Yeoman archer

Last updated
Battle of Crecy, as depicted in a 15th-century illuminated manuscript of Jean Froissart's Chronicles. Both armies are shown stylistically; archers in the foreground. English archers are shown with the legendary longbow, while the Italian mercenaries struggle with their crossbows. Battle of crecy froissart.jpg
Battle of Crécy, as depicted in a 15th-century illuminated manuscript of Jean Froissart's Chronicles. Both armies are shown stylistically; archers in the foreground. English archers are shown with the legendary longbow, while the Italian mercenaries struggle with their crossbows.

The Yeoman Archer is a term applied specifically to English and Welsh military longbow archers (either mounted or on foot) of the 14th-15th centuries. Yeoman archers were commoners; free-born members of the social classes below the nobility and gentry. They were a product of the English form of feudalism in which the military duty of a knight to his lord (which was implicit in tenure feudalism) was replaced by paid, short-term service. By negating the tactical advantage of large numbers of cavalry (mounted knights and men-at-arms) with their ability to rapidly fire volleys of arrows, Yeoman Archers are considered part of the Infantry Revolution of the 14th century. The Battles of Crécy and Agincourt are the best known victories of the Yeoman Archers.

Contents

History

The Yeoman Archers were the English Army's response to a chronic manpower problem when trying to field an army on Continental Europe during the 14th century. Against 27,000 French knights, England could only muster at most 5,000 men-at-arms. [1] : 39  With this 5:1 tactical disadvantage, the English needed a strategic advantage.

Edward I

When Edward I invaded Wales in 1282, he quickly realized the battlefield importance of the opposing Welsh archers. Firing from ambush, they inflicted serious casualties on Edward's army. When Edward invaded Scotland for the second time in 1298, his army consisted mostly of infantry (12,500 of 15,000 men). [2] 2,000 men, including archers, were raised as part of the Lancashire and Cheshire levies under the Commission of Array. [3] : 27-9  At the Battle of Falkirk, the English army archers opened up the Scottish schiltrons with hails of arrows. The Scottish infantrymen fled the battlefield, to be pursued and killed by the English cavalry. [4] Between 1300 and 1304, Edward returned to Scotland four more times to complete his conquest. However, the size of his army grew smaller with each campaign, as the Scots refused to meet Edward in battle. [3] : 30-32  Edward appeared to realize that large numbers of infantry troops were not mobile enough to chase and do battle with an elusive opponent. [3] : 31,33  In the meantime, however, the men of North Wales and the English counties along the Scottish border were acquiring military experience. The yeoman archers were learning new skills as mounted archers. [1] : 45 

Edward II

Edward died in 1307, while en route to Scotland for yet another invasion. His son, now King Edward II, continued his father's Scottish campaigns beginning in 1313. Then came the disastrous defeat at Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. The army was in marching order, with the archers at the rear of the column. They could do nothing against the Scottish spearmen attacking the front of the column. Edward II was later deposed in 1327 by a coup engineered by his wife, Queen Isabella and her paramour, Roger Mortimer. Three years later, his son King Edward III, wrested control of England from his mother and executed Mortimer.

Edward III

In 1333, Edward III undertook his first invasion of Scotland, which culminated with the Battle of Halidon Hill. [5] [6] Halidon Hill is where the 20-year old Edward III learned how to combine archers and dismounted men-at-arms - tactics that he would employ during his Crecy Campaign in France. [7]

