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The High Medieval period also saw the expansion of mercenary forces, unbound to any medieval lord. Routiers , such as Brabançons and Aragones , were supplemented in the later Middle Ages by Swiss pikeman, the German Landsknecht , and the Italian Condottiere - to provide the three best-known examples of these bands of fighting men.
Thus the scutage was introduced, whereby most Englishmen paid to escape their service and this money was used to create a permanent army. However, almost all high medieval armies in Europe were composed of a great deal of paid core troops, and there was a large mercenary market in Europe from at least the early 12th century. [2]
By 1348 the Black Death was tearing through Europe, England was bankrupt, and Edward was invading mainland France. In 1347 Edward besieged the city of Calais on the English Channel . Capturing Calais was a major strategic victory, which allowed the English to permanently keep troops in France.
Though in English the term man-at-arms is a fairly straightforward rendering of the French homme d'armes, [b] in the Middle Ages, there were numerous terms for this type of soldier, referring to the type of arms he would be expected to provide: In France, he might be known as a lance or glaive, while in Germany, Spieß, Helm or Gleve, and in various places, a bascinet. [2]
Feudal duties were the set of reciprocal financial, military and legal obligations among the warrior nobility in a feudal system. [1] These duties developed in both Europe and Japan with the decentralisation of empire and due to lack of monetary liquidity, as groups of warriors took over the social, political, judicial, and economic spheres of the territory they controlled. [2]
Kopia (Polish for lance) was the basic military formation in medieval Poland, identical to the lance-unit employed elsewhere in Western Europe. A Kopia was composed of a knight and his retinue (of 3–12 soldiers).
The principle of commuting for the obligation of military service into payments struck at the root of the whole system. The change of conception was so complete, that tenure by knight-service of a mesne lord becomes, first in fact and then in law, a tenure by escuage (i.e. scutage).
Kings placed military requirements upon their princes, who in turn, placed requirements upon their vassals. The free nobles under a prince may have a bond of vassalage that let them get out of serving, so kings, princes, bishops and archbishops were able to recruit unfree persons into military service.