Storey, R. L., 'The Wardens of the Marches of England towards Scotland, 1377-1489', The English Historical Review 72 (1957), 593-615

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Quick Summary

The wardens of the marches in the north of England maintained private armies at the king’s expense, owing to favourable contractual conditions agreed by the Lords Appellant in 1388

  • The warden of the marches in the north became a highly profitable office
  • The wardens were essentially allowed to maintain a private army at the king’s expense
  • Northern magnates established a virtual monopoly over the office of warden
Key Conclusion

Storey explores the development of the indenture system (a type of contract) and its application in the appointment of wardens of the marches in the north of England. These ‘wardens’ played a military and administrative role that was strategically important for the defence of the Anglo-Scottish border. Storey concludes that changes to the indentures system in 1389 created a highly profitable office which essentially allowed the wardens to maintain private armies at the king’s expense. The indentures of 1389 were based on favourable terms of appointment secured by Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland, from the Lords Appellant in 1388 (p. 601). When Richard II recovered his authority from the Lords Appellant in 1388, he was unable to reverse the trend.

Content Overview

Storey questions the work of R. R. Reid, who argued in 1917 that the magnates of northern England established a ‘virtual monopoly’ over the office of warden. Ultimately, however, Storey reaches a similar conclusion: after 1379 ‘a small number of families of the magnate class came to dominate the office’ (p. 594). In terms of the wardens’ responsibilities, after 1357 it became customary for the wardens to be granted power to compel English subjects to observe truces, preserve order as well as the power to summon local forces to defend the border.

Further Findings

The appointment of the wardens of the marches was politically sensitive, because two powerful families dominated the Scottish border regions – the Percy family and the Neville family – and each coveted the wardenships to preserve their influence. In 1381, John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, was appointed as lieutenant in the marches (a position superior to the wardens). Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland, ‘resented Gaunt’s intrusion into his sphere of influence’ (p. 596), and when Gaunt fled the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381, Percy even refused to give him safe refuge. Since the wardenships bestowed military leadership in the north, Richard II sought to share them between the Percies and the Nevilles to prevent one family from becoming too powerful (p. 602).

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