Osprey - Men at Arms 191 - Henry VIII s Army

5/13/2018 Osprey - Men at Arms 191 - Henry VIII s Army

1/47

~ MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES IPIIHENRY V III'S A RM Y

PAUL CORNISH ANGUS McBRIDE


2/47

First published in Great Britain in 1987 byOsprey Publishing, Elms Court, Chapel Way, Botley,Oxford OX2 9LP, United Kingdom.Email: [email protected] 1987 Osprey Publishing Ltd.Reprinted 1988, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998,2000

Ali rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for thepurpose of private study, research, criticism or review, aspermitted under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act,1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form orby any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical,optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without theprior permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries shouldbe addressed to the Publishers.B ritis h L ib ra ry C ata lo gu in g in P ub lic atio n D ataCornish, PaulHenry VIII's army.-(Men-at-arms series;191).I.England and Wales. Arnry--History2. Great Britain-History, Military-Tudors, 1485-1603I.Title II. Series355'.00941 UA649ISBN 0 85045 798 XFilmset in Great BritainPrinted in China through World Print Ltd.FOR A CATALOGUE OF ALL BOOKS PUBLISHED BYOSPREY MILITARY, AUTOMOTIVE AND AVIATIONPLEASE WRlTE TO:The Marketing Manager, Osprey Direct USA, PO Box 130,Sterling Heights, MI 48311-0130, USA.Email: [email protected] Marketing Manager, Osprey Direct UK, PO Box 140,Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 4ZA, United Kingdom.Email: [email protected]. ukVisit Osprey at:uiuno.ospreypublishing.com

DedicationFor JenniferAcknowledgelllentsSpecial thanks to Gerry Embleton,Andrew Clary and Chris Gravett.Artist's NoteReaders may care to note that the original paintingsfrom which the colour plates in this book wereprepared are available for private sale. Allreproduction copyright whatsoever is retained by thpublisher. All enquiries should be addressed to:Scorpio GalleryP.O. Box475HailshamE. Sussex BN 27 2SL

The Publishers regret that they can enter into nocorrespondence upon this matter.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


3/47

Henry V I II 's Army

C a m p a i g n s and Ba ttle sFew eras of British military history have been soneglected as the reign of Henry VIII. Folklore hasgiven us the image of the 'Bluff King Hal' and his sixwives, his reputation only slightly tarnished by hispredilection for beheading people. Meanwhile,mainstream historians have largely characterisedthe period as one of religious, social andgovernmental change. Nevertheless, military affairsoccupied a very significant place during HenryVIII's reign. Consequently, the study of his armycan reveal much about the period as a whole.This book is principally concerned with the

uniforms and equipment of that army: how theydiffered from those of their continental neighbours,and how and why they changed and developed.Recruitment and organisation are also discussed,but to put these matters into context it is necessaryfirst to look at the history of Henry VIII's martialendeavours.

* * *During Henry VIII's reign English armies sawaction against two main enemies: the French andthe Scots. France was undoubtedly viewed as theprincipal foe. Henry nursed grandiose ambitions tobe acclaimed as the arbiter of European politics.Intervention in European affairs did not necessarilydictate a policy of hostility towards France;nevertheless, despite certain diplomatic overturesand negotiations, England was invariably to befound in league with France's enemies in time ofwar. Indeed, such alliances were essential if Henrywas to attack France, for she was no longer the weakand divided opponent who once faced Edward IIIand Henry V.The French, in their turn, could generally invokethe aid of Scotland against England. The conflict

Henry vm, circa 1520: a corrective to the traditional image ofHenry as a corpulent, middle-aged man, this portrait, by anunknown artist, shows him in his prime. (National PortraitGallery)

between England and Scotland has tended toovershadow Henry VIII's continental ventures inmodern times, though to most contemporaries, itappeared as little more than an adjunct to theconflict with France.Early ExpeditionsIn 151I King Henry made his first forays in toEurope. A force of 1,500 archers was sent to the LowCountries, where they met with much success whileaiding Margaret of Savoy against the rebelliousDuke ofGueiders. A larger venture was undertaken

3


4/47

Standards: (a) The Marquis of Dorset. Ground: white andmulberry purple. Unicorn: ermine, with gold and silver rays.Theflowers are sprigs ofPinks (whitewith pink edges). (b) SirRees Ap Thomas. Ground:white. Theeight black ravens stand ongreen mounds. Motto: unknown. Both standards would haveborne the cross of St George at the hoist.

in alliance with Henry's father-in-law, Ferdinand ofAragon. Ferdinand offered what appeared to be achance to recover erstwhile English possessions insouth-western France, and accordingly 5,000infantry, under the Marquis of Dorset, weredespatched to north-eastern Spain. The Spanishwere to provide cavalry and logistical support; butFerdinand was more interested in swallowing-upthe independent Spanish kingdom of Navarre thanin furthering English aims. Consequently, by thetime he finally declared himself ready to invadeGuienne the English force, which had provided aconvenient shield for his flank, was riddled withdisease and indiscipline. All that the Englishcommanders could do was to ship the rump of theirarmy home and face the wrath of the king.This fiasco did nothing to dampen Henry's

warlike ardour. During 1512 plans were laid for thefollowing year; the King, as a member of the Pope's'Holy League', would personally lead an invasion ofnorthern France.The Battle of the SpursOn 30 June 1513 Henry VIII stepped ashore atCalais, having been preceded by an armynumbering between 24,000 and 35,000 men-4

probably the finest English army of the ifithcentury. Contemporary commentators-includingthe French-had little but praise for the way inwhich it conducted itself; and the king's presenceobviously enhanced morale and discipline. Unfor-tunately, the quality of the army was not matchedby the quality of its strategic direction, and theobjectives pursued probably owed more to Henry'ssubtle ally, the Emperor Maximilian I, than toEnglish interests.Firstly, the well-fortified town of Therouanne

was invested by the vanguard and rearguard of theEnglish army; but prior to the arrival of the kingwith the remainder of the army the siege lines werenot drawn tight enough to prevent Frenchinfiltration. It was this failing which engendered theonly open engagement of the campaign.On 16 August the French put into operation aplan which they hoped would enable a company of

light cavalry to carry powder and provisions to thewalls of the beleaguered town. While a diversionaryattack was mounted from the north-west, the re-victualling force was to try its luck from the south,supported by heavy cavalry-possibly numberingas many as 2,000. Unfortunately for the French,Henry VIII, accompanied by the Emperor, hadjust moved south of Therouanne with the mainbody of his army. The French heavy cavalry thusfound themselves facing over 1,000 horse, with atleast 10-12,000 infantry following a mile behind.Henry, probably at Maximilian's suggestion, sentforward longbowmen on horseback to engage theFrench flank from behind a hedge, supported by thefire oflight guns. La Palice, the experienced Frenchcommander, saw no alternative but to withdraw,whereupon the English horse charged, catching theFrench as they were about to move off. This disasterfor the French was compounded by the arrival oftheir light cavalry, returning in rout from their vainmission. The entire French force was soon inheadlong flight, with the English cavalry in joyfulpursuit, accompanied by some men-at-arms lent bythe Emperor-thus giving the battle its popularname.The Battle of the Spurs, as visualised by the German artistHans Burgkmair. The involvement of Imperial troops isgreatly exaggerated, flags bearing the cross of Burgundyfeaturing prominently. English longbowmen are, however,clearly visible beneath one of these flags. (Bycourtesy of theTrustees of the British Museum)


5/47

No more than 40 Frenchmen were killed, but 120notable prisoners were taken (including the Duc deLongueville, the Chevalier Bayard and, tem-porarily, La Palice himself). Meanwhile, thediversionary force had been driven off by theEnglish light cavalry under Sir Rees Ap Thomas.The only practical gain from the encounter was the

surrender, on 22 August, of the now demoralisedgarrison of Therouanne.Therouanne was then destroyed on Henry's

orders, freeing the entire English army to marcheast to the richer, but less well-defended city ofTournai. Once again we see the influence of theHoly Roman Emperor, for Tournai lay on the

5


6/47

The Battle of the Spurs: this version was painted sorrreyearsafter the event. Inthe centre of the picture a rrranis depicted inthe illlprobable act of shooting a longbow frorn the back of acharging horse. Therouanne is in the background. (Repro-duced by gracious perrrrisaion ofHM the Queen)

borders of his own dominions. A heavy bombard-ment was soon followed by the city's capitulation,and Henry was able to make a triumphal entry on25 September into this new English possession.Before this happy culmination of his first campaigntook place, however, the king received news of amilitary feat which put his own in the shade.Flodden FieldOn his departure for France, Henry had taken theprecaution of leaving the Earl of Surrey to defendEngland against possible Scottish incursions. Theexpected attack duly materialised. On the day thatHenry accepted the surrender of Therouanne,6

James IV crossed into England with the largest andbest equipped army ever to be assembled IIIScotland.Word soon reached the 70-year-old Earl of