Crecy Campaign

The 1344 Household Ordinance of King Edward III [8] : 3  provides some contemporary evidence for the use of archers in Edward's Crecy Campaign in France. Only The King's Archers (a total of 121 men) are identified with a functional title. [8] : 5  The rest of the archers are listed as either Archers, Archers on foot, or Archers on horse. The latter title does not imply archers shooting from horseback. It refers to the English practice of having mounted archers being able to reach the scene quickly, dismount, and set up a firing line. The Archers on foot would then follow as reinforcements. [1] : 45  The Esquires of the King's Household (a total of 101) were responsible for 60 Archers on horse, and 21 Archers on foot. [8] : 3  The Household Officers and Ministers had 21 Archers on horse for their protection. [8] : 4  Even the 19 Minstrels had 3 Archers on horse and 3 Archers on foot assigned as protection. [8] : 4  At the end of the listing, a total of 20,076 Archers was given for Edward's entire army. [8] : 8  The daily wage for the three classes of archers is interesting when compared to the Yeomen of the King's Chamber, who received 6 pence a day. The King's Archers received 6 pence; Archers on horse received 4 pence; and Archers on foot received 3 pence. In contrast, the 4,244 Welshmen on foot received just 2 pence. [8] : 9  From the description Welshmen on foot and only receiving a daily wage of 2 pence, it is uncertain that these Welshmen were archers.

Crécy was followed by another English victory at the Battle of Poitiers, and a final victory at the Siege of Calais. By the end of the Hundred Years War, the Yeoman Archer had become as legendary as his bow.

Recruitment

Edward I had used the Commission of Array to conscript his infantry and archers. Unfortunately, this method tended to scoop up men from the very bottom rungs of feudal social ladder, and very few archers. His grandson, Edward III, introduced a new recruiting technique called contracted indentures. [1] : 45  They were agreements for military service for a specified period at a specified price. The indenture was agreed between the King and an individual commander. Usually, these were the same men who would have owed the King feudal military service. Under the indenture, the commander would recruit his own archers and men-at-arms (usually squires) as a single cohesive force. Thus, those going into battle were among men they knew and had trained with. Furthermore, since the archers had to provide their own horses, they would be of at least moderate means. Economics of war drew the social levels of the men-at-arms and the yeoman closer together. Yeomen archers were becoming the lower level of the gentry. [1] : 44-7 

There were four reasons why a man-at-arms or a yeoman would go to war in France: pay; plunder; patronage; and pardon. [1] : 50  The daily wage was rather attractive; as described above. But English kings were notoriously slow with their pay, especially in time of war. Plunder was a much greater attraction. The division of battle spoils was actually written into the indentures. Normally, the king was entitled to one-third of all the spoils taken by his contracted commanders. In turn, the commanders were entitled to one-third of the spoils taken by their men. [1] : 52  Patronage was almost as attractive as booty. Combat camaraderie counts for a lot once the war is over. Just as the king would look more favorably upon a commander who served him well in the campaign, so would that commander look more favorably upon a yeoman who served him faithfully. Finally, there is a pardon. Many excellent archers were outlaws, and the king offered pardons for all their offenses, including murder. [1] : 50-4 

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Poitiers</span> 1356 battle of the Hundred Years War

The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19 September 1356 between a French army commanded by King John II and an Anglo-Gascon force under Edward, the Black Prince, during the Hundred Years' War. It took place in western France, 5 miles (8 km) south of Poitiers, when approximately 14,000 to 16,000 French attacked a strong defensive position held by 6,000 Anglo-Gascons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English longbow</span> Type of ranged weapon

The English longbow was a powerful medieval type of bow, about 6 ft (1.8 m) long. While it is debated whether it originated in England or in Wales from the Welsh bow, by the 14th century the longbow was being used by both the English and the Welsh as a weapon of war and for hunting. English longbows were effective against the French during the Hundred Years' War, particularly in the battles of Sluys (1340), Crécy (1346), Poitiers (1356), and the Battle of Agincourt (1415). They were less successful later on, as longbowmen had their lines broken at the Battle of Verneuil (1424); although the English won a decisive victory there, they were completely routed at the Battle of Patay (1429) when they were charged by the French mounted men-at-arms before they had prepared the terrain and finished defensive arrangements. The Battle of Pontvallain (1370) had also previously shown longbowmen were not particularly effective when not given the time to set up defensive positions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wars of Scottish Independence</span> War of national liberation between Scotland and England

The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Bannockburn</span> 1314 battle during the First War of Scottish Independence

