Armies of the Middle Ages
The first medieval armies were tribal war bands carried over from ancient times. These evolved into feudal armies made up of a lord's vassals and their respective retainers. Fief holders were required to provide a period of military service each year. This began as weeks or months of service by the vassal accompanied by professional soldiers he retained personally. The armies of later kings and wealthy lords consisted of a higher proportion of professionals and mercenaries. Late in the period, vassals sent money instead of actually serving in armies, and this "martial tax" helped kings to support armies year-round.
Service in feudal armies was a matter of duty and honor for the knights. In a warrior society, knights lived for the opportunity to fight. Success in battle was the main path to recognition and wealth. For professional soldiers, often the sons of the aristocracy left with little when the eldest began inheriting everything, fighting was a job. It was duty for peasants also, when they were called up, but certainly not an honor.
By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, many commoners joined the ranks for pay that was often much better than that for more peaceful employment. A strong attraction for a commoner to become a soldier was the prospect of loot. Tribal warriors stayed loyal to their warrior chief and fought for him so long as he provided them with a living and loot. These ideals of the war band carried over into the feudal age. Low-ranking knights and professional foot soldiers longed for the opportunity to take part in the assault against a rich town or castle because strongholds that resisted were traditionally looted. A soldier could gather up many times his year's pay during the sack of a city. Pitched battles also offered opportunities for gain. The armor and weapons of the dead could be sold and captured knights could be ransomed.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Armies Mongols
The Mongols
The nomadic horse peoples of Mongolia assembled the world's largest land empire in a series of military conquests spread over a few generations, beginning in the twelfth century. In the course of their conquests, the Mongols fought most of the other world powers of medieval Asia and Europe, winning in almost every case. Their empire was built entirely on military conquest, thanks to an army that was unlike any other in the world. They were thought invincible by most of their opponents. Their campaign into Europe turned back only after a death in the ruling family. The possible claimants to the throne headed home with their forces and never returned.
The Mongol Army
The Mongols were nomadic herders and hunters who spent their lives in the saddles of their steppe ponies. They learned to ride and use weapons, especially the composite bow, at an early age. For hunting and war, every able-bodied male under the age of 60 years was expected to take part. The armies of the united Mongol tribes consisted of the entire adult male population.
They fought under a strict code of discipline. Booty was held collectively. The penalty was death for abandoning a comrade in battle. This discipline, together with leadership, intelligence-gathering, and organization, raised the Mongol force from a cavalry swarm into a true army.
The Mongol army was organized according to a decimal system, with units of 10, 100, 1000, and 10,000 men. These numbers for units were probably rarely approached due to casualties and attrition. The 10,000-man unit was the major fighting unit, like a modern division, capable of sustained fighting on its own. Individual soldiers identified most with the 1000-man unit of which they were a part, the equivalent of a modern regiment. Original Mongol tribes fielded their own 1000-man units. Conquered peoples, such as the Tatars and Merkits, were broken up and distributed among other units so that they could pose no organized threat to the ruling family.
Genghis Khan created a personal guard unit of 10,000 men. This unit was recruited across tribal boundaries and selection was a high honor. In its early stages it served as a form of honorable hostage-holding. It grew into the family household and the source of the growing empire's ruling class.
Mongol soldiers at first received no pay other than booty. Advancement was based on merit. Once the rapid conquests slowed, a new system of pay was put in place. Officers were later able to pass on their posts to heirs.
Each soldier went on campaign with approximately five horses, allowing quick changes and rapid movements. No comparable armies moved as rapidly as the Mongols until the mechanized armies of the twentieth century.
The Mongols fought mainly as light cavalry archers (unarmored), using the compound bow. This was a compact weapon of impressive range and penetration power. They employed Chinese and Middle Easterners as siege engineers. Infantry, garrison troops, and heavy cavalry (wearing armor) that used lances came from the armies of subjected peoples.
Mongol Tactics
The Mongol armies relied on firepower, the ability to move quickly, and a reputation for ruthlessness that came to precede them. All of their opponents moved much more slowly and deliberately. The Mongols looked for opportunities to divide an enemy force and overwhelm the pieces with rapid bowshots. They sought to surround or encircle enemies and achieve local superiority of numbers. Horses of mounted enemies were wounded, dismounting the riders and making them more vulnerable.
The Mongol light cavalry could not stand against a heavy cavalry charge, so they feigned flight to draw the knights into exhaustive charges that left them vulnerable. The fleeing Mongols turned rapidly and became the hunter. They excelled in setting ambushes and surprise attacks. Mongol army leaders made great use of scouts and synchronized force movements to catch the enemy at a disadvantage.
The Mongols made extensive use of terror. If the population of one city was massacred after capture, the next city was more likely to surrender without a fight. This proved the case, as city after city surrendered upon the approach of Mongol armies.
The nomadic horse peoples of Mongolia assembled the world's largest land empire in a series of military conquests spread over a few generations, beginning in the twelfth century. In the course of their conquests, the Mongols fought most of the other world powers of medieval Asia and Europe, winning in almost every case. Their empire was built entirely on military conquest, thanks to an army that was unlike any other in the world. They were thought invincible by most of their opponents. Their campaign into Europe turned back only after a death in the ruling family. The possible claimants to the throne headed home with their forces and never returned.
The Mongol Army
The Mongols were nomadic herders and hunters who spent their lives in the saddles of their steppe ponies. They learned to ride and use weapons, especially the composite bow, at an early age. For hunting and war, every able-bodied male under the age of 60 years was expected to take part. The armies of the united Mongol tribes consisted of the entire adult male population.
They fought under a strict code of discipline. Booty was held collectively. The penalty was death for abandoning a comrade in battle. This discipline, together with leadership, intelligence-gathering, and organization, raised the Mongol force from a cavalry swarm into a true army.
The Mongol army was organized according to a decimal system, with units of 10, 100, 1000, and 10,000 men. These numbers for units were probably rarely approached due to casualties and attrition. The 10,000-man unit was the major fighting unit, like a modern division, capable of sustained fighting on its own. Individual soldiers identified most with the 1000-man unit of which they were a part, the equivalent of a modern regiment. Original Mongol tribes fielded their own 1000-man units. Conquered peoples, such as the Tatars and Merkits, were broken up and distributed among other units so that they could pose no organized threat to the ruling family.
Genghis Khan created a personal guard unit of 10,000 men. This unit was recruited across tribal boundaries and selection was a high honor. In its early stages it served as a form of honorable hostage-holding. It grew into the family household and the source of the growing empire's ruling class.
Mongol soldiers at first received no pay other than booty. Advancement was based on merit. Once the rapid conquests slowed, a new system of pay was put in place. Officers were later able to pass on their posts to heirs.
Each soldier went on campaign with approximately five horses, allowing quick changes and rapid movements. No comparable armies moved as rapidly as the Mongols until the mechanized armies of the twentieth century.
The Mongols fought mainly as light cavalry archers (unarmored), using the compound bow. This was a compact weapon of impressive range and penetration power. They employed Chinese and Middle Easterners as siege engineers. Infantry, garrison troops, and heavy cavalry (wearing armor) that used lances came from the armies of subjected peoples.
Mongol Tactics
The Mongol armies relied on firepower, the ability to move quickly, and a reputation for ruthlessness that came to precede them. All of their opponents moved much more slowly and deliberately. The Mongols looked for opportunities to divide an enemy force and overwhelm the pieces with rapid bowshots. They sought to surround or encircle enemies and achieve local superiority of numbers. Horses of mounted enemies were wounded, dismounting the riders and making them more vulnerable.
The Mongol light cavalry could not stand against a heavy cavalry charge, so they feigned flight to draw the knights into exhaustive charges that left them vulnerable. The fleeing Mongols turned rapidly and became the hunter. They excelled in setting ambushes and surprise attacks. Mongol army leaders made great use of scouts and synchronized force movements to catch the enemy at a disadvantage.
The Mongols made extensive use of terror. If the population of one city was massacred after capture, the next city was more likely to surrender without a fight. This proved the case, as city after city surrendered upon the approach of Mongol armies.
Armies Organization
Organization
The organization of feudal armies was kept simple in comparison to the large national armies of more modern time. There were no permanent regiments, divisions, or corps until the very end of the age. When a feudal army was summoned, each vassal traveled to the meeting point with any knights, archers, and footmen that he was required to bring. At the meeting point, the contingents would be reassembled by role. The knights and their squires kept and marched together, as did the archers and footmen.
Special units, such as engineers and the operators of siege artillery, were usually professionals hired for the campaign. Christian mercenaries, for example, operated the artillery employed by the Turks against Constantinople.
Being a mercenary soldier was a respected profession in the late Middle Ages. Warrior entrepreneurs formed mercenary companies that allowed a rich lord or city to hire a ready-made competent fighting force. Mercenary companies existed that were all of one skill. For example, 2000 Genoese crossbowmen served in the French army at the Battle of Crécy in 1346. Other mercenary companies were mixed forces of all arms. These were often described in terms of the number of lances they contained. Each lance represented a mounted man-at-arms plus additional mounted, foot, and missile troops. A company of 100 lances represented several hundred fighting men. This system was the origin of the word "freelance."
Command hierarchy within a feudal army was flat. Not much maneuvering was anticipated so there was little provision of large staffs to support the commander and pass orders.
In 1439 Charles VII of France raised Royal Ordinance Companies. These companies were filled with either knights or infantry and were paid from tax revenues. Each company had a fixed complement of men; their armor and weapons were chosen by the king rather than left to personal choice. This was the beginning of modern standing armies in the West.
Supply
There was little provision for food and medical supplies. Medieval armies lived off the land, to the detriment of everyone residing in an area they occupied or passed through. Having a friendly army march through was no better than having the enemy pass. Medieval armies did not linger in one area for long because local supplies of food and forage were quickly exhausted. This was a particular problem during sieges. If an army laying siege did not make arrangements to have food and supplies brought in, it might have to lift its siege to avoid starvation long before the defenders had to surrender.
Sanitation was also a problem when an army stayed in one place. A medieval army brought along many animals, in addition to the horses of the knights, and sewage problems led to dysentery. Feudal armies tended to waste away to disease and desertion. During his campaign in France, Henry V of England lost an estimated 15 percent of his army to disease at the siege of Harfleur and more on the march leading up to Agincourt. At the battle itself, he lost only 5 percent. Henry V died of disease related to poor sanitation at another siege.
Deployment for Battle
Most battles were set-piece affairs where the two sides arranged themselves before the fighting began. Campaigns of maneuver and meeting engagements were rare.
Prior to battle, commanders divided their forces into contingents with specific tasks in mind for each. The first separation might be into foot soldiers, archers, and cavalry. These groups might be divided further into groups to be given individual missions or to be held in reserve. A commander might arrange several "battles" or "divisions" of knights, for example. These could be launched individually as desired or held in reserve. Archers might be deployed in front of the army with blocks of infantry in support. Once the army had been arranged, the only major decisions were when to send in the prearranged pieces. There was little provision for pulling back, reforming, or rearranging once the fighting started. A force of knights, for example, could rarely be used more than once. After they had been committed to action, they were usually reinforced or withdrawn. A full charge by heavy cavalry caused such disruption, lost equipment, and loss of horses that the force was essentially spent. The Norman knights at Hastings were reformed for further attacks, but they did not launch a full charge because they could not penetrate the Saxon shield-wall.
Superior commanders made use of the terrain to their advantage and conducted reconnaissance to evaluate the enemy's strength and weaknesses.
Ransom
The ultimate rewards from successful battle included honors and grants of fiefs. The proximate rewards included booty from looting bodies, ransacking captured towns and castles, selling the armor and weapons of the dead, and ransoming high-ranking prisoners. Knights were expected to pay ransoms to save their lives. One of the highest recorded ransoms was more than US $20 million paid to a German prince for the release of Richard I of England, captured during his return from the Crusades.
At Agincourt the English were holding a large group of French knights at the rear for ransom. During the battle, a French contingent raided toward the rear of the English and briefly panicked Henry V. He ordered the execution of the held French knights to prevent their release, thereby forgoing a fortune in ransoms.
The capture of knights was recorded by heralds who kept a tally of which soldiers were responsible and thereby due the bulk of the ransom. The heralds then notified the prisoner's family, arranged the ransom payment, and obtained the prisoner's release.
The popularity of ransoms seems remarkably civil but masks a darker story. Low-ranking prisoners of no value might be killed out-of-hand to eliminate the problem of guarding and feeding them.
The organization of feudal armies was kept simple in comparison to the large national armies of more modern time. There were no permanent regiments, divisions, or corps until the very end of the age. When a feudal army was summoned, each vassal traveled to the meeting point with any knights, archers, and footmen that he was required to bring. At the meeting point, the contingents would be reassembled by role. The knights and their squires kept and marched together, as did the archers and footmen.
Special units, such as engineers and the operators of siege artillery, were usually professionals hired for the campaign. Christian mercenaries, for example, operated the artillery employed by the Turks against Constantinople.
Being a mercenary soldier was a respected profession in the late Middle Ages. Warrior entrepreneurs formed mercenary companies that allowed a rich lord or city to hire a ready-made competent fighting force. Mercenary companies existed that were all of one skill. For example, 2000 Genoese crossbowmen served in the French army at the Battle of Crécy in 1346. Other mercenary companies were mixed forces of all arms. These were often described in terms of the number of lances they contained. Each lance represented a mounted man-at-arms plus additional mounted, foot, and missile troops. A company of 100 lances represented several hundred fighting men. This system was the origin of the word "freelance."
Command hierarchy within a feudal army was flat. Not much maneuvering was anticipated so there was little provision of large staffs to support the commander and pass orders.
In 1439 Charles VII of France raised Royal Ordinance Companies. These companies were filled with either knights or infantry and were paid from tax revenues. Each company had a fixed complement of men; their armor and weapons were chosen by the king rather than left to personal choice. This was the beginning of modern standing armies in the West.
Supply
There was little provision for food and medical supplies. Medieval armies lived off the land, to the detriment of everyone residing in an area they occupied or passed through. Having a friendly army march through was no better than having the enemy pass. Medieval armies did not linger in one area for long because local supplies of food and forage were quickly exhausted. This was a particular problem during sieges. If an army laying siege did not make arrangements to have food and supplies brought in, it might have to lift its siege to avoid starvation long before the defenders had to surrender.
Sanitation was also a problem when an army stayed in one place. A medieval army brought along many animals, in addition to the horses of the knights, and sewage problems led to dysentery. Feudal armies tended to waste away to disease and desertion. During his campaign in France, Henry V of England lost an estimated 15 percent of his army to disease at the siege of Harfleur and more on the march leading up to Agincourt. At the battle itself, he lost only 5 percent. Henry V died of disease related to poor sanitation at another siege.
Deployment for Battle
Most battles were set-piece affairs where the two sides arranged themselves before the fighting began. Campaigns of maneuver and meeting engagements were rare.
Prior to battle, commanders divided their forces into contingents with specific tasks in mind for each. The first separation might be into foot soldiers, archers, and cavalry. These groups might be divided further into groups to be given individual missions or to be held in reserve. A commander might arrange several "battles" or "divisions" of knights, for example. These could be launched individually as desired or held in reserve. Archers might be deployed in front of the army with blocks of infantry in support. Once the army had been arranged, the only major decisions were when to send in the prearranged pieces. There was little provision for pulling back, reforming, or rearranging once the fighting started. A force of knights, for example, could rarely be used more than once. After they had been committed to action, they were usually reinforced or withdrawn. A full charge by heavy cavalry caused such disruption, lost equipment, and loss of horses that the force was essentially spent. The Norman knights at Hastings were reformed for further attacks, but they did not launch a full charge because they could not penetrate the Saxon shield-wall.
Superior commanders made use of the terrain to their advantage and conducted reconnaissance to evaluate the enemy's strength and weaknesses.
Ransom
The ultimate rewards from successful battle included honors and grants of fiefs. The proximate rewards included booty from looting bodies, ransacking captured towns and castles, selling the armor and weapons of the dead, and ransoming high-ranking prisoners. Knights were expected to pay ransoms to save their lives. One of the highest recorded ransoms was more than US $20 million paid to a German prince for the release of Richard I of England, captured during his return from the Crusades.
At Agincourt the English were holding a large group of French knights at the rear for ransom. During the battle, a French contingent raided toward the rear of the English and briefly panicked Henry V. He ordered the execution of the held French knights to prevent their release, thereby forgoing a fortune in ransoms.
The capture of knights was recorded by heralds who kept a tally of which soldiers were responsible and thereby due the bulk of the ransom. The heralds then notified the prisoner's family, arranged the ransom payment, and obtained the prisoner's release.
The popularity of ransoms seems remarkably civil but masks a darker story. Low-ranking prisoners of no value might be killed out-of-hand to eliminate the problem of guarding and feeding them.
Armies Strategy
Strategy
Medieval military strategy was concerned with control of the economic basis for wealth and, thus, the ability to put armies in the field. At the start of the era this meant primarily ravaging or defending the countryside because all wealth originated in the fields and pastures. As the age progressed, towns became important control points as centers of wealth from trade and manufacturing.
Holding and taking castles was a key element of war because they defended the farmland. The warrior occupants of the castle controlled the neighborhood. As towns grew they were fortified also. Defending and taking them gradually became more important than fighting for castles.
Field armies maneuvered to take the key fortified points and ravage the countryside, or to prevent the enemy from conducting such a campaign. Pitched battles were fought to end the destruction of enemy invasions. The Battle of Hastings in 1066, for example, was fought by the Anglo-Saxons to stop an invasion by the Normans. The Anglo-Saxons lost and the Normans under William spent the next several years establishing control of England in a campaign of conquest. The Battle of Lechfield in 955 was fought between the Germans and Magyar raiders from the East. The decisive victory of the Germans under Otto I brought an end to further Magyar invasions. The defeat of the Moors in 732 by Charles Martel ended Muslim raids and expansion out of Spain.
The battles of Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt, all fought during the Hundred Years War between the English and French, were all attempts by the French to stop English incursions. The French lost all three battles and the English raids carried on. In this case, however, the raids did not establish permanent control for the English and the French eventually won the war.
The Crusades were attempts to take and hold key strong points in the Holy Land from which control of the area could be maintained. Battles in the Crusades were fought to break the control of one side or the other. The victory at Hattin in 1187 by the Saracens under Saladin made possible the recapture of Jerusalem.
Medieval military strategy was concerned with control of the economic basis for wealth and, thus, the ability to put armies in the field. At the start of the era this meant primarily ravaging or defending the countryside because all wealth originated in the fields and pastures. As the age progressed, towns became important control points as centers of wealth from trade and manufacturing.
