Answer 32

the Royal Household were permanent troops paid by the king as his personal guard
they increased rapidly in size & importance

Question 33

How can we see change through recruitment of infantry?

Answer 33

there was no feudal duty to serve as infantry
instead, duty, escape, adventure or plunder were incentives
e.g. the Statute of Winchester & Commissioners of Array

Question 34

What was the Statute of Winchester?

Answer 34

established in 1285
extended the Assize of Arms
all fit men between 16 & 60 were instructed to muster once a year ready & equipped for 40 days’ service
however, after 1337, the feudal levy & Assize of Arms began to fall away in favour of infantry being paid for their servicek

Question 35

What was the Commissioners of Array?

Answer 35

it assessed recruits & their weapons across the country

Question 36

How did provisioning & equipment change c1250-c1500?

Answer 36

in this period, demand for food & weapons for the army increased because:England was involved in many wars
there were more infantrymen to feed
more horses needed to be fed (each mounted knight took four - twice that of 1250 & archers also began to ride horses
more ammunition (arrows, bullets, cannon balls) was needed
gunpowder weapons needed specific ammunition & were hard to transport

Question 37

How can we see change through provisioning?

Answer 37

Weapon stores, such as the Royal Armoury, were built up
Supply depots were set up ahead of the army & supplied by road or sea
Pillaging, especially in enemy territory, was a common last resort

Question 38

How can we see continuity through training?

Answer 38

there were no permanent armies & no barracks, so no organised training for warfare, for example:the Assize of Arms called for infantry recruits to be skilled with their weapons, but this was not often the case. the mustering of infantry gave commanders a chance to assess their equipment & skills
cavalry (mounted knights) learned military skills competed in tournaments, but there was no training to fight as a group
the nobility were the military class & kings relied on leading nobles & close relatives to command their armies

Question 39

What was the impact of the longbow?

Answer 39

longbows required great strength & long training to master, for example:In 1285, the Statute of Winchester set up archery targets in every town
In 1383, Edward III ordered archery practice on every feast day or holiday

Question 40

What was the overall impact of war on civilians?

Answer 40

the impact of war on civilians was mostly - but not entirely - negative
kings needed money to pay for the wars, & they needed soldiers to fight & provisions to supply them with

Question 41

How can we see the impact of war on civilians through the feudal duty of taxation?

Answer 41

for example, this is evident through the yearly tax rate of kings: Edward III -> 1337-77 -> £75000 2. Richard II -> 1377-99 -> £100000 3. Henry V -> 1413-22 -> £125000
the increase in tax was a burden for civilians but was probably not such a great burden compared to being recruited or having their belongings plundered by armies

Question 42

How can we see impact of war on civilians through the feudal duty of recruitment?

Answer 42

civilians were forced to fight by the king. desertion & refusal were common
civilians increasingly chose to pay money instead to avoid going to war (scutage)
fighting meant time away from family & home, as well as great risk of death or injury
recruits were expected to provide their own equipment & provisions for 40 days