Warfare Through Time (c1250-1500) Flashcards
In 1250 roughly how big were armies?
5,000 to 10,000 men.
What were the two main parts of the army in 1250? And what was the ratio of them?
Infantry and cavalry. 2:1 (infantry:cavalry)
Who were men-at-arms in 1250?
Men-at-arms were heavily armed mounted troops brought into the battle by the nobles. They were usually men from the gentry.
What were the 4 class systems in 1250?
- The King
- Upper and lower nobility
- The Gentry
- The Common people
What type of people was the infantry made up of in 1250?
Common men - they were treated like second-rate troops compared to the cavalry.
What were cavalrymen usually armed with in 1250?
Lances, thrusting spears (maybe 3m long) and swords.
What were infantrymen armed with in 1250?
Most infantry had swords and daggers. Some had club-like weapons and some used halberds. And others used bows or crossbows.
What was cavalrymen’s armour like in 1250?
- Chainmail garments called hauberks.
- Cloth surcoats.
- Flat-topped metal helmets and many had face guards.
What was infantrymen’s armour like in 1250?
- Most wore leather or padded linen jackets called gambesons.
- The best defended wore short mail shirts.
- Most wore skullcaps
What does the term strategy mean?
The overall plan used to achieve your objectives.
What are 3 aspects/examples of limited warfare? (1250)
- Limited resources - weapons and people to fight
- Limited power - to raise and army the king must have power to persuade nobles to fight
- The campaigning season - people only could fight when crops were growing.
What is guerrilla warfare?
Guerrilla warfare is deliberately avoiding larger battles and sending in small bands of warriors to ambush the enemy, and raid their camps and supplies and slip away like no one was ever there.
What did armies do to communicate with each other/find where the enemy army is? (1250)
They had to rely on limited information from spies, scouts, using messengers, bugles, smoke signals, church bells and pigeons.
What did commanders prefer to do strategy-wise to avoid a battle? (1250)
The often preferred to manoeuvre the enemy into a hopeless position the negotiate a victory, or besiege a castle, or steal property and food from the enemy.
Name an example of the length of time it took to besiege a castle. (1250)
After the Battle of Evesham (1265), Henry III’s enemies took refuge inside Kenilworth Castle and it took Henry III’s army 6 months to get them out.
Why was it important to protect the flanks of a medieval army?
So that enemy cavalry could not attack the main army from the side.
How could commanders protect their flanks in a medieval army?
They could place their own cavalry there, or protect their flanks with geographical features, like woods or rivers.
What was an example of a commander protecting his medieval army’s flanks with a geological feature?
At the battle of Lewes (1264), Simon de Montfort placed his army on the crest of Offham hill, with had sharp banks to the left and right of it which was to steep for cavalry. The land in front of them was a long slope that the royal army had to climb.
What were the two main attack strategies of cavalry? (1250)
The mounted charge - when the cavalry all charge at the enemy lines.
Rout and chase - cavalry tried to scatter the enemy infantry, and once they ran they were easier to chase and cut down.
What was an example of the mounted charge tactic used by cavalry? (1250)
At the battle of Evesham (1265), Prince Edward used cavalry to target the enemy commander, Simon de Montfort. Mounted knights smashed through enemy lines, engaged de Montfort’s bodyguard and hacke him to pieces, which was a decisive move.
What were the three main infantry tactics used by commanders in 1250?
The shield wall - men stood with overlapping shields and spears or pikes facing the enemy.
Archers - didn’t play a big part at this time (weaken enemy troops at most)
The melee - Vicious hand-to-hand combat. Only done if all else fails.
What happened in the feudal system?
- The king granted his most powerful supporters control of large areas of land. (Earls or Dukes). These people were known as tenants in chief.
- These tenants in chief granted control of some of the land to lower nobles, known as sub-tenants. They had to promise military support to the tenants in chief, to be knights.
- This military support would last 40 days at most and made English society very structured in that way.
What was the knight’s fee? (1250)
By 1250, the military support promised (by the feudal system) was measured as a number of knights, usually in fives or tens. This number was the knight’s fee. A tenant may have promised a range of knight to the lord.
By 1250, why was the feudal system falling apart?
Society was changing. Kings found it hard to enforce their feudal dues. As a result of this, extra forms of recruitment were becoming more common.
What was the Assize of Arms?
This assessed peoples wealth to see if they should support the king with arms. It was like taxation, the richer you were, the more weapons and troops you had to provide. Many landowners would have been required to fight in the king’s army under this system.
Give an example of the use of the Assize of arms.
In 1250, Henry III said all men with land worth 15 pounds in 1250 had to supply him with a mounted knight, with a horse, hauberk, iron helmet, sword and dagger.
Why were mercenaries and scutage used? (1250)
Attitudes in society towards the feudal system was causing change. By 1250, kings found it hard to force people to abide by their feudal duties or accept the Assize of arms. Kings accepted money instead of service, which was called scutage.
What is scutage? (1250)
Scutage is the money taken from the people who refused to do military service, either from the feudal system or Assize of Arms.
What were mercenaries and what were they paid with? (1250)
Mercenaries were hired, on a temporary basis. They were experienced men, sometimes foreign, who were better trained, better disciplined and better armed that feudal troops. They were much more expensive though, and scutage paid for them.
As warfare in c1250 was limited what were the preferred methods of combat?
- Raiding
- Pillaging
- Besieging
Describe the key events of Edward’s march north (3) (Battle of Falkirk)
- Recaptured 3 castles (Dalhousie, Dirleton, Tantalion)
- His force burnt towns in order to punish the local population
- He ran out of supplies, his men almost starved. At Coldstream they found food, and consumed 600 sheep.
How did the battle of Bosworth conclude?
Henry Tudor was the victor and Richard’s army routed (retreat).