Holding and taking castles was a key element of war because they defended the farmland. The warrior occupants of the castle controlled the neighborhood. As towns grew they were fortified also. Defending and taking them gradually became more important than fighting for castles.
Field armies maneuvered to take the key fortified points and ravage the countryside, or to prevent the enemy from conducting such a campaign. Pitched battles were fought to end the destruction of enemy invasions. The Battle of Hastings in 1066, for example, was fought by the Anglo-Saxons to stop an invasion by the Normans. The Anglo-Saxons lost and the Normans under William spent the next several years establishing control of England in a campaign of conquest. The Battle of Lechfield in 955 was fought between the Germans and Magyar raiders from the East. The decisive victory of the Germans under Otto I brought an end to further Magyar invasions. The defeat of the Moors in 732 by Charles Martel ended Muslim raids and expansion out of Spain.
The battles of Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt, all fought during the Hundred Years War between the English and French, were all attempts by the French to stop English incursions. The French lost all three battles and the English raids carried on. In this case, however, the raids did not establish permanent control for the English and the French eventually won the war.
The Crusades were attempts to take and hold key strong points in the Holy Land from which control of the area could be maintained. Battles in the Crusades were fought to break the control of one side or the other. The victory at Hattin in 1187 by the Saracens under Saladin made possible the recapture of Jerusalem.
Armies Tactics
Battle Tactics
Medieval battles evolved slowly from clashes of poorly organized war bands into battles where tactics and maneuvers were employed. Part of this evolution was in response to the development of different types of soldiers and weapons and learning how to use these. The early armies of the Dark Ages were mobs of foot soldiers. With the rise of heavy cavalry, the best armies became mobs of knights. Foot soldiers were brought along to devastate farmlands and do the heavy work in sieges. In battle, however, foot soldiers were at risk from both sides as the knights sought to engage their enemies in single combat. This was mainly true of foot soldiers early in the period who were feudal levies and untrained peasants. Archers were useful in sieges as well, but also at risk of being rundown on the battlefield.
By the late 1400's commanders were making better progress in disciplining their knights and getting their armies to work as a team. In the English army, knights gave their grudging respect to the longbowmen after the archers demonstrated their value on so many battlefields. Discipline improved also as more and more knights fought for pay and less for honor and glory. Mercenary soldiers in Italy became well known for long campaigns during which no appreciable blood was spilt. By that time soldiers of all ranks were assets not to be discarded lightly. Feudal armies seeking glory evolved into professional armies more interested in living to spend their pay.
Cavalry Tactics
Cavalry was divided typically into three groups, or divisions, to be sent into battle one after another. The first wave would either break through or disrupt the enemy so that the second or third wave could break through. Once the enemy was running, the real killing and capturing could take place.
In practice, knights followed personal agendas to the detriment of any commander's plan. The knights were interested primarily in honor and glory and jockeyed for positions in the first rank of the first division. Overall victory on the field was a secondary concern to personal glory. In battle after battle, the knights charged as soon as they saw the enemy, dissolving any plan.
Commanders dismounted their knights on occasion as a way to better control them. This was a popular option with the smaller army that had little hope in a contest of charges. Dismounted knights bolstered the fighting power and morale of common foot troops. The dismounted knights and other foot soldiers fought from behind stakes or other battlefield constructions designed to minimize the impact of cavalry charges.
An example of undisciplined behavior by knights was the Battle of Crécy in 1346. The French army greatly outnumbered the English (40,000 to 10,000), having many more mounted knights. The English divided into three groups of longbowmen protected by stakes driven into the ground. Between the three groups were two groups of dismounted knights. A third group of dismounted knights was held in reserve. Genoese mercenary crossbowmen were sent out by the French king to shoot into the dismounted English army while he tried to organize his knights into three divisions. The crossbows had gotten wet, however, and were ineffective. The French knights ignored their king's efforts at organization as soon as they saw the enemy and worked themselves into a frenzy, shouting, "Kill! Kill!" over and over. Impatient with the Genoese, the French king ordered his knights forward and they trampled down the crossbowmen in their way. Although the fighting went on all day, the dismounted English knights and longbowmen (who had kept their bowstrings dry) defeated the mounted French who fought as an undisciplined mob.
By the end of the Middle Ages, heavy cavalry had been reduced to roughly equal value on the battlefield in comparison to missile and foot troops. By this time, the futility of charging well-emplaced and disciplined infantry was well understood. The rules had changed. Stakes, horse traps, and trenches were routinely employed by armies to protect against cavalry charges. Charges against massed ranks of pikemen and archers/gunners left only a pile of broken horses and men. Knights were forced to fight on foot or wait for the right opportunity to charge. Devastating charges were still possible, but only when the enemy was in flight, disorganized, or out from behind his temporary battlefield defenses.
Missile Troop Tactics
For most of this era missile troops were archers using one of several types of bow. At first this was the short bow, then the crossbow and longbow. Archers had the advantage of being able to kill and wound enemies at range without joining in hand-to-hand combat. The value of these troops was well known in ancient times, but the lessons were temporarily lost in the Dark Ages. The land-controlling warrior knights were supreme in the early Middle Ages and their code demanded hand-to-hand combat with a worthy enemy. Killing with arrows at a distance was dishonorable to the knights so the ruling class did little to develop this weapon and use it effectively.
It became apparent gradually, however, that archers were effective and very useful, both in sieges and in battle. More and more armies made room for them, if grudgingly. The decisive victory of William I at Hastings in 1066 may have been won by archery, although his knights traditionally get the most credit. The Anglo-Saxons held a hillside and were so packed into their shield-wall that the Norman knights had great difficulty penetrating. The fighting flowed back and forth all day. The Anglo-Saxons ventured out of their shield-wall, partly to get at the Norman archers. When the Anglo-Saxons came out, they were easily run down. For some time it seemed that the Normans must fail, but many believe that Norman archery was winning the battle. A lucky shot mortally wounded Harold, the Anglo-Saxon king, and the battle ended soon thereafter.
Foot archers fought in massed formations of hundreds or even thousands of men. When within a hundred yards of the enemy, both crossbow and longbow shots could penetrate armor. At this range, archers shot at individual targets. It was maddening for the enemy to take this damage, especially if they could not respond. In the ideal situation, the archers disrupted the enemy formation by shooting into it for some time. The enemy might be safe from cavalry behind stakes, but it could not block all the arrows or bolts coming in. If the enemy left its protection and charged the archers, friendly heavy cavalry would respond, hopefully in time to save the archers. If the enemy formation just stood its ground, it might waver eventually to the point that cavalry could charge effectively.
Archers were actively encouraged and subsidized in England because the English were at a population disadvantage when waging war on the mainland. When the English learned how to use large contingents of bowmen, they began winning battles, even though they were usually outnumbered. The English developed the arrow barrage, taking advantage of the range of the longbow. Instead of firing at individual targets, the longbowmen fired into the area occupied by the enemy. Firing up to 6 shots a minute, 3000 longbowmen could put 18,000 arrows into a massed enemy formation. The effect of this barrage upon horses and men was devastating. French knights in the Hundred Years War spoke of the sky being black with arrows and of the noise of these missiles in flight.
Crossbowmen became prominent in mainland armies, especially in the militia and professional forces raised by towns. With a minimum of training, a crossbowmen became an effective soldier.
By the fourteenth century the first primitive handguns were appearing on the battlefield. When these worked, they were even more powerful than bows.
The difficulty in using archers was protecting them while they shot. To be effective they had to be fairly close to the enemy. English longbowmen carried stakes onto the battlefield that they pounded into the ground with mallets in front of the spot from which they wished to shoot. These stakes gave them some protection from enemy cavalry. They relied on their firepower to fight off enemy archers. They were at a disadvantage if attacked by enemy foot soldiers. Crossbowmen carried a large pavise shield into battle. This came with supports and could be set up in walls, from behind which the men could shoot.
By the end of the era, crossbowmen and pikemen were working together in combined formations. The pikes kept enemy hand-to-hand troops away while the missile troops (crossbowmen or handgunners) fired into the enemy formations. These mixed formations learned how to move and actually attack. Enemy cavalry had to withdraw in the face of a disciplined mixed force of pikemen and crossbowmen/gunners. If the enemy could not respond with missiles and pikes of their own, the battle was probably lost.
Infantry Tactics
The tactic of foot soldiers in the Dark Ages was simply to close with the enemy and start chopping. The Franks threw their axes just before closing to disrupt the enemy. Warriors relied on strength and ferocity to win.
The rise of knights put infantry into a temporary eclipse on the battlefield, mainly because disciplined and well-trained infantry did not exist. The foot soldiers of early medieval armies were mainly peasants who were poorly armed and trained.
The Saxons and Vikings developed a defensive posture called the shield-wall. The men stood adjacent and held their long shields together to form a barrier. This helped to protect them from archers and cavalry, both of which their armies lacked.
Infantry underwent a revival in those areas that did not have the resources to field armies of heavy cavalry-hilly countries like Scotland and Switzerland and in the rising towns. Out of necessity, these two sectors found ways to field effective armies that contained little or no cavalry. Both groups discovered that horses would not charge into a barrier of bristling stakes or spear points. A disciplined force of spearmen could stop the elite heavy cavalry of the richer nations and lords, for a fraction of the cost of a heavy cavalry force.
The schiltron formation was a circle of spearmen that the Scots began using during their wars for independence around the end of the thirteenth century (featured in the motion picture Braveheart). They learned that the schiltron was an effective defensive formation. Robert Bruce offered battle to the English knights only in swampy terrain that greatly impeded the heavy cavalry charge.
The Swiss became renowned for fighting with pikes. They essentially revived the Greek phalanx and became very proficient at fighting with the long pole arms. They formed a square of pikemen. The outer four ranks held their pikes nearly level, pointing slightly down. This was an effective barrier against cavalry. The rear ranks used bladed pole arms to attack enemies that closed with the formation. The Swiss drilled to the point that they could move in formation relatively quickly. They turned a defensive formation into an effective attacking formation also.
The response to massed pikemen was artillery that plowed through the ranks of dense formations. The Spanish appear to have first done this effectively. The Spanish also fought the pikemen effectively with sword and buckler men. These were lightly armed men who could get in among the pikes and fight effectively with short swords. Their buckler was a small and handy shield. At the end of the Middle Ages, the Spanish also first experimented with the combination of pikemen, swordsmen, and handgunners in the same formation. This was an effective force that could take on all arms in varying terrain, on both defense and attack. At the end of this era the Spanish were the most effective fighting force in Europe.
Medieval battles evolved slowly from clashes of poorly organized war bands into battles where tactics and maneuvers were employed. Part of this evolution was in response to the development of different types of soldiers and weapons and learning how to use these. The early armies of the Dark Ages were mobs of foot soldiers. With the rise of heavy cavalry, the best armies became mobs of knights. Foot soldiers were brought along to devastate farmlands and do the heavy work in sieges. In battle, however, foot soldiers were at risk from both sides as the knights sought to engage their enemies in single combat. This was mainly true of foot soldiers early in the period who were feudal levies and untrained peasants. Archers were useful in sieges as well, but also at risk of being rundown on the battlefield.
By the late 1400's commanders were making better progress in disciplining their knights and getting their armies to work as a team. In the English army, knights gave their grudging respect to the longbowmen after the archers demonstrated their value on so many battlefields. Discipline improved also as more and more knights fought for pay and less for honor and glory. Mercenary soldiers in Italy became well known for long campaigns during which no appreciable blood was spilt. By that time soldiers of all ranks were assets not to be discarded lightly. Feudal armies seeking glory evolved into professional armies more interested in living to spend their pay.
Cavalry Tactics
Cavalry was divided typically into three groups, or divisions, to be sent into battle one after another. The first wave would either break through or disrupt the enemy so that the second or third wave could break through. Once the enemy was running, the real killing and capturing could take place.
In practice, knights followed personal agendas to the detriment of any commander's plan. The knights were interested primarily in honor and glory and jockeyed for positions in the first rank of the first division. Overall victory on the field was a secondary concern to personal glory. In battle after battle, the knights charged as soon as they saw the enemy, dissolving any plan.
Commanders dismounted their knights on occasion as a way to better control them. This was a popular option with the smaller army that had little hope in a contest of charges. Dismounted knights bolstered the fighting power and morale of common foot troops. The dismounted knights and other foot soldiers fought from behind stakes or other battlefield constructions designed to minimize the impact of cavalry charges.
An example of undisciplined behavior by knights was the Battle of Crécy in 1346. The French army greatly outnumbered the English (40,000 to 10,000), having many more mounted knights. The English divided into three groups of longbowmen protected by stakes driven into the ground. Between the three groups were two groups of dismounted knights. A third group of dismounted knights was held in reserve. Genoese mercenary crossbowmen were sent out by the French king to shoot into the dismounted English army while he tried to organize his knights into three divisions. The crossbows had gotten wet, however, and were ineffective. The French knights ignored their king's efforts at organization as soon as they saw the enemy and worked themselves into a frenzy, shouting, "Kill! Kill!" over and over. Impatient with the Genoese, the French king ordered his knights forward and they trampled down the crossbowmen in their way. Although the fighting went on all day, the dismounted English knights and longbowmen (who had kept their bowstrings dry) defeated the mounted French who fought as an undisciplined mob.
By the end of the Middle Ages, heavy cavalry had been reduced to roughly equal value on the battlefield in comparison to missile and foot troops. By this time, the futility of charging well-emplaced and disciplined infantry was well understood. The rules had changed. Stakes, horse traps, and trenches were routinely employed by armies to protect against cavalry charges. Charges against massed ranks of pikemen and archers/gunners left only a pile of broken horses and men. Knights were forced to fight on foot or wait for the right opportunity to charge. Devastating charges were still possible, but only when the enemy was in flight, disorganized, or out from behind his temporary battlefield defenses.
Missile Troop Tactics
For most of this era missile troops were archers using one of several types of bow. At first this was the short bow, then the crossbow and longbow. Archers had the advantage of being able to kill and wound enemies at range without joining in hand-to-hand combat. The value of these troops was well known in ancient times, but the lessons were temporarily lost in the Dark Ages. The land-controlling warrior knights were supreme in the early Middle Ages and their code demanded hand-to-hand combat with a worthy enemy. Killing with arrows at a distance was dishonorable to the knights so the ruling class did little to develop this weapon and use it effectively.
It became apparent gradually, however, that archers were effective and very useful, both in sieges and in battle. More and more armies made room for them, if grudgingly. The decisive victory of William I at Hastings in 1066 may have been won by archery, although his knights traditionally get the most credit. The Anglo-Saxons held a hillside and were so packed into their shield-wall that the Norman knights had great difficulty penetrating. The fighting flowed back and forth all day. The Anglo-Saxons ventured out of their shield-wall, partly to get at the Norman archers. When the Anglo-Saxons came out, they were easily run down. For some time it seemed that the Normans must fail, but many believe that Norman archery was winning the battle. A lucky shot mortally wounded Harold, the Anglo-Saxon king, and the battle ended soon thereafter.
Foot archers fought in massed formations of hundreds or even thousands of men. When within a hundred yards of the enemy, both crossbow and longbow shots could penetrate armor. At this range, archers shot at individual targets. It was maddening for the enemy to take this damage, especially if they could not respond. In the ideal situation, the archers disrupted the enemy formation by shooting into it for some time. The enemy might be safe from cavalry behind stakes, but it could not block all the arrows or bolts coming in. If the enemy left its protection and charged the archers, friendly heavy cavalry would respond, hopefully in time to save the archers. If the enemy formation just stood its ground, it might waver eventually to the point that cavalry could charge effectively.
Archers were actively encouraged and subsidized in England because the English were at a population disadvantage when waging war on the mainland. When the English learned how to use large contingents of bowmen, they began winning battles, even though they were usually outnumbered. The English developed the arrow barrage, taking advantage of the range of the longbow. Instead of firing at individual targets, the longbowmen fired into the area occupied by the enemy. Firing up to 6 shots a minute, 3000 longbowmen could put 18,000 arrows into a massed enemy formation. The effect of this barrage upon horses and men was devastating. French knights in the Hundred Years War spoke of the sky being black with arrows and of the noise of these missiles in flight.
Crossbowmen became prominent in mainland armies, especially in the militia and professional forces raised by towns. With a minimum of training, a crossbowmen became an effective soldier.
By the fourteenth century the first primitive handguns were appearing on the battlefield. When these worked, they were even more powerful than bows.
The difficulty in using archers was protecting them while they shot. To be effective they had to be fairly close to the enemy. English longbowmen carried stakes onto the battlefield that they pounded into the ground with mallets in front of the spot from which they wished to shoot. These stakes gave them some protection from enemy cavalry. They relied on their firepower to fight off enemy archers. They were at a disadvantage if attacked by enemy foot soldiers. Crossbowmen carried a large pavise shield into battle. This came with supports and could be set up in walls, from behind which the men could shoot.
By the end of the era, crossbowmen and pikemen were working together in combined formations. The pikes kept enemy hand-to-hand troops away while the missile troops (crossbowmen or handgunners) fired into the enemy formations. These mixed formations learned how to move and actually attack. Enemy cavalry had to withdraw in the face of a disciplined mixed force of pikemen and crossbowmen/gunners. If the enemy could not respond with missiles and pikes of their own, the battle was probably lost.
Infantry Tactics
The tactic of foot soldiers in the Dark Ages was simply to close with the enemy and start chopping. The Franks threw their axes just before closing to disrupt the enemy. Warriors relied on strength and ferocity to win.
The rise of knights put infantry into a temporary eclipse on the battlefield, mainly because disciplined and well-trained infantry did not exist. The foot soldiers of early medieval armies were mainly peasants who were poorly armed and trained.
The Saxons and Vikings developed a defensive posture called the shield-wall. The men stood adjacent and held their long shields together to form a barrier. This helped to protect them from archers and cavalry, both of which their armies lacked.
Infantry underwent a revival in those areas that did not have the resources to field armies of heavy cavalry-hilly countries like Scotland and Switzerland and in the rising towns. Out of necessity, these two sectors found ways to field effective armies that contained little or no cavalry. Both groups discovered that horses would not charge into a barrier of bristling stakes or spear points. A disciplined force of spearmen could stop the elite heavy cavalry of the richer nations and lords, for a fraction of the cost of a heavy cavalry force.
