zv i The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare This comprehensive volume provides easily accessible factual material on all major areas of warfare in the medieval west. The whole geographical area of medieval Europe, including eastern Europe, is covered, together with essential elements from outside Europe such as Byzantine warfare, nomadic horde invasions and the Crusades. The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare is presented in themed, illustrated sections, each preceded by a narrative outline offering a brief introduction. Within each section, Jim Bradbury presents clear information on battles and sieges, and generals and leaders. Readable and engaging, this detailed work makes use of archaeological information and includes clear discussions of controversial issues. The author examines practical topics including castle architecture, with descriptions of specific castles, shipbuilding techniques, improvements in armour, specific weapons, and developments in areas such as arms and armour, fortifications, tactics and supply. Jim Bradbury taught at a secondary school for ten years before becoming a senior lecturer and head of section for history at Borough Road College, now part of Brunel University. He has written widely on medieval history, with an emphasis on military history. zv i i This page intentionally left blank. zvi ii The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare JIM BRADBURY LONDON AND NEW YORK zv i v First published 2004 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 2004 Jim Bradbury All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Bradbury, Jim The Routledge companion to medieval warfare/Jim Bradbury p. cm. Includes bibliographical reference and index. 1. Military art and science—Europe—History—To 1500. 2. Military history, Medieval. 3. Middle Ages. I Title. U37.B63 2004 355′.0094′0902–DC 22 2003020094 ISBN 0-203-64466-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-68604-7 (OEB Format) ISBN 0-415-22126-9 (Print Edition) (Hardcover) zv v To Will and Maisie who have joined us since my last book Contents ix Preface 1 PART I Generals and leaders, A–Z 108 PART II Military events This part includes in each section a narrative account of the main political and military events; a list of generals and leaders who relate to the section, details of whom may be found in the A–Z in Part I; an A–Z of battles and sieges for each section. 1 Romans and barbarians, 400–750 110 2 Charlemagne and the Carolingians, 750–850 120 3 The Vikings, Scandinavia and northern Europe, 850–1050 127 4 The Anglo-Saxon invasions and England, 450–1066 138 5 The Norman Conquests in Britain and Europe, 911–1154 151 6 The Holy Roman Empire and central Europe, 850–1500 165 7 The Byzantine Empire and eastern Europe, 400–1453 177 8 The Crusades, 1095–1500 189 9 The Capetians and the Valois, France 987–1500 201 10 The Angevins to the Tudors, Britain 1154–1485 217 11 Iberia and the Reconquista, 850–1492 229 12 Renaissance Italy, 1250–1525 237 zvv iii 245 PART III Military topics This part includes a general account of the significance of each topic and an A–Z of relevant terms for each section. Where appropriate a list of relevant names that appear in Part I is provided. Also where appropriate a list of events that appear in Part II is provided; the number in brackets notes the relevant section. 13 Arms of the warrior 247 14 Medieval armour 260 15 Heraldry 272 16 Medieval armies 281 17 Castles and siege warfare 294 18 Medieval naval warfare 320 19 The medieval military orders 326 330 PART IV Further information 20 Primary sources for the history of medieval warfare An essay with a select 332 bibliography of printed sources 21 Historians of medieval warfare and recommendations for further reading 335 22 Bibliography of secondary sources and further reading A select list of relevant 338 secondary works and suggestions for further study 23 Aids to study 346 Index 382 zv i x Preface This book has been nearly five years in the making. The idea was first put to me by the publisher and agreed with Heather McCallum, who has since moved on. Vicky Peters has taken over the unenviable task of keeping an eye on the project. It has been my intention to make the work enjoyable rather than a chore. I should also like to thank Carole Drummond and the people at The Running Head for their work in preparing the manuscript for publication. They have been extremely careful and accurate in their suggested corrections. I can honestly say that of the eight or so books I have so far had published they have done the best work of this nature that I have encountered. The length may be deceptive but certainly does not imply comprehensive cover. Firstly the book only attempts to look at warfare in medieval Europe, with the Crusades included as a western venture. Then, early on, it became clear that one must be selective in every area if the material was to be contained within one volume. It is therefore obvious that there must be omissions. My thanks for help go to my many friends in the field of medieval warfare who have talked over some areas included in the book, including Matt Bennett, Nick Hooper, John Gillingham, Cyril Edwards and many others. I hope that the book will be of use to students of the subject at various levels who can use it as a starting point. Probably the most useful part is the (very select) bibliography, from which the works mentioned will undoubtedly lead on the interested reader to many other contributors to this subject. I can only say that history has been a lifelong friend to me and I hope it may be to others. Jim Bradbury Selsey November 2003 zv x PART I Generals and leaders, A–Z Generals and leaders, A–Z ABD-AL-RĀHMAN III, AL-NĀSIR (THE VICTORIOUS), CALIPH OF CÓRDOBA (889–961) Umayyad Emir of Córdoba from 912, Caliph from 929. This was the start of an independent Iberian Muslim state—al-Andalus. From a reduced territory around Córdoba he expanded his power over much of Iberia, uniting the Muslims and taking tribute from Christian powers. His rule is seen as the golden age of the caliphate. His successes included the taking of Seville, Beja and Toledo. He defeated León at Pamplona in 920. He suffered defeat by Ramiro II of León at Simancas and Alhandega in 939, and at Talavera in 951, but lost little territory. His interests moved to North Africa where he captured Ceuta in 931 and Tangier in 951. He developed a Mediterranean navy. He was succeeded by his son al-Hakim II. ABŪ YŪSUF YA’QŪB, AL-MANSŪR, ALMOHAD CALIPH (d.1199) Caliph from 1184. He assumed al-Mansūr (the victorious) as a title. His reign in North Africa began with a six-year civil war, which allowed the Christian Reconquista in Iberia to advance. Abū Yūsuf took an army to Iberia in 1190. In 1191 he recovered Silves from Portugal. In 1195 he defeated Alfonso VIII of Castile at Alarcos. He besieged Madrid in 1197 but failed to take it. On his return to Marakesh in 1198 he fell ill and died in January 1199. He was succeeded by his son al-Nāsir. ADHÉMAR (OF MONTEIL) OF LE PUY (d.1098) Adhémar of Monteil, bishop of Le Puy, was the religious leader of the First Crusade. His ancestors were the Counts of Valentinois. In 1086 he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He was the first to take the crusading vow at Clermont-Ferrand in 1095 and was appointed by Urban II to lead the crusaders. Le Puy was the assembly point for the Crusade. Although the People’s Crusade ignored this and went ahead, most knightly leaders brought their men to Le Puy. Adhémar travelled with Raymond of Toulouse and helped give unity to the Crusade. Before reaching Constantinople Adhémar was wounded and captured by Pechenegs, though released when found to be a bishop. He died on 1 August of disease (probably typhoid) at Antioch, a loss to the Crusade’s unity. zv 4 AEGIDIUS (d.464) Roman general for Emperor Majorian, a member of the Syagrii family, Gallo-Roman aristocrats near Lyons. At Soissons he established a Roman enclave, which Gregory of Tours called a kingdom. He defeated Odoacer at Angers, and the Visigoths at Orléans, 463. He favoured an alliance with the Vandals, possibly the reason for his death by poisoning. He was succeeded by his son Syagrius. Through Aegidius the region became the land of the Franks rather than the Goths. AELLE, KING OF SUSSEX According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle he led the south coast invasion in 477 with his sons, Cymen, Wlencing and Cissa. They landed at Cymenes ora (Cymen’s landing The routledge companion to medieval warfare 4 place), probably Selsey Bill.