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

KNIGHT
By the time the
Landsknecht came to
dominate the battlefield
in the middle of the 16th
century, the pike was
considered the queen
of the battlefield, and the
heavy horseman relegated
to the sidelines.
(Bridgeman Art Library)
216
before Patay, were able to break the archers of Bedford's right flank, aided by the
quality of their armour, the heaviest in Europe at the time. English tactics were never
solely about archers. At Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt, the archery slowed and
disordered the French advances but did not stop them. The engagements were all
decided at hand-strokes by the men-at-arms of both sides. Much rested on the
steadfastness and skill of the knight even here.
It was the developments of the 16th century that truly saw the end of the
dominance of the fully armoured man-at-arms, on horse or on foot. This was due to
the real increase in the number of infantry in armies that took place at the end of the
15th century. The establishment in France of the francj-arcberj in 1448, an elect militia
force of pike, archers, crossbows and, later, handgunners, organized at parish level,
saw infantry being put on the same permanent establishment as the Ordnnance lances.
Their poor showing at the battle of Guinegate against the Burgundians in 1479,
however, led Louis XI to disband them and rely instead upon another standing force:
Swiss mercenaries, who were fast becoming the foremost soldiery in Europe.
Wf-