The schiltron formation was a circle of spearmen that the Scots began using during their wars for independence around the end of the thirteenth century (featured in the motion picture Braveheart). They learned that the schiltron was an effective defensive formation. Robert Bruce offered battle to the English knights only in swampy terrain that greatly impeded the heavy cavalry charge.
The Swiss became renowned for fighting with pikes. They essentially revived the Greek phalanx and became very proficient at fighting with the long pole arms. They formed a square of pikemen. The outer four ranks held their pikes nearly level, pointing slightly down. This was an effective barrier against cavalry. The rear ranks used bladed pole arms to attack enemies that closed with the formation. The Swiss drilled to the point that they could move in formation relatively quickly. They turned a defensive formation into an effective attacking formation also.
The response to massed pikemen was artillery that plowed through the ranks of dense formations. The Spanish appear to have first done this effectively. The Spanish also fought the pikemen effectively with sword and buckler men. These were lightly armed men who could get in among the pikes and fight effectively with short swords. Their buckler was a small and handy shield. At the end of the Middle Ages, the Spanish also first experimented with the combination of pikemen, swordsmen, and handgunners in the same formation. This was an effective force that could take on all arms in varying terrain, on both defense and attack. At the end of this era the Spanish were the most effective fighting force in Europe.
Aztecs
The Aztecs (1325 to 1521)
Political control of the populous and agriculturally rich central valley of Mexico fell into confusion after 1100. Gradually assuming ever-greater power were the Aztecs, probably a northern tribe that had migrated to the valley and occupied a minor town on the shore of the great central lake. They were a society that valued the skills of warriors above all others, and this emphasis gave them an advantage against rival tribes in the region. By the end of the 15th century, the Aztecs controlled all of central Mexico as a military empire that collected tribute from rivals.
The Aztec culture drew upon the experience of those that came before it and invented little that was new. They had an advanced agriculture that supported a very large population. They built immense buildings of grand design and flourished in many arts. They were adept metal workers, but had no iron. Lacking any suitable draft animal, they made no motive use of the wheel.
One of the distinctive features of the Aztec culture was its penchant for sacrifice. Aztec myths dictated that human blood be fed to the Sun to give it the strength to rise each day. Human sacrifices were conducted on a grand scale; several thousand in a single day were not uncommon. Victims were often decapitated or flayed, and hearts were cut from living victims. Sacrifices were conducted at the top of tall pyramids to be close to the sun and blood flowed down the steps. Although the Aztec economy was based primarily on corn (or maize), the people believed that crops depended on the regular provision of sacrificial blood.
The incessant demand for sacrificial victims meant that the Aztecs tolerated loose control over satellite cities because frequent revolts offered opportunities for capturing new victims. During times of peace, "garland wars" were arranged strictly as contests of courage and warrior skill, and for the purpose of capturing victims. They fought with wooden clubs to maim and stun, rather than kill. When fighting to kill, the clubs were studded with obsidian blades.
Despite their great agriculture and arts, the Aztecs appear in retrospect to have been a waning society. They passed on no significant technology or ideas of religion or political theory. Their civilization was brought to an abrupt end by the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century. Already devastated by European disease passed by early traders, they fell to a small Spanish army armed with steel weapons, firearms, and riding a few horses. The cruelty of the Aztecs contributed to their downfall by making it easy for the Spanish to enlist allies among the non-Aztecs in Mexico.
Political control of the populous and agriculturally rich central valley of Mexico fell into confusion after 1100. Gradually assuming ever-greater power were the Aztecs, probably a northern tribe that had migrated to the valley and occupied a minor town on the shore of the great central lake. They were a society that valued the skills of warriors above all others, and this emphasis gave them an advantage against rival tribes in the region. By the end of the 15th century, the Aztecs controlled all of central Mexico as a military empire that collected tribute from rivals.
The Aztec culture drew upon the experience of those that came before it and invented little that was new. They had an advanced agriculture that supported a very large population. They built immense buildings of grand design and flourished in many arts. They were adept metal workers, but had no iron. Lacking any suitable draft animal, they made no motive use of the wheel.
One of the distinctive features of the Aztec culture was its penchant for sacrifice. Aztec myths dictated that human blood be fed to the Sun to give it the strength to rise each day. Human sacrifices were conducted on a grand scale; several thousand in a single day were not uncommon. Victims were often decapitated or flayed, and hearts were cut from living victims. Sacrifices were conducted at the top of tall pyramids to be close to the sun and blood flowed down the steps. Although the Aztec economy was based primarily on corn (or maize), the people believed that crops depended on the regular provision of sacrificial blood.
The incessant demand for sacrificial victims meant that the Aztecs tolerated loose control over satellite cities because frequent revolts offered opportunities for capturing new victims. During times of peace, "garland wars" were arranged strictly as contests of courage and warrior skill, and for the purpose of capturing victims. They fought with wooden clubs to maim and stun, rather than kill. When fighting to kill, the clubs were studded with obsidian blades.
Despite their great agriculture and arts, the Aztecs appear in retrospect to have been a waning society. They passed on no significant technology or ideas of religion or political theory. Their civilization was brought to an abrupt end by the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century. Already devastated by European disease passed by early traders, they fell to a small Spanish army armed with steel weapons, firearms, and riding a few horses. The cruelty of the Aztecs contributed to their downfall by making it easy for the Spanish to enlist allies among the non-Aztecs in Mexico.
Barbarian Invaders
Barbarian Invaders
Around the year 200 AD, nomadic tribes on the great grass steppes of Central Asia began migrating toward China, India, Persia, and Europe. The reasons for this migration are not fully understood. The largest group of nomads was the Huns. Their small stature and small ponies belied a fierce and determined ruthlessness. They terrified other tribes they encountered in their migrations, causing something like a domino effect. Moving west, the Huns displaced the Goths living northwest of the Black Sea, for example, who pushed south over the Danube into the Balkans lands ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire. More Huns moved toward the German plains, encouraging other Germanic tribes to cross the Rhine.
The Western Roman Empire was already weakened by this time from sporadic raids and invasions across the Rhine and Danube. Germanic tribes with growing populations coveted the sparsely occupied lands in Gaul and the benefits of being within the Roman Empire. By 400 the Roman army was already 30 to 50 percent German mercenaries. In desperation, some barbarian groups were enlisted into the Roman army as entire units to help defend against other groups. This was especially popular during civil wars of the fourth century, when pretenders to the throne in Rome needed to raise armies quickly. These barbarian units did not have the loyalty and discipline of the legions and kept their own leaders. This stopgap measure backfired when whole barbarian armies revolted. The Rhine and Danube frontiers dissolved and Germanic tribes moved into Gaul, the Balkans, and even Italy itself. The fighting was nearly incessant along the shrinking frontier and the number of loyal Roman troops continually diminished.
The last legions in Britain were withdrawn for service in Gaul in 410, abandoning that province forever. Saxon raids increased and became actual invasions. The Jutes, Frisians, and Angles, other Germanic tribes from the north German coast, joined the Saxons. Together they overwhelmed the Romano-British culture and took possession of what is today England (Angle-land).
The Eastern Roman Empire suffered through the loss of most of the Balkans but was able to deflect or bribe the barbarians before they could attack Constantinople. The invaders in this area were the Goths, who had become much more civilized through their contact with the Eastern Empire than had the Germanic tribes along the Rhine. The Goths came as settlers primarily, not conquerors.
During the fifth century Rome was sacked several times and the Western Empire ceased to exist effectively. Italy was repeatedly invaded and ravaged. In 476 the last recognized Roman emperor was killed. Italy and the old Roman Empire were now occupied by Germanic tribes. Despite a general wish by the barbarians to preserve the stability and order of the past Roman civilization, only vestiges of it survived the turmoil and devastation that followed the invasions. Most of Europe fell back into a much more primitive and barbaric period.
Around the year 200 AD, nomadic tribes on the great grass steppes of Central Asia began migrating toward China, India, Persia, and Europe. The reasons for this migration are not fully understood. The largest group of nomads was the Huns. Their small stature and small ponies belied a fierce and determined ruthlessness. They terrified other tribes they encountered in their migrations, causing something like a domino effect. Moving west, the Huns displaced the Goths living northwest of the Black Sea, for example, who pushed south over the Danube into the Balkans lands ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire. More Huns moved toward the German plains, encouraging other Germanic tribes to cross the Rhine.
The Western Roman Empire was already weakened by this time from sporadic raids and invasions across the Rhine and Danube. Germanic tribes with growing populations coveted the sparsely occupied lands in Gaul and the benefits of being within the Roman Empire. By 400 the Roman army was already 30 to 50 percent German mercenaries. In desperation, some barbarian groups were enlisted into the Roman army as entire units to help defend against other groups. This was especially popular during civil wars of the fourth century, when pretenders to the throne in Rome needed to raise armies quickly. These barbarian units did not have the loyalty and discipline of the legions and kept their own leaders. This stopgap measure backfired when whole barbarian armies revolted. The Rhine and Danube frontiers dissolved and Germanic tribes moved into Gaul, the Balkans, and even Italy itself. The fighting was nearly incessant along the shrinking frontier and the number of loyal Roman troops continually diminished.
The last legions in Britain were withdrawn for service in Gaul in 410, abandoning that province forever. Saxon raids increased and became actual invasions. The Jutes, Frisians, and Angles, other Germanic tribes from the north German coast, joined the Saxons. Together they overwhelmed the Romano-British culture and took possession of what is today England (Angle-land).
The Eastern Roman Empire suffered through the loss of most of the Balkans but was able to deflect or bribe the barbarians before they could attack Constantinople. The invaders in this area were the Goths, who had become much more civilized through their contact with the Eastern Empire than had the Germanic tribes along the Rhine. The Goths came as settlers primarily, not conquerors.
During the fifth century Rome was sacked several times and the Western Empire ceased to exist effectively. Italy was repeatedly invaded and ravaged. In 476 the last recognized Roman emperor was killed. Italy and the old Roman Empire were now occupied by Germanic tribes. Despite a general wish by the barbarians to preserve the stability and order of the past Roman civilization, only vestiges of it survived the turmoil and devastation that followed the invasions. Most of Europe fell back into a much more primitive and barbaric period.
British
The Britons (500 On)
Following the withdrawal of the Roman legions to Gaul (modern France) around 400, the British Isles fell into a very dark period of several centuries from which almost no written records survive. The Romano-British culture that had existed under 400 years of Roman rule disappeared under relentless invasion and migration by barbarians. Celts came over from Ireland (a tribe called the Scotti gave their name to the northern part of the main island, Scotland). Saxons and Angles came from Germany, Frisians from modern Holland, and Jutes from modern Denmark. By 600, the Angles and Saxons controlled most of modern England. By 800, only modern Wales, Scotland, and West Cornwall remained in largely Celtic hands.
The new inhabitants were called Anglo-Saxons (from the Angles and Saxons). The Angles gave their name to the new culture (England from Angle-land), and the Germanic language they brought with them, English, replaced the native Celtic and previously imported Latin. Despite further invasions and even a complete military conquest at a later date, the southern and eastern parts of the largest British Isle have been called England (and its people and language English) ever since.
In 865 the relative peace of England was shattered by a new invasion. Danish Vikings who had been raiding France and Germany formed a great army and turned their attention on the English. Within 10 years, most of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms had fallen or surrendered. Only the West Saxons (modern Wessex) held out under Alfred, the only English ruler to be called "the Great."
England was divided among the Vikings, the West Saxons, and a few other English kingdoms for nearly 200 years. The Viking half was called the Danelaw ("under Danish law"). The Vikings collected a large payment, called the Danegeld ("the Dane's gold"), to be peaceful. The Danes became Christians and gradually became more settled. In time the English turned on the Danes, and in 954 the last Viking king of York was killed. England was united for the first time under an English king from Wessex.
In 1066 the Witan ("king's council") offered the crown to Harold, son of the Earl of Wessex. Two others claimed the throne: Harald Hardrada (meaning "the hard ruler"), King of Norway, and Duke William of Normandy. The Norwegian landed first, near York, but was defeated by Harold at the battle of Stamford Bridge. Immediately after the victory, Harold force-marched his army south to meet William at Hastings. The battle seesawed back and forth all day, but near dusk Harold was mortally wounded by an arrow in the eye. Over the next two years, William, now "the Conqueror," solidified his conquest of England.
During the remainder of the Middle Ages, the successors of William largely exhausted themselves and their country in a series of confrontations and wars attempting to expand or defend land holdings in France. The Hundred Years War between England and France was an on-and-off conflict that stretched from 1337 to 1453. It was triggered by an English king's claim to the throne of France, thanks to family intermarriages. The war was also fought over control of the lucrative wool trade and French support for Scotland's independence. The early part of the war featured a string of improbable, yet complete, English victories, thanks usually to English longbowmen mowing down hordes of ornately armored French knights from long range.
The English could not bring the war to closure, however, and the French rallied. Inspired by Joan of Arc, a peasant girl who professed divine guidance, the French fought back, ending the war with the capture of Bordeaux in 1453. The English were left holding only Calais on the mainland (and not for long).
Following the withdrawal of the Roman legions to Gaul (modern France) around 400, the British Isles fell into a very dark period of several centuries from which almost no written records survive. The Romano-British culture that had existed under 400 years of Roman rule disappeared under relentless invasion and migration by barbarians. Celts came over from Ireland (a tribe called the Scotti gave their name to the northern part of the main island, Scotland). Saxons and Angles came from Germany, Frisians from modern Holland, and Jutes from modern Denmark. By 600, the Angles and Saxons controlled most of modern England. By 800, only modern Wales, Scotland, and West Cornwall remained in largely Celtic hands.
The new inhabitants were called Anglo-Saxons (from the Angles and Saxons). The Angles gave their name to the new culture (England from Angle-land), and the Germanic language they brought with them, English, replaced the native Celtic and previously imported Latin. Despite further invasions and even a complete military conquest at a later date, the southern and eastern parts of the largest British Isle have been called England (and its people and language English) ever since.
In 865 the relative peace of England was shattered by a new invasion. Danish Vikings who had been raiding France and Germany formed a great army and turned their attention on the English. Within 10 years, most of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms had fallen or surrendered. Only the West Saxons (modern Wessex) held out under Alfred, the only English ruler to be called "the Great."
England was divided among the Vikings, the West Saxons, and a few other English kingdoms for nearly 200 years. The Viking half was called the Danelaw ("under Danish law"). The Vikings collected a large payment, called the Danegeld ("the Dane's gold"), to be peaceful. The Danes became Christians and gradually became more settled. In time the English turned on the Danes, and in 954 the last Viking king of York was killed. England was united for the first time under an English king from Wessex.
In 1066 the Witan ("king's council") offered the crown to Harold, son of the Earl of Wessex. Two others claimed the throne: Harald Hardrada (meaning "the hard ruler"), King of Norway, and Duke William of Normandy. The Norwegian landed first, near York, but was defeated by Harold at the battle of Stamford Bridge. Immediately after the victory, Harold force-marched his army south to meet William at Hastings. The battle seesawed back and forth all day, but near dusk Harold was mortally wounded by an arrow in the eye. Over the next two years, William, now "the Conqueror," solidified his conquest of England.
During the remainder of the Middle Ages, the successors of William largely exhausted themselves and their country in a series of confrontations and wars attempting to expand or defend land holdings in France. The Hundred Years War between England and France was an on-and-off conflict that stretched from 1337 to 1453. It was triggered by an English king's claim to the throne of France, thanks to family intermarriages. The war was also fought over control of the lucrative wool trade and French support for Scotland's independence. The early part of the war featured a string of improbable, yet complete, English victories, thanks usually to English longbowmen mowing down hordes of ornately armored French knights from long range.
The English could not bring the war to closure, however, and the French rallied. Inspired by Joan of Arc, a peasant girl who professed divine guidance, the French fought back, ending the war with the capture of Bordeaux in 1453. The English were left holding only Calais on the mainland (and not for long).
Byzantines
The Byzantines (476 to 1453)
The Byzantines took their name from Byzantium, an ancient city on the Bosphorus, the strategic waterway linking the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea. The Roman Emperor Constantine had renamed this city Constantinople in the fourth century and made it a sister capital of his empire. This eastern partition of the Roman Empire outlived its western counterpart by a thousand years, defending Europe against invasions from the east by Persians, Arabs, and Turks. The Byzantines persevered because Constantinople was well defended by walls and the city could be supplied by sea. At their zenith in the sixth century, the Byzantines covered much of the territories of the original Roman Empire, lacking only the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal), Gaul (modern France), and Britain. The Byzantines also held Syria, Egypt, and Palestine, but by the middle of the seventh century they had lost them to the Arabs. From then on their empire consisted mainly of the Balkans and modern Turkey.
The first great Byzantine emperor was Justinian I (482 to 565). His ambition was to restore the old Roman Empire and he nearly succeeded. His instrument was the greatest general of the age, Belisarius, who crisscrossed the empire defeating Persians to the East, Vandals in North Africa, Ostrogoths in Italy, and Bulgars and Slavs in the Balkans. In addition to military campaigns, Justinian laid the foundation for the future by establishing a strong legal and administrative system and by defending the Christian Church.
The Byzantine economy was the richest in Europe for many centuries because Constantinople was ideally sited on trade routes between Asia, Europe, the Black Sea, and the Aegean Sea. It was an important destination point for the Silk Road from China. The nomisma, the principal Byzantine gold coin, was the standard for money throughout the Mediterranean for 800 years. Constantinople's strategic position eventually attracted the envy and animosity of the Italian city-states.
A key strength of the Byzantine Empire was its generally superior army that drew on the best elements of the Roman, Greek, Gothic, and Middle Eastern experience in war. The core of the army was a shock force of heavy cavalry supported by both light infantry (archers) and heavy infantry (armored swordsmen). The army was organized into units and drilled in tactics and maneuvers. Officers received an education in military history and theory. Although outnumbered usually by masses of untrained warriors, it prevailed thanks to intelligent tactics and good discipline. The army was backed by a network of spies and secret agents that provided information about enemy plans and could be used to bribe or otherwise deflect aggressors.
The Byzantine navy kept the sea-lanes open for trade and kept supply lines free so the city could not be starved into submission when besieged. In the eighth century, a land and sea attack by Arabs was defeated largely by a secret weapon, Greek fire. This chemical weapon, its composition now unknown, was a sort of liquid napalm that could be sprayed from a hose. The Arab navy was devastated at sea by Greek fire.
