Royal Household Knights on Military Campaign, 1334-1360: A Dataset

Introduction:

Below is a dataset containing the names of all royal household knights who are known to have fought on military campaign with King Edward III of England. It is arranged by campaign, and for each campaign some brief contextual information is offered alongside a table of the household knights who were known to have been present. 

The household knights were the core troops around which English royal armies were formed in the fourteenth century. Understanding who the household knights were and what they did thus reveals a great deal about the ways in which wars were fought in the later Middle Ages. They were retained directly in royal service through the biannual granting of household robes and fees (at Easter and Michaelmas). These robes and fees were paid at a fixed rate, and while being retained as a household knight was a great honour, it also came with the expectation that an individual would serve the king as needed. There were two ranks of household knight. The senior rank was that of the ‘household banneret’, the junior the ‘simple household knight’. These ranks, while performing broadly similar roles, differed in that the bannerets were of a higher social and military standing, and were thus able to take on greater responsibilities. 

The patchy survival of primary source material provides a natural limiting factor in how comprehensive the dataset here can be. Indeed, of Edward’s fifty-year reign, there are only twenty-seven years for which the identities of his household knights can be recovered with any certainty. Moreover, while there are a range of sources from which military service can be ascertained, by far the fullest of these for the fourteenth century are the vadia guerre (pay roll) accounts, which record who served on each campaign, for how long, and with how many men. While the vadia guerre accounts survive reasonably well for Edward III’s reign, gaps inevitably remain. Below, then, I have included all the campaigns led by the king himself for which we know both the identities of the household knights retained that year, and which of these served knights on the campaign from the surviving vadia guerre accounts. This totals seven campaigns, starting with the Roxburgh campaign of 1334-35 and finishing with the Reims campaign of 1359-60. 

The information included here was collected during my doctoral and postdoctoral research at the University of Nottingham, the former funded by the AHRC through the Midlands3Cities Doctoral Training Partnership. The full outcome of this research can be found in my book The Household Knights of Edward III: Warfare, Politics and Kingship in Fourteenth-Century England (Boydell, 2021) (https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781783275649/the-household-knights-of-edward-iii/).

Dr Matthew Hefferan

University of Nottingham

July 2021

1334-1335 – The Roxburgh Campaign:  

 

Background: 

The first of Edward III’s military campaigns for which the participation of household knights can be uncovered is the so-called ‘Roxburgh Campaign’, which took place during the winter of 1334-1335. It was a campaign that sought to build on the early successes that Edward III had enjoyed in his war against Scotland, and stem a possible reversal of fortunes. The previous year had seen an English army, fighting alongside an army of ‘Disinherited’ Scottish nobles led by Edward Balliol, win a resounding victory over the army of David Bruce, the infant king of Scotland. This victory resulted in the English capture of Berwick, a strategically important town on the border between the two countries, as well as the establishment of Balliol as king of Scotland. In return for helping him secure his throne, Balliol ceded to Edward III direct control of the six southernmost sheriffdoms of Scotland, and recognised English overlordship of the rest of the kingdom – a long-held ambition of the English crown. However, the arrangements made by Balliol and Edward in 1333 were difficult to put into practice, and over the course of 1334 the Scots who remained loyal to the Bruce cause led a resurgence, successfully capturing several leading Disinherited nobles and driving Balliol out of the country in September. It was this that necessitated action from the English king. 

Edward’s campaign on this occasion achieved little, however. Raising a force for service in winter proved difficult and expensive, and the Scottish-Bruce army were in no mood for open battle. Consequently, the only tangible contribution this campaign made to the wider war effort was the refortification of Roxburgh castle, as well as the raiding of the surrounding area. It may also have offered Edward the chance to deepen his understanding of the situation in Scotland, and better plan his larger campaign for the following year, though we cannot know this for sure. Either way, by February 1335 the army had largely broken up and returned home. Below are the household knights who accompanied the king on this occasion (who were paid for the period 14 Nov – 11 Feb unless otherwise stated). (Source: BL Cotton Nero C VIII, ff. 233-47.)

