c1250-c1500 - Recruitment And Training

Question 1

What was the assize of arms?

Answer 1

• it assessed people’s wealth to see if they should support the king with arms
• Tax on wealth, requiring all men with land to provide a number of fully equipped knights

Question 2

What did mercenaries and scutage replace?

Answer 2

Increasingly replaced feudal system and the assize. Subjects paid scutage (shield money) instead of performing military service - allowing king to hire mercenaries - trained troops that were paid to fight in battle

Question 3

What was the royal household?

Answer 3

Permanent troops employed and paid by the king as his personal guard

Question 4

What was the change to recruitment of infantry?

Answer 4

• There was no feudal duty to serve as infantry. Instead, duty, escape, adventure or plunder were incentives
• statute of winchester (1285) - it extended the assize of arms. Stated that all fit men between 16 and 60 were instructed to muster once a year ready and equipped for 40 days’ service
• commisioners of array - officials appointed by the king to organise the recruitments of troops under the assize of arms. they assessed recruits and their weapons across the country

Question 5

What happened after 1337 to the feudal system and assize of arms?

Answer 5

The feudal system and assize of arms began to fall away in favour of infantry being paid for their service. Only 5% of cavalry were nobles for the english campaign in france

Question 6

Why did demand for food and weapons for the army increase? (Provisioning and equiptment)

Answer 6

• england was involved in many wars
• there were more infantrymen to feed
• more horses needed to be fed
• more ammunition needed - At the Battle of Crècy, in 1346, English archers shot half a million arrows in a day. Once gunpowder weapons came in, troops could no longer supply their own ammunition.
• gunpowder weapons needed specific ammunition as they were hard to transport

Question 7

Why were there changes in provisioning?

Answer 7

Combatants originally provided their own provisions and equipment for 40 days, but new solutions were needed to meet increased demand

Question 8

What were the tactics used to change provisioning?

Answer 8

• requisitioning - The crown forced merchants to sell goods (purveyance) and provide ships to supply their baggage trains
• weapon stores - royal armoury
• supply depots - supplies were set up ahead of the army and supplied by road or sea
• pillaging - Involved stealing and looting towns and villages for their goods and it was usually a last resort, especially in enemy territory

Question 9

What were the issues of continuity of training?

Answer 9

• there were no permanent armies and no barracks, so no organised training for warfare
• infantry recruits were often not trained with weapons despite assize of arms calling for this
• mounted knights hadn’t trained to fight in a groups and only learnt skills in tournaments
• nobility relied on leading nobles and close relatives to command their armies

Question 10

How were people forced to train with longbows?

Answer 10

• 1285 statute of winchester: set up archery targets in town
• 1363: Edward lll ordered practise on every feast day or holiday

Question 11

What did the mustering of infantry do?

Answer 11

Gave commanders a chance to assess their equipment and skills

Question 12

When recruiting infantry, what did kings rely on?

Answer 12

-loyalty to defend homeland
-assize of arms to demand service

Question 13

Who were feudal troops?

Answer 13

Troops that were only summoned for war. Knights practised combat at tournaments. But there was no training for groups of knights

Question 14

What were baggage trains?

Answer 14

Made up of wagons and pack animals which stretched for miles behind an army

Question 15

Continuity of training

Answer 15

There were no permanent armies and no barracks, so no organised training for warfare.
• The Assize of Arms called for infantry recruits to be skilled with their weapons. But this was often not the case.
• Mounted knights learned military skills and competed in tournaments, but there was no training to fight as a group.
• The nobility were the military class and kings relied on leading nobles and close relatives to command their armies.

Question 16

What were changes to the recruitment of knights?

Answer 16

In 1250, mounted knights were recruited through the feudal levy: knights owed 40 days’ knight service and 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.

Question 17

Methods used to ensure people trained with longbows

Answer 17

1285: statute of winchester set up archery targets
1363: edward lll ordered archery oractise on feast days

Question 18

Disadvantages of feudal troops

Answer 18

• Until about 1330, kings could call upon 5,000 mounted feudal troops. But this was quite a small number and it limited the size of armies.
• Feudal troops were only required to fight in England, and only for 40 days. For more, they expected pay
• Feudal infantry were part-time soldiers and the quality of their weapons was poor.

Question 19

What were the changes to recruitment of knights?

Answer 19

• they were recruited through the feudal levy in 1250
• knights owed 40 days service and tenants owed lords a set number of knights based on land they owned. Increase demand led to these being put in place:
• the assize of arms
• mercenaries and scutage
• royal household