In the seventh and eighth centuries, the Arabs overran Egypt, the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain, removing these areas permanently from Byzantine control. A Turkish victory at Manzikert in 1071 led to the devastation of Asia Minor, the empire's most important source of grain, cattle, horses, and soldiers. In 1204 Crusaders led by the Doge of Venice used treachery to sack and occupy Constantinople.
In the fourteenth century, the Turks invaded Europe, capturing Adrianople and bypassing Constantinople. They settled the Balkans in large numbers and defeated a large crusader army at Nicopolis in 1396. In May 1453, Turkish sultan Mehmet II captured a weakly defended Constantinople with the aid of heavy cannon. The fall of the city brought the Byzantine Empire to an end.
The Byzantines took their name from Byzantium, an ancient city on the Bosphorus, the strategic waterway linking the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea. The Roman Emperor Constantine had renamed this city Constantinople in the fourth century and made it a sister capital of his empire. This eastern partition of the Roman Empire outlived its western counterpart by a thousand years, defending Europe against invasions from the east by Persians, Arabs, and Turks. The Byzantines persevered because Constantinople was well defended by walls and the city could be supplied by sea. At their zenith in the sixth century, the Byzantines covered much of the territories of the original Roman Empire, lacking only the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal), Gaul (modern France), and Britain. The Byzantines also held Syria, Egypt, and Palestine, but by the middle of the seventh century they had lost them to the Arabs. From then on their empire consisted mainly of the Balkans and modern Turkey.
The first great Byzantine emperor was Justinian I (482 to 565). His ambition was to restore the old Roman Empire and he nearly succeeded. His instrument was the greatest general of the age, Belisarius, who crisscrossed the empire defeating Persians to the East, Vandals in North Africa, Ostrogoths in Italy, and Bulgars and Slavs in the Balkans. In addition to military campaigns, Justinian laid the foundation for the future by establishing a strong legal and administrative system and by defending the Christian Church.
The Byzantine economy was the richest in Europe for many centuries because Constantinople was ideally sited on trade routes between Asia, Europe, the Black Sea, and the Aegean Sea. It was an important destination point for the Silk Road from China. The nomisma, the principal Byzantine gold coin, was the standard for money throughout the Mediterranean for 800 years. Constantinople's strategic position eventually attracted the envy and animosity of the Italian city-states.
A key strength of the Byzantine Empire was its generally superior army that drew on the best elements of the Roman, Greek, Gothic, and Middle Eastern experience in war. The core of the army was a shock force of heavy cavalry supported by both light infantry (archers) and heavy infantry (armored swordsmen). The army was organized into units and drilled in tactics and maneuvers. Officers received an education in military history and theory. Although outnumbered usually by masses of untrained warriors, it prevailed thanks to intelligent tactics and good discipline. The army was backed by a network of spies and secret agents that provided information about enemy plans and could be used to bribe or otherwise deflect aggressors.
The Byzantine navy kept the sea-lanes open for trade and kept supply lines free so the city could not be starved into submission when besieged. In the eighth century, a land and sea attack by Arabs was defeated largely by a secret weapon, Greek fire. This chemical weapon, its composition now unknown, was a sort of liquid napalm that could be sprayed from a hose. The Arab navy was devastated at sea by Greek fire.
In the seventh and eighth centuries, the Arabs overran Egypt, the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain, removing these areas permanently from Byzantine control. A Turkish victory at Manzikert in 1071 led to the devastation of Asia Minor, the empire's most important source of grain, cattle, horses, and soldiers. In 1204 Crusaders led by the Doge of Venice used treachery to sack and occupy Constantinople.
In the fourteenth century, the Turks invaded Europe, capturing Adrianople and bypassing Constantinople. They settled the Balkans in large numbers and defeated a large crusader army at Nicopolis in 1396. In May 1453, Turkish sultan Mehmet II captured a weakly defended Constantinople with the aid of heavy cannon. The fall of the city brought the Byzantine Empire to an end.
Castle defense
Castle Defense
The basic principal of castle defense was to maximize the danger and exposure of any attackers while minimizing the same for defenders. A well-designed castle could be defended effectively by a small force and hold out for a long period. A stout defense allowed well-supplied defenders to hold out until the besiegers could be driven away by a relief force or until the attacker was forced to fall back by lack of supplies, disease, or losses.
Keep
The keep was a small castle often found within a large castle complex. This was a fortified building that often served as the castle lord's residence. If the outer walls fell, the defenders could withdraw into the keep for a final defense. In the case of many castles, the complex began with the keep, which was the original fortification on the site. Over time, the complex might have been expanded to include an outer wall and towers as a first line of defense for the keep.
Walls
Stone walls were fireproof and protection against arrows and other missiles. An enemy could not climb sheer walls without equipment such as ladders or siege towers. Defenders on top of the walls could shoot down or throw objects down against attackers. Attackers wholly exposed in the open and shooting up were at a great disadvantage against defenders largely protected and shooting down. The strength and protection value of castle walls was increased where possible by building on cliffs or other elevations. Gates and doors in castle walls were minimized and given heavy protection.
Towers
At the corners of and perhaps at intervals along a long wall, towers were placed as strong points. Towers extended out beyond the vertical plane of the wall face, allowing defenders in a tower to shoot along the face. From a corner tower, defenders could shoot along two different wall faces. A gate might be protected by towers on each side. Some castles began as simple towers and evolved into a greater complex of walls, an inner keep, and additional towers.
Battlements
Walls and towers were often improved to provide greater protection for defenders. A platform behind the top of the wall allowed defenders to stand and fight. Gaps were built into the upper wall so defenders could shoot out or fight while partially covered. These gaps might have wooden shutters for additional protection. Thin firing slits might be placed in the upper walls from which archers could shoot while almost completely protected.
During an assault, covered wooden platforms (called hourds) were extended out from the top of the walls or from towers. These allowed defenders to shoot directly down on enemies below the walls, or drop stones or boiling liquids on them, while being protected. Hides on top of the hourds were kept wet to prevent fire. Stone versions of hourds, called machicolations, might be built over gates or other key points.
Ditches, Moats, and Drawbridges
To accentuate the height advantage of the walls, a ditch might be dug at their base, completely around the castle. Where possible, this ditch was filled with water to form a moat. Both ditches and moats made direct assaults against walls more difficult. Armored men risked drowning if they fell into even relatively shallow water. Moats made undermining a castle's walls difficult because of the risk of the mine collapsing during construction and drowning the miners. In some cases, attackers had to first drain the moat before moving forward with an assault. Then the ditch had to be filled in places to allow siege towers or ladders to go up against the wall.
Drawbridges across a moat or ditch allowed the castle occupants to come and go when necessary. In time of danger, the drawbridge was raised, reestablishing the ditch and sealing the walls. Bridges were raised by a mechanism within the castle that was protected from the attackers.
Portcullis
A portcullis was a strong grating that slid down the walls of the castle gate passageway to block the entrance. The gate of a castle was inside a gatehouse, which was a strong point in the castle defense. The passageway of the gate might be through a tunnel in the gatehouse. The tunnel was blocked by one or more portcullises, in the middle or at the ends. The winding mechanism that raised the portcullis was in the top of the gatehouse and heavily guarded. The portcullis itself was usually a grating of heavy timbers or iron. Defenders and attackers could both shoot or stab through the grating.
Barbican
A strong castle had both an outer gate and inner gate. Between the two was an open area called the barbican. This was surrounded by walls and designed to be a trap for any attackers who got through the outside gate. Once inside the barbican, attackers could only go back out the outer gate or fight their way through the inner gate. In the meantime they would be targets for arrows and other missiles in the open.
Defenders
A relatively small number of men could guard a castle in peacetime. At night any drawbridge was raised and the portcullis was lowered, effectively locking the door. Under threat of an assault, a much larger force was needed to defend a castle.
Competent archers and crossbowmen were needed to shoot from the walls and towers at attackers making an assault or just preparing for one by attempting to drain the moat or fill the ditch. Each attacking casualty lowered the morale and fighting power of the attackers. Heavy losses from missile fire could cause the attackers to break off.
If the attackers managed to actually close for hand-to-hand fighting, a strong fighting force of swordsmen was needed to hold them off. Men were needed to throw down rocks or pour hot liquids from the hourds. Men were needed to make repairs to damaged wall sections or put out fires started by flaming missiles. An aggressive defense looked for opportunities to sortie out from the castle and raid the besieging army. A quick raid that burned a siege tower or trebuchet under construction delayed an assault and lowered the morale of the attackers.
In times of emergency, local peasants were enlisted to help with the defense. Although untrained as soldiers and not skilled usually with the bow or sword, they could help with many of the other tasks.
The basic principal of castle defense was to maximize the danger and exposure of any attackers while minimizing the same for defenders. A well-designed castle could be defended effectively by a small force and hold out for a long period. A stout defense allowed well-supplied defenders to hold out until the besiegers could be driven away by a relief force or until the attacker was forced to fall back by lack of supplies, disease, or losses.
Keep
The keep was a small castle often found within a large castle complex. This was a fortified building that often served as the castle lord's residence. If the outer walls fell, the defenders could withdraw into the keep for a final defense. In the case of many castles, the complex began with the keep, which was the original fortification on the site. Over time, the complex might have been expanded to include an outer wall and towers as a first line of defense for the keep.
Walls
Stone walls were fireproof and protection against arrows and other missiles. An enemy could not climb sheer walls without equipment such as ladders or siege towers. Defenders on top of the walls could shoot down or throw objects down against attackers. Attackers wholly exposed in the open and shooting up were at a great disadvantage against defenders largely protected and shooting down. The strength and protection value of castle walls was increased where possible by building on cliffs or other elevations. Gates and doors in castle walls were minimized and given heavy protection.
Towers
At the corners of and perhaps at intervals along a long wall, towers were placed as strong points. Towers extended out beyond the vertical plane of the wall face, allowing defenders in a tower to shoot along the face. From a corner tower, defenders could shoot along two different wall faces. A gate might be protected by towers on each side. Some castles began as simple towers and evolved into a greater complex of walls, an inner keep, and additional towers.
Battlements
Walls and towers were often improved to provide greater protection for defenders. A platform behind the top of the wall allowed defenders to stand and fight. Gaps were built into the upper wall so defenders could shoot out or fight while partially covered. These gaps might have wooden shutters for additional protection. Thin firing slits might be placed in the upper walls from which archers could shoot while almost completely protected.
During an assault, covered wooden platforms (called hourds) were extended out from the top of the walls or from towers. These allowed defenders to shoot directly down on enemies below the walls, or drop stones or boiling liquids on them, while being protected. Hides on top of the hourds were kept wet to prevent fire. Stone versions of hourds, called machicolations, might be built over gates or other key points.
Ditches, Moats, and Drawbridges
To accentuate the height advantage of the walls, a ditch might be dug at their base, completely around the castle. Where possible, this ditch was filled with water to form a moat. Both ditches and moats made direct assaults against walls more difficult. Armored men risked drowning if they fell into even relatively shallow water. Moats made undermining a castle's walls difficult because of the risk of the mine collapsing during construction and drowning the miners. In some cases, attackers had to first drain the moat before moving forward with an assault. Then the ditch had to be filled in places to allow siege towers or ladders to go up against the wall.
Drawbridges across a moat or ditch allowed the castle occupants to come and go when necessary. In time of danger, the drawbridge was raised, reestablishing the ditch and sealing the walls. Bridges were raised by a mechanism within the castle that was protected from the attackers.
Portcullis
A portcullis was a strong grating that slid down the walls of the castle gate passageway to block the entrance. The gate of a castle was inside a gatehouse, which was a strong point in the castle defense. The passageway of the gate might be through a tunnel in the gatehouse. The tunnel was blocked by one or more portcullises, in the middle or at the ends. The winding mechanism that raised the portcullis was in the top of the gatehouse and heavily guarded. The portcullis itself was usually a grating of heavy timbers or iron. Defenders and attackers could both shoot or stab through the grating.
Barbican
A strong castle had both an outer gate and inner gate. Between the two was an open area called the barbican. This was surrounded by walls and designed to be a trap for any attackers who got through the outside gate. Once inside the barbican, attackers could only go back out the outer gate or fight their way through the inner gate. In the meantime they would be targets for arrows and other missiles in the open.
Defenders
A relatively small number of men could guard a castle in peacetime. At night any drawbridge was raised and the portcullis was lowered, effectively locking the door. Under threat of an assault, a much larger force was needed to defend a castle.
Competent archers and crossbowmen were needed to shoot from the walls and towers at attackers making an assault or just preparing for one by attempting to drain the moat or fill the ditch. Each attacking casualty lowered the morale and fighting power of the attackers. Heavy losses from missile fire could cause the attackers to break off.
If the attackers managed to actually close for hand-to-hand fighting, a strong fighting force of swordsmen was needed to hold them off. Men were needed to throw down rocks or pour hot liquids from the hourds. Men were needed to make repairs to damaged wall sections or put out fires started by flaming missiles. An aggressive defense looked for opportunities to sortie out from the castle and raid the besieging army. A quick raid that burned a siege tower or trebuchet under construction delayed an assault and lowered the morale of the attackers.
In times of emergency, local peasants were enlisted to help with the defense. Although untrained as soldiers and not skilled usually with the bow or sword, they could help with many of the other tasks.
Castle Evolution
The Castellation of Europe
Beginning in the ninth century, local strongmen began dotting the landscape of Europe with castles. These were first of simple design and construction but evolved into stone strongholds. Many of these belonged to kings or the vassals of kings, but the majority appear to have been built out of self-interest by local nobles. They were justified by barbarian threats, but the nobles employed them to establish local control. This was possible because Europe had no strategic defenses and no strong central authorities at the time.
An example of the castellation of Europe was the Poitou region of France. There were three castles there before Viking raids began in the ninth century and 39 by the eleventh century. This pattern was repeated across Europe. Castles could be built quickly. Until the appearance of cannon, castle defenders had a great advantage over any attackers.
Widespread castle construction and the maintenance of large bodies of soldiers for their defense resulted not in peace and mutual defense against invaders but incessant warfare.
The Evolution of the Castle
The earliest castles were of a type called the "motte and bailey." The motte was a broad, leveled mound of earth, typically 50 feet high. A large wooden tower was built atop the motte. Below the motte was an enclosure within a wooden palisade called the bailey. Here were placed storehouses, stock pens, and huts. Both the motte and bailey were small islands surrounded by a water-filled ditch, excavated to construct the motte. A bridge and steep narrow path connected the two parts of the castle. At a time of danger, the defensive forces withdrew into the tower if the bailey could not be held.
In the eleventh century, stone began replacing earth and wood in castle construction. The wooden tower atop the motte was replaced with a round stone fortification called a shell keep. This grew into a tower or keep. A curtain wall of stone enclosed the old bailey and the keep, and was in turn surrounded by a ditch or moat. A single fortified gate protected by a drawbridge and portcullis led into the castle. The best-known example of a basic keep-type castle is the original Tower of London, built by William the Conqueror. This large square structure stood by itself at first and was whitewashed to draw attention. Later kings improved this castle with the curtain walls and other improvements seen today.
Castle design advanced when crusaders to the East returned with news of the fortifications and siege engines they had encountered in their travels. Concentric castles were designed that enclosed a central keep within two or more rings of walls. Walls were strengthened first with square towers and then with round towers. The angled corners on square towers were easy to shear off, making the whole tower very vulnerable. Round towers were more resistant to attack. Embattlements were added at the top of walls and towers to make fighting from above more effective.
Cannon appeared in Europe in the early fourteenth century, but effective siege artillery was not used until the middle fifteenth century. Castle designs changed in response to the power of cannon. High perpendicular walls were replaced by low sloping walls. By the middle of the fifteenth century castles were in decline because of the rising power of kings. In the eleventh century William the Conqueror claimed ownership of all castles in England to get them out of the hands of nobles. By the thirteenth century it was necessary to ask a king's permission to build a castle or strengthen an existing one. Kings worked to demilitarize castles to minimize their usefulness to potential rebels.
Castles were abandoned as living quarters for nobles and fell into ruin. Fortified towns were increasingly important because the wealth of the land had shifted to the cities.
Castle Construction
Construction of a castle might take less than a year or up to 20 years to complete. For several centuries castle-building was an important industry. Renowned master masons were in high demand and gangs of castle builders moved from site to site. Towns wishing to build cathedrals had to compete for skilled workers with lords wishing to build castles.
Construction of Beaumaris Castle in North Wales began in 1295. The design was symmetrical, with no weak points. At the height of its building, it required the effort of 30 blacksmiths, 400 masons, and 2000 laborers. Laborers did most of the excavation, carrying, lifting, well-digging, and stone-breaking. This particular castle was never completed. The massive castle at Conway, built in Wales by Edward I of England, took 40 months to build.
Castle walls were masonry shells filled with stone rubble and flint mixed with mortar. Wall width ranged from 6 to 16 feet.
Beginning in the ninth century, local strongmen began dotting the landscape of Europe with castles. These were first of simple design and construction but evolved into stone strongholds. Many of these belonged to kings or the vassals of kings, but the majority appear to have been built out of self-interest by local nobles. They were justified by barbarian threats, but the nobles employed them to establish local control. This was possible because Europe had no strategic defenses and no strong central authorities at the time.
An example of the castellation of Europe was the Poitou region of France. There were three castles there before Viking raids began in the ninth century and 39 by the eleventh century. This pattern was repeated across Europe. Castles could be built quickly. Until the appearance of cannon, castle defenders had a great advantage over any attackers.
Widespread castle construction and the maintenance of large bodies of soldiers for their defense resulted not in peace and mutual defense against invaders but incessant warfare.
The Evolution of the Castle
The earliest castles were of a type called the "motte and bailey." The motte was a broad, leveled mound of earth, typically 50 feet high. A large wooden tower was built atop the motte. Below the motte was an enclosure within a wooden palisade called the bailey. Here were placed storehouses, stock pens, and huts. Both the motte and bailey were small islands surrounded by a water-filled ditch, excavated to construct the motte. A bridge and steep narrow path connected the two parts of the castle. At a time of danger, the defensive forces withdrew into the tower if the bailey could not be held.
In the eleventh century, stone began replacing earth and wood in castle construction. The wooden tower atop the motte was replaced with a round stone fortification called a shell keep. This grew into a tower or keep. A curtain wall of stone enclosed the old bailey and the keep, and was in turn surrounded by a ditch or moat. A single fortified gate protected by a drawbridge and portcullis led into the castle. The best-known example of a basic keep-type castle is the original Tower of London, built by William the Conqueror. This large square structure stood by itself at first and was whitewashed to draw attention. Later kings improved this castle with the curtain walls and other improvements seen today.