Surrey that the Scots were besieging Norham castle.He sent orders for the troops of the northerncounties to muster at Newcastle, and marchedthither himself with his own band of 500 men.Meanwhile the Scots took Norham, along with thelesser strongholds of Wark, Etal and Ford. On 3September Surrey moved north to Alnwick, wherehe awaited late arrivals; the final addition to hisforces being his son Thomas Howard, Admiral ofEngland, with 1,000 seasoned soldiers from thefleet. Reasonable estimates for the size of theEnglish army vary from 12,000 to 26,000 men, thelower figure being the more plausible.The old Earl had been disgruntled at having to

miss out on the invasion of France, and wasted no


7/47

timein marching to meet the Scots. By 6 Septemberthe English army lay at Wooler. Looking up thevalley of the River Till they could descry FloddenEdge, on top of whose steep slopes the Scots hadtaken up an impregnable position. The Scottishhost-much reduced by desertion-still probablyoutnumbered the English and to assault such aposition would have been an act oflunacy. Surrey,nevertheless, knew that some action had to be takendespite the foul weather and the fact that his armywas acutely short of supplies. After consulting hiscaptains, the Earl put a singularly decisive plan intooperation. He marched north to Bar Moor and thendivided his army into two large bodies, eachsupported by two smaller 'wings'. On the morningof9 September the first of these divisions, under theAdmiral, marched north-west to Twizel Bridge andThe Flodden campaign. Inset: the area in its geographicalcontext.

crossed the Till. From this posiuon they turnedsouth and marched towards Branxton Hill,immediately to the north of the Scottish position.Finding the enemy to his rear,james IV moved hisforces from Flodden Hill to Branxton Hill, thusdenying this eminence to the advancing English.By late afternoon the Admiral was crossing a

small brook known as Pallin's Burn, near the foot ofBranxton Hill. Seeing the Scots coming into battleorder above him, he sent an urgent message to hisfather, who had advanced by a more southerlyroute, crossing the Till at a ford. As the two Englishforces were brought into line, the Scottish gunsopened fire. Although james IV possessed a finetrain of artillery, it appears to have found somedifficulty in shooting downhill; nevertheless, it didcause some of Lord Dacre's border levies to flee inpanic. At this point the Earl of Surrey, seeing theScots arrayed in four huge blocks (plus one smallerunit), felt compelled to reorganise his own forces.The small 'wing' units were paired, so that theEnglish also had four large units. james IV theninitiated an advance in echelon down the soddenslopes ofBranxton Hill, hoping perhaps to catch theEnglish as they were forming up.

m Land above 300 feet

wo o r e rrj

7


8/47

The Battle ofFlodden Field.

PaII ins Burn : , I ! _ ~: : !L ~ : , k _ v ~ - -iL~ :: t ~ ~ : ! .. > k : ~ ~Dacre~ Surrey" O W " , ' . .11

d m i r a l

First to make contact was the division under theLords Hume and Huntly, who swept away most ofthe Lancashire and Cheshire men under EdmundHoward (a young nephew of the Earl of Surrey).Howard and his followers were able to fight theirway to safety, however, and the situation was savedby a timely charge from Lord Dacre's remainingmen. There is some dispute as to whether or notDacre's Borderers were mounted when theycharged: on balance, it seems most likely that theywere not. Whatever the case, they managed to haltHume and Huntly, and a 'stand-off ensued. Thiswas possibly because each side considered their dutyto be done, but may also have been because bothsides consisted largely of Borderers-notoriouslyreluctant to come to handstrokes, except in pursuitof their own local feuds.Next into action was the Admiral's division,

consisting of a large contingent sent by the Bishop ofDurham and some northern gentry as well as themen from the fleet. They received the charge of theEarls of Crawford and Montrose. In contrast toevents to their left, this Scottish division, disorgan-ised by the steep and slippery hillside, met with abloody repulse and both Earls were killed. The8

Stanley

main Scottish division, under James IV himself,augmented by the smaller unit under the Earl ofBothwell, crashed into the Earl of Surrey's division,which consisted largely of Yorkshire men. Here, too,the impact of the Scots was reduced by the terrain,and a ferocious hand-to-hand fight developed.On the English left, Sir Edward Stanley with his

Lancashire levies faced a body of Highlandersunder the Earls of Lennox and Argyll. Englisharchery had proved ineffective elsewhere along theline due to the heavy armour of the Scottish nobilityand gentry who made up the front ranks of theirpike-blocks. The more lightly armed Highlandersproved to be far more vulnerable. Removing theirshoes and boots to improve their grip, Stanley's menclimbed the slippery hill, and caught the Scots inthe flank. A rout ensued, with the Highlandersscattering across the battlefield. Eventually thepursuing Lancashire men reached the scene of the

Flodden Field: another Burgkmair woodcut. James IV liesdead in the foreground, and the Scots begin to flee.Althoughthe artist depicts the ScotsinGerman-style costumes similarto many others in his battle scenes, the English are verydistinctive, both in clothing and in armament. (BritishLibrary)


9/47

fight between James IV and Surrey. Here lay theking's corpse, within yards of his adversary, andaround lay the dead and dying of the king'sshattered division. Hume and Huntly could onlywithdraw, leaving the blood-soaked field to theEnglish.English losses had been surprisingly low,

probably less than 1,000. The most moderatecontemporary estimate of Scottish losses (from aScot) is 5,000. The cataclysmic effect on Scotlandwas magnified by the disproportionate number ofcasualties suffered by the nobility, most of whomhad followed their King's example and entered intothe thick of the fray.

9


10/47

Standards borne at Flodden: (a) Stanley. Upper half: tawny.Lower half: green. Eagle's legs, eagle and cradle: gold.Swaddling clothes: red, bound with gold. (b) Dacre. Ground:alternately yellow and blue, fringed white and red. Bull: redwith goldencrown and horns. Badges: white staffs and scallopshells entwined with red knots. Shields of St George in the fly.Bothstandards would have borne the cross ofStGeorge at thehoist.

War with France, 1522-23England's next involvement in a war came onlyafter a lengthy period of diplomatic manoeuvring.At one point, after Henry VIII's celebratedmeeting with Francis I of France at the 'Field of theCloth of Gold', it seemed that England wouldbecome an ally of France. However, when Henryagain went to war, it was as an ally of the EmperorMaximilian's successor, Charles V, and the rebelConstable of France, Charles of Bourbon.A small force was sent to France in 1522 under

the Earl of Surrey (Thomas Howard-the Admiralat Flodden). Apart from an abortive attempt tobesiege Hesdin, Surrey's force did little exceptravage the countryside, the main English effortbeing reserved for the following year.During the summer of 1523 an army of some

9,000 men was shipped to Calais and placed underthe command of the Duke of Suffolk. MeanwhileSurrey was sent north to the Scottish border, wherethe troops of the northern shires had been mobilisedto face the threat of invasion. As a result of thefecklessness of the Scots' leader, the Duke ofAlbany,this was a threat which never materialised.Suffolk was forced to wait at Calais until 2010

September for the arrival of 3,500 German troopsled by Floris, Count of Buren. The original plan hadbeen to lay siege to Boulogne, but Buren and theother Imperial agents attached to the army pressedfor a deeper thrust to be made into France.Eventually, despite the lateness of the season andHenry VIII's misgivings, their counsel prevailed.With France's main forces engaged in the south,Suffolk was able to make good headway. Strikingfor the middle Somme, he captured Bray after agallant assault. Crossing the river the English armyswept on to take Roye and, on 28 October, receivedthe surrender of Montdidier after a bombardment.Paris itself was now only 50 miles distant; but fateturned against the English.Severe weather set in, causing many casualties

from exposure and frostbite. News arrived of thedefeat of Bourbon in Provence. Most significantly,the army had become demoralised. The largeWelsh contingent in Suffolk's force had alreadyshown signs of indiscipline; it now went on strike,shouting 'Home, home!' The situation was exacer-bated by the difficulty of transporting moneybeyond the Somme with which to pay the troops.With Paris seemingly within his grasp Henry VIIIordered Suffolk to hold on and await reinforce-ments; but, faced with large-scale desertion, Suffolkwas forced to retreat, and finally to disband hisarmy---ending one of the more pointless episodes ofEnglish military history.For almost two decades following 1523 Henry

VIII was forced to eschew all thought of militaryconquests, as he wrestled with the problemsinvolved in repudiating his first wife, Catherine ofAragon, and eventually, breaking with the Churchof Rome. The late 1530Sin particular were a periodof crisis. In 1537 resentment over Henry'S religiouspolicy led to a rebellion in the northern counties-the so-called 'Pilgrimage of Grace'. This revolt wassuppressed without a battle taking place; the kingwas forced to rely upon negotiation and subterfugeas he was unable to raise sufficient forces rapidlyenough to meet the rebels on equal terms.In 1539 the threat of invasion loomed. It was

widely rumoured that Charles V and Francis 1-now at peace-were intending to mount a joint'crusade' against the schismatic king of England.During the spring of that year the whole ofEngland's military strength was mobilised to meet


11/47

this threat; but Francis and Charles had other fishto fry, and by midsummer the danger had passed.Within three years the Emperor and the Frenchking were once more at war with one another.AReturn to WarThe renewal of the Hapsburg-Valois struggleallowed Henry, as a recent biographer has written,to 'resume what had once been for him the principalbusiness of his reign and end his life as he had begunit, at war'. The first target of his aggression wasScotland-still a thorn in England's side. Thedefeat and capture of 500 English raiders atHaddon Rig, in August 1542, prompted Henry toattempt, once and for all, to impose his will upon theScots. His demands that they should end theiralliance with France, sign a perpetual peace withEngland and repatriate the Haddon Rig prisoners,were rejected by KingJames V. Consequently theDuke of Norfolk was sent with a substantial army tomount a punitive raid, but due to the failure of hissupply arrangements Norfolk was forced to returnto Berwick after only a week.The Scottish response to this incursion resulted in

an even greater debacle. The ro-r S.ooo-man armywhich James V despatched to invade Cumberlandwas riven by internal dissension, and a suddenattack by less than 4,000 English Borderers, underSir Thomas Wharton, proved sufficient to pre-cipitate a rout. Only 20 Scots were killed, but 1,200were captured after having become bogged inwaterlogged Solway Moss. They included twoearls, five barons and 500 gentlemen; the Englishhad lost just seven men. This humiliation provedtoo much for James V, who died shortly afterwardsleaving his six-day-old daughter, Mary, as Queen ofScots.Unfortunately, Henry VIII failed to seize this

golden opportunity to resolve the Scottish problem.He did not take immediate and decisive militaryaction, but instead used the noble prisoners taken atSolway Moss in an attempt to form a pro-Englishparty in Scotland. The leader of this group, the EarlofArran, proved to be no match politically for thepro-French Cardinal Beaton. By the time this factbecame clear to Henry VIII it was too late to takemilitary action, for to do so would have alienated allpro-English sentiment in Scotland. In any case, by1543 Henry'S attention had turned away from the

