Abstract
War was a potent factor in thirteenth-century politics. King John’s failure to retain Normandy in 1204, and the defeat of his allies at Bouvines in 1214 were major steps on the road to Runnymede and the final crisis of the reign. Had Henry iii been successful in his campaigns in France in 1230 and 1242, or achieved more on his Welsh expeditions, he would have faced far fewer problems at home. The crisis of 1297 was very largely the result of the immense burden that Edward i had imposed on the country since 1294, with campaigns against the Welsh, Scots and French. The difficulties of Edward’s final years, and those of his son’s reign, have to be seen against the sombre background of the Scottish wars of independence.
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References
The fullest treatment of the subject is provided by M. R. Powicke, Military Obligation in Medieval England (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962), pp. 63–117.
Holt, The Northerners, pp. 88–100, for a full discussion of the demands for service in 1213 and 1214.
Stacey, Politics, Policy and Finance under Henry III, pp. 170, 190–2.
For demands for service under Edward I, see Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance under Edward I, pp. 67–91.
The reductions in quotas are discussed and analysed by I. J. Sanders, Feudal Military Service in England (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956), pp. 50–90.
Distraint of knighthood under Henry III is discussed by Powicke, Military Obligation in Medieval England, pp. 63–81; Close Rolls, Henry III, 1251–3 (London: HMSO, 1927), pp. 490–1, 502; Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1247–58 (London: HMSO, 1908), p. 236; Shirley (ed.), Royal Letters, Henry III, vol. ii, p. 102.
See Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance under Edward I, pp. 83–90.
D. M. Stenton (ed.), Pipe Roll 5 Richard I (London: Pipe Roll Society, New Series III, 1927), p. 148;
F. A. Cazel Jr. (ed.), Roll of Divers Accounts for the Early Years of Henry III (London: Pipe Roll Society, New Series xliv, 1982), p. 34;
T. D. Hardy (ed.), Rotuli de Liberatis ac de Misis et Praestitis (London: Record Commission, 1844), p. 223.
Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance under Edward I, pp. 71–4.
Ibid., pp. 92–113. See also Powicke, Military Obligation in Medieval England, pp. 82–95, 118–33.
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© 1990 Michael Prestwich
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Prestwich, M. (1990). Military Service. In: English Politics in the Thirteenth Century. British History in Perspective. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20933-0_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20933-0_7
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