 

Household Knights Present on the Campaign:

Name	Rank	Notes
Edward Bohun	Banneret
William Bohun	Banneret
John Darcy ‘le pere’	Banneret
William Montagu	Banneret
John Multon	Banneret
Ralph Neville of Raby	Banneret/ Steward
Roger Swinnerton	Banneret
Gilbert Talbot	Banneret/ Chamberlain
Robert Ufford	Banneret
Giles Beauchamp of Alcester	Knight
Robert Benhale	Knight
Maurice Berkeley	Knight
Thomas Bradeston	Knight
Edward Chandos	Knight
Reginald Cobham	Knight
Gawain Corder	Knight
Norman Darcy	Knight	Only paid for 74 days.
William Felton	Knight
Robert Ferrers	Knight
William Fitzwarin	Knight
Amaneus de Fossato	Knight
Hugh Frene	Knight
William Gilford	Knight
Rhys ap Griffith	Knight
Nicholas Langford	Knight
John Lovel	Knight
Walter Mauny	Knight	Only paid for 54 days.
John Melton	Knight
John Molyns	Knight
John Montgomery	Knight
John Neville of Hornby	Knight
Gilbert Pecche	Knight
Richard Perrers	Knight
Thomas Ros	Knight
Hugh de St John	Knight
John Sturmy	Knight
Edmund Ufford	Knight	Only paid for 43 days.
Edward Ufford	Knight
John Ufford	Knight
Ralph Ufford	Knight	Only paid for 50 days.
Thomas Wake of Blisworth	Knight	Only paid 24 Dec – 11 Feb.

 

 

1335 – Scottish Summer Offensive 

 

Background:

Following the frustrations of the Roxburgh Campaign, Edward sought to reinvigorate his fortunes in Scotland with a new and larger campaign in the summer of 1335. A truce from Easter until Midsummer (a by-product of ongoing Anglo-French negotiations over Gascony) bought the English king time to raise an army that was considerably larger than the one that he had taken north the previous winter. In the end, over 13,000 English troops were recruited for the campaign.  

The plan on this occasion was to carry out a two-pronged attacked on Scotland, with Edward III leading a force northwards through western Scotland, and Balliol leading another through eastern Scotland. The armies entered Scotland in early July, raiding as they went, before reconverging near Glasgow towards the end of the month. In early August, the combined army then headed north again towards Perth, where they conducted devastating raids without much opposition. As the summer wore on, and it became clear that no pitched battle was likely, Edward III retired south to Newcastle, leaving a reduced English force behind to prevent any Scottish retaliation. The household knights who accompanied the king on this occasion are as follows: (Source: BL Cotton Nero C VIII, ff. 233-47.)

 

Household Knights on the Campaign:

Names	Rank	Notes
William Bohun	Banneret
William Clinton	Banneret
John Darcy ‘le pere’	Banneret	In Ireland for the beginning of the campaign, though did later bring an Irish contingent.
William Montagu	Banneret
Ralph Neville of Raby	Banneret/ Steward
Roger Swinnerton	Banneret
Gilbert Talbot	Banneret
Robert Ufford	Banneret
Robert Athol	Knight
Giles Beauchamp of Alcester	Knight
Robert Benhale	Knight
Maurice Berkeley	Knight
Thomas Bradeston	Knight
Edward Chandos	Knight
Reginald Cobham	Knight
Gawain Corder	Knight
Norman Darcy	Knight
William Felton	Knight
Robert Ferrers	Knight
William Fitzwarin	Knight
Amaneus de Fossato	Knight
William Frank	Knight
William Gilford	Knight
Rhys ap Griffith	Knight
Nicholas Langford	Knight
Thomas Lucy	Knight
Walter Mauny	Knight
John Melton	Knight
Thomas Ros	Knight
John Sturmy	Knight
Edmund Ufford	Knight
John Ufford	Knight
Ralph Ufford	Knight
Thomas Wake of Blisworth	Knight