The victor of Flodden, T'horrrasHoward, Earl of Surrey, wascreated 2ndDuke ofNorfolk in recognition of his feat. Hewasover 80when he died, but this sepulchral brass shows hiOlas arrruchyounger rrran, His ar-rnoun also pre-dates his death, thesrraaf] tassets and full Olail skirt being remfniscent of theprevious century. We should not, of course, deduce froOl thisthat the duke could not afford up-to-date ar'rraour',but shouldnote that the engraver, working in the 1520S,saw nothingincongruous in depicting this style. (By courtesy of theTrustees of the British Museurn)

conflict in the north and was firmly focused on thewar that was now raging in Europe.The 'Enterprise of Boulogne'An anti-French alliance between Henry VIII andCharles V was signed early in 1543. I t came too lateto allow for the organisation of a full-scale campaignfor that year. Instead, a token force of 5,000 Englishtroops under Sir John Wallop were despatched tothe aid of the Emperor in the Low Countries. Ajoint attack on a massive scale was planned for 1544.

I I


12/47

Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who played a major role inthe continental expeditions of 1523and 1544.He was HenryVlli's brother-in-law and, perhaps, his only close friend. (Bycourtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum)

Each monarch was to advance on Paris with over40,000 men, Charles striking westward throughChampagne, while Henry advanced south fromCalais. It is doubtful whether Henry VIn everaccepted this 'Enterprise of Paris' as a seriousproposition; even before his army set sail he appearsto have narrowed his objective to the capture oftowns and territory adjacent to the English 'Pale'around Calais.Henry certainly fulfilled his obligations with

regard to his army's size. The expeditionary forcewas the largest ever to have left these shores,totalling over 42,000 men, including numerousmercenaries and 4,000 auxiliaries sent by theEmperor. As in 1513, the vanguard and rearguardof the army preceded the main body, which was tobe commanded by the king in person, with theassistance of the Duke of Suffolk. The vanguard,under the Duke of Norfolk (the Admiral at Floddenand Earl of Surrey during the war of 1522-23), andthe rearguard under Lord Russell, landed duringJune.

It was not until the beginning ofJuly, however,that they advanced, on Imperial advice, to12

Montreuil. This town had to be taken if the Englisharmy was to advance further into France.Unfortunately the English commanders set abouttheir task in a distinctly half-hearted fashion, noteven managing to fully surround the town. Norfolk,the senior of the pair, appears to have entirely lostthe aggression which had previously characterisedhis generalship. The exasperated Russell wasunable to stiffen the Duke's resolve, despite being'very plain with him .... diverse times'.In the meantime the main body of the army,

numbering 16,000 men, had disembarked and, ledby the Duke of Suffolk, had invested Boulogne on 19July. The king, having tarried for ten days at Calais,rode out to supervise the seige of Boulogne on 26July. Henry VIII was no longer the active youngwarrior of 1513, but his presence seems to haveensured that this siege was prosecuted with a gooddeal more vigour than that of Montreuil. A heavybombardment was begun, coupled with attacksupon the out-works of the fortress.The lightly fortified lower town and a Roman

lighthouse-known as the 'Old Man' to theEnglish-were soon captured. On 1 September thefausse-braye of the castle, which protected the upper-town, was captured after a courageous assault. TheEnglish failed to break into the castle itself, finding'great resystance of men, Hayleshot, and Ram-paires of Stone and earthe, so that they coulde notentre'. The incessant bombardment and theexplosion of mines under the castle walls persuadedthe French of the hopelessness of their position,however, and terms for the surrender of the 1,630surviving members of the garrison were agreed on13 September.At Montreuil, serious siege work had hardly

commenced. English troops had raided as far southas Abbeville, and Norfolk was keen to persuade theking that the garrison of Montreuil was in direstraits: 'glad to eat of a cat well larded and called itdainty meat'. The sad truth was that the besiegingforce was as much in danger of starvation as thebesieged. French raids on the supply convoys sentfrom St Omer were a serious problem, and Norfolk'sGerman horsemen made plain their chagrin athaving to wear out their horses on escort duty.'Strange and horrible' weather had broughtsickness to the camp and destroyed vital forage.This sorry state of affairs was brought to an


13/47

abrupt end by the news that on 18 September, theday of Henry VIII's triumphant entry intoBoulogne, the Emperor, having spent most of thecampaigning season besieging the frontier fortress ofSt Dizier, had signed a separate peace with FrancisI.With the threat from the east thus removed theFrench were now in a position to send a large forceagainst the English. Accordingly, Henry VIIIauthorised Norfolk and Russell to withdraw via StOrner, leaving for the safety of England himself on30 September. Contrary to their orders, Norfolkand Russell retreated to Boulogne via Etaples,abandoning much of their baggage in the process.Close on their heels came the Dauphin with a largearmy, possibly as many as 30,000 men. At thisjuncture something approaching a state of panicappears to have prevailed among the Englishcommanders, for on 3 October they made aprecipitate withdrawal to Calais. To the king'simmense fury only 4,000 men were left to defend hisnewly-won prize.The 'Carnisade of Boulogne'The Dauphin duly appeared before the town on 7October. His reconnaissance quickly revealed thatthe breaches made in the walls of the lower town bythe English artillery had not yet been sealed;furthermore, the watch-keeping of the occupierswas extremely lax. Consequently, he resolved tolaunch a night attack, or 'camisade', on 9 October.With white shirts over their coats and armour as anaid to recognition (this was the feature that gavesuch operations the name 'camisade'), 23 com-panies of selected French and Itali an infantry wereto make the initial assault. Large bodies of Swissand Landsknechts were held in reserve.Initially success was achieved, as the French

poured into the lower town driving all before them.However, their commander De Tais was forced towithdraw, wounded by an arrow. Other Frenchcaptains also withdrew their men, due to a falsealarm about the English having recaptured thebreaches. At this point the French commanders inthe town lost control of their men, who set aboutplundering the houses and the copious storesabandoned by the fleeing English.Meanwhile, in the upper town the garrison was

being rallied and re-formed. Under the commandofSir Thomas Poynings they charged back into the

lower town, throwing their previously victoriousfoes into confusion. The French were driven out ofthe town as fast as they had entered, with the loss of800 men killed or taken prisoner. The Frenchreserves arrived too late to retrieve the situation.After this debacle, the French decided to

postpone further attempts to recapture Boulogneuntil the next campaigning season. Marshal de Biezwas left to keep watch on the town from the southside of the River Liane, the harbour and town beingon the north shore of the estuary.1 5 4 5 - 1 5 4 6The year 1545 was one of crisis for Henry VIII.Deprived of the aid of Charles V, he was forced toface the might of France alone. A seaborne invasionof England was confidently expected, and the fate ofNorth-eastern France.

England

/\>over

= : : :: ;: :; " " - - -- ~Gravelinesj~s.;::\ Hapsburg2 2 2 2 J S : : . . .G.~is~es....... Dominions

Marquise. . ' Ar dr es

~BOUIOqne- g ~SI0me,) . . ~ ,Therouanne (Tournai SOm) ---7'

~aPlesI "'-. Montreuil

~.HeSd;n -,c..~

France

Montdid ie r e(Par is SOm)/


14/47

This French parade shield probably depicts the retreat of theEnglish from Montdidier in 1523.Longbowmen are certainlyvisible in the ranks of one army. (By permission of theTrustees of the Wallace Collection)

Boulogne hung in the balance. Three separateforces were mustered in southern England to facethe invasion threat: the Duke of Norfolk com-manded in Essex, Suffolk was in charge in Kent andLord Russell was commander in the west.Luckily for the English, the French proved

unable to press home their advantage. Thepotential invasion disintegrated into a series ofinconclusive naval actions along the southern coast,the only notable incident being the accidentalsinking of the Mary Rose during one of theseengagements. French troops did make a small-scalelanding near Bonchurch on the Isle of Wight, butthis was easily repulsed.

Prior to launching his invasion of France in theprevious year, Henry VIII had attempted tointimidate the Scots by sending the Earl of Hertfordto Leith with a seaborne army. Leith, Edinburgh,and many smaller places were burnt as Hertfordmoved inland and then marched south towardsBerwick, leaving a swathe of devastation in hiswake. In February 1545, however, the Scots provedthat they were still a force to be reckoned with,inflicting a sharp defeat on an English raiding forceat Ancrum Moor. It was not until September thatHenry was able to retaliate by sending Hertford onanother destructive raid of the Lowlands, thusperpetuating this doleful conflict, which was to dragon into the reign of Edward VI.In France, the war followed a similarly indecisive

course during 1545. At Boulogne the French wereunable to muster sufficient men to invest the town


15/47

fully. The English garrison was always too weak todislodge the French from their earthwork forti-fications on the south bank of the river, despiteseveral attempts. The French did achieve a measureofsuccess, but this came in the county ofOye, to theeast of Calais, where Marshal de Biez attacked with'20,000 men and forced the English back on Calais.The French soldier and commentator, Montluc,gives an interesting description of an attack on an

English earthwork fort, in which he took part;otherwise few reliable details of this campaignsurvive.In September 1545 Henry VIII appointed as

Lieutenant of Boulogne the wayward soldier-poetHenry Howard, Earl of Surrey, he also appears tohave pandered to the intense personal concernThis contemporary drawing depicts an English man-at-arms:possibly Henry vm himself. (British Library)

35

,Ir-,''I .


