Recruitment And Training Flashcards
In c1250 mounted knights were recruited through the feudal levy ;
Knights owed 40 days knight service to and tenants owner 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 such as
The Assize of arms
Mercenaries and scutage
Royal Household
What was thr Assize of Arms
Was a tax on wealth, requiring all men with land to provide a number of fully equipped knights
What was mercenaries and scutage
Increasingly replaced feudal service and the Assize.Subjects paid scutage ( shield money ) instead of performing military service, allowing the king to hire mercenaries
What was the Royal Household
Were permanent troops paid by the king as his personal guard.They increased rapidly innsize and importance
Receuitment of infantry - there was no
Feudal suty to serve as infantry .Instead duty , escape, adventure and plunder were incentives.
The statue of Winchester ( 1285 ) - extended the Assize of Arms
All fit men between 16 and 60 were instructed to muster once a year and equipped for 40 days’ of service
Commisioners of Array assessed
Recruits and their weapons across the country
After 1337 the feudal levy and the Assize of Arms
Began to fall away in favour of infantry being paid for their service
Provisioning and equpment - why was there there a demand for food and weapons for the army in this period
Because England were involved in many wars.
There were more infantrymen to feed
More ammunition ( bullets, arrows , cannon balls ) was needed
Gunpowder weapons needed specific ammunition and were hard to transport.
More horses needed to be fed ( each mounted knight needed 4 )
Changes in provisioning - combatants provided their own provisions and equipment for 40 days but new solutions were
Needed to meet the increased demand
Changes in provisioning - Recruitioning and Supply depots
Requistioning : Crown forced merchants to sell goods ( purveyance) and provide ships in order to supply their baggage trains
Supply depots - were set up ahead of the army and supplied by road and sea
Changes in provisioning - Weapons stores and plunder
Weapon stores such as the Royal Armoury, was built up.
Plunder - was looting in enemy territiory , was usually thr last resort
There was no permanent armies and no barracks , so no
Organised training
Continuity in traning
The Assize of Arms called for infantry recruits to be skilled with their weapons x but often not the case.
Mounted knights learnt military skills and competed in tournaments , but there was no traning to fight as a group.
Nobility were the military class and the king relied on leading nobles and close relatives to command their armies