Castle design advanced when crusaders to the East returned with news of the fortifications and siege engines they had encountered in their travels. Concentric castles were designed that enclosed a central keep within two or more rings of walls. Walls were strengthened first with square towers and then with round towers. The angled corners on square towers were easy to shear off, making the whole tower very vulnerable. Round towers were more resistant to attack. Embattlements were added at the top of walls and towers to make fighting from above more effective.
Cannon appeared in Europe in the early fourteenth century, but effective siege artillery was not used until the middle fifteenth century. Castle designs changed in response to the power of cannon. High perpendicular walls were replaced by low sloping walls. By the middle of the fifteenth century castles were in decline because of the rising power of kings. In the eleventh century William the Conqueror claimed ownership of all castles in England to get them out of the hands of nobles. By the thirteenth century it was necessary to ask a king's permission to build a castle or strengthen an existing one. Kings worked to demilitarize castles to minimize their usefulness to potential rebels.
Castles were abandoned as living quarters for nobles and fell into ruin. Fortified towns were increasingly important because the wealth of the land had shifted to the cities.
Castle Construction
Construction of a castle might take less than a year or up to 20 years to complete. For several centuries castle-building was an important industry. Renowned master masons were in high demand and gangs of castle builders moved from site to site. Towns wishing to build cathedrals had to compete for skilled workers with lords wishing to build castles.
Construction of Beaumaris Castle in North Wales began in 1295. The design was symmetrical, with no weak points. At the height of its building, it required the effort of 30 blacksmiths, 400 masons, and 2000 laborers. Laborers did most of the excavation, carrying, lifting, well-digging, and stone-breaking. This particular castle was never completed. The massive castle at Conway, built in Wales by Edward I of England, took 40 months to build.
Castle walls were masonry shells filled with stone rubble and flint mixed with mortar. Wall width ranged from 6 to 16 feet.
Castles
Castles
Fortifications and earthworks had been employed for defense since the Stone Age. True castles did not appear in Europe until the ninth century, however, partly in response to Viking raids and partly as a manifestation of decentralized feudal political power. From the ninth through the fifteenth century, thousands of castles were constructed throughout Europe. A 1905 census in France counted more than 10,000 castle remains in that nation alone.
During the feudal period, local nobles provided law and order, as well as protection from marauders like the Vikings. Castles were built by the nobles for protection and to provide a secure base from which local military forces could operate. The obvious defensive value of a castle obscures the fact that it was primarily an offensive instrument. It functioned as a base for professional soldiers, mainly cavalry, which controlled the nearby countryside. At a time when the centralized authority of kings was weak for a number of reasons, a network of castles and the military forces they supported provided relative political stability.
Fortifications and earthworks had been employed for defense since the Stone Age. True castles did not appear in Europe until the ninth century, however, partly in response to Viking raids and partly as a manifestation of decentralized feudal political power. From the ninth through the fifteenth century, thousands of castles were constructed throughout Europe. A 1905 census in France counted more than 10,000 castle remains in that nation alone.
During the feudal period, local nobles provided law and order, as well as protection from marauders like the Vikings. Castles were built by the nobles for protection and to provide a secure base from which local military forces could operate. The obvious defensive value of a castle obscures the fact that it was primarily an offensive instrument. It functioned as a base for professional soldiers, mainly cavalry, which controlled the nearby countryside. At a time when the centralized authority of kings was weak for a number of reasons, a network of castles and the military forces they supported provided relative political stability.
Catle Siege
Capturing Castles
Capturing or defending strongholds was a common military activity during the late Middle Ages because of the proliferation of castles and fortified towns and their strategic importance. Although a small force could hold a castle, it took a large force to take one. The attacker had to have a sufficiently large army to control the countryside around a castle, fight off any relieving force, and assault the stronghold directly or at least hold the siege tight. This was an expensive proposition.
As an army approached the castle, the locals usually withdrew inside, taking anything of value with them, especially food and weapons. If the siege was expected to be a long one, however, peasants not capable of fighting might be refused entrance to conserve food. There were many recorded instances of people being thrown out of towns under siege to preserve food. When English king Henry V besieged the city of Rouen, the defenders expelled the weak and the poor to conserve food. The English refused to allow these unfortunates through their lines. Old men, women, and children huddled between the city and the English army for months, scrabbling for scraps and dying of starvation, until surrender was negotiated.
As an army approached, the possibility of surrender and terms might be negotiated immediately, especially if the castle or town was undermanned. The attackers weighed carefully the chance of assaulting the stronghold if negotiations failed. If a quick assault was thrown back or was judged too risky, the attackers sealed off the castle and began a siege. Once siege artillery had fired at the city, the siege was officially underway. To withdraw without good reason was dishonorable and unacceptable in most cases.
A large siege was something like a social event. The fifteenth-century siege of Neuss lasted only a few months, but the attackers built up a large camp that included taverns and tennis courts. Nobles taking part in sieges made themselves comfortable, often bringing along wives and their households. Merchants and craftsmen from neighboring towns rushed forward to set up shop and provide services.
Siege Formalities
The reality of warfare during this period was that castles and towns were very rarely captured by assault. Assaults were usually an act of desperation or made much easier by acts of treachery or stealth. Unless the garrison was greatly under strength, it was just too costly in lives to assault. It was much more typical to orchestrate a siege according to the prevailing rules of warfare and honor and take the castle with relatively little loss. It would be treason for the defenders to surrender without a fight so the siege was maintained and the castle walls were battered. If the castle's owner was not inside, his deputy in charge, called a castellan or constable, could surrender the castle with honor after so many days if no relief force had appeared. Castellans often requested a contract that specified exactly what were their obligations and under what circumstances they would not be punished for surrendering.
In those rare instances where surrender was not an option or an option disdained, it was the accepted policy that little mercy was shown after a successful assault. Common soldiers and even civilians inside might be massacred and the castle or town was looted. Captured knights were kept alive, usually, and held for ransom. All attackers received a share of the spoils. Practical application of this policy was a further inducement for defenders to negotiate surrender after a reasonable period of siege. King Henry V of England took the city of Caen after a long siege in 1417. He then allowed his army to sack the city from one end to the other in payment for the defender's stout resistance. Every man in the city who was not a priest was killed. At his next stop, the castle of Bonneville, the defenders agreed to surrender the keys after seven days with no relief, even though both sides understood there was no prospect for relief.
The Krak des Chevaliers was the most famous of the Crusader castles in the Middle East and still stands impressively in modern Syria. It was defended by the Knights Hospitaller during the era of the Crusades and withstood over a dozen sieges and attacks over 130 years before falling finally to Egyptian Arabs in 1271. The story of its capture was unusual but typical in the sense that the defenders did not fight to the death.
The Arabs disdained an attack on the main gate of the Krak des Chevaliers because breaking through there led into a series of deadly narrow passages and on to a second, even stronger gate. They attacked the south wall instead by undermining the great tower at the southwest corner. This got them inside the outer curtain wall. Before attacking the even stronger central keep, however, they tried a ruse. A carrier pigeon was sent into the castle with a message from the Hospitaller's grand master, ordering the garrison to surrender. Outnumbered and with no hope of relief, the defenders accepted the command of the message, understanding it was a fake, and surrendered the great castle with honor.
Mines
The key problem to taking a castle or fortified town was overcoming the walls that prevented entry and protected the defenders. One solution to this problem was undermining a section of the wall so that it collapsed. This was only possible before castles had moats or after the moat had been drained. It was not possible to undermine when the wall was built on solid stone.
The miners dug a tunnel up to the wall and then along it under its foundation. The tunnel was supported by timber supports that gradually took on the load of the wall overhead from the earth that was dug out and removed. At a prearranged time, the timbers in the tunnel were set on fire. As the timbers burned the support for the wall overhead disappeared gradually and a section of the wall collapsed, if all went as planned. The collapsed wall created an opening for a direct assault by soldiers into the castle.
Mines were laborious and time-consuming. Defenders who became aware of the tunneling reinforced the threatened wall with a secondary wall so that the collapse did not completely open the defenses. Defenders were also known to countermine, digging their own tunnels under the walls trying to intercept the enemy tunnel. When the tunnels encountered each other, actual fighting broke out underground.
Siege
The besieging army set up positions around the castle to prevent escape or sorties by the soldiers inside. The nearby farms and villages were taken over by the besiegers. Patrols were set to bring notice of any relieving army approaching and to forage for food. The leaders of the attackers examined the situation and decided whether to simply besiege the castle or to actively prepare to attack it. If the castle was to be simply starved into surrender, the attackers concentrated on keeping the defenders caged in and preventing any relief force from lifting the siege. Choosing how best to attack a castle might involve any of the following options:
* Undermining a part of the wall.
* Selecting a wall section to breach by battering it
with hurled stones (or with cannons, although
these were not effective until around 1450,
near the end of this period).
* Selecting a part of the ditch (and moat, if
present) to fill.
* Building siege towers and ladders to scale the
walls.
* Choosing a gate or other section to batter with
a ram.
The speed of work on assault preparations was in proportion to the urgency for taking the castle, the prospects of surrender, and the manpower available. If the attackers had ample supplies of food, no relief was expected, and the defenders were likely to surrender after their honor had been satisfied, work on assault preparations might be little more than a show. If the attacker's supplies were short, relief was expected any day, or the defenders were obstinate, preparations might go forward day and night.
When preparations were complete, the defenders were given one last chance to surrender before the assault.
Siege Equipment
Siege equipment was used to get past the walls and other defenses of the castle so that the superior strength of the attacking army could be brought to bear against the defenders at a minimum disadvantage. Most equipment was designed to knock down or breach the walls. In addition to the simple scaling ladder, siege equipment most commonly used during the Middle Ages included the trebuchet, the mangonel, the siege tower, the battering ram, and the pavise.
Once a breach was made or a siege tower put in place, a volunteer force of soldiers led the assault. This force came to be known as the "forlorn hope," because of the casualties they were expected to take. But the successful survivors of this force were usually the most highly rewarded with promotion, titles, and loot.
The trebuchet was a large catapult powered by a heavy counterweight, usually a large box of rocks. The long throwing arm was pulled down against the mass of the counterweight and a large stone was loaded. When the arm was released, the heavy weight dropped down, pulling the throwing arm up, and flinging the large stone missile in a high arcing trajectory. Missiles thrown by this weapon plunged downward and were best used to smash the tops of towers, embattlements, and hourds. It was difficult to damage sheer vertical walls with the trebuchet unless the missiles came down right on top of the wall. The trebuchet was assembled out of bow shot and defended against a possible sortie by the defenders seeking to burn the weapon. The trebuchet was useful for smashing wooden roofs and then setting the rubble on fire with incendiary missiles.
The mangonel was a different type of catapult powered by twisted ropes or strips of hide. A ratchet gear twisted the ropes, building up tension. When released, the ropes spun, flinging the throwing arm forward. When the arm hit a heavy restraining bar, any missile in the basket at the end of the arm was thrown forward. The restraining bar could be adjusted to change the trajectory of the missile. Mangonels had a flat trajectory, in comparison to the trebuchet, but could generate the same power. It could take a large number of mangonel shots to do any appreciable damage to a wall. The thrown missiles and pieces of the broken wall helped to fill in the ditch, however, creating rubble pile which attackers could climb.
Siege towers were moved close to the walls and then a gangplank was dropped from the tower to the top of the wall. Soldiers in the tower could then advance across the gangplank and engage the defenders in hand-to-hand combat. Such a tower was often huge. It had to be protected with wet hides to prevent being burned. It was ponderous to move because of its weight. It had to be either pushed forward or pulled forward against pulleys previously mounted on stakes near the base of the castle wall. The ground had to be prepared ahead of time, usually with a roadway of flat wooden planking on heavily packed earth to ease the tower's movement. A fighting area on top of the tower let archers shoot down into the castle as the tower approached. Soldiers mounted the stairs inside the tower once it was close. Assaults from a siege tower were never a surprise to the defender because so much preparation had to be done. The defenders took steps to build up the threatened part of the wall or prevent the gangplank from dropping. They attempted to grapple the tower as it approached and pull it onto its side. Up to the last moment of the assault, siege engines would fire on the target section of wall to disrupt the defender's preparations to receive the assault. If the first group of attackers from the tower got over, a steady stream of men would follow over the gangplank to complete the capture of the castle.
A battering ram had a large pole with an iron head that was slung inside a moveable housing and rolled up to a wall section or gate. Once up to the wall, the pole was swung back and forth against the wall. The force of the blows broke through the wooden planking of the door or stone wall, creating an opening for attack. The roof of the ram was covered with wet hides to prevent burning. Operating battering was dangerous work. Enemies above dropped large rocks, boiling water, or burning fat on the ram, attempting to destroy it or kill the men operating it. Even when a gate or drawbridge was smashed, there were usually several portcullises and the gatehouse to be fought through. At the siege of Tyre during the winter of 1111-1112, the defending Arabs came up with an ingenious defense against the ram. They threw down gappling hooks, grabbed the ram, and pulled it away from the wall. Time after time they were able to disrupt the use of the ram.
Attacking archers and crossbowmen took shelter on the ground behind large wooden shields called pavises. A narrow firing slit at the top of the pavise allowed the man behind to shoot up at the defenders. England's King Richard I, the Lionheart, received a mortal shoulder wound from a crossbow bolt when looking around the side of a pavise.
Capturing or defending strongholds was a common military activity during the late Middle Ages because of the proliferation of castles and fortified towns and their strategic importance. Although a small force could hold a castle, it took a large force to take one. The attacker had to have a sufficiently large army to control the countryside around a castle, fight off any relieving force, and assault the stronghold directly or at least hold the siege tight. This was an expensive proposition.
As an army approached the castle, the locals usually withdrew inside, taking anything of value with them, especially food and weapons. If the siege was expected to be a long one, however, peasants not capable of fighting might be refused entrance to conserve food. There were many recorded instances of people being thrown out of towns under siege to preserve food. When English king Henry V besieged the city of Rouen, the defenders expelled the weak and the poor to conserve food. The English refused to allow these unfortunates through their lines. Old men, women, and children huddled between the city and the English army for months, scrabbling for scraps and dying of starvation, until surrender was negotiated.
As an army approached, the possibility of surrender and terms might be negotiated immediately, especially if the castle or town was undermanned. The attackers weighed carefully the chance of assaulting the stronghold if negotiations failed. If a quick assault was thrown back or was judged too risky, the attackers sealed off the castle and began a siege. Once siege artillery had fired at the city, the siege was officially underway. To withdraw without good reason was dishonorable and unacceptable in most cases.
A large siege was something like a social event. The fifteenth-century siege of Neuss lasted only a few months, but the attackers built up a large camp that included taverns and tennis courts. Nobles taking part in sieges made themselves comfortable, often bringing along wives and their households. Merchants and craftsmen from neighboring towns rushed forward to set up shop and provide services.
Siege Formalities
The reality of warfare during this period was that castles and towns were very rarely captured by assault. Assaults were usually an act of desperation or made much easier by acts of treachery or stealth. Unless the garrison was greatly under strength, it was just too costly in lives to assault. It was much more typical to orchestrate a siege according to the prevailing rules of warfare and honor and take the castle with relatively little loss. It would be treason for the defenders to surrender without a fight so the siege was maintained and the castle walls were battered. If the castle's owner was not inside, his deputy in charge, called a castellan or constable, could surrender the castle with honor after so many days if no relief force had appeared. Castellans often requested a contract that specified exactly what were their obligations and under what circumstances they would not be punished for surrendering.
In those rare instances where surrender was not an option or an option disdained, it was the accepted policy that little mercy was shown after a successful assault. Common soldiers and even civilians inside might be massacred and the castle or town was looted. Captured knights were kept alive, usually, and held for ransom. All attackers received a share of the spoils. Practical application of this policy was a further inducement for defenders to negotiate surrender after a reasonable period of siege. King Henry V of England took the city of Caen after a long siege in 1417. He then allowed his army to sack the city from one end to the other in payment for the defender's stout resistance. Every man in the city who was not a priest was killed. At his next stop, the castle of Bonneville, the defenders agreed to surrender the keys after seven days with no relief, even though both sides understood there was no prospect for relief.
The Krak des Chevaliers was the most famous of the Crusader castles in the Middle East and still stands impressively in modern Syria. It was defended by the Knights Hospitaller during the era of the Crusades and withstood over a dozen sieges and attacks over 130 years before falling finally to Egyptian Arabs in 1271. The story of its capture was unusual but typical in the sense that the defenders did not fight to the death.
The Arabs disdained an attack on the main gate of the Krak des Chevaliers because breaking through there led into a series of deadly narrow passages and on to a second, even stronger gate. They attacked the south wall instead by undermining the great tower at the southwest corner. This got them inside the outer curtain wall. Before attacking the even stronger central keep, however, they tried a ruse. A carrier pigeon was sent into the castle with a message from the Hospitaller's grand master, ordering the garrison to surrender. Outnumbered and with no hope of relief, the defenders accepted the command of the message, understanding it was a fake, and surrendered the great castle with honor.
Mines
The key problem to taking a castle or fortified town was overcoming the walls that prevented entry and protected the defenders. One solution to this problem was undermining a section of the wall so that it collapsed. This was only possible before castles had moats or after the moat had been drained. It was not possible to undermine when the wall was built on solid stone.
The miners dug a tunnel up to the wall and then along it under its foundation. The tunnel was supported by timber supports that gradually took on the load of the wall overhead from the earth that was dug out and removed. At a prearranged time, the timbers in the tunnel were set on fire. As the timbers burned the support for the wall overhead disappeared gradually and a section of the wall collapsed, if all went as planned. The collapsed wall created an opening for a direct assault by soldiers into the castle.
Mines were laborious and time-consuming. Defenders who became aware of the tunneling reinforced the threatened wall with a secondary wall so that the collapse did not completely open the defenses. Defenders were also known to countermine, digging their own tunnels under the walls trying to intercept the enemy tunnel. When the tunnels encountered each other, actual fighting broke out underground.
Siege
The besieging army set up positions around the castle to prevent escape or sorties by the soldiers inside. The nearby farms and villages were taken over by the besiegers. Patrols were set to bring notice of any relieving army approaching and to forage for food. The leaders of the attackers examined the situation and decided whether to simply besiege the castle or to actively prepare to attack it. If the castle was to be simply starved into surrender, the attackers concentrated on keeping the defenders caged in and preventing any relief force from lifting the siege. Choosing how best to attack a castle might involve any of the following options:
* Undermining a part of the wall.