The Battle of Bannockburn was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Robert Bruce and formed a major turning point in the war, which ended 14 years later with the de jure restoration of Scottish independence under the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton. For this reason, the Battle of Bannockburn is widely considered a landmark moment in Scottish history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Crécy</span> 1346 English victory during the Hundred Years War

The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King Philip VI and an English army led by King Edward III. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France during the Hundred Years' War, resulting in an English victory and heavy loss of life among the French.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeoman</span> Social rank in late medieval/early modern England

Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witnessed the rise of the yeoman longbow archer during the Hundred Years' War, and the yeoman outlaws celebrated in the Robin Hood ballads. Yeomen also joined the English Navy during the Hundred Years' War as seamen and archers. In the early 15th century, yeoman was the rank of chivalry between page and squire. By the late 17th century, yeoman became a rank in the Royal Navy for the common seamen who were in charge of ship's stores, such as foodstuffs, gunpowder, and sails.

The Battle of Halidon Hill took place on 19 July 1333 when a Scottish army under Sir Archibald Douglas attacked an English army commanded by King Edward III of England and was heavily defeated. The year before, Edward Balliol had seized the Scottish Crown from five-year-old David II, surreptitiously supported by Edward III. This marked the start of the Second War of Scottish Independence. Balliol was shortly expelled from Scotland by a popular uprising, which Edward III used as a casus belli, invading Scotland in 1333. The immediate target was the strategically-important border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which the English besieged in March.

The Battle of Dupplin Moor was fought between supporters of King David II of Scotland, the son of King Robert Bruce, and English-backed invaders supporting Edward Balliol, son of King John I of Scotland, on 11 August 1332. It took place a little to the south west of Perth, Scotland, when a Scottish force commanded by Donald, Earl of Mar, estimated to have been stronger than 15,000 and possibly as many as 40,000 men, attacked a largely English force of 1,500 commanded by Balliol and Henry Beaumont, Earl of Buchan. This was the first major battle of the Second War of Scottish Independence.

The Battle of Falkirk, on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence. Led by King Edward I of England, the English army defeated the Scots, led by William Wallace. Shortly after the battle Wallace resigned as Guardian of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Neville's Cross</span> 1346 battle of the Second War of Scottish Independence

The Battle of Neville's Cross took place during the Second War of Scottish Independence on 17 October 1346, half a mile to the west of Durham, England. An invading Scottish army of 12,000 led by King David II was defeated with heavy loss by an English army of approximately 6,000–7,000 men led by Ralph Neville, Lord Neville. The battle was named after an Anglo-Saxon stone cross that stood on the hill where the Scots made their stand. After the victory, Neville paid to have a new cross erected to commemorate the day.

The Battle of Saint-Pol-de-Léon was a minor action during the Breton War of Succession and thus part of the larger Hundred Years War. The battle was fought in June 1346 and marked a minor turning point in the fortunes of the Montfortists and their English allies in Brittany following several setbacks including the imprisonment and subsequent death of their leader, John of Montfort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Culblean</span> Battle on 30 November 1335, during the Second War of Scottish Independence

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry de Beaumont</span> English noble (1280–1340)

Henry de Beaumont, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Buchan and suo jure 1st Baron Beaumont, was a key figure in the Anglo-Scots wars of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, known as the Wars of Scottish Independence.

The Battle of Boroughmuir was fought on 30 July 1335 between Guy, Count of Namur, a cousin of Queen Philippa of England, and John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray and Guardian of Scotland. Namur was on his way to join Edward III on his invasion of Scotland, when he was intercepted on the common grazing ground to the south of Edinburgh – the Borough Muir. The fighting continued into the city itself, and concluded in a desperate struggle in the ruins of the old castle. Randolph was victorious in a fight which forms a small part of the Second War of Scottish Independence.

Sir Archibald Douglas was a Scottish nobleman, Guardian of Scotland, and military leader. He is sometimes given the epithet "Tyneman", but this may be a reference to his great-nephew Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas. He fought and died at the Battle of Halidon Hill.

