Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of"
60. Prior to the Norman Conquest the armed force of England was
995 words | Chapter 68
essentially a national militia. Every freeman was bound to bear arms for
the defence of the country, or for the maintenance of order. To give
some organization and training to the levy, the several sheriffs had
authority to call out the contingents of their shires for exercise. The
"fyrd," as the levy was named, was available for home service only, and
could not be moved even from its county except in the case of emergency;
and it was principally to repel oversea invasions that its services
were required. Yet even in those days the necessity of some more
permanent force was felt, and bodies of paid troops were maintained by
the kings at their own cost. Thus Canute and his successors, and even
some of the great earls kept up a household force (_huscarles_). The
English army at Hastings consisted of the _fyrd_ and the corps of
_huscarles_.
The English had fought on foot; but the mailed horseman had now become
the chief factor in war, and the Conqueror introduced into England the
system of tenure by knight-service familiar in Normandy. This was based
on the unit of the feudal host, the _constabularia_ of ten knights, the
Conqueror granting lands in return for finding one or more of these
units (in the case of great barons) or some fraction of them (in the
case of lesser tenants). The obligation was to provide knights to serve,
with horse and arms, for forty days in each year at their own charges.
This obligation could be handed on by sub-enfeoffment through a whole
series of under-tenants. The system being based, not on the duty of
personal service, but on the obligation to supply one or more knights
(or it might be only the fraction of a knight), it was early found
convenient to commute this for a money payment known as "scutage" (see
KNIGHT SERVICE and SCUTAGE). This money enabled the king to hire
mercenaries, or pay such of the feudal troops as were willing to serve
beyond the usual time. From time to time proclamations and statutes were
issued reminding the holders of knights' fees of their duties; but the
immediate object was generally to raise money rather than to enforce
personal service, which became more and more rare. The feudal system had
not, however, abrogated the old Saxon levies, and from these arose two
national institutions--the _posse comitatus_, liable to be called out by
the sheriff to maintain the king's peace, and later the _militia_
(q.v.). The _posse comitatus_, or power of the county, included all
males able to bear arms, peers and spiritual men excepted; and though
primarily a police force it was also bound to assist in the defence of
the country. This levy was organized by the Assize of Arms under Henry
II. (1181), and subsequently under Edward I. (1285) by the so-called
"Statute of Winchester," which determined the numbers and description of
weapons to be kept by each man according to his property, and also
provided for their periodical inspection. The early Plantagenets made
free use of mercenaries. But the weakness of the feudal system in
England was preparing, through the 12th and 13th centuries, a nation in
arms absolutely unique in the middle ages. The Scottish and Welsh wars
were, of course, fought by the feudal levy, but this levy was far from
being the mob of unwilling peasants usual abroad, and from the _fyrd_
came the English archers, whose fame was established by Edward I.'s
wars, and carried to the continent by Edward III. Edward III. realized
that there was better material to be had in his own country than abroad,
and the army with which he invaded France was an army of national
mercenaries, or, more simply, of English soldiers. The army at Crecy was
composed exclusively of English, Welsh and Irish. From the pay list of
the army at the siege of Calais (1346) it appears that all ranks, from
the prince of Wales downward, were paid, no attempt being made to force
even the feudal nobles to serve abroad at their own expense. These
armies were raised mainly by contracts entered into "with some knight or
gentleman expert in war, and of great revenue and livelihood in the
country, to serve the king in war with a number of men." Copies of the
indentures executed when Henry V. raised his army for the invasion of
France in 1415 are in existence. Under these the contracting party
agreed to serve the king abroad for one year, with a given number of men
equipped according to agreement, and at a stipulated rate of pay. A
certain sum was usually paid in advance, and in many cases the crown
jewels and plate were given in pledge for the rest. The profession of
arms seems to have been profitable. The pay of the soldier was high as
compared with that of the ordinary labourer, and he had the prospect of
a share of plunder in addition, so that it was not difficult to raise
men where the commander had a good military reputation. Edward III. is
said to have declined the services of numbers of foreign mercenaries who
wished to enrol under him in his wars against France.
The funds for the payment of these armies were provided partly from the
royal revenues, partly from the fines paid in lieu of military service,
and other fines arbitrarily imposed, and partly by grants from
parliament. As the soldier's contract usually ended with the war, and
the king had seldom funds to renew it even if he so wished, the armies
disbanded of themselves at the close of each war. To secure the services
of the soldier during his contract, acts were passed (18 Henry VI. c.
19; and 7 Henry VII. c. 1) inflicting penalties for desertion; and in
Edward VI.'s reign an act "touching the true service of captains and
soldiers" was passed, somewhat of the nature of a Mutiny Act.
Reading Tips
Use arrow keys to navigate
Press 'N' for next chapter
Press 'P' for previous chapter