 

 

1339 – Cambrai-Thiérache Campaign:

 

Background:

By 1339, Edward III’s attentions had turned from Scotland to France. Although the English king led small forces of household troops into Scotland in both 1336 and 1337, neither of these were large campaigns, and from the end of 1337 it was clear that the king’s personal involvement in the war to the north was lessening substantially. Instead, he was now more concerned with his rights across the Channel. In particular, a long running dispute between Edward and Philip VI of France regarding the nature of homage due by the English king for his lands in the duchy of Aquitaine was beginning to boil over. This was only exacerbated by French support for the Bruce cause in the Anglo-Scottish wars, and the support Edward III offered to Robert III of Artois, an exile from the French court, in late 1336. All this led to the French king confiscating the duchy of Aquitaine from the English king in May 1337, after which war inevitably erupted between the two.

The second half of 1337 and first half of 1338 saw both kings preparing for war. It was not until July 1338 that Edward, and an army of roughly 5,000 troops, finally landed on the continent. His first task was to find allies to join him against the French king. This took the rest of the year and the early part of 1339, and cost Edward a vast amount of money in payments to secure allegiances. Eventually, by the end of summer in 1339, Edward and the majority of his new allies (many of whom were a little reluctant to proceed as they were still owed substantial sums of unpaid money) moved southwest from their base in Antwerp towards France, advancing on the town of Cambrai. A siege of the town followed, during which much of the surrounding area was devastated, but the town of Cambrai itself held firm. With food supplies dwindling, and the king of France seemingly unwilling to meet the English and their allies in open battle, Edward needed to do something bold to bring the campaign to a favourable conclusion. He decided, against the wishes of some of his allies, to move into France itself, perhaps hoping to entice Philip VI into open battle. This they did on 9 October, but the French king remained unmoved. It was not until 20 October, after weeks of intense raiding, that Philip finally sent word to Edward, offering to meet him in open battle within the next two days. Edward was thrilled, but Philip did not show. Three days passed and eventually the French army retreated, felling trees and breaking bridges behind them to prevent them from being followed. Disappointed by a lack of action, the English and their allies turned back towards Antwerp. The household knights present on this occasion are listed below. (Source: The Wardrobe Book of William de Norwell, 12 July 1338 to 27 May 1340, ed. M. Lyon, B. Lyon and H. Lucas (Brussels, 1983), pp. 325-60.)

 

Household Knights on the Campaign:

