Medieval Mercenaries: The Great Companies

France, Spain and Italy were the scene of almost constant warfare during the second half of the fourteenth century. By that time the armies of the kings, princes and city republics were raised by contract and paid. With the cessation of hostilities between England and France in 1360, many captains maintained their retinues to serve other employers, failing which they combined together to make war on their own account. This first volume deals with the activities, mainly in France and Spain, of a large number of the soldiers who were demobilized after the conclusion of peace, and who came together to form the ′Great Companies′. The author places their activities in the political and diplomatic framework of the times, highlighting their ambitions and those of the rulers who employed them.

List of Maps and Plans. Preface. Abbreviations. 1. Dramatis Personae. 2. An Elusive Peace. 3. From Brignais to Launac. 4. Seguin de Badefol in Auvergne. 5. The Navarrese Imbroglio. 6. Crusading Projects. 7. Castles in Spain. 8. The Prince′s Intervention. 9. The Return North. 10. A Provencal Interlude and a Sicilian Marriage. 11. The Sardinian Proposals and the Drama of Montiel. 12. Pontvallain. Glossary. Note on Money. Appendix A: Documents. Appendix B: Tables of Captains. Appendix C: The Numerical Strength of the Companies. Appendix D: Forces Recruited by the Duke of Anjou in 1369. Appendix E: The Death of Sir Robert Birkhead in 1368 and the Supposed Death of Sir Robert Cheyney at Olivet. Sources and Bibliography. Index.

Kenneth Fowler, FRHS, is Professor Emeritus and Honorary Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of The Age of Plantagenet and Valois (1967) and The King′s Lieutenant: Henry of Grosmont, First Duke of Lancaster 1310–1361 (1969), edited and contributed to The Hundred Years War (1971), and in recent years has written a large number of articles dealing with medieval warfare and in particular the activities of mercenary soldiers.

"This book will surely stand as the standard history of the companies for generations to come" American Historical Review <!––end––> "Fowler provides a thoroughly researched ... examination of military politics." CHOICE "If readers desire the details of a ten year period in which mercenary companies conducted a reign of terror west of the Rhine and north of the Alps, they will not do better than this account." Journal of Military History "This book is solidly based on archival research. Fowler has consulted manuscript sources in depositories ranging from Perugia to Edinburgh ... This enables him to assemble, for the first time, a detailed and accurate picture of the movement of bodies of men whose military prowess played an important role in virtually every major sector of combat in this highly confused decade ... anyone working on this central phase of the Hundred Years War will have to consult this study ..." History " This book draws upon several decades of work and utilizes the entire range of evidence available: modern scholarship, and printed and manuscript sources. This book will surely stand as the standard history of the companies for generations to come. Frequent, excellent, full–page maps help greatly." Book Review Digest