16/47

which had led Henry VIII to pour vast sums ofmoney into the defence of his conquest. Surrey'sfather, the Duke of Norfolk, did not share, alongwith others, the king's determination to hold on toBoulogne at all costs. At the end of September 15*5he wrote advising his son to 'animate not the Kingtoo much for the keeping of Boulogne; for who sodoth at length shall get small thank'.In January 1546 Surrey finally overreached

himself. With 2,600 foot and all the horse ofBoulogne, he attacked a French supply columnwhich was escorted by 500 horse and 4,000Landsknecht foot. The English cavalry, in a gallantcharge, soon put their French counterparts to flightand began to destroy the enemy waggons.Unfortunately for Surrey, his infantry, mainlyEnglish but with some Italian arquebusiersattached, proved no match for the Landsknechts.Although the French convoy was virtually de-stroyed, the English lost 205 men, including 22gentlemen; several standards were lost to theenemy.Thomas Howard, 3rdDukeofNorfolk, played a central role inthe tnilitary and political affairs of Henry VIII's reign. Afterproving his tnettle at Flodden, he led forces against France in1522 and Scotland in 1523, and finally cotntnanded thevanguard during the 1544 expedition. (By courtesy of theTrustees of the British Museum)

16

This minor disaster led to the replacement ofSurrey by Hertford, the rising star on the Tudormilitary and political scene. Apparently the kingtoyed with the idea of sending a 30,ooo-man armyto France in 1546. In the event, Hertford's role waslimited to manoeuvring for advantage during theperiod preceding the signing of a peace treatybetween England and France at Camp on 7June.Thus the military history of Henry VIII's reign

came to a close. The Treaty of Camp provided forthe return of Boulogne to France, after a period ofeight years, in return for an indemnity. As Tournaihad also been restored to the French in 1519,England had no concrete gains to show for theruinous expenditure involved in mounting the threeinvasions of France. Indeed, it might also be saidthat opportunities to bring the Scottish imbroglio toa successful conclusion were spurned, due to HenryVIII's senseless quest for glory overseas.

R ecru itm e nt an dOrganisa t ion

Henry VIII's army was not, of course, a permanentforce: the king had only minimal standing forces athis disposal. Chief among these were the Yeomen ofthe Guard-increased, during the opening years ofHenry's reign, from 200 to 600 men. It is interestingto note that their role was not confined to that ofroyal bodyguard. In the spring of 1513 they weremarched to Plymouth, in readiness for a proposedinvasion of Brittany. In December 1544, long afterthe king's return to England, the garrison ofBoulogne included 185 Yeomen of the Guard.Henry could also count on the gentlemen of his

household. In the first year of his reign he organised50 young men of noble blood into a mountedbodyguard. Known as the 'King's Spears', theyserved as men-at-arms, each being supported by alighter cavalryman, two mounted archers and apage. Expensive to maintain, this unit was dissolvedwithin six years; in 1539 though, Henry created asimilar force called the 'Gentleman Pensioners'.During 1544, 73 of these gentlemen accompaniedtheir king to Boulogne. As individuals, they couldalso be assigned to other duties:' in 1545 Sir George


17/47

Carew (who had been present at the siege ofBoulogne), was drowned while captaining the MaryRose. The only other permanent units available toHenry VIII were the garrisons, or 'crews', atBerwick and in Calais, and the other strongholds ofthe English 'Pale'.Other troops were raised only when war

threatened. Two main methods of recruitment wereemployed in England. Firstly, certain nobles andgentlemen could be paid to raise and leadcontingents for service with the king's army; to thisend they were given immunity from the zealouslyenforced restricnons on the maintenance ofretainers. (These laws, codified by Henry VII andperpetuated by his son, were designed to curb thepower of the nobility by preventing the creation of'private armies'.) Secondly, there existed largecounty militias composed of men liable for militaryservice under ancient obligations dating back toAnglo-Saxon times. In '544 the southern countiesof England (along with Wales), could provide over90,000 men mustered under this system. Troopsraised by both methods served side by side andcould also be used to supplement the 'crews' inBerwick and the 'Pale'.For overseas expeditions logistical limitations

One of a series of engravings made from conterripor-ar-ymur-als at Cowdray House in Sussex (since destroyed). Herewe see the departure of the rniddle ward of the English annyfr-ornCalais in July 1544.(National ArDlyMuaeurn, London)

prevented more than a tithe of England's potentialmilitary strength from being shipped to theContinent. In the resulting armies, contingentsraised under contract tended to predominate.Conversely, when England was threatened withinvasion, the militia was invariably mustered. Thelevies of the northern counties were earmarked forservice against the Scots, while those of the southwere to face the French. These were the men whoformed the bulk of the army at Flodden Field andwho stood-to in southern England during theinvasion scares of '539 and '545.Armies could be augmented by auxiliaries

recruited outside this framework. In the Frenchcampaign of '523, a band of English adventurersknown as the 'Krekers', or 'Crackers', played aprominent role. They served for loot and appear tohave been brave, if undisciplined. Similar troopswere recruited in London in '545, for service atBoulogne. For the invasion of France in '544,600Irish warriors were enlisted. These 'Kern' made animpact which belied their small number, due to

'7


18/47

their success at skirmishing, raiding and cattlestealing. According to the Duke of Norfolk, theFrench thought them 'Gens meroelous sauva ige '.A further supplement was provided by the hiring

of foreign mercenaries. Mercenary troops took partin all of Henry VIII's continental campaigns andalso served on a smaller scale against the Scots.

These men were not enlisted merely to increase thesize of English armies, but rather to make up fordeficiencies in certain troop-types. England did notproduce large numbers of pikemen, arquebusiers orheavy cavalry; consequently, these were the typesmost commonly hired.Landsknecht pikemen were present in every force


19/47

sent to the Continent, including the ill-fatedexpedition to Spain in 151I.Heavy cavalry werealso hired from Germany, 'Burgundians' (from theImperial provinces in the Low Countries) featuringin all three invasions of France. Artillerymen werealso hired from the Low Countries, and paidaccording to the size of gun which they were tohandle. In 1544-46 other mercenaries recruitedincluded Spanish and Italian arquebusiers (whoserved in both France and Scotland) and 'Stra-diots': Balkan light cavalry who had desertedfrom service with the French. In addition to truemercenaries, Landsknechts and men-at-arms werealso 'borrowed' from the Emperor Charles V, withHenry VIII footing the wage bill. A contingent ofthis sort which attended Suffolk's army in 1523 wascommanded by Floris von Isselstein, Count ofBuren. His son, Maximilian, fulfilled the same roleIn 1544.Of the relative merits and performances of thesewidely differing elements of Henry VIII's army,little direct evidence exists. Occasionally certainAnother engraving from Cowdray House depicts the camp ofHenry Vlli's ward at Marquise in 1544.The camp is shownsuffering from the effects ofthe violent storm whichoccurred011 the uight of 25July. (National Army Museum, London)

The siege of Boulogne, as depicted at Cowdray House. Atbottom left stands the king's camp. Henry himself appears atthe far right, overseeing operations. At centre left a group ofIrish auxiliaries can be discerned, driving cattle ahead ofthem. The artillery isbeing concentrated on one section of thewalls, in the hope of creating a breach. (National ArmyMuseum, London)

groups (such as the Welsh in 1523, or the Germansin 1544) are singled out for criticism; none,however, behaved badly enough to be excludedfrom later campaigns. (Welsh contingents servedagain in 1544, and German mercenaries played animportant role in the warfare in France during1545-46.)Taking a wider view, it might be said that thelack of discipline and the low morale apparent insome English armies of this period were largely dueto their heterogenous composition. Retinues andmilitia contingents were not bound to their leadersby strong 'feudal' loyalties, and indisciplinestemming from elements such as the Welsh,Landsknechts or 'Crackers' could be infectious.Although staunch in the defence of their homeland,English armies seem to have required the presenceof the king himself to motivate them while overseas;only he could provide the authority, prestige and

'9


20/47

focus for loyalty needed to hold the disparateelements of his army together.The organisation of Henry VIII's army wasbased on companies of 100men. This isabundantlyapparent from surviving documents. Contingentsbrought by nobles or gentlemen, or provided bytowns or parishes, could be ofalmost any sizefromtwo to 2,000 men. While in the field, however,smaller groups were brigaded together while thelarger oneswere provided with numerous captains.Naturally, company strengths could fluctuate dueto the exigenciesofcampaigning; nevertheless, 100men, led by a captain and a 'petty' captain (at halfthe captain's rate of pay), was the norm.At a higher level, armies were generally dividedinto three huge 'wards', along medieval lines:namely, theVanguard, Battle and Rearguard. Thisunwieldy system was intended more for adminis-trative convenience than for battlefield use. AtFlodden, Surrey, with his relatively small army,adopted a formation which comprised two mainThe siege of Boulogne, as depicted at Cowdray House. Thelower town and the harbour, already inEnglish hands, are tothe right. At far right is the Roman lighthouse known as the'Old Man'. Artillery is massed in the foreground, includingtwo huge wooden 'cannons' with small guns strapped tothem-these were apparently constructed to over-awe thegarrison ofBoulogne.Oneat least seems tohave survived inthe Tower of London until 1841.(National Army Museum,London)

bodies, each supported by two 'wings': a deploy-ment which proved flexibleenough toresolve itselfinto four large bodies before battle wasjoined. Inthe same year, when Henry VIII marched out ofCalais with the Battle of his invasion army, he toodeployed 'wings' to support the main body of his'ward'. In 1544 the three 'wards' were so large(13,000, 16,000and 13,000men respectively) as tobe able to operate as two separate armies.The most remarkable feature of this organi-sational structure was the lack ofany intermediateunit between the roo-man company and the 'ward'of thousands. The Spanish had developed thecolunela (1,000-1,500 men) in the first decade ofthecentury and, by the mid-I530s, had begun toestablish the famous tercio (3,000 men). In 153IFrancis I of France created his infantry 'Legions'(6,000 men). Even the Landsknechts habituallyorganised themselves into companies of 400.England, however, remained oblivious to thesedevelopments: only ad hoc groupings of companiesunder asinglecommander provided tactical unitsofa useful size.This was as true in 1544asit had beenin 1513.Thus Henry VIII's army stood outside themainstream of European military organisation,apart from reflecting the general rise in overallarmy sizewhich was a feature of the period.

