Sherborne, J. W., 'Indentured Retinues and English Expeditions to France, 1369-1380', The English Historical Review 79 (1964), 718-746

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Quick Summary

By the late-fourteenth century, the English government relied on military contracts rather than conscription to recruit soldiers

  • England’s military requirements were fulfilled by ‘enthusiasts’ willing to fight for pay
  • Armies were raised based on a system of sub-contracts
  • Contract based recruitment was supplemented by a medieval form of conscription
Key Conclusion

Sherborne explores the importance of the ‘indenture of war’, a form of military contract used to recruit armies following the renewal of the Hundred Years War in 1369. Sherborne concludes that indentures of war were generally successful in producing a sufficient number of soldiers without placing a burden on royal administrative resources. However, it was only possible for the English crown and royal government to rely on this method of raising armies because the military campaigns during this period did not place heavy demands on the country’s manpower. England’s military requirements were met by ‘sufficient enthusiasts’ (p. 746) who willing to fight for pay.

Content Overview

Sherborne draws on evidence found in 40 indentures of war from this period as well as supplementary evidence in the issue rolls of the exchequer. The issue rolls recorded the wages paid to military captains along with details about their retinues. Retinues varied greatly in size from ten men or less, up to very large retinues of 2,000 soldiers. Sherborne explores in-depth the contractual arrangements surrounding the recruitment of armies, as well as the composition of these armies. The number of individuals directly contracted by the crown was relatively small, and largely restricted to bannerets (a privileged knight), earls and the sons of the king. These individuals then used sub-contracts to raise an army.

Further Findings

Although the English government primarily relied on indentures of war to recruit armies during this period, government also used ‘commissions of array’ (a form of medieval conscription) which had been an important method of raising archers before 1360 (p. 741). In some cases it appears that these commissions were merely used to support the system of indentures. For example, in 1373, the duke of Lancaster used commissions of array to ‘impress’ (conscript) archers who were then contracted to serve in the duke’s retinue. In other words, the duke used commissions to array to save himself the ‘time and trouble’ of the ordinary recruitment process (p. 742).

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