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

earlier, Wace writes that the Normans advanced against the English at Hastings in close
order at their slow pace \pereemerit, lor petit pcui\'. Remaining stationary was a more certain
way of maintaining cohesion. Forces on foot invariably took the defensive, standing their
ground and awaiting the enemy attack. They might also strengthen their position by
using fieldworks, such as the stakes employed by Henry V's army at Agrncourt, or the
pits and potholes dug by the English at Morlaix in 1342 or the ditches and caltrops
employed by the Portuguese at Aljubarrota in 1385.
TRAINING
Close cooperation between knights, complex tactical manoeuvre, weapon handling
and horsemanship were all essential skills for the knight, but they were also skills
that had to be taught and maintained by practice. In a permanent standing army, drill
and training are an almost constant part of the life of the soldier and officer. However
medieval armies were very far removed from being permanent standing armies.
How then did the warrior learn his trade? Some of it must have been on the job, so
to speak, through the experience of battle but, as we shall see in the next chapter,
battles were rare and a knight might go through his life without participating in a
major engagement.
The first thing to take into account, so obvious that it is often forgotten, is that the
knight had only one role in life, to act as a warrior and support his lord in combat. Thus
the majority of his time was taken up with martial pursuits. In particular young and
unmarried warriors, the bachelors, tironed or juvened, had no other obligations and
groups of them, like the household of Henry II of England's son Henry, the so-called
'Young King',* were renowned tor spending their time and wealth travelling between
tournaments and wars. Such a focus on martral pursuits was expected of young
warriors. In one of the more popular epics the Count of Narbonne sends six of his
sevens sons away, instructing them to make their fortunes by attaching themselves to
noble households and serving their lords in battle, or reclaiming land from the heathen.
The Speculum regale says that 'lfyou feel that it is important to be well trained in these
activities, go through the exercise twice a day, if it is convenient; but let no day pass,
except holidays, without practising this drill at least once; for it is counted proper
for all kingsmen to master this art and, moreover, it must be mastered if it is to be of
service'. The martial arts were at the heart of the knightly calling and lite.
* The Young King was Henry ll's second son (but the first to reach adulthood), brother to Richard and John.
Earning the soubriquet 'the Young King' because he was crowned in his father's lifetime in imitation of
French royal practice, he died before his father, in 1183.