* Selecting a wall section to breach by battering it
with hurled stones (or with cannons, although
these were not effective until around 1450,
near the end of this period).
* Selecting a part of the ditch (and moat, if
present) to fill.
* Building siege towers and ladders to scale the
walls.
* Choosing a gate or other section to batter with
a ram.
The speed of work on assault preparations was in proportion to the urgency for taking the castle, the prospects of surrender, and the manpower available. If the attackers had ample supplies of food, no relief was expected, and the defenders were likely to surrender after their honor had been satisfied, work on assault preparations might be little more than a show. If the attacker's supplies were short, relief was expected any day, or the defenders were obstinate, preparations might go forward day and night.
When preparations were complete, the defenders were given one last chance to surrender before the assault.
Siege Equipment
Siege equipment was used to get past the walls and other defenses of the castle so that the superior strength of the attacking army could be brought to bear against the defenders at a minimum disadvantage. Most equipment was designed to knock down or breach the walls. In addition to the simple scaling ladder, siege equipment most commonly used during the Middle Ages included the trebuchet, the mangonel, the siege tower, the battering ram, and the pavise.
Once a breach was made or a siege tower put in place, a volunteer force of soldiers led the assault. This force came to be known as the "forlorn hope," because of the casualties they were expected to take. But the successful survivors of this force were usually the most highly rewarded with promotion, titles, and loot.
The trebuchet was a large catapult powered by a heavy counterweight, usually a large box of rocks. The long throwing arm was pulled down against the mass of the counterweight and a large stone was loaded. When the arm was released, the heavy weight dropped down, pulling the throwing arm up, and flinging the large stone missile in a high arcing trajectory. Missiles thrown by this weapon plunged downward and were best used to smash the tops of towers, embattlements, and hourds. It was difficult to damage sheer vertical walls with the trebuchet unless the missiles came down right on top of the wall. The trebuchet was assembled out of bow shot and defended against a possible sortie by the defenders seeking to burn the weapon. The trebuchet was useful for smashing wooden roofs and then setting the rubble on fire with incendiary missiles.
The mangonel was a different type of catapult powered by twisted ropes or strips of hide. A ratchet gear twisted the ropes, building up tension. When released, the ropes spun, flinging the throwing arm forward. When the arm hit a heavy restraining bar, any missile in the basket at the end of the arm was thrown forward. The restraining bar could be adjusted to change the trajectory of the missile. Mangonels had a flat trajectory, in comparison to the trebuchet, but could generate the same power. It could take a large number of mangonel shots to do any appreciable damage to a wall. The thrown missiles and pieces of the broken wall helped to fill in the ditch, however, creating rubble pile which attackers could climb.
Siege towers were moved close to the walls and then a gangplank was dropped from the tower to the top of the wall. Soldiers in the tower could then advance across the gangplank and engage the defenders in hand-to-hand combat. Such a tower was often huge. It had to be protected with wet hides to prevent being burned. It was ponderous to move because of its weight. It had to be either pushed forward or pulled forward against pulleys previously mounted on stakes near the base of the castle wall. The ground had to be prepared ahead of time, usually with a roadway of flat wooden planking on heavily packed earth to ease the tower's movement. A fighting area on top of the tower let archers shoot down into the castle as the tower approached. Soldiers mounted the stairs inside the tower once it was close. Assaults from a siege tower were never a surprise to the defender because so much preparation had to be done. The defenders took steps to build up the threatened part of the wall or prevent the gangplank from dropping. They attempted to grapple the tower as it approached and pull it onto its side. Up to the last moment of the assault, siege engines would fire on the target section of wall to disrupt the defender's preparations to receive the assault. If the first group of attackers from the tower got over, a steady stream of men would follow over the gangplank to complete the capture of the castle.
A battering ram had a large pole with an iron head that was slung inside a moveable housing and rolled up to a wall section or gate. Once up to the wall, the pole was swung back and forth against the wall. The force of the blows broke through the wooden planking of the door or stone wall, creating an opening for attack. The roof of the ram was covered with wet hides to prevent burning. Operating battering was dangerous work. Enemies above dropped large rocks, boiling water, or burning fat on the ram, attempting to destroy it or kill the men operating it. Even when a gate or drawbridge was smashed, there were usually several portcullises and the gatehouse to be fought through. At the siege of Tyre during the winter of 1111-1112, the defending Arabs came up with an ingenious defense against the ram. They threw down gappling hooks, grabbed the ram, and pulled it away from the wall. Time after time they were able to disrupt the use of the ram.
Attacking archers and crossbowmen took shelter on the ground behind large wooden shields called pavises. A narrow firing slit at the top of the pavise allowed the man behind to shoot up at the defenders. England's King Richard I, the Lionheart, received a mortal shoulder wound from a crossbow bolt when looking around the side of a pavise.
Celts
The Celts (500 to 1500)
The Celts (pronounced "kelts") were the ancient inhabitants of Northern Europe and the builders of Stonehenge 5000 years ago. Julius Caesar had battled them during his conquest of Gaul. The Romans eventually took most of Britain and the Iberian Peninsula from them as well. At the end of the ancient Roman Empire, the Celts occupied only parts of northwestern France, Ireland, Wales, and parts of Scotland. During the course of the Middle Ages, they strengthened their hold on Scotland and made several attempts to take more of England.
The Irish remained in small bands during the early Middle Ages. By 800 the four provinces of Leinster, Munster, Connaught, and Ulster had risen to power under "high kings." Viking raids began in 795 and then Viking settlements were established in the middle ninth century. The most important of these was at Dublin. Brian Boru became the first high king of all Ireland around 1000. In 1014 the Irish defeated the Danes of Dublin at Clontarf, although Brian Boru was killed.
An Irish tribe called the Scotti invaded what is now southern Scotland during the early Middle Ages, settling permanently and giving the land its name. They pushed back and absorbed the native Picts who had harassed the Romans to the south. The Scottish kingdom took its present shape during the eleventh century but attracted English interference. The Scots responded with the "auld (old) alliance" with France, which became the foundation of their diplomacy for centuries to come. Edward I of England (Longshanks, or "hammer of the Scots") annexed Scotland in 1296.
William Wallace (Braveheart) led a revolt of Scotland, winning virtual independence at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. Defeated the next year at Falkirk, Wallace waged a guerrilla war until he was betrayed, captured, and executed in 1305. Robert the Bruce declared himself king of Scotland after murdering his main rival. He drove out the English, winning the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Edward III of England recognized Scotland's independence in 1328, but war between the Scots and English carried on for several centuries. The crowns of the two countries were united in 1603, long after the Middle Ages were over.
No prince in Wales proved strong enough to unite the country. In the late thirteenth century, Edward I took over the government of Gwynedd, one of the strongest Welsh principalities in Wales. He proceeded to build five great castles in Wales, effectively placing the country under English rule.
The Celts (pronounced "kelts") were the ancient inhabitants of Northern Europe and the builders of Stonehenge 5000 years ago. Julius Caesar had battled them during his conquest of Gaul. The Romans eventually took most of Britain and the Iberian Peninsula from them as well. At the end of the ancient Roman Empire, the Celts occupied only parts of northwestern France, Ireland, Wales, and parts of Scotland. During the course of the Middle Ages, they strengthened their hold on Scotland and made several attempts to take more of England.
The Irish remained in small bands during the early Middle Ages. By 800 the four provinces of Leinster, Munster, Connaught, and Ulster had risen to power under "high kings." Viking raids began in 795 and then Viking settlements were established in the middle ninth century. The most important of these was at Dublin. Brian Boru became the first high king of all Ireland around 1000. In 1014 the Irish defeated the Danes of Dublin at Clontarf, although Brian Boru was killed.
An Irish tribe called the Scotti invaded what is now southern Scotland during the early Middle Ages, settling permanently and giving the land its name. They pushed back and absorbed the native Picts who had harassed the Romans to the south. The Scottish kingdom took its present shape during the eleventh century but attracted English interference. The Scots responded with the "auld (old) alliance" with France, which became the foundation of their diplomacy for centuries to come. Edward I of England (Longshanks, or "hammer of the Scots") annexed Scotland in 1296.
William Wallace (Braveheart) led a revolt of Scotland, winning virtual independence at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. Defeated the next year at Falkirk, Wallace waged a guerrilla war until he was betrayed, captured, and executed in 1305. Robert the Bruce declared himself king of Scotland after murdering his main rival. He drove out the English, winning the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Edward III of England recognized Scotland's independence in 1328, but war between the Scots and English carried on for several centuries. The crowns of the two countries were united in 1603, long after the Middle Ages were over.
No prince in Wales proved strong enough to unite the country. In the late thirteenth century, Edward I took over the government of Gwynedd, one of the strongest Welsh principalities in Wales. He proceeded to build five great castles in Wales, effectively placing the country under English rule.
Charlemagne
Charles The Great
The Franks consolidated their kingdom in modern France under a series of strong kings and warlords during the seventh and eighth centuries. In 732 they defeated a Muslim army invading France from the Iberian Peninsula. Around 750, the Franks pushed into Italy to rescue Rome and the pope, who were under attack by the Lombards. In 768 Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, became king of the Franks and began his remarkable reign.
Charlemagne returned to Italy across the Alps in 774 and rescued the Pope once again. He became king of both the Franks and Lombards and effective ruler of Rome. He continued his conquests, simultaneously converting his enemies to Christianity. He took southern France and northern parts of Spain. He moved into western Germany, converting the Saxons and fighting off the Magyars of Hungary. He established "marches" on his frontier, which were buffer states between the Frankish Empire and barbarian tribes to the east. On Christmas Day in 800, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the pope (the title was a surprise and one he had not sought).
The importance of Charlemagne transcends the size and creation of the Holy Roman Empire, which fell apart soon after his death anyway. He was a great supporter and defender of the Catholic Church and used it to encourage learning and the arts. He set up schools in association with cathedrals to educate civil servants and nobles to improve government. He collected and codified the laws, improving the system of justice. He invented feudalism as a way of providing local order while retaining central authority.
The great promise of European revival radiating from the Frankish Empire was stopped short, however. Following the death of Charlemagne's son, the empire was split three ways among his grandsons. The western part evolved later into modern France. The eastern part became Germany much later. The central part was contested by the other two through succeeding generations into the twentieth century. A more immediate problem was the sudden appearance of Viking raiders from Scandinavia, who greatly disrupted northern Europe for the next two centuries.
The Franks consolidated their kingdom in modern France under a series of strong kings and warlords during the seventh and eighth centuries. In 732 they defeated a Muslim army invading France from the Iberian Peninsula. Around 750, the Franks pushed into Italy to rescue Rome and the pope, who were under attack by the Lombards. In 768 Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, became king of the Franks and began his remarkable reign.
Charlemagne returned to Italy across the Alps in 774 and rescued the Pope once again. He became king of both the Franks and Lombards and effective ruler of Rome. He continued his conquests, simultaneously converting his enemies to Christianity. He took southern France and northern parts of Spain. He moved into western Germany, converting the Saxons and fighting off the Magyars of Hungary. He established "marches" on his frontier, which were buffer states between the Frankish Empire and barbarian tribes to the east. On Christmas Day in 800, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the pope (the title was a surprise and one he had not sought).
The importance of Charlemagne transcends the size and creation of the Holy Roman Empire, which fell apart soon after his death anyway. He was a great supporter and defender of the Catholic Church and used it to encourage learning and the arts. He set up schools in association with cathedrals to educate civil servants and nobles to improve government. He collected and codified the laws, improving the system of justice. He invented feudalism as a way of providing local order while retaining central authority.
The great promise of European revival radiating from the Frankish Empire was stopped short, however. Following the death of Charlemagne's son, the empire was split three ways among his grandsons. The western part evolved later into modern France. The eastern part became Germany much later. The central part was contested by the other two through succeeding generations into the twentieth century. A more immediate problem was the sudden appearance of Viking raiders from Scandinavia, who greatly disrupted northern Europe for the next two centuries.
Chinese
The Chinese (581 to 1644)
China was reunited in 581 AD after a long period of internal war by the founders of the Sui dynasty. For most of the 1000 years that followed, China was one of the largest and most advanced civilization in the world. Because of its geographic isolation from the West, it was able to develop and maintain a unique culture that spread its influence over much of Asia.
An emperor generally held supreme power as the son of heaven. Natural disasters or other calamities were taken as proof that the mandate of heaven had been withdrawn, however, and could justify revolt. Mandarins were conservative civil servants who operated most of the government at the local, province, and imperial level. Mandarins earned their positions by passing detailed civil service examinations based mainly on the works of Confucius.
The T'ang dynasty ruled China from 618 to 907. China under the T'ang was large, wealthy, and powerful. There was extensive foreign trade and interest in the arts among the upper class. Printing and gunpowder were invented. The last 100 years of T'ang rule witnessed tumultuous peasant revolts, however, and wars between local military rulers that the imperial court could not end. The years from 907 to 960 were known as the Five Dynasties period. Northern China was held by barbarians, and southern China split into 10 rival states. From one of these, an army general named Zhao Kuang-ying seized power and unified the southern states, founding the Song dynasty. His descendants reunited China within 20 years.
The Song dynasty ruled at least part of China until 1279. This was another period of cultural brilliance, and it was considered the great age of Chinese landscape painting. There was a dramatic improvement in economic activity, including a large overseas trade. Population and cities grew, food production grew faster than population, a money economy developed, and industrial output increased. No city in Europe could approach the populations of Chang An, Beijing, and Guang Zhou, all with more than 2 million inhabitants.
The wealth of China attracted enemies, however, and the Mongols began attacks in 1206. By 1279 they had completed the conquest of Song China and moved the capital to Beijing. The dramatic economic improvement of the Song dynasty ended with the Mongol conquests and the estimated 30 million deaths that they caused. The Mongol Yuan dynasty reunited China and reestablished it as a great military and world power. Chinese influence was spread into Asia. Hanoi was captured three times and tribute was extracted from Burma. Trade with India, Arabia, and the Persian Gulf was developed. Marco Polo visited China during this period.
Natural disasters and higher taxes in the fourteenth century caused rural rebellions. A Buddhist monk rose to be one of the leaders of the Red Turbans, a secret society opposed to the emperor in Beijing. The rebels seized Nanjing in 1356 and drove the Mongols from Beijing 12 years later, establishing the Ming dynasty. The Ming presided over another cultural flowering and established a political unity that outlasted the Ming and continued into the twentieth century. The Ming clamped down a strict conservatism and isolation, however, discouraging change and innovation, banning foreign travel, and closing the Silk Road.
Some of the most noteworthy aspects of medieval China are the technologies that were invented there, usually many centuries before a similar technology was invented in, or transmitted to, the West. Important Chinese inventions included the compass, the wheelbarrow, the abacus, the horse harness, the stirrup, the clock, iron-casting, steel, paper, moveable type (printing), paper money, gunpowder, and the stern-post rudder.
China was reunited in 581 AD after a long period of internal war by the founders of the Sui dynasty. For most of the 1000 years that followed, China was one of the largest and most advanced civilization in the world. Because of its geographic isolation from the West, it was able to develop and maintain a unique culture that spread its influence over much of Asia.
An emperor generally held supreme power as the son of heaven. Natural disasters or other calamities were taken as proof that the mandate of heaven had been withdrawn, however, and could justify revolt. Mandarins were conservative civil servants who operated most of the government at the local, province, and imperial level. Mandarins earned their positions by passing detailed civil service examinations based mainly on the works of Confucius.
The T'ang dynasty ruled China from 618 to 907. China under the T'ang was large, wealthy, and powerful. There was extensive foreign trade and interest in the arts among the upper class. Printing and gunpowder were invented. The last 100 years of T'ang rule witnessed tumultuous peasant revolts, however, and wars between local military rulers that the imperial court could not end. The years from 907 to 960 were known as the Five Dynasties period. Northern China was held by barbarians, and southern China split into 10 rival states. From one of these, an army general named Zhao Kuang-ying seized power and unified the southern states, founding the Song dynasty. His descendants reunited China within 20 years.
The Song dynasty ruled at least part of China until 1279. This was another period of cultural brilliance, and it was considered the great age of Chinese landscape painting. There was a dramatic improvement in economic activity, including a large overseas trade. Population and cities grew, food production grew faster than population, a money economy developed, and industrial output increased. No city in Europe could approach the populations of Chang An, Beijing, and Guang Zhou, all with more than 2 million inhabitants.
The wealth of China attracted enemies, however, and the Mongols began attacks in 1206. By 1279 they had completed the conquest of Song China and moved the capital to Beijing. The dramatic economic improvement of the Song dynasty ended with the Mongol conquests and the estimated 30 million deaths that they caused. The Mongol Yuan dynasty reunited China and reestablished it as a great military and world power. Chinese influence was spread into Asia. Hanoi was captured three times and tribute was extracted from Burma. Trade with India, Arabia, and the Persian Gulf was developed. Marco Polo visited China during this period.
Natural disasters and higher taxes in the fourteenth century caused rural rebellions. A Buddhist monk rose to be one of the leaders of the Red Turbans, a secret society opposed to the emperor in Beijing. The rebels seized Nanjing in 1356 and drove the Mongols from Beijing 12 years later, establishing the Ming dynasty. The Ming presided over another cultural flowering and established a political unity that outlasted the Ming and continued into the twentieth century. The Ming clamped down a strict conservatism and isolation, however, discouraging change and innovation, banning foreign travel, and closing the Silk Road.
Some of the most noteworthy aspects of medieval China are the technologies that were invented there, usually many centuries before a similar technology was invented in, or transmitted to, the West. Important Chinese inventions included the compass, the wheelbarrow, the abacus, the horse harness, the stirrup, the clock, iron-casting, steel, paper, moveable type (printing), paper money, gunpowder, and the stern-post rudder.
Dark Age Religion
Religion in the Dark Ages
Christianity had become the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century and had begun spreading among the Germanic tribes before the fall of Rome. The split of the Roman Empire into eastern and western halves also resulted in a split within the Christian Church. The western part, centered in Rome, became Catholic. The eastern part, centered in Constantinople, became Orthodox. In the seventh century, one of the last of the world's great religions, Islam, was founded in Arabia.
Christianity
The spread of Christianity among the barbarians was a powerful civilizing force and helped to ensure that some vestiges of Roman law and the Latin language carried on in France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Only in England was Roman Christianity subsumed by pagan beliefs. The Franks became Catholic under Clovis and thereafter spread Christianity to the Germans across the Rhine. The Byzantines spread Orthodox Christianity among the Bulgars and Slavs.