20


21/47

Supply and other auxiliary services weregenerally even less systematically organised thanthe fighting troops. A mass of non-combatantswould accompany every army: pioneers andlabourers, millers and bakers, cartwrights andbutchers, even Cornish miners for siege operations.(In '544-46 female camp-followers also appeared,although in lesser numbers than with mostEuropean armies.) Supplies were purchased fromindividual merchants by royal commissioners.Prices were fixed by decree; unfortunately this didnot guarantee the quality of the goods. In '545, forinstance, the garrison ofBoulogne were dismayed toreceive many barrels of meal and beef which hadbeen rendered inedible due to careless packing.Distribution was a still greater problem. Each

army was provided with a quota of waggons andwaggoners; detailed regulations concerning theircond uct were laid down in the aftermath of the, 523campaign. However, to convey supplies to the armyfrom their source (supply dumps known as'staples'), further transport was necessary. It was

the difficulty of providing this that contributed tothe abrupt end of the campaign in France in '523and that of Norfolk in Scotland, 19 years later.Furthermore, it was lack of supply which pre-cipitated the battle of Flodden Field an d preventedthe exploitation of the resulting victory.The most common complaint from commanders

in the field, regarding supply, was of a shortage ofbeer. Apparently no English army could remainlong in the field without it. In '544 Norfolk wrotefrom outside Montreuil that his men had drunk nobeer for ten days: 'which is strange for English mento do with so little grudging'. The importance ofgiving the troops what they were accustomed to isemphasised by the sad decline of the force sent toSpain in 151 Iwho: 'did eate of the Garlicke with allThis map ofBoulogne was made byJohn Rogers, the engineerin charge of fortifying the town after its capture. At bottomleft is the Roman pharos (the 'Old Man') surrounded by newlyraised ramparts. Abovethis is Boulogneitself; the lower townextends down to the harbour from the more heavily fortifiedupper town. The lines of fortification south of the riverindicate where the French were encamped during 1545-46.(British Library)

21


22/47

meates, and drank hote wynes in the hote weather,and did eate all the hote frutes that thei could gette,which caused their bloudde so to boyle in theirbellies, that there fell sicke three thousand of theflixe [dysentery] and thereof died XVIII hundredmen'. Thus chronicler Edward Hall gives us anearly example of the failure of the Englishmanabroad to come to terms with the local cuisine!For each expedition to France, supplies and thewaggons to transport them, were secured (withImperial aid) from the Low Countries. However, asthe armies moved away from their bases their linesof supply became more difficult to maintain, andincreasingly vulnerable to attack. During the latesummer of 1544 it became so difficult to safelysupply the force at Montreuil from St Omer that itwas proposed to move the 'staple' from there toGravelines, and to send the supplies via Calais andBoulogne. Ambushing of waggon convoys became asalient feature of the French campaigns; this isespecially noticeable in the desultory warfare of1545-46.

E q u i p m e n tInfantryIn the field of military technology, the first half ofthe rfith century was a period of rapid change inwestern Europe; however, to a large extent HenryVIII's England stood aloof from continentaldevelopments. The most obvious manifestation ofthis insularity was in the continued reliance uponthe traditional bill and bow as the main offensiveweapons. The reputation gained by the longbowduring the Hundred Years' War had not yet beenseriously challenged: most Englishmen still re-garded it as the supreme arbiter of battle. The kinghimself took pride in his ability as an archer, andissued proclamations encouraging the practice ofarchery. The demand for bow-staves was immense,many being imported; those of wood grown in thewarm Mediterranean climate were especiallyfavoured. Merchants were required to bring aquota of bow-staves into the country with eachcargo of imported goods.It would seem that the equipment of an archer of

this period differed little from that of his22

predecessors who had fought at Agincourt. In 153Ian I talian observer was able to describe them asfighting 'in the old fashion, with bow, sword,buckler, sallet, and a two-pronged iron stake toresist a charge from the enemy's horse'. Archers'stakes are regularly mentioned in contemporarydocuments; they generally appear to have beenmade of wood, shod or 'garnished' with iron. Onedifference between the Tudor archer and his 15th-century counterpart was the former's use of aquiver. While these seem previously to have been ararity, clear references to them exist from HenryVIII's reign. In 15I3 the Earl of Northumberlandequipped his archers with quivers in his liverycolours (see Plate B3). A royal proclamation of I542sets the price ofvarious items ofmilitary equipment,including 'leather cases' for arrows. In both casesthe quiver appears to have been suspended from thewaist by a 'girdle'.Although no contemporary quivers have sur-

vived, several bracers, worn by archers on the insideof their left arm, have been preserved. Apart fromthe example in the British Museum a number ofbracers were recovered from the wreck of the MmyRose, made of either leather or horn. Interestingly,no 'tabs' (for protecting the fingers of the right handwhile drawing and releasing the bowstring) werefound on the Mary Rose. Dr Margaret Rule pointsout that, as it is unlikely that none survived, it mightbe concluded that the calloused fingers ofexperienced archers did not require such pro-tection.Despite its continued popularity, the English

bow was not destined to win any more greatvictories. Indeed, at Flodden Field, the mostimportant battle of Henry VIII's reign, the issuewas decided by the bow's 'companion' weapon, thebill. The English bill, often called a 'brown' or'black' bill due to a coating of rust or varnish, was acrude but effective weapon, much closer to itsorigins as an agricultural implement than itscontinental counterpart (see Plate A). Naturally itwas an easier weapon to master than the bow, anddid not require constant practice. Consequentlybillmen considerably outnumbered bowmen inevery English army of the period. This disparity isparticularly evident in the muster lists of 1539 and1544. The situation at Flodden was, of course,tailor-made for the English billmen. The Scots were


23/47

inexperienced in handling pikes, and the slipperyslope which disordered their advance gave thehandier bill a great advantage.The failure of pike against bill at Flodden did not

discredit the pike as a weapon. Henry VIII wasshrewd enough to realise that an army solely armedwith bill and bow could not hope to face the Frenchon equal terms. English troops were seldomequipped with what they called 'Morris' (Moorish)pikes. At a muster of the London Trained Bands in'539, the pikemen were thought particularlyimpressive; probably due to their relative novelty.Even in 1544 the retinues of the gentlemen of thePrivy Chamber could only muster 380 pikemen,compared with 1,073 billmen. To increase hisarmy's pike strength, Henry VIII had to lookabroad: Landsknecht pikemen were hired for everycontinental expedition.Mercenaries also had to be recruited to makegood the lack of arquebusiers in England. This wasevident during the war of I544-46: Henry VIII andhis commanders were well aware of the important

role being played by firearm infantry in con-temporary warfare. In '544 a royal proclamationwas issued encouraging the use of arquebuses.However, with the coming of peace in 1546, this wasquickly cancelled by another proclamation ban-ning the use of such weapons. I t seems that the kingwas not keen to see the population at large armingitself with guns, preferring to hire foreign specialistsover whom he had more control. With plenty ofexperienced archers still available, and consideringthe relative cost-effectiveness of bows, there waslittle to induce Henry to re-equip his army withfirearms. Arquebuses were imported, but not on avery lavish scale. It is indicative of the limited roleenvisaged for the arquebus that in 1544 the king'sagent in Antwerp was seeking to buy wheellockweapons, as opposed to the more normal (andcheaper) match-locks, regarding the latter as 'veryslender gear not meet to be sent to His Majesty'.One other infantry weapon sometimes men-

This contemporary drawing shows an English army on themarch. (British Library)


24/47

tioned isworthy ofnote: that mostbasicofweapons,the simple spear, was still in use in Henry VIII'sarmy. Specifically described, in at least onedocument, as 'long', the spear was particularlyfavoured by the Welsh. The muster list forDenbighshire in 1539 shows more spearmen thanbillmen. Unfortunately there seems to be noreference to this rather anachronistic weapon's usein battle.

