Osprey - General Military - Knight - The Warrior and ... - Brego-weard

KNIGHT
Bishop Adhemar
of Le Puy, the Pope's
representative on the First
Crusade. He is depicted
here in armour but with
the mitre of a bishop and
carrying the Holy Lance
miraculously discovered at
Antioch. (© British Library)
106
in no small part because one of his knights, who was deaf as a post, hauled on
his lord's reins shouting 'After them! After them!'
All of this suggests that medieval command was a chaotic affair, driven by the egos
of noblemen whose social status rather than ability or experience determined their
influence. There is an element of truth to this. The nobility's sense of its right to engage
in private war remained strong into the Renaissance. Even in England where strong
royal government kept this in check, it reappeared veiy quickly when royal authority was
lacking such as during the so-called 'anarchy' of Stephen's reign or the Wars of the Roses
that were as much about the settling of personal scores as they were about who had the
greater right to rule. On the continent, where central authority was almost always
weaker, private warfare was a commonplace event. This explains why during the First
Crusade the commanders constantly squabbled over who was in overall command, only
being kept in check by the influence of the Pope's representative the legate Adhemar of
Le Puy, and why some felt able to abandon the main drive on Jerusalem and set out on
their own part, as Baldwin of Boulogne and Bohemond of Taranto were to do, forming
the Counly of Edessa and Principality of Antioch respectively.
Invariably ultimate command devolved upon one individual, whether the king or
prince, an appointed captain or the most senior noble. A strong and charismatic
commander was needed to keep the nobles' and knights' independent and quarrelsome
tendencies in check. A weaker commander could
easily see his force fall apart as the egos and the
demands of the chivalric ethic asserted themselves,
as happened to Edward II at Bannockburn. As
Bertrand du Guesclin found, a lack of breeding
might also pose problems for a commander. This
seems to have been the case with the ill-fated
campaign led by Sir Robert Knollys in 1370.
Knollys had risen through the ranks, first serving
as an archer. His chevauchee, or raid, into northern
France was beset by problems, including disputes
with the commanders of retinues, and the force
disbanded, with men going off on their own, until
eventually the whole campaign fell apart. Whilst
Knollys was able to defend himself against
the accusations that dogged his failure, it was
considered significant that his was the only major
English campaign not to be led by a man of
noble descent.