The Calais Garrison: War and Military Service in England, 1436-1558

235 Pages·2008·1.778 MB·English

by  David Grummitt

Warfare in History
THE CALAIS GARRISON
War and Military Service in England, 1436–1558
For over two hundred years Calais and the English Pale were a military,
commercialandculturalfrontier.Theywerealsohometothelargeststanding
force under the command of the English crown. This book examines the
nature of military service in Calais, the recruitment of soldiers, their
weaponry, the financial problems that the defence of the Pale caused succes-
sive English regimes, and the role of chivalry and notions of professionalism
in defining military identity. It also examines in detail the unsuccessful
Burgundian siege of 1436 and the capture of Calais by the French in 1558.
Based on extensive archival research, it places war and military service in
Englandinthebroadercontextsofthedevelopmentofthelatemedievalstate
and the European ‘military revolution’.
DrDAVIDGRUMMITTisSeniorResearchFellow,HistoryofParliamentTrust.
Warfare in History
ISSN 1358–779X
Series editor
Matthew Bennett, Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
Thisseriesaimstoprovideawide-rangingandscholarlyapproachtomilitary
history,offeringbothindividualstudiesoftopicsorwars,andvolumesgiving
aselectionofcontemporaryandlateraccountsofparticularbattles;itsscope
ranges from the early medieval to the early modern period.
New proposals for the series are welcomed; they should be sent to the
publisher at the address below.
Boydell and Brewer Limited, PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 3DF
Previously published volumes in this series
are listed at the back of this volume
THE CALAIS GARRISON
War and Military Service in England, 1436–1558
David Grummitt
THE BOYDELL PRESS
© David Grummitt 2008
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
The right of David Grummitt to be identified as
the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
First published 2008
The Boydell Press, Woodbridge
ISBN 978–1–84383–398–7
The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA
website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Typeset by Pru Harrison, Hacheston, Suffolk
Printed in Great Britain by
CPI Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Contents
List of illustrations vii
Acknowledgements ix
Abbreviations x
1 Introduction: Calais and its Garrison in Context 1
The Calais Pale 5
Calais at war 10
2 The Burgundian Siege of 1436 20
The siege of Calais in July 1436 20
War, political culture and national identity in Lancastrian England 31
3 The Organisation of the Garrison 44
The regular garrison or ‘ordinary’ 44
‘Crews’and ‘petty wages’: the extraordinary defence of Calais 56
4 The Nature of Military Service in the Pale 63
The captains 63
The soldiers 76
The crews 83
5 Chivalry and Professionalism in the Calais Garrison 92
Chivalry and war in the fifteenth century 93
Professionals and mercenaries 104
6 Weaponry and Fortifications in Calais 119
Weaponry 119
Fortifications 127
Calais and the ‘Military revolution’ 132
7 Financing and Supplying the Garrison 141
The crown and the merchants of the staple 141
Supplying the garrison 157
8 The Fall of Calais in 1558 165
The campaign 167
Explaining defeat 176
9 Conclusion: War and Military Service in England 1436–1558 187
Bibliography 195
Index 209
Illustrations
1 Map of the Calais Pale xiii
2 Drawing of the Calais Pale, Temp. Hen. VIII xiv
3 The Siege of Calais 1558 166
This book is produced with the generous assistance of a grant from
Isobel Thornley’s Bequest to the University of London
Acknowledgements
This book has been a long time in the making. During this time debts of grati-
tudehavebeenincurredtomanypeople.JimBolton,AndyBoyle,AnneCurry,
Sean Cunningham, Michael Hicks, Malcolm Mercer, Tony Pollard, James
Raymond,JamesRossandJohnWattshaveallgivengenerouslyoftheirexper-
tiseatvariousstages.HannesKleineke,TimHochstrasserandCathNallhaveall
read various chapters and the book is better for their comments. Steven Gunn
and Michael K. Jones have shared references and ideas, as well as read and
commented on almost the entire text. I am grateful for their encouragement,
support and friendship for more than ten years. An enormous debt is due to
Linda Clark, who carefully read the entire manuscript, saving me from many
errors, both typographical and factual. Any that remain are entirely my own.
Finally,thanksareduetoCarolinePalmerofBoydell&Brewerforherpatience
and enthusiasm since we first discussed a book on the Calais garrison in the
summer of 2000. The book is dedicated, however, to my parents who fostered
and encouraged my love of history from a very early age.
Abbreviations
APC Acts of the Privy Council of England, ed. J.R. Dasent
(46 vols, 1890–1964)
BIHR Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research
BL The British Library
The Brut The Brut,or the Chronicles of England, ed. F.W.D. Brie
(2 vols, Early English Text Society, original series, xxxi,
xxxvi, 1906–8)
CCR Calendar of Close Rolls
Chronicle of Calais A Chronicle of Calais in the Reigns of Henry VII and
Henry VIII to the Year 1540, ed. J.G. Nichols (Camden
Society, old series xxxv, 1845)
Colvin,The King’s The History of the King’s Works, ed. H.M. Colvin (6
Works vols, 1963–82)
CPR Calendar of Patent Rolls
CS Camden Society
CSP Calendar of State Papers
DKR Deputy Keepers’Report
EETS Early English Text Society
EHR English Historical Review
Grummitt, ‘Calais David Grummitt, ‘Calais 1485–1547: A Study in Early
1485–1547’ Tudor Politics and Government’(PhD thesis, University
of London, 1997)
Lisle Letters The Lisle Letters, ed. Muriel St Clare Byrne (6 vols,
Chicago and London, 1981)
LP Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign
of Henry VIII, 1509–1547, ed. J. Brewer et al. (21 vols
and addenda, 1862–1932)
Monstrelet Enguerrand de Montstrelet,La chronique de Monstrelet,
1400–1444, ed. L. Douët d’Arcq (6 vols, Paris,
1857–62)
Morgan, ‘Government P.T.J. Morgan, ‘The Government of Calais, 1485–1558’
of Calais’ (DPhil thesis, University of Oxford, 1966)
Oxford DNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:From the
Earliest Times to the Year 2000, ed. H.C.G. Matthew
and B.H. Harrison (61 vols, Oxford, 2004)
POPC Proceedings and Ordinances of the Privy Council of
England, 1386–1542, ed. Sir N.H. Nicholas (7 vols,
Record Commission, 1834–7)