CavalryCavalry made uponlyasmall proportion ofEnglisharmies at thisperiod. The great victory ofFloddenwas won by infantry alone; and 3Iyears later thearmy for the invasion ofFrance had lessthan 4,000cavalry, compared with over 28,000 infantry. In thesameyear the leviesofthe northern shires,musteredforwar with the Scots, could show2,500 cavalry, asagainst 14,000 foot.The proportion oftrue' cavalrywas even lower than these figures suggest, asmounted archers (who dismounted to fight) werealways included in the listsof 'horse'.The greatest deficiency was in heavy cavalry.The renaissance of theman-at-arms asa battlefieldforce, which had been spearheaded by the creationof the French Compagn ie s d 'Ordonnance , had passedEngland by. The tradition of fighting dismountedlingered long among the English aristocracy.Moreover, suitable horses were not readily avail-able in England. As late as 1557 an Italiancommentator could write: 'With regard to heavyhorse, good for men-at-arms, the island does notproduce any, except a few in Wales ... so thecountry cannot have any considerable quantity ofheavy horse'. Most English 'heavy' cavalry were ofthe type known as demilances, wearing three-quarter armour and carrying the light lance thatgave them their name.Henry VIII wasforced tosupplement hiscavalryby recruiting mercenaries or auxiliaries from theHoly Roman Empire. Despite the money helavished on the hiring of such troops, he wasgenerally disappointed by their quality. At theBattle of the Spurs the 'Burgundians' were carefulnot to charge until they saw that the French werebeaten. Many of those hired in 1544 turned out tobe Reiter (,Swarte Rutters' to the English), armedwith 'boresperes and shorthandgonnes' (pistols)The men-at-arms, moreover, were not equippedwith horse armour, which the English still thoughtimportant. The Germans explained that althoughthey had previously used bards, they 'would nevermore adventure their lives with so cumbrous athing'.

This suit of ar-mour',made circa 1515-25, is a fine example ofthe fluted stylepopular inGermany during the first half of therfitbcentury. Many ofthe 'Burgundian' men-at-arms attachedtoHenry VIII's armies would have sported similar suits. (Bypermission of the Trustees of the Wallace Collection)


25/47

Flodden Field, 1513:1:Billman2: Archer, Sir Edward Stanley's contingent3: Soldier, Earl of Surrey's contingent

3

A


26/47

B

France, 1513:1:Halberdier, Earl ofNorthumberland's guard2:Archer,Earl ofNorthumberland's contingent3:Captain, Earl ofNorthumberland's contingent

1


27/47

1:Border Horseman2,3:German Landslrnechts

1

3

c


28/47

1: Yeoman of the Guard, c. 15202: Yeoman of the Guard, c. 1538

D


29/47

1:Man-at-arms, c. 15402: Halberdier, London Trained Bands, 1539

E


30/47

France, 1544:1:Pikeman,Vanguard2:Demilance3:Soldier, Thomas Caverden's contingent

2

F

3


31/47

France, 1544:1: Petty-captain of Foot2: Landsknecht captain3: Irish auxiliary

G


32/47

2 1

France, 1544:1:German cavalryman2: Arquebusier

H


33/47

Light cavalry were more of an English speciality.They are referred to by several different names incontemporary documents, for example: 'LightStaves', 'Chasing Staves', 'Javelins' or 'Javelinswith Targets'. The latter appear to have beenequipped in a similar manner to the famousstradiots. A Venetian writing in 1551 describessome of the English light cavalry as 'armed in theAlbanian fashion'. The cream of the English lighthorse were undoubtedly those recruited from theNorthern Marches. They seem to have performedbest when sent with expeditions to the Continent,away from the internecine feuding of borderwarfare. A contingent which accompaniedWallop's force in 1543 were said to have impressedCharles V himself. They were armed with 'northernstaves': these appear to have been true light cavalrylances (as opposed to spears). William Damesell,seeking to purchase wood with which to make themin 1545, can only find wood for men-at-arm's 'staffs'in Antwerp; this he ignores as being too short andtoo dear.One further type of light cavalryman was

beginning to make an appearance by 1544: namely,the mounted arquebusier. A few of these 'demi-hakes on horseback' marched with the Battle of theexpeditionary force---although apparently notenough. An Italian observer was quick to advocatetheir recruitment, in order to provide suitableescorts for supply convoys, a purpose for which the

English were currently having to employ 'Almayneruters, which with their great and heavy horses arescantly good but in a set battle'.ArDlourWhen it came to equipping his troops with armour,Henry VIII had once more to rely upon what couldbe procured from the Continent. England had noindigenous armour manufacturing industry of anyimportance. Henry attempted to remedy this bybringing over German armourers to work at his newarmoury at Greenwich. Their output was so small,however, that the use of 'Greenwich' armour waslimited to the king and his immediate circle.Accordingly, those who could afford it bought theirharness from Italy, Germany and the LowCountries. The King himself sought to purchase nofewer than 100 Flemish armours for the gentlemenof his household in 1510. For those whose pursescould not stretch to new imported armour, thealternative was to continue wearing suits which hadgon~ out offashion. The strongest evidence for thispractice comes from contemporary church brasses(see page 38).This bracer, for an archer's left wrist, is made from curr-boulli (boiled leather). It is embossed with a crowned Tudorrose and the words 'IRS [Jesus] Helpe'. This inscription fitswellwith anItalian diplomat's comment on the army of 1513''There were fewwho failed daily to recite the office and ourLady's Rosary'. (Bycourtesy of the Trustees of the BritishMuseum)

33


34/47

, .": . : ~ /'

.'!'., : ,t

rfith-centuey bills, showing a variety of shapes.

Henry VIII's reign coincided with a growing useof armour by the humble infantryman. In this area,at least, England did not lag behind the rest ofEurope. Canvas jacks lined with metal plates, mailshirts, brigandines and jazerans (both made withmany small, separate plates covered with cloth orleather), had long been used. Where Henry VIII'sarmy really reflected continental developments wasin the widespread use of specialised infantry platearmour. This type of harness is most commonlyreferred to in English sources as 'Almain [i.e.German] rivet'. This comprised a breast and backplate, usually complete with tassets; 'splints' for thearms; and a gorget. All these elements arespecifically listed in a 1512 indenture to an Italianmerchant; they are also mentioned in the list of the'Equipage of the Earl of Northumberlend'. The34

care taken in detailing these component partssuggests that the term 'Almain rivet' was looseenough to cover armour which lacked one or moreof them.Almain rivet appears generally to have been o

low quality-the breast of the example preserved inWinchester (see Plate B1) is entirely worn throughin one place-and this is certainly reflected in thecost of such armour. A royal proclamation of 1542sets the price of the best quality Almain rivet at 76d, whereas a suit of demilance armour costs 45s-six times as much.Henry VIII purchased Almain rivet on a vast

scale for issue to his troops. Warrants for paymentexist for over 10,000 'pairs' of Almain rivetimported during 1512-13. An account of 1513 notesthat 13,719 complete harnesses for footmen hadbeen issued from the king's armoury during thatyear. In addition, Almain rivet was purchased bythe nobility to equip their own retinues: the Earl oNorthumberland provided his entire 500-mancontingent (most of them archers) with suchharness; and ten years later an inventory of thegoods of Lady Hungerford (executed for murder)notes the presence of 120 'pairs' of Almain rivet.If it is assumed that the lion's share of the 13,719

'pairs' issued from the Tower went to the army forFrance, and additional 'pairs' provided by men likethe Earl of Northumberland are taken into account,it would seem likely that as many as half of the20-30,000 infantry on that expedition wereequipped with plate armour. For the great musterof the London Trained Bands in 1539 we are toldthat the Aldermen of the city were able to 'put asyde all soche as haddejackes, coates of plate, coatesof mayle and briganders, and appoynted none butsoche as had whyte harness'. The prosperousLondoners were probably better equipped than theEnglish militia forces as a whole. In the countymuster lists for 1544, approximately a quarter of thetroops are listed as 'with harness'. The proportionwas undoubtedly higher in the army taken toFrance that year. The Duke of Norfolk's 'ward', forinstance, were equipped with fustian or canvas'arming doublets', indicating that it was intended toissue them with plate armour.The quality of infantry armour does not seem tohave improved; wear and tear took a heavy toll. In

October 1544, during the celebrated 'Camisade' o


35/47

Boulogne, the French commentator Montluc noted30 casks of 'German corselets' in the lower town. ByJuly 1545, however, the commanders at Boulognewere complaining that out of 650 'pairs' of harnessin the town only 200 were serviceable, of which 'thechief part rested on the captains and the pettycaptains in the fore ranks of battle, being armedwith corselets'-a mere 200 men out of 5,000 footpresent.OrdnanceIn the field of ordnance Henry VIII also reliedheavily upon foreign imports. This is not to say thatthere were no guns made in England; indeed,Cornwall supplied the finest tin for use in thefounding of brass guns. Nevertheless, Englishgunfounders could not match the expertise of theirFlemish counterparts; thus it was to the LowCountries, and to men like Hans Poppenruyter ofMalines, that Henry VIII turned for the manufac-ture of his best guns. Poppenruyter made numerousguns for Henry, including the famous 'TwelveApostles' which were taken to France in 1513.Henry imported foreign talent as well as foreignguns: gunfounders were brought over from theContinent to work in the foundries at the Towerand at Houndsditch. A powerful train of artilleryhad already been accumulated by 15I3: each'ward' of the army was equipped with 60 guns, andwith an additional 40 'organ' guns for anti-personnel use. The heavy artillery performedcompetently at Therouanne and Tournai, but lackof a pitched battle restricted the usefulness of the'organs'. The artillery was again limited to siegework in 1523 and 1544. Boulogne was bombardedby 95 guns and 50 mortars in 1544Guns were not the only ordnance used by Henry

VIII's army. A drawing preserved in the BritishLibrary (from Cotton Ms Augustus lILa.) shows anEnglish army employing various 'war-carts' orprotected waggons (see page 42). Such vehicles arementioned in contemporary documents as 'privywaggons' or 'close carts'. At the siege ofBoulogne 20of the former were presen t. An accoun t submitted in1544 by John Rogers, Henry VIII's chief militaryengineer, relates to the transportation of similarequipment: it mentions binding down the 'swordesof the engynes' and devices called 'shrympes'. A listof ordnance present at the siege of Boulogne

mentions 50 of these 'shrimps'. They have beenidentified with some curious-looking machinesdepicted in murals of the 1544 campaign whichonce adorned the walls of Cowdray House in Sussex(see page 4). Once again, the absence of a majorbattle deprives us of any record of their use.Other equipment used included caltrops and

chevaux defrise: several surviving documents refer to'latice galtrupps' and 'latice stakes', which wereapparently made of iron. Their main use seems tohave been the defence ofmilitary camps. ChroniclerEdward Hall asserts that the camp at Therouannewas defended by 'tryde harrowes' and 'spientrestyls'. Such devices may also have represented anattempt to compensate for the English army's lackof pikes. They are certainly symptomatic of theEnglish attachment to the static mode of fighting,employed so successfully in France by theirforebears.From John Skelton's Ballade of the Scottyshe Kynge, this printshows cavalry of the Flodden period. The knight wearsoutmoded 'gothic' anrnour-, The light hor-seman wears abrigandine with short mafl sleeves, but has full leg a.r-mour-,(British Library)

3balIabtott~ettottPttl)eIwnge.