Christianity was brought to Ireland by St. Patrick in the early fifth century and spread from there into Scotland and back into England from the north. In the late sixth century, Pope Gregory the Great sent missionaries into England from the south. Within a century, England was Christian once again.
Monasteries
During the turmoil of the Dark Ages, a few strongly committed Christians withdrew from society to live as hermits, usually on the wild and forbidding edge of civilization. Hermits in turn inspired more conventional priests to pledge vows of poverty and service, harkening back to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Many of these priests formed new communities of like believers called monasteries. Pope Gregory encouraged the building of monasteries throughout Christian Europe. In parts of Europe they became the only remaining centers of learning. Irish monks, for example, are credited by some with preserving civilization in their monasteries. Irish monks went out into other parts of Europe to teach and revive an interest in learning. Monasteries were the main source of educated men who could help administer government, and many became important assistants to kings.
In time monasteries grew wealthy with donations of land, as did the Roman church. Different monastic orders were founded with different goals. Some kept entirely to themselves, some trained missionaries to be sent into the wild, some advised the popes on church doctrine, and others provided important community service such as care for the elderly, health care, and emergency relief.
Islam
Islam was founded in Arabia in the seventh century by the prophet Mohammed. It spread rapidly and inspired a great movement of conquest. The political map of North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia changed almost overnight. All of North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, the Middle East, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, parts of India, Pakistan, and part of Russia became Muslim. During the brief period that the Islamic Empire remained united, it threatened to accomplish its goal of converting the entire world to its beliefs. The stability and economic growth within the new Muslim world brought peace and prosperity far in advance of that in western Europe of the time. The Muslim culture surpassed even the Byzantines in art, science, medicine, geography, trade, and philosophy.
Conflicts between the Muslims and Christians resulted in the Crusades, a series of attempts by western Christians to regain the Holy Lands in Palestine.
Christianity had become the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century and had begun spreading among the Germanic tribes before the fall of Rome. The split of the Roman Empire into eastern and western halves also resulted in a split within the Christian Church. The western part, centered in Rome, became Catholic. The eastern part, centered in Constantinople, became Orthodox. In the seventh century, one of the last of the world's great religions, Islam, was founded in Arabia.
Christianity
The spread of Christianity among the barbarians was a powerful civilizing force and helped to ensure that some vestiges of Roman law and the Latin language carried on in France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Only in England was Roman Christianity subsumed by pagan beliefs. The Franks became Catholic under Clovis and thereafter spread Christianity to the Germans across the Rhine. The Byzantines spread Orthodox Christianity among the Bulgars and Slavs.
Christianity was brought to Ireland by St. Patrick in the early fifth century and spread from there into Scotland and back into England from the north. In the late sixth century, Pope Gregory the Great sent missionaries into England from the south. Within a century, England was Christian once again.
Monasteries
During the turmoil of the Dark Ages, a few strongly committed Christians withdrew from society to live as hermits, usually on the wild and forbidding edge of civilization. Hermits in turn inspired more conventional priests to pledge vows of poverty and service, harkening back to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Many of these priests formed new communities of like believers called monasteries. Pope Gregory encouraged the building of monasteries throughout Christian Europe. In parts of Europe they became the only remaining centers of learning. Irish monks, for example, are credited by some with preserving civilization in their monasteries. Irish monks went out into other parts of Europe to teach and revive an interest in learning. Monasteries were the main source of educated men who could help administer government, and many became important assistants to kings.
In time monasteries grew wealthy with donations of land, as did the Roman church. Different monastic orders were founded with different goals. Some kept entirely to themselves, some trained missionaries to be sent into the wild, some advised the popes on church doctrine, and others provided important community service such as care for the elderly, health care, and emergency relief.
Islam
Islam was founded in Arabia in the seventh century by the prophet Mohammed. It spread rapidly and inspired a great movement of conquest. The political map of North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia changed almost overnight. All of North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, the Middle East, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, parts of India, Pakistan, and part of Russia became Muslim. During the brief period that the Islamic Empire remained united, it threatened to accomplish its goal of converting the entire world to its beliefs. The stability and economic growth within the new Muslim world brought peace and prosperity far in advance of that in western Europe of the time. The Muslim culture surpassed even the Byzantines in art, science, medicine, geography, trade, and philosophy.
Conflicts between the Muslims and Christians resulted in the Crusades, a series of attempts by western Christians to regain the Holy Lands in Palestine.
Dark Ages
The Dark Ages
Following the fall of Rome, western Europe entered what has been called the Dark Ages. This name was applied partially because so much of the Roman civilization was destroyed and replaced by a more barbaric culture. The name was used also because so little written history survived from the period that shed light on the events that took place.
Following the fall of Rome, western Europe entered what has been called the Dark Ages. This name was applied partially because so much of the Roman civilization was destroyed and replaced by a more barbaric culture. The name was used also because so little written history survived from the period that shed light on the events that took place.
Dark Armies
Armies of the Dark Ages
The Germanic tribes that overran the Roman Empire at the start of the Middle Ages fought primarily on foot with axes and swords, while wearing little armor other than perhaps helmets and shields. They were organized into war bands under the leadership of a chief. They were fierce warriors but fought in undisciplined mobs. The disciplined Roman legions had great success against the Germanic tribes for centuries, in part because emotional armies are usually very fragile. When the Roman legions declined in quality at the empire's end, however, the Germanic tribes were able to push across the frontier.
Not all Germanic tribes fought on foot. Exceptions were the Goths, who had adapted to horses when they settled previously north of the Black Sea. Both the Visigoths and Ostrogoths learned about cavalry by being in contact with the Eastern Roman Empire south of the Danube and barbarian horsemen from Asia. The Eastern Roman armies put a greater emphasis on cavalry because of their conflicts with mounted barbarians, the Parthians, and the Persians.
Following the fall of Rome, most fighting in Europe for the next few centuries involved clashes of foot soldiers. One exception might have been the battles of Britain's Arthur against the invading Saxons, although we have no evidence that his success was due to using cavalry. Arthur may have halted Saxon progress in Britain for 50 years, perhaps because of cavalry or the use of disciplined troops. Another exception was the Byzantine army that recaptured North Africa from the Vandals and almost restored Italy to Eastern Roman control in the sixth century. The strength of the Byzantine army of this period was cavalry. The Byzantines benefited also from both superior leadership and an understanding of tactics that the barbarians lacked.
Fighting in these first centuries rarely involved groups that could be described as armies. They were the same war bands as before, small by Byzantine or Asian standards and employing limited tactics or strategy. The main military activities were raids to obtain loot in the form of food, livestock, weapons, and slaves. Aggressive tribes expanded by devastating the food production of enemies, starving them out, and enslaving the survivors. Battles were mainly clashes of war bands, fighting hand to hand with axes and swords. They fought as mobs, not the disciplined formations typical of the Romans. They used shields and helmets and wore some armor. Leather armor was common; only chieftains and elites wore chain mail.
In the early eighth century, Visgothic Spain fell to the warriors of Islam, many of whom fought as light cavalry. At the same time, nomadic Magyars from the Hungarian plains increased their mounted raids on western Europe. In 732 a Frankish infantry army was able to defeat a Muslim cavalry raid near Poitiers, ending Muslim northward expansion. Charles Martel, warlord of the Franks, was impressed by the Moorish cavalry and began mounting part of his army. This conversion continued later in the century under the great king of the Franks, Charlemagne. Frankish heavy cavalry was the genesis of the mounted knight that came to typify medieval warfare.
Annually for 30 years, Charlemagne conducted military campaigns that extended the size of his empire. The Frankish army consisted of both infantry and armored cavalry, but the cavalry was his most valuable force and the part that got the most notice. It could move quickly and strike hard against foes fighting mainly on foot. Charlemagne's campaigns were economic raids, burning, looting, and devastating enemies into submission. He fought very few battles against organized opposition.
The Vikings fought exclusively on foot, except that it was their habit to gather horses upon landing and use them to raid farther inland. Their raids began in the late eighth century and ended in the eleventh century. The descendants of Viking raiders that became the Normans of northwestern France adapted quickly to the use of horses and became some of the most successful warriors of the late Middle Ages.
In the early tenth century, the Germans began developing the use of cavalry under Otto I, both as a rapid response force against Viking raids and to repel mounted barbarian raids from the East.
By the end of the tenth century, heavy cavalry was an important component of most European armies except in Anglo-Saxon England, Celtic lands (Ireland, Wales, and Scotland), and Scandinavia.
The Germanic tribes that overran the Roman Empire at the start of the Middle Ages fought primarily on foot with axes and swords, while wearing little armor other than perhaps helmets and shields. They were organized into war bands under the leadership of a chief. They were fierce warriors but fought in undisciplined mobs. The disciplined Roman legions had great success against the Germanic tribes for centuries, in part because emotional armies are usually very fragile. When the Roman legions declined in quality at the empire's end, however, the Germanic tribes were able to push across the frontier.
Not all Germanic tribes fought on foot. Exceptions were the Goths, who had adapted to horses when they settled previously north of the Black Sea. Both the Visigoths and Ostrogoths learned about cavalry by being in contact with the Eastern Roman Empire south of the Danube and barbarian horsemen from Asia. The Eastern Roman armies put a greater emphasis on cavalry because of their conflicts with mounted barbarians, the Parthians, and the Persians.
Following the fall of Rome, most fighting in Europe for the next few centuries involved clashes of foot soldiers. One exception might have been the battles of Britain's Arthur against the invading Saxons, although we have no evidence that his success was due to using cavalry. Arthur may have halted Saxon progress in Britain for 50 years, perhaps because of cavalry or the use of disciplined troops. Another exception was the Byzantine army that recaptured North Africa from the Vandals and almost restored Italy to Eastern Roman control in the sixth century. The strength of the Byzantine army of this period was cavalry. The Byzantines benefited also from both superior leadership and an understanding of tactics that the barbarians lacked.
Fighting in these first centuries rarely involved groups that could be described as armies. They were the same war bands as before, small by Byzantine or Asian standards and employing limited tactics or strategy. The main military activities were raids to obtain loot in the form of food, livestock, weapons, and slaves. Aggressive tribes expanded by devastating the food production of enemies, starving them out, and enslaving the survivors. Battles were mainly clashes of war bands, fighting hand to hand with axes and swords. They fought as mobs, not the disciplined formations typical of the Romans. They used shields and helmets and wore some armor. Leather armor was common; only chieftains and elites wore chain mail.
In the early eighth century, Visgothic Spain fell to the warriors of Islam, many of whom fought as light cavalry. At the same time, nomadic Magyars from the Hungarian plains increased their mounted raids on western Europe. In 732 a Frankish infantry army was able to defeat a Muslim cavalry raid near Poitiers, ending Muslim northward expansion. Charles Martel, warlord of the Franks, was impressed by the Moorish cavalry and began mounting part of his army. This conversion continued later in the century under the great king of the Franks, Charlemagne. Frankish heavy cavalry was the genesis of the mounted knight that came to typify medieval warfare.
Annually for 30 years, Charlemagne conducted military campaigns that extended the size of his empire. The Frankish army consisted of both infantry and armored cavalry, but the cavalry was his most valuable force and the part that got the most notice. It could move quickly and strike hard against foes fighting mainly on foot. Charlemagne's campaigns were economic raids, burning, looting, and devastating enemies into submission. He fought very few battles against organized opposition.
The Vikings fought exclusively on foot, except that it was their habit to gather horses upon landing and use them to raid farther inland. Their raids began in the late eighth century and ended in the eleventh century. The descendants of Viking raiders that became the Normans of northwestern France adapted quickly to the use of horses and became some of the most successful warriors of the late Middle Ages.
In the early tenth century, the Germans began developing the use of cavalry under Otto I, both as a rapid response force against Viking raids and to repel mounted barbarian raids from the East.
By the end of the tenth century, heavy cavalry was an important component of most European armies except in Anglo-Saxon England, Celtic lands (Ireland, Wales, and Scotland), and Scandinavia.
Economy
Economic Revitalization
At the start of the Dark Ages, Northern Europe was deeply forested. By 1000 AD, much of the forest was gone and most of the rest was going, replaced by farmland and pasture. The soil was generally excellent, a loess of finely ground rock deposited during the last receding Ice Age. Two key inventions accelerated the deforestation of Europe and led to increasing food production. The first was the horse collar that originated in China and gradually came west. The improved collar fit across a horse's breast, rather than its windpipe, allowing it to pull much heavier loads without choking. The second invention was the heavy wheeled plow, which was needed to cut into the deep soils and extensive root systems of the old forests. Dramatic increases in food production were the foundation of population growth and economic revitalization in Europe.
Increasing population, no longer needed on the manors, migrated to the towns that were already growing in response to the needs for larger markets. Food surpluses and the products of new industries (cloth-making, shipbuilding, and tool-making, for example) traded in the new markets and trade fairs. Kings encouraged the growth of towns because residents were usually allied with the central authority rather than local feudal lords. Citizens of towns paid taxes, not feudal service. Within towns there appeared a new middle class that supported itself by trade, industrial production, and lending money. Merchants came to dominate the town governments, growing both rich and powerful.
Craftsmen and merchants organized themselves into associations that were called guilds. These associations controlled prices and production, ensured a high standard of service or manufacturing, and organized the training of crafts through apprenticeships. These controls ensured both a high-quality product and a high-quality of life for guild members. Guild members often concentrated in one part of town, such as Threadneedle Street and Ironmongers Lane in London. Guilds formed an important power block within the political structure of the towns.
Increased trade led to a new boom in manufacturing. Both led to the rise of banking, centered mostly in northern Italy in the thirteenth century. Fledgling businesses needed money to get started and to function efficiently. Money acted as a medium of exchange and standard of value and was necessary for moving beyond an inefficient barter economy. Italy had cash surpluses from its lucrative Mediterranean trade, especially with the Levant. The gold florin of Florence became the most popular coin of the late Middle Ages.
At the start of the Dark Ages, Northern Europe was deeply forested. By 1000 AD, much of the forest was gone and most of the rest was going, replaced by farmland and pasture. The soil was generally excellent, a loess of finely ground rock deposited during the last receding Ice Age. Two key inventions accelerated the deforestation of Europe and led to increasing food production. The first was the horse collar that originated in China and gradually came west. The improved collar fit across a horse's breast, rather than its windpipe, allowing it to pull much heavier loads without choking. The second invention was the heavy wheeled plow, which was needed to cut into the deep soils and extensive root systems of the old forests. Dramatic increases in food production were the foundation of population growth and economic revitalization in Europe.
Increasing population, no longer needed on the manors, migrated to the towns that were already growing in response to the needs for larger markets. Food surpluses and the products of new industries (cloth-making, shipbuilding, and tool-making, for example) traded in the new markets and trade fairs. Kings encouraged the growth of towns because residents were usually allied with the central authority rather than local feudal lords. Citizens of towns paid taxes, not feudal service. Within towns there appeared a new middle class that supported itself by trade, industrial production, and lending money. Merchants came to dominate the town governments, growing both rich and powerful.
Craftsmen and merchants organized themselves into associations that were called guilds. These associations controlled prices and production, ensured a high standard of service or manufacturing, and organized the training of crafts through apprenticeships. These controls ensured both a high-quality product and a high-quality of life for guild members. Guild members often concentrated in one part of town, such as Threadneedle Street and Ironmongers Lane in London. Guilds formed an important power block within the political structure of the towns.
Increased trade led to a new boom in manufacturing. Both led to the rise of banking, centered mostly in northern Italy in the thirteenth century. Fledgling businesses needed money to get started and to function efficiently. Money acted as a medium of exchange and standard of value and was necessary for moving beyond an inefficient barter economy. Italy had cash surpluses from its lucrative Mediterranean trade, especially with the Levant. The gold florin of Florence became the most popular coin of the late Middle Ages.
Feudal Contract
The Feudal Contract
Feudalism was an agreement between two nobles, one the lord and one the vassal. The vassal pledged an oath of fealty (faithfulness) to the lord and agreed to carry out duties in his behalf. The most important duties were usually military service (normally limited to 40 days per year), providing soldiers to the lord's army, and providing revenue to the lord. The lord agreed to protect the vassal with the army at his command and to provide the vassal with the means of making a living. The vassal was given control of a fief that was usually a large holding of land, but he could also be assigned the job of tax collector, coiner, customs agent, or some other responsibility that created revenue. A lord with many vassals thus had steady sources of revenue and an army. A feudal contract was made for life. A lord could take back a fief if the vassal failed in his duties. It was much harder for a vassal to leave a lord. During the early Middle Ages fiefs were not inherited, which was to the advantage of the lord. The more fiefs he had to give out, the harder his vassals would work to earn them. As the Middle Ages progressed, vassals found opportunities to make their fiefs inheritable, leaving the lords fewer fiefs to pass out as rewards.
Only nobles and knights were allowed to take the oath of fealty. In practice most nobles were both vassals and lords, fitting in somewhere between the king and the lowest knight of rank. Feudalism was never neatly organized, however. Vassals might be more powerful than lords. The dukes of Normandy, controlling much of France and all of England, were more powerful than the kings of France who were their lords. Vassals might have several lords, causing problems when different lords wanted the vassal to provide a service. The senior lord, or liege lord, was usually given preference. Nobles also discovered that if they were strong enough they could ignore the rules of feudalism and attack neighbors to get what they wanted. Such private wars were endemic throughout the late Middle Ages
Feudalism was an agreement between two nobles, one the lord and one the vassal. The vassal pledged an oath of fealty (faithfulness) to the lord and agreed to carry out duties in his behalf. The most important duties were usually military service (normally limited to 40 days per year), providing soldiers to the lord's army, and providing revenue to the lord. The lord agreed to protect the vassal with the army at his command and to provide the vassal with the means of making a living. The vassal was given control of a fief that was usually a large holding of land, but he could also be assigned the job of tax collector, coiner, customs agent, or some other responsibility that created revenue. A lord with many vassals thus had steady sources of revenue and an army. A feudal contract was made for life. A lord could take back a fief if the vassal failed in his duties. It was much harder for a vassal to leave a lord. During the early Middle Ages fiefs were not inherited, which was to the advantage of the lord. The more fiefs he had to give out, the harder his vassals would work to earn them. As the Middle Ages progressed, vassals found opportunities to make their fiefs inheritable, leaving the lords fewer fiefs to pass out as rewards.
