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

•*(R KNIGHT
The supplies for the
Norman army being
gathered prior to the
invasion of England. Arms,
armour, food and wine
all had to be taken across
the Channel, no small
undertaking. (Bridgeman
Art Library)
112
common foot troops. Chronicling the actions of the Fourth Crusade, which ended with
the sack of Constantinople, Geoffrey de Villehardouin records how the Count of St Pol
hanged one of his own knights, with his shield hung round his neck as a display of his
shame, for keeping back booty that should have been shared out.
The plundering of an enemy's territory was also a legitimate means of
supplementing an army's supplies of food and drink and fodder for its horses. It was
an inefficient way of supplying all of an army's needs, however, and a substantial
amount of effort went into provisioning the army. Before a campaign set out, food and
drink would be gathered into stockpiles. The fortress town of Berwick-upon-Tweed
was a key stockpile for the Edwardian campaigns against the Scots, whilst
Southampton performed a similar function for cross-Channel expeditions. In order
to collect provisions together, royal officers might be instructed to gather food from
within their territory and forward it to the army; or edicts might be passed, like the one
Edward I issued in 1282, closing down the markets in the Welsh Marches and forcing
merchants to bring their goods to Chester, which was established as the supply base
for his army heading against the Welsh princes. Similarly, in enemy territory
announcements might be made encouraging local suppliers to bring their goods
straight to the army where markets would be set up with fixed prices considered fair
to both supplier and soldier. Lords might bring their own supplies for their retinues,
using the systems already in place for the provisioning of their own itinerant courts for
military movement. The royal household accounts of Edward III give some indication
of the huge quantities of food that were shipped across during the Crecy campaign.
Apart from thousands of tons of peas, beans, oats and barley, and nearly 50,000 gallons
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