35


36/47

U n i f o r m sHenry VIII's reign is a period of fundamentalimportance for the study of the history of militarycostume. It witnessed a great change in conceptionsof what sort of allegiances soldiers should beadvertising in their garb, and saw the first tentativesteps towards a national system of uniform.At the outset of the reign the white coat was

already firmly associated with the English soldier,so much so that the words 'white-coat' were almostinterchangeable with the word 'soldier' in con-temporary English. These coats were commonlyemblazoned with the traditional English field sign:

the red cross of St George. Even foreign troops inEnglish service could be turned out in white. The500 Landsknechts who, under the command of theFlemish captain Guyot, had accompanied the forcesent to Spain in 151 1 'were dressed', as Hall relates,'all in white, whiche was cut so small that it couldscarce hold together'. Evidently their eagerness todisplay English colours did not prevent them frommaintaining their outlandish style of dress.The accession of Henry VII to the throne in 1485

The ar-mour-of the corrrrrronsoldier. This jack probably postdates Henry VIII's reign, but gives a good idea of theirconstruction. The rneral plates which provided the protectionwere held in place by the cord, clearly visible here, stitchedthrough the canvas exterior. (Bycourtesy of the Trustees of theBritish Muaeurn)


37/47

had added a new element to the traditional Englishcolours. Green could now be added to the white togive a coat of the Tudor family livery colours. Forthe first half of Henry VIII's reign green and whiteAnearly fruit of the foreign talent imported byHenry VIII tostaffhis armoury atGreenwich, this suit ofarmour wasmadefor the king circa 1514-16. Itboasts unusual metal 'bases' (inimitation of the cloth bases, often worn at this period). Thehorse bard is a Flemish-made import. (By courtesy of theBoardof Trustees of the Royal Armouries)

coats are the type most frequently mentioned. Themain reason for their widespread adoption was thatthe crown was responsible for paying for the coats ofmilitia contingents: it was only natural that this'coat money' should be used to provide coats in theking's colours.Some units raised under contract were also clad

in the royal livery. Surrey's retinue at Flodden Fieldwas one such (see Plate A3); the Earl of

37


38/47

Northumberland's contingent, taken to France inthe same year, was another (see Plate B). A detailedlist of the clothing provided by Northumberlandhas survived. Curiously, he combined the Tudorgreen and white of his men's coats with his own redand black livery colours, which appeared on theirhats, quivers and flag-staffs. To add to this cocktailof colour, his men's coats bore not only the cross ofSt George, but also a Tudor (or perhapsLancastrian) rose, and the crescent badge of hisown family: the Percys. The actual uniform itemswere limited, as usual in this period, to a coat andbonnet. It is interesting to note that both Surreyand Northumberland came from families whichhad much to gain by the display of loyalty to theruling dynasty, which the use of these coloursrepresented.Other units were provided with coats of a widevariety of colours, bearing an equally wide variety

This Norfolk church brass commemorates Sir Robert Clere,who died in 1529;his armour, however, is characteristic of anearlier date. Hewears abreastplate with a separate plackart, amail collar or standard instead of a gorget and one-piecetassets. (Bycourtesy of the Trustees of the British Museurrr)

of cognisances. In 151I the force sent to aidMargaret of Savoy in the Low Countries returnedto England newly equipped by her in coats of red,yellow, green and white. The yellow and redprobably represent Margaret of Savoy's liverycolours. At Flodden Field, the contingent providedby the Stanley family (see Plate A2) wore coatsemblazoned with the badges of the Stanleys and othe Bishopric of Ely (the bishop was a Stanley). Anearly poem describes them thus:'Every bearne [man] had on his breastbrodered full fayre

A foot of the fayrest fowle that ever flewon wmge,

With three crowns full cleare all of puregold.'

A document of 1522 gives evidence of the kingempowering the Earl of Shrewsbury to furnish themen of Shropshire and certain northern countieswith liveries, badges and tokens; whether the liveryin question was the king's or the red and black of theEarl is not revealed. The badges certainly sound aif they would have been the latter's: a silver talbot(hound).The practice of small units being clad in their

leader's colours certainly survived late into thereign. Peter Carew was captain of a company of I00men in Wallop's 1543 expeditionary force; 'these',according to Carew's biographer, 'he clothed andapparelled at his own charges all in black, and theywere named the Black Band'. The Carew armswere: Or, three lions passant in pale, sable.A much larger force was the London Trained

Bands. Their uniforms, as of 1539, are described inHall's chronicle and in other sources. All, with theexception of officers and officials, were clothed inwhite, including their hose. Some had coats slashedto reveal red linings (see Plate E2). The 'meanersorte of people' wore white cotton coats 'verycuriously trimmed' with the arms of the city on frontand back.As the reign progressed, however, such in

dividuality was increasingly suppressed in favour ouniform colours and field-signs dictated fromabove. In 1523 regulations governing what mightbe called the auxiliary services of the armystipulated that labourers should all wear a badge oa spade or mattock; carters were to have a badge oa horse-comb or a red cross. By 1544 clothing


39/47

regulations had become far more comprehensive.For the expedition to France the Battle and theRearguard were provided with coats of red,guarded yellow; the Vanguard wore blue, guardedred. Details of the Vanguard's coat were sent to theCount of Buren, in order that he might clothe hisown men correctly: 'The colours of the ward whereMons de Bure shall serve are blue and red, the bodyof the garment blue and a broad guard of III fingersbroad red and one of the sleeves'. Most of the figuresdepicted in the engravings taken from the CowdrayHouse paintings appear to be wearing uniformcoats. In the picture showing the departure of theking's ward from Calais, cavalry as well as infantryare clothed in them.In a set of regulations concerning the clothing of

the Vanguard it is stated that hose will also beprovided 'the right hose to be all red and the lefte tobe blew, with one stripe of three fingers brode of redupon the outside of his legg from the stockdownwards'. The soldier was also to be issued with acap 'to put his sculle or sallete in'. The sameregulations place heavy restrictions upon the use ofbadges: 'noe gentleman nor other wear any mannerofsilke upon the garde of his coate, save only uponhis left sleeve, and that no yeoman wear anymanner of silke upon his saide coate; nor noegentleman, nor yeoman to wear any manner of badge'.A red cross was to be sewn to the uppermostgarment.The issue of uniform on such a large scale must be

considered a significant milestone in the develop-ment of English military costume. Moreover, it isprobably more than coincidence that the blue, redand yellow colours reflect the tinctures of the royalarms. This contrasts with the purely dynasticconnotations of the earlier green and white. Thischange of emphasis was also evident in the coats ofthe Yeomen of the Guard, which were changedfrom green and white to red in the middle of HenryVIII's reign (see Plate D). Nevertheless, it was to bemany years before English troops were issued with auniversally accepted national uniform. Evidenceexists of contingents dressed in the livery colours oftheir commanders, and bearing their badges, only afew short years after Henry VIII's death. Thetradition of the white coat also endured. In 1545Lord Russell wrote that the men of Dorset,Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, whom he had

mustered to face the threatened invasion, hadprovided themselves with white coats at their ownexpense. Contemporaries were still referring tosoldiers as 'white-coats'.

