Medieval Mercenaries, Volume I, The Great Companies
1. Edition December 2000
404 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
ISBN:
978-0-631-15886-8
John Wiley & Sons
This is the first book devoted exclusively to the history of 'The Great Companies', an assembly of mercenaries drawn from different European countries who came together to fight in the second half of the 14th century, sometimes in the employ of kings, the pope, princes or city republics, but frequently fighting on their own account.
List of Maps and Plans.
Preface.
Abbreviations.
1. Dramatis Personae.
2. An Elusive Peace.
3. From Brignais to Launac.
4. Seguin de Badefol in Auvergne.
5. The Navarrese Imbroglio.
6. Crusading Projects.
7. Castles in Spain.
8. The Prince's Intervention.
9. The Return North.
10. A Provencal Interlude and a Sicilian Marriage.
11. The Sardinian Proposals and the Drama of Montiel.
12. Pontvallain.
Glossary.
Note on Money.
Appendix A: Documents.
Appendix B: Tables of Captains.
Appendix C: The Numerical Strength of the Companies.
Appendix D: Forces Recruited by the Duke of Anjou in 1369.
Appendix E: The Death of Sir Robert Birkhead in 1368 and the
Supposed Death of Sir Robert Cheyney at Olivet.
Sources and Bibliography.
Index.
Preface.
Abbreviations.
1. Dramatis Personae.
2. An Elusive Peace.
3. From Brignais to Launac.
4. Seguin de Badefol in Auvergne.
5. The Navarrese Imbroglio.
6. Crusading Projects.
7. Castles in Spain.
8. The Prince's Intervention.
9. The Return North.
10. A Provencal Interlude and a Sicilian Marriage.
11. The Sardinian Proposals and the Drama of Montiel.
12. Pontvallain.
Glossary.
Note on Money.
Appendix A: Documents.
Appendix B: Tables of Captains.
Appendix C: The Numerical Strength of the Companies.
Appendix D: Forces Recruited by the Duke of Anjou in 1369.
Appendix E: The Death of Sir Robert Birkhead in 1368 and the
Supposed Death of Sir Robert Cheyney at Olivet.
Sources and Bibliography.
Index.
"This book will surely stand as the standard history of the
companies for generations to come" American Historical Review
"Fowler provides a thoroughly researched ... examination of
military politics." CHOICE
"If readers desire the details of a ten year period in which
mercenary companies conducted a reign of terror west of the Rhine
and north of the Alps, they will not do better than this account."
Journal of Military History
"This book is solidly based on archival research. Fowler has
consulted manuscript sources in depositories ranging from Perugia
to Edinburgh ... This enables him to assemble, for the first time,
a detailed and accurate picture of the movement of bodies of men
whose military prowess played an important role in virtually every
major sector of combat in this highly confused decade ... anyone
working on this central phase of the Hundred Years War will have to
consult this study ..." History
"This book draws upon several decades of work and
utilizes the entire range of evidence available: modern
scholarship, and printed and manuscript sources. This book will
surely stand as the standard history of the companies for
generations to come. Frequent, excellent, full-page maps help
greatly." Book Review Digest
companies for generations to come" American Historical Review
"Fowler provides a thoroughly researched ... examination of
military politics." CHOICE
"If readers desire the details of a ten year period in which
mercenary companies conducted a reign of terror west of the Rhine
and north of the Alps, they will not do better than this account."
Journal of Military History
"This book is solidly based on archival research. Fowler has
consulted manuscript sources in depositories ranging from Perugia
to Edinburgh ... This enables him to assemble, for the first time,
a detailed and accurate picture of the movement of bodies of men
whose military prowess played an important role in virtually every
major sector of combat in this highly confused decade ... anyone
working on this central phase of the Hundred Years War will have to
consult this study ..." History
"This book draws upon several decades of work and
utilizes the entire range of evidence available: modern
scholarship, and printed and manuscript sources. This book will
surely stand as the standard history of the companies for
generations to come. Frequent, excellent, full-page maps help
greatly." Book Review Digest
Kenneth Fowler, FRHS, is Professor Emeritus and Honorary Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of The Age of Plantagenet and Valois (1967) and The King's Lieutenant: Henry of Grosmont, First Duke of Lancaster 1310-1361 (1969), edited and contributed to The Hundred Years War (1971), and in recent years has written a large number of articles dealing with medieval warfare and in particular the activities of mercenary soldiers.