The Second War of Scottish Independence broke out in 1332 when Edward Balliol led an English-backed invasion of Scotland. Balliol, the son of former Scottish king John Balliol, was attempting to make good his claim to the Scottish throne. He was opposed by Scots loyal to the occupant of the throne, eight-year-old David II. At the Battle of Dupplin Moor Balliol's force defeated a Scottish army ten times their size and Balliol was crowned king. Within three months David's partisans had regrouped and forced Balliol out of Scotland. He appealed to the English king, Edward III, who invaded Scotland in 1333 and besieged the important trading town of Berwick. A large Scottish army attempted to relieve it but was heavily defeated at the Battle of Halidon Hill. Balliol established his authority over most of Scotland, ceded to England the eight counties of south-east Scotland and did homage to Edward for the rest of the country as a fief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Stewart (knight, died 1298)</span>

Sir John Stewart, the brother of Sir James the 5th High Steward of Scotland, was a Scottish knight and military commander during the First Scottish War of Independence.

Sir Willian Felton and English knight and seneschal of Poitou. Took part in Battle of Halidon Hill, 1333 and fought at Crecy in 1346. He was appointed lord justice of all the king's lands in Scotland in 1348. He fought at battle of Poitiers in 1356. He was appointed seneschal of Poitou in 1360. He accompanied the Black Prince on the Spanish campaign in 1367 and was called Felleton Guilliam qui ot cœur de lyon by Chandos Herald. He was killed at the battle of Aríñez a skirmish fought by the vanguard of the Black Prince's army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Berwick (1333)</span> Second War of Scottish Independence battle

The siege of Berwick lasted four months in 1333 and resulted in the Scottish-held town of Berwick-upon-Tweed being captured by an English army commanded by King Edward III. The year before, Edward Balliol had seized the Scottish Crown, surreptitiously supported by Edward III. He was shortly thereafter expelled from the kingdom by a popular uprising. Edward III used this as a casus belli and invaded Scotland. The immediate target was the strategically important border town of Berwick.

Burnt Candlemas was a failed invasion of Scotland in early 1356 by an English army commanded by King Edward III, and was the last campaign of the Second War of Scottish Independence. Tensions on the Anglo-Scottish border led to a military build-up by both sides in 1355. In September a nine-month truce was agreed, and most of the English forces left for northern France to take part in a campaign of the concurrent Hundred Years' War. A few days after agreeing the truce, the Scots, encouraged and subsidised by the French, broke it, invading and devastating Northumberland. In late December the Scots escaladed and captured the important English-held border town of Berwick-on-Tweed and laid siege to its castle. The English army redeployed from France to Newcastle in northern England.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Talliaferro, US Army, Major Stephen S (2015). "The Archer's Tale: An Examination Of English Archers During The Hundred Years War And Their Impact On Warfare And Society" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "Battle of Falkirk I". UK Battlefields Resource Centre. The Battlefield Trust. 2020. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Welsh soldier: 1283-1422" (PDF). University of Southampton Institutional Repository. University of Southampton. November 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "Falkirk I" (PDF). UK Battlefields Resource Centre. The Battlefield Trust. 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "Battle of Halidon Hill (1333)". Battlefields of Britain. CastlesFortsBattles.co.uk. 2019. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "Battle of Halidon Hill". UK Battlefields Resource Centre. The Battlefields Trust. 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "The Site of The Battle of Halidon Hill 1333". Historic England. 2020. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Society of Antiquaries, ed. (1790). "Household Ordinance of King Edward III". A collection of ordinances and regulations for the government of the royal household, made in divers reigns. London: John Nichols. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2020.

Further reading

Edward I

Hundred Years War

  • Prince, A. E. (1933). "The Indenture System under Edward III". Historical essays in honour of James Tait. Manchester: Manchester University Press. pp. 283–297.
  • Sherborne, James (1994). "Indentured Retinues and English Expeditions to France, 1369-80". War, Politics and Culture in Fourteenth-Century England. London: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 1–28. ISBN   978-1-8528-5086-9.
online database of all known service records from 1369 until conclusion of Hundred Years War in 1453
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.