“There is something that they say:“Look, this is new”;
but that was already in the centuries before us"
(Ecclesiastes 1:10)
The military history of ancient as well as medieval England can be briefly said as follows: it was woven from a thousand sorrows. Whoever landed on its green shores, whoever conquered it! At first, the indigenous inhabitants of the island (except for the Scots and Picts who lived in the north) were conquered by the Romans. Then the Romans left, and the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain began, in which the Jutes and Frisians also participated, which lasted 180 years and ended only at the beginning of the 7th century. However, from the 6th to the 9th century there were also internecine "wars of the seven kingdoms", and by 1016 all of England was conquered by the Vikings.
Perhaps this is what the Saxon warriors looked like before the Norman conquest of Britain. Modern renovation.
Fifty years passed, and in 1066 the Normans landed there, led by Guillaume Bastard, descendants of the same Vikings of King Rollon. All of these events brought about profound military, social and cultural changes in England, although the degree of continuity between Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman military institutions remains a matter of debate. However, it is obvious that Wales retained its identity until the Anglo-Norman conquest of the country.
Although the helmets of the ancient Angles and Saxons had masks and visors, the warriors of King Harold and even Harold himself had a simple helmet with only a nosepiece and paid for it. During the Battle of Hastings, he was struck by an arrow in the eye. Embroidered above his head reads: "King Harold is killed here." Scene 57 (excerpt). Photo of embroidery from the "Carpet Museum", Bayeux, France).
These were the helmets worn by the warriors at the Battle of Hastings. (Around the XI century. Found in Moravia in the town of Olomuc in 1864 (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna)
Interestingly, the Anglo-Saxon military formations of the mid-11th century were very different from the early Saxon ones. Ironically, on the battlefield of Hastings, the "English" met, who were more Normans than the Normans themselves, the descendants of … the Normans. The fact is that most of the country's population was largely demilitarized, while the kings widely used mercenaries, so we can say that even then the concept of "chivalry" arose in England, that is, there were professional warriors who were paid from the treasury.
But in 1331 - 1370. English knights have already used such "big helmets". Helmet dimensions: height 365 mm, width 226 mm. Made from regular iron. Brass rivets. (Royal Arsenal, Leeds, England)
Diagram of the "grand helmet" device from the Dalechin castle in the Vysočina Region (Czech Republic).
At the same time, battle tactics continued to remain within the framework of the Northern European or Scandinavian tradition, which emphasized the role of the infantry, not the cavalry. One of the hottest contentious issues in the study of medieval warfare is whether Anglo-Saxon warriors fought on horseback. Perhaps the most typical Anglo-Saxon warrior of the time was the mobile mounted infantryman who rode on horseback but then dismounted for battle. In 11th century Anglo-Saxon Britain there was a special Huskerl royal guard (the term is of Scandinavian origin and at first meant something like a domestic servant, just like the first samurai in Japan), created in England during the reign of King Cnut the Great and its conquest by the Danes. Until the very Norman conquest, the Huskerls were the main fighting force of the Anglo-Saxon kings, that is, it was their royal squad. During the reign of King Edward, they were also actively used for garrison service as a "national guard" to maintain order in the kingdom. Of course, with its weapons and combat experience, the Huskerl squad was superior to the traditional Anglo-Saxon people's militia of the fird and the troops of the ten - small and medium landowners, but their number was generally small. Therefore, in those cases where large-scale hostilities were planned, a fird was also convened.
Effigius by Robert Berkeley 1170 from Bristol Cathedral. This is one of the earliest British effigies, displaying the complete knightly equipment of the time there - a chain mail hauberg with a hood and surcoat cash.
Anglo-Saxon tactics prescribed starting battles with throwing weapons. They were used like spears, axes, and also, judging by the "Bayeux embroidery", also clubs, which were also thrown at the enemy. Of course, there should have been archery. However, the Anglo-Saxon archers on it for some reason are absent.
Effigia Geoffrey de Mandeville First Earl of Essex, who died in 1144, although she herself is older and dates back to 1185. Temple Church, London. It is distinguished by a cylindrical helmet (pan helmet ) with a chin, also known from the miniature of the end of the 12th century. depicting the scene of the murder of Thomas Becket. (British Library, London).
Between 1066 and 1100, the Anglo-Saxons still continued to play an important role in the Anglo-Norman army after the conquest, but they very quickly adopted both the tactics and weapons of their conquerors and, in general, became in everything similar to the soldiers of northeastern France and Flanders. Fird no longer played any role. So the military history of the Anglo-Normans militarily was very similar to the history of other European peoples of this period. However, there were also differences.
The famous effigy of William Longspe, 1226 Salisbury Cathedral. One of the first effigies with the image of the coat of arms on the shield. The cut off upper part of the shield is also clearly visible, which was rounded on older shields.
Thus, even under Henry II, England was not war-oriented like many of its neighbors, or at least it could not be characterized as a "militarized feudal society." Mercenaries, both local and foreign, increasingly bore the brunt of the hostilities, much of which lasted for a long time, but took place outside England. It is clear that the importance of the common people in the war fell sharply, but it still remained a legal obligation that could later be renewed. Already in the XII century, her famous archers appeared in England, and in the XIII-th free peasants, of whom there were many in England, were simply charged with the obligation to learn how to use the "English great bow". Competitions were arranged for the shooters, well described in the popular ballads about Robin Hood. Most of the shooters came from the northern counties or Kent, Sussex and other forested regions. Crossbows first became a common weapon, although they were used mainly in the king's army, as they were too expensive for the peasants. However, over time in England, its popularity has fallen noticeably, and in this it is very different from other European countries.