F l a g sA study of the flags borne by Henry VIII's armyalso reveals a movement toward national ratherthan personal insignia. In the early years of Henry'sreign his armies marched under a similar mixture offlags to those which had fluttered over the heads oftheir medieval forebears. Pride of place was held bypatriotic or religiously inspired standards andbanners. (A banner is square, as opposed to thetapering or swallow-tailed shape of a - standard.)Flags made for the ill-fated Guienne expedition of151 Iincluded a standard displaying the cross ofStGeorge, surrounded by a green and white fringe, agreen banner with a picture of St George and,rather optimistically, a banner bearing the arms ofthe Duchy of Guienne: gules, a lion passant-This shield, fitted with a breech-loading rrrarchfockpistol, wasone of 40 made to order in the 1540Sfor issue to the king'sbodyguard-e-presumably those mernbers ofthe YeolTIenoftheGuard in closest attendance upon hilTI. (By courtesy of theBoard of Trustees of the Royal Ar-mour-ies]

39


40/47

Aproduct ofHenry VIII's passion for innovation in the field ofordnance: this triple-barrelled, breech-loading cannon wasmade circa 1533byPeter Baude, aFrench gunfounder workingat Houndsditch in London. (By courtesy of the Board ofTrustees of the Royal Armouries)

guardant, or. Hall mentions two religious flagswhich were carried by the king's ward during the1513 invasion of France: one depicting the VirginMary and the other, which flew over the king'shousehold servants, the Trinity. A banner bearingthe arms of England flew over the king himself.The chronicler notes that Henry also had with

him his own personal standard: the Red Dragon(see page 46). It is evident, however, that thisstandard was not only flown in the king's presence:a red dragon standard was sent to the Earl of Surreyfor use in the North in August 151'2.The king's wascertainly not the only personal standard to be seenin English armies of this period. A list of thestandards carried by the captains of the army inFrance in 1513 survives in the British Library(Cotton Ms Cleopatra. C. V. f59.).At Flodden Field, Surrey appropriated theancient banner of St Cuthbert from Durham

cathedral for use as the army's main flag; but theindividual contingents which made up that armyappear to have marched under the standards otheir leaders. The author of the Scotti sh F J ei ld e, anearly ballad describing the battle, has James IVcalling upon his herald to identify the variouscontingents by their standards. These include thatof the Stanleys (see page 10), of which the herald imade to cry (somewhat melodramatically):'Loe how he batters and beates the bird

with his wings;We are feared of yonder fowle, so fiercelyhe fareth.'

For the expedition of 15'23 John Browne, theking's painter, made two banners bearing the Dukeof Suffolk's arms. At the same time, however, Hallrelates that the Duke himself issued the so-called'Crackers' with a 'penon ofSt George': as an ad hounit they obviously lacked a standard of their own.The fact that the duke found it necessary to presentthem with one is indicative of the importanceattached to such unit flags; not only did theyidentify the unit, but also played a vital role as arallying point.The Tudor livery colours were present on various

flags from the outset of the reign. In 151'2waggonsfor the expeditionary force were to be provided with'pencelles (small pennons) wrought upon buckram,white and green, and upon them a red rose with acrown imperial inoyled'. Interestingly, pennons o


41/47

precisely this description are shown flying fromsmall boats in the painting, now at Hampton Court,of the embarkation of Henry VIII at Dover prior tothe 'Field of the Cloth of Gold'. By the end ofHenry's reign flags bearing the cross of St George,often combined with the Tudor colours, appear tohave predominated.The engraving of the siege of Boulogne, taken

from the Cowdray paintings, shows numerous flags(see page 19). In the foreground, near the king andsome men-at-arms who may represent the Gentle-men Pensioners, a banner depicting St George andthe Dragon and a standard bearing a crowned lionofEngland surrounded by fleurs-de-lys can clearly beseen. Less distinctly, in the distance, a horseman canbe seen carrying the standard of Sir AnthonyBrowne, Master of the King's Horse. This lattermay be ignored, however, being the artist'sflattering reference to the man who commissionedhis work: Sir Anthony Browne himself.All the other flags bear the cross of St George,

some combining it with stripes or bars which areknown to have been white and green in the originalpainting. Flags with crosses and bars of this sort arealso in evidence in some of the contemporarydrawings of English armies in the British Librarymanuscript: Augustus lILa.; unfortunately, theink-and-wash style in which they are executedprevented the colours from being accuratelyrendered.Mercenary contingents in English service evi-

dently provided themselves with similar flags. Amercenary captain called Landenberg is recorded,in 1544, as having provided his men with standardsof white and green with red crosses. Landenbergeventually fell out with Henry VIII's agents overthe rates of pay which were to apply to his men;

consequently only the horsemen of his originalcontingent actually saw service with the English.Their standard included the royal arms, set in thecentre of the cross of StGeorge (see Plate HI).When considering the developments outlined

above, it is prudent to remember that heraldry wasstill very much a 'living' science in Henry VIII'sday. Consider, for instance, the fate of HenryHoward, Earl of Surrey and one-time commanderat Boulogne. In 1547 his enemies were able toprecipitate his execution for high treason on thegrounds that he had flaunted an ancient familyclaim to the throne by quartering the arms ofEdward the Confessor with his own. His father, theDuke of Norfolk, was convicted of attempting toconceal his son's crime, and only avoided theheadsman's axe because of the death of HenryVIII. It is also necessary to take into account thecharacter of the king himself. As he grew older,Henry VIII became increasingly distrustful of thenobility and fearful of internal threats to his throne.Add to these factors Henry's ingrained dislike of'livery and maintenance', and the form and timingof these changes in flags and uniforms are hardlysurprising. They are just one facet of a general trendtowards a concentration of authority in the hands ofthe king, at the expense of the aristocracy.Further readingThe main primary sources referred to in this bookare as follows:Letters and P apers, F oreign and D om estic, oJ the R eign ojH enry V II I , (particularly Vols I, 3 pt I, 19, 20, 2Ipt r ); eds. J. Gairdner and R. H. Brodie.

This facsimile depicts one of the war-engines used in the 1544campaign inFrance. Itis probable that this type ofmachine isone of the 'shrympes' referred to in contemporary documents.


42/47

T he un io n o j th e tw o no ble a nd illu stre J am ilies o j Y ork a ndLancaster, Edward Hall, '542 (generally knownas Hall's Chronicle).Secondary sources consist largely of myriad

articles, or short references in long books .... For acomplete list of such publications, the followingbibliographies should be consulted:A Bib li ography ojBritis h M ilita ry H is to ry , ed. A. Bruce,'98,.

A Guide to th e S ou rce s oj B ritish M ilitar y H isto ry, ed. R.Highams, '972.For a general introduction to the subject and,

indeed, to the period as a whole, Sir CharlesOman's A History oj the Art oj W ar in the SixteenthCentury ( r 937) is still useful and remains veryreadable. Finally, a special mention should be madeof A rm y R oyal by C. G. C. Cruickshank ('969); this isprobably the best publication concerning HenryVIII's army. While specifically dealing with theFrench expedition of '5' 3, it draws on evidencefrom throughout the period.This contemporary drawing showsanEnglisharmy inaction.Its regular formation is obviously idealised, but it is

The PlatesA : F lo dd en F ie ld , 1513AI: Billm anThis man may be considered typical of the greatmass of the English army at Flodden. His mainweapon is a simple bill, an example of whichsurvives in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. Arather elderly sword hangs at his waist, a relic of thepreceding century. Over his plain countryman'sgarb he wears a jack. His head is protected by a'kettle' hat, similar to one preserved in the RoyalArmouries at the Tower of London.A2: Archer oj S ir E dw ard S ta nley 's co nting en tOne of the bowmen who contributed to the rout ofthe Highlanders, this man wears a 'base coat' of theStanley livery colours, bearing the eagle claw badgeof that family and the three crowns of the Bishopricof Ely (the bishop being Sir Edward's brother). Atinteresting to note the prominence of various 'war-carts'.(British Library)


43/47

his waist he carries a dagger of the 'balloch' type.On his wrist is a bracer of boiled leather, similar tothat displayed in the British Museum. His ratherunfashionable bonnet and sturdy boots withoverstockings proclaim his rustic origins: he isperhaps a tenant farmer from the Stanleys'Lancashire estates.A3: Soldier oj th e E arl oj Surrey 's con ti ngen tA professional of Surrey's retinue, this man is morefashionably dressed than his provincial counter-parts. Over his parti-coloured coat of white andgreen he wears breast and back plates, with a fauldbut no tassets (based on a set preserved inMendlesham Church, Suffolk). To protect his neckhe wears a mail collar or 'standard'. On his head, asimple 'skull' is covered by a slashed and tabbedbonnet. His bill is of a slender, continental design,possibly an Italian import: the Royal ScottishMuseum and the Wallace Collection both possessgood examples. His short, single-edged sword is of atype preserved in the Royal Armouries.B: T he F rench C am paign , 1513BI. Halb er die r, E ar l o j N or th umb erla nd 's g ua rdA detailed inventory exists of the Earl ofNorthumberland's equipage for the invasion ofFrance. His roo-man guard were armed withhalberds, this one of German manufacture. Hisarmour is 'Almain rivet'. The arm defences areattached to his doublet by 'points' at the elbow. Hishands are protected by extensions attached by aturning-pin to the 'splints' covering his forearms. Asuit of this sort is preserved in the WestgateMuseum, Winchester. He also wears a gorget and,on his head, a visored sallet of I talian manufacture(Wallace Collection). His sword is also made inItaly, although in the German style: an examplesurvives in the Tower of London.B2: A rc he r, E ar l o j N orth umb er la nd 's c on tin ge ntThe Earl's archers were also equipped with 'Almainrivet'. This man, however, is shown without hisarmour, displaying the coat supplied to men of thiscontingent. Captains were given coats of moreexpensive cloth, and did not wear the crescentbadge of the Percy family seen here. His hat andquiver are both of the Percy livery colours. Hissecondary armament is a long 'rondel' dagger, still

popular in the early rfith century. This fineexample is now to be seen at the Tower of London.He wears loose boots of soft leather, not often wornat this period except by travellers, huntsmen orsoldiers.B3: Captain , Earl oj North umber land' s c on ti ng entThis man wears 'Almain rivet' of a rather superiorquality. Based on a suit preserved in MendleshamChurch, Suffolk, it is fluted in the style thenfashionable on far more expensive armours(particularly in Germany). He has discarded hissallet in favour of the yellow bonnet supplied to thecaptains and guardsmen of Northumberland'sretinue. His dagger and Italian-made sword are

An English pikemam this

Osprey - Men at Arms 191 - Henry VIII s Army

Documents

Transcript of Osprey - Men at Arms 191 - Henry VIII s Army