Only nobles and knights were allowed to take the oath of fealty. In practice most nobles were both vassals and lords, fitting in somewhere between the king and the lowest knight of rank. Feudalism was never neatly organized, however. Vassals might be more powerful than lords. The dukes of Normandy, controlling much of France and all of England, were more powerful than the kings of France who were their lords. Vassals might have several lords, causing problems when different lords wanted the vassal to provide a service. The senior lord, or liege lord, was usually given preference. Nobles also discovered that if they were strong enough they could ignore the rules of feudalism and attack neighbors to get what they wanted. Such private wars were endemic throughout the late Middle Ages
Feudalism
Feudalism
The predominant economic and political structure of the Middle Ages was feudalism. This system evolved in response to a breakdown in central authority and a rise in social chaos following the end of Roman rule. A hierarchy of strongmen in allegiance replaced the Roman system of emperor, senate, province, city, and town.
The predominant economic and political structure of the Middle Ages was feudalism. This system evolved in response to a breakdown in central authority and a rise in social chaos following the end of Roman rule. A hierarchy of strongmen in allegiance replaced the Roman system of emperor, senate, province, city, and town.
Feudalism Decline
The Decline of Feudalism
Political Changes
By the beginning of the late Middle Ages, western Europe had been divided into feudal holdings of various sizes. Kings atop feudal hierarchies did not exercise a strong central authority and nations existed as cultural groups, not political entities. By the end of the late Middle Ages, strong central authority controlled England, Spain, Portugal, and France. Political power in those areas had been wrested away from the local feudal lords.
William the Conqueror established the first of the strong European monarchies after winning the throne of England in 1066. Following his victory at Hastings and five more years of fighting to break remaining resistance, he began taking steps to consolidate his power. He kept one-sixth of England as royal land. Half of the rest was given as fiefs to Norman barons who were his direct vassals. He gave one-quarter of the land to the Church and the remainder was divided among the Anglo-Saxons. The entire feudal hierarchy was forced to swear fealty to him as liege lord. He claimed ownership of all castles, prohibited wars between lords, and made royal coinage the only legal money. These were important first steps in the decline of feudalism, although they could not always be enforced, especially by later kings of lesser ability than William.
In the twelfth century, England's King Henry II created the chancery and exchequer, the beginnings of a civil service. The chancery kept records of laws and royal transactions; the exchequer was the treasury. Both offices were not hereditary, making it easy to remove unwanted officials. The staffs of the new civil service were paid a salary rather than given a fief, making them dependent only on the king.
In 1215 the unpopular King John of England was forced to sign the Magna Carta, a feudal document that made the king subject to the laws of the land and required that the barons have a voice in the king's decision through a Great Council. Wording of the Magna Carta led to important interpretations in later centuries, including the concept of "no taxation without representation." When a later English king ignored the Magna Carta, the barons seized power in 1264 and ruled temporarily through an expanded Great Council called the Parliament. The new Parliament included not only the barons and high-ranking churchmen but also representatives from the large towns.
Although this parliamentary government was short-lived (15 months), Parliament itself could not be suppressed or ignored. From this period on, only Parliament could repeal laws it had passed. No taxes could be imposed without its approval. When kings needed money in the short term (during the Hundred Years War, for example) they were often forced by Parliament to concede more power in exchange. Parliament and the civil service continued to grow in importance, and they proved capable of running the country, regardless of the current king's ability or any temporary rebellion by the nobility.
While the king, civil service, and Parliament were pushing down on the power of barons from above, pressure was also rising from the bottom of the feudal hierarchy. Several factors worked toward freeing the serfs from their contracts with the lords, including increasing town populations, cessation of barbarian raids, and a fearful plague that struck Europe in the fourteenth century.
The Black Death
The plague that became known as the Black Death struck Europe suddenly and with devastating effect in the middle fourteenth century. It moved west from Central Asia, appearing in the Black Sea area in 1346. It spread southwest into the Mediterranean and then up and around the North Atlantic Coast and into the Baltic. By 1348 it was in Spain and Portugal, by 1349 in England and Ireland, by 1351 in Sweden, and by 1353 in the Baltic States and Russia. Only remote and sparsely populated areas were spared. Between a third and a half of the population of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and India died, based on modern estimates of the loss.
The Black Plague was probably a variety of the bubonic plague, a bacterial infection still encountered today and still dangerous. The bacteria were carried in the saliva of fleas that had sucked the blood of infected rats. The fleas jumped to human hosts when infected rats died and the bacteria spread rapidly in the human blood stream. The plague took its name from its most hideous symptom-large black and painful swellings that oozed blood and pus. Victims developed a high fever and became delirious. Most died within 48 hours, but a small minority were able to fight off the infection and survive.
Entire towns were depopulated and the social relation between serf and lord fell apart. People who could farm or make things were valuable. The move to cities accelerated once the plague had passed.
Political Changes
By the beginning of the late Middle Ages, western Europe had been divided into feudal holdings of various sizes. Kings atop feudal hierarchies did not exercise a strong central authority and nations existed as cultural groups, not political entities. By the end of the late Middle Ages, strong central authority controlled England, Spain, Portugal, and France. Political power in those areas had been wrested away from the local feudal lords.
William the Conqueror established the first of the strong European monarchies after winning the throne of England in 1066. Following his victory at Hastings and five more years of fighting to break remaining resistance, he began taking steps to consolidate his power. He kept one-sixth of England as royal land. Half of the rest was given as fiefs to Norman barons who were his direct vassals. He gave one-quarter of the land to the Church and the remainder was divided among the Anglo-Saxons. The entire feudal hierarchy was forced to swear fealty to him as liege lord. He claimed ownership of all castles, prohibited wars between lords, and made royal coinage the only legal money. These were important first steps in the decline of feudalism, although they could not always be enforced, especially by later kings of lesser ability than William.
In the twelfth century, England's King Henry II created the chancery and exchequer, the beginnings of a civil service. The chancery kept records of laws and royal transactions; the exchequer was the treasury. Both offices were not hereditary, making it easy to remove unwanted officials. The staffs of the new civil service were paid a salary rather than given a fief, making them dependent only on the king.
In 1215 the unpopular King John of England was forced to sign the Magna Carta, a feudal document that made the king subject to the laws of the land and required that the barons have a voice in the king's decision through a Great Council. Wording of the Magna Carta led to important interpretations in later centuries, including the concept of "no taxation without representation." When a later English king ignored the Magna Carta, the barons seized power in 1264 and ruled temporarily through an expanded Great Council called the Parliament. The new Parliament included not only the barons and high-ranking churchmen but also representatives from the large towns.
Although this parliamentary government was short-lived (15 months), Parliament itself could not be suppressed or ignored. From this period on, only Parliament could repeal laws it had passed. No taxes could be imposed without its approval. When kings needed money in the short term (during the Hundred Years War, for example) they were often forced by Parliament to concede more power in exchange. Parliament and the civil service continued to grow in importance, and they proved capable of running the country, regardless of the current king's ability or any temporary rebellion by the nobility.
While the king, civil service, and Parliament were pushing down on the power of barons from above, pressure was also rising from the bottom of the feudal hierarchy. Several factors worked toward freeing the serfs from their contracts with the lords, including increasing town populations, cessation of barbarian raids, and a fearful plague that struck Europe in the fourteenth century.
The Black Death
The plague that became known as the Black Death struck Europe suddenly and with devastating effect in the middle fourteenth century. It moved west from Central Asia, appearing in the Black Sea area in 1346. It spread southwest into the Mediterranean and then up and around the North Atlantic Coast and into the Baltic. By 1348 it was in Spain and Portugal, by 1349 in England and Ireland, by 1351 in Sweden, and by 1353 in the Baltic States and Russia. Only remote and sparsely populated areas were spared. Between a third and a half of the population of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and India died, based on modern estimates of the loss.
The Black Plague was probably a variety of the bubonic plague, a bacterial infection still encountered today and still dangerous. The bacteria were carried in the saliva of fleas that had sucked the blood of infected rats. The fleas jumped to human hosts when infected rats died and the bacteria spread rapidly in the human blood stream. The plague took its name from its most hideous symptom-large black and painful swellings that oozed blood and pus. Victims developed a high fever and became delirious. Most died within 48 hours, but a small minority were able to fight off the infection and survive.
Entire towns were depopulated and the social relation between serf and lord fell apart. People who could farm or make things were valuable. The move to cities accelerated once the plague had passed.
Franks
The Franks (509 On)
The Franks were one of the Germanic barbarian tribes known to the Romans. In the early part of the fifth century, they began expanding south from their homeland along the Rhine River into Roman-controlled Gaul (modern France). Unlike other Germanic tribes, however, they did not move out of their homelands but, rather, added to them. Clovis, a Frankish chieftan, defeated the last Roman armies in Gaul and united the Franks by 509, becoming the ruler of much of western Europe. During the next 1000 years, this Frankish kingdom gradually became the modern nation of France.
The kingdom of Clovis was divided after his death among his four sons, according to custom. This led to several centuries of civil warfare and struggle between successive claimants to the throne. By the end of the seventh century, the Merovingian kings (descendants of Clovis) were rulers in name only. In the early eighth century, Charles Martel became mayor of the palace, the ruler behind the throne. He converted the Franks into a cavalry force and fought so well that his enemies gave him the name of Charles the Hammer. In 732 the Frankish cavalry defeated Muslim invaders moving north from Spain at the Battle of Poitiers, stopping forever the advance of Islam from the southwest.
Charles Martel's son, Pepin, was made king of the Franks by the pope in return for helping to defend Italy from the Lombards. Pepin founded the dynasty of the Carolingians, and the greatest of these rulers was Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, who ruled from 768 to 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire and was responsible for a rebirth of culture and learning in the West. Charlemagne's empire was divided among his grandsons and thereafter coalesced into two major parts. The western part became the kingdom of France. Later kings gradually lost political control of France, however. Central authority broke down under the pressure of civil wars, border clashes, and Viking raids. Money and soldiers could be raised only by making concessions to landholders. Fiefs became hereditary and fief holders became feudal lords over their own vassals. By the tenth century, France had been broken into feudal domains that acted as independent states.
In 987 the French nobility elected Hugh Capet their king, mainly because his fief centered on Paris was weak and he was thought to pose no threat. He founded the Capetian line of kings, who worked slowly for two centuries regaining the power by making royal roads safe, adding land to their domain, encouraging trade, and granting royal charters for new towns and fiefs in vacant lands. By allying themselves with the church, the Capetians took a strong moral position and benefited from the church's cultural, political, and social influence. Royal administrators were made loyal to the king and more efficient by eliminating the inheritance of government offices.
Beginning with Philip II in 1180, three superior rulers established France as one of the most important nations in Europe. They improved the working of the government, encouraged a booming trade, collected fees efficiently, and strengthened their position atop the feudal hierarchy. Although a national assembly called the Estates General was established, it held no real power and was successfully ignored.
From 1337 to 1453 France and England fought the long conflict called the Hundred Years War to decide ownership of lands in France that had been inherited by English kings. The eventual French victory confirmed the king as the most powerful political force in France.
The Franks were one of the Germanic barbarian tribes known to the Romans. In the early part of the fifth century, they began expanding south from their homeland along the Rhine River into Roman-controlled Gaul (modern France). Unlike other Germanic tribes, however, they did not move out of their homelands but, rather, added to them. Clovis, a Frankish chieftan, defeated the last Roman armies in Gaul and united the Franks by 509, becoming the ruler of much of western Europe. During the next 1000 years, this Frankish kingdom gradually became the modern nation of France.
The kingdom of Clovis was divided after his death among his four sons, according to custom. This led to several centuries of civil warfare and struggle between successive claimants to the throne. By the end of the seventh century, the Merovingian kings (descendants of Clovis) were rulers in name only. In the early eighth century, Charles Martel became mayor of the palace, the ruler behind the throne. He converted the Franks into a cavalry force and fought so well that his enemies gave him the name of Charles the Hammer. In 732 the Frankish cavalry defeated Muslim invaders moving north from Spain at the Battle of Poitiers, stopping forever the advance of Islam from the southwest.
Charles Martel's son, Pepin, was made king of the Franks by the pope in return for helping to defend Italy from the Lombards. Pepin founded the dynasty of the Carolingians, and the greatest of these rulers was Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, who ruled from 768 to 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire and was responsible for a rebirth of culture and learning in the West. Charlemagne's empire was divided among his grandsons and thereafter coalesced into two major parts. The western part became the kingdom of France. Later kings gradually lost political control of France, however. Central authority broke down under the pressure of civil wars, border clashes, and Viking raids. Money and soldiers could be raised only by making concessions to landholders. Fiefs became hereditary and fief holders became feudal lords over their own vassals. By the tenth century, France had been broken into feudal domains that acted as independent states.
In 987 the French nobility elected Hugh Capet their king, mainly because his fief centered on Paris was weak and he was thought to pose no threat. He founded the Capetian line of kings, who worked slowly for two centuries regaining the power by making royal roads safe, adding land to their domain, encouraging trade, and granting royal charters for new towns and fiefs in vacant lands. By allying themselves with the church, the Capetians took a strong moral position and benefited from the church's cultural, political, and social influence. Royal administrators were made loyal to the king and more efficient by eliminating the inheritance of government offices.
Beginning with Philip II in 1180, three superior rulers established France as one of the most important nations in Europe. They improved the working of the government, encouraged a booming trade, collected fees efficiently, and strengthened their position atop the feudal hierarchy. Although a national assembly called the Estates General was established, it held no real power and was successfully ignored.
From 1337 to 1453 France and England fought the long conflict called the Hundred Years War to decide ownership of lands in France that had been inherited by English kings. The eventual French victory confirmed the king as the most powerful political force in France.
Goths
The Goths (200 to 714)
The Goths were a Germanic tribe on the Danube River frontier known to the Romans from the first century AD. Pressured and then displaced when the Huns moved west out of Central Asia, the Goths moved west into Europe and over the Danube River to escape the oncoming hordes. After taking part in the fall of Rome, they vied with other barbarians for the leavings of the Western Roman Empire during the Early Middle Ages.
The Goths originated on the island of Gotland in the Baltic, to the best of our knowledge, and split into two groups as they migrated south across Central Europe. The Visigoths, or West Goths, settled in modern Romania during the second century. The Ostrogoths, or East Goths, settled farther to the east on the northwest coast of the Black Sea. In 376 AD the Visigoths were driven from modern Romania by the Huns and moved south across the Danube. Their strength was estimated at 60,000 men, women, and children. They defeated a Roman army from Constantinople, settled briefly south of the Danube, and then pushed into Italy. In 409 they sacked Rome under their king Alaric and then moved north into Gaul. The Romans gave them southwestern Gaul. From there they eventually extended their rule into all of modern Spain and Portugal.
The Ostrogoths broke away from Hunnish rule and followed their cousins into Italy late in the fifth century. They were encouraged to invade by the Eastern emperor, who wanted deposed the barbarian then ruling as viceroy. Under Theodric, king of modern Switzerland and the Balkans already, the Goths entered Italy in 488, completing its conquest in 493.
Theodric's kingdom did not last long following his death in 526. Using a struggle for succession as an excuse, the Byzantines sent an army to Italy in 536 led by their great general Belisarius. The Byzantines hoped to regain Italy and restore the old Roman Empire in the West. The war dragged on, devastating the countryside in conjunction with plague and famine. In 552 the Ostrogoths were finally defeated in Italy. They ceased to exist as a separate group by the late sixth century when northern Italy was invaded by a new group of barbarians called the Lombards.
The Visigoth kingdom lasted somewhat longer. In the late fifth century Clovis of the Franks pushed the Visigoths out of France and over the Pyrenees Mountains. Following the death of Clovis his kingdom fragmented and the Visigoths were temporarily left alone. In 711 a new threat appeared from the south. Islamic armies crossed over from North Africa and destroyed the last Gothic kingdom in four years.
The Goths are remembered for being the first to sack Rome and thereby beginning the final collapse of the ancient world order in Europe. Their admiration for Rome and attempts to preserve it, however, allowed much of the Roman culture to survive. For example, the modern languages of Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and Romania are derived from Latin influenced by later settlers. They are not variations of German, as was the case in England.
The Goths were a Germanic tribe on the Danube River frontier known to the Romans from the first century AD. Pressured and then displaced when the Huns moved west out of Central Asia, the Goths moved west into Europe and over the Danube River to escape the oncoming hordes. After taking part in the fall of Rome, they vied with other barbarians for the leavings of the Western Roman Empire during the Early Middle Ages.
The Goths originated on the island of Gotland in the Baltic, to the best of our knowledge, and split into two groups as they migrated south across Central Europe. The Visigoths, or West Goths, settled in modern Romania during the second century. The Ostrogoths, or East Goths, settled farther to the east on the northwest coast of the Black Sea. In 376 AD the Visigoths were driven from modern Romania by the Huns and moved south across the Danube. Their strength was estimated at 60,000 men, women, and children. They defeated a Roman army from Constantinople, settled briefly south of the Danube, and then pushed into Italy. In 409 they sacked Rome under their king Alaric and then moved north into Gaul. The Romans gave them southwestern Gaul. From there they eventually extended their rule into all of modern Spain and Portugal.
The Ostrogoths broke away from Hunnish rule and followed their cousins into Italy late in the fifth century. They were encouraged to invade by the Eastern emperor, who wanted deposed the barbarian then ruling as viceroy. Under Theodric, king of modern Switzerland and the Balkans already, the Goths entered Italy in 488, completing its conquest in 493.
Theodric's kingdom did not last long following his death in 526. Using a struggle for succession as an excuse, the Byzantines sent an army to Italy in 536 led by their great general Belisarius. The Byzantines hoped to regain Italy and restore the old Roman Empire in the West. The war dragged on, devastating the countryside in conjunction with plague and famine. In 552 the Ostrogoths were finally defeated in Italy. They ceased to exist as a separate group by the late sixth century when northern Italy was invaded by a new group of barbarians called the Lombards.
The Visigoth kingdom lasted somewhat longer. In the late fifth century Clovis of the Franks pushed the Visigoths out of France and over the Pyrenees Mountains. Following the death of Clovis his kingdom fragmented and the Visigoths were temporarily left alone. In 711 a new threat appeared from the south. Islamic armies crossed over from North Africa and destroyed the last Gothic kingdom in four years.
The Goths are remembered for being the first to sack Rome and thereby beginning the final collapse of the ancient world order in Europe. Their admiration for Rome and attempts to preserve it, however, allowed much of the Roman culture to survive. For example, the modern languages of Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and Romania are derived from Latin influenced by later settlers. They are not variations of German, as was the case in England.
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