John de Walkungham, d. 1284 Church of St. Felikskerk in Felikskerk (north of York). The shield has decreased in size even more, the knees are protected by convex knee pads. A vertically quilted gambison is visible under the chain mail.
Speaking about the military equipment of the knightly cavalry of the British after 1066, it should be noted that it changed in the direction of increasing its effectiveness. Chain armor began to protect almost the entire body of the rider, not only among kings, but also among ordinary soldiers, and the spearheads became narrower and more penetrating. This process took place in the XII and early XIII centuries, while the overhead "armor", both from "boiled leather" and from iron, began to appear already in the second half of the XIII century. The professionalism of the cavalry elite was followed by a comparable professionalization of the infantry, and even the formerly modest archer.
The Praying Crusader is a miniature from the Winchester Psalter. Second quarter of the 13th century Shown in the defensive armor typical of its time: a chainmail hauberge with a hood and metal discs on the front of the leg. It is possible that the cross on the shoulder has a rigid base under it, well, let's say it can be the shoulder pad of a cuirass made of leather, which is covered by a surcoat. The "Grand Slam" has vertical slits for breathing and is decorated with embossing. Unfortunately, such helmets have not survived to this day and are not in museums. (British Library, London).
John de Hanbury, d. 1303, but until 1300 he had no knighthood. Nevertheless, the armor had and carried the knightly service. Buried in the church of St. Welburh in Henbury.
Moreover, he became the most significant figure in the military history of Britain, although, of course, he fought far from the way the horse archers of the East fought. In the XIV century, during the Hundred Years War, it was under the long arrows of the English peasant archers that the magnificent ranks of the French knightly cavalry mingled, the response to the victories of which was the passion for hand firearms and artillery.
William Fitzralf, d. 1323 Pembrash County Church. Brass gravestone - brace, with carefully detailed armor details, including overlay plates on the arms and legs.
In Wales, the development of military affairs followed a parallel, but distinctive course, which for many centuries was characterized by a highly stratified warrior society. Unlike the Welsh of the early Middle Ages in northern Britain, the Welsh in Wales did not have an equestrian culture. Therefore, at the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th centuries, they had to learn cavalry war from the Norman conquerors, and they achieved some success, although they developed mainly lightly armed cavalry. Large numbers of Welsh soldiers served in the English army in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as mercenaries, in turn channeling "modern" military influence back to them in Wales. It was the Welsh who supplied the English king Edward I with the first contingents of archers with whom he made his campaigns against the Scots.
English sword 1350 -1400 Length: 1232 mm. Blade length: 965 mm. Weight: 1710 (Royal Arsenal, Leeds, England)
Another Celtic region of the British Isles that had its own military tradition was Cornwall. There is evidence that early forms of Celtic military organization even survived the conquest of Cornwall by Anglo-Saxon Wessex in 814 and persisted until the Norman conquest itself. Well, already in the years of the Hundred Years War, all local military differences in England were almost completely mixed, with the exception of perhaps the distant and proud Scotland.
Effigia by John Leverick. Mind. 1350 Church in Asha. On his head he has a bascinet helmet with plates on the rim. Instead of surcoat, it is wearing a short jupon, in the slots of which a shell made of metal plates overlapping one another is clearly visible. That is, at that time, armor made of solid-forged iron plates already existed, but were not visible under cash clothes!
Note that the British and their historians were very lucky that despite the revolution and the civil war there, unlike neighboring France, no one specifically destroyed the ancient monuments, although some of them were damaged as a result of the actions of German aviation during the Second World War. Therefore, in English churches and cathedrals, many sculptural gravestones have been preserved - effigies, which allow us to examine the weapons and armor of warriors of a particular time in the most detailed way, starting from the very moment the fashion for these sculptures appeared. Unfortunately, due to the specifics of their position, it is almost impossible to view them from the back, the work of the sculptors themselves is not always equal in quality, however, as a historical monument, these sculptures are practically priceless.
References:
1. R. E. Oakeshott, The Sword in the Age of Chivalry, London, revised edn., London etc., 1981.
2. A. R. Dufty and A. Borg, European Swords and Daggers in the Tower of London, London, 1974.
3. Gravett C. Norman Knight 950 - 1204 AD. L.: Osprey (Warrior series # 1), 1993.
4. Gravett C. English Medieval Knight 1200-1300. UK. L.: Osprey (Warrior series # 48), 2002.
5. Nicolle D. Arms and Armor of the Crusading Era, 1050-1350. UK. L.: Greenhill Books. Vol.1.
6. Gravett, K., Nicole, D. Normans. Knights and conquerors (Translated from English A. Kolin) M.: Eksmo. 2007
7. Gravett, K. Knights: A History of English Chivalry 1200-1600 / Christopher Gravett (Translated from English by A. Colin). M.: Eksmo, 2010.