Name	Rank	Notes
John Beaumont	Banneret
Maurice Berkeley	Banneret	Promoted to the rank of banneret on 23 October 1339.
Thomas Bradeston	Banneret
Reginald Cobham	Banneret
John Darcy ‘le pere’	Banneret
John Faucomberge	Banneret	Only served until August 1339.
Henry Ferrers	Banneret
Robert Ferrers	Banneret
William Fitzwarin	Banneret
Walter Mauny	Banneret
John Molyns	Banneret
Edward Montgomery	Banneret
John Montgomery	Banneret
Thomas Poynings	Banneret
Geoffrey le Scrope	Banneret	Geoffrey was sent back to England in July 1338 to take charge of the navy.
John Sturmy	Banneret	Named as a knight-usher of the king’s hall.
Robert Ufford	Banneret
Giles Beauchamp	Knight
John Beauchamp of Warwick	Knight	Paid a reduced rate of 18d per day as he was resident in the hall of the king and at the king’s table.
Roger Beauchamp	Knight	Paid a reduced rate of 18d per day as he was resident in the hall of the king and at the king’s table.
Robert Benhale	Knight
Simon Boxworth	Knight	Only joined the king’s army in October 1339.
John Brocas	Knight	Paid a reduced rate of 18d per day as he was resident in the hall of the king and at the king’s table.
John Carru	Knight
Henry Cheshunt	Knight	Paid a reduced rate of 18d per day as he was resident in the hall of the king and at the king’s table.
Alan Clavering	Knight
Gawain Corder	Knight
Richard of Cornwall	Knight	Paid a reduced rate of 18d per day as he was resident in the hall of the king and at the king’s table.
William Councy	Knight	Paid a reduced rate of 18d per day as he was resident in the hall of the king and at the king’s table.
William de Cusance	Knight
John Dalton	Knight	Only joined the king’s army in October 1339.
Robert Dalton	Knight
John Darcy ‘le fitz’	Knight
Norman Darcy	Knight
Richard Damory II	Knight
Robert Dathels	Knight
William Daubeny	Knight
Ralph Ferrers	Knight
John Fitzwarin	Knight
William Frank	Knight
Wulfard Gistell	Knight
Thomas Holland	Knight
Henry Lisle	Knight	Paid a reduced rate of 18d per day as he was resident in the hall of the king and at the king’s table.
John Lisle of Rougemont	Knight
Nicholas Langford	Knight
Thomas Lucy	Knight
Henry Mauny	Knight
Thomas Pabenham	Knight	Paid a reduced rate of 18d per day as he was resident in the hall of the king and at the king’s table.
John Potenhale	Knight
Gerald de St John	Knight
John Sapy	Knight
Thomas Saunford	Knight
John Sherborn	Knight	Paid a reduced rate of 18d per day as he was resident in the hall of the king and at the king’s table.
William Sturmy	Knight
Gawain Suthorp	Knight
Thomas Swinnerton	Knight
Warin Trussell	Knight	Only knighted on 23 October 1339, a household esquire before that date. Only served 25 days as a household knight during this campaign.
William Trussell	Knight	Paid a reduced rate of 18d per day as he was resident in the hall of the king and at the king’s table.
Hugh Tyrel	Knight	Paid a reduced rate of 18d per day as he was resident in the hall of the king and at the king’s table.
Edmund Ufford	Knight
John Ufford	Knight
Ralph Ufford	Knight
Ralph Vernon	Knight
Thomas Wake of Blisworth	Knight

 

 

1340 – The battle of Sluys and siege of Tournai:

 

Background:

The year 1340 was an important one in the course of the Hundred Years War. After the slightly underwhelming campaign of 1339, Edward III decided on a radical move to spurs his war efforts forward: on 26 January 1340, in the market place at Ghent, he formally declared himself king of France in a bid to add greater legitimacy to his war, and hopefully strengthen his alliances in the Low Countries, especially his new-found friends in the county of Flanders. 

But trouble was starting to brew at home for Edward. His war on the continent had cost vast sums of money so far, and while parliament had been reliable in providing financial support for the king, they were becoming increasingly hesitant towards doing so. Nevertheless, when the king returned to England in the spring of 1340 he was successful in inducing the Commons to agree to a grant of a further ninth, although only on the promise that the king would take clear steps to tackle corruption. 

By 22 June, the king was back on his way to the continent, lying with his fleet just off the coast of Flanders. A couple of weeks earlier he had received word that the French king was amassing a vast armada near Sluys in the Zwin estuary with the intention of disrupting the Edward III’s crossing, and perhaps even capturing the king himself. Edward was happy to hear the news, and decided this was the ideal point to attack. On 23 June he sent Reginald Cobham and two other knights ashore to scope out the enemy’s forces, and on the next day the English ships descended on the French. What followed was a rout of the French fleet by the English. The king played a leading role in the action on this occasion, and was wounded by an arrow in the fray. 

After resting for a few weeks, Edward III, the English army, and their allies were on the move again. The king, frustrated by his allies’ reluctance to commit further, had decided to press forwards and lay siege to the town of Touanai. The town was of more symbolic than strategic importance, and was unlikely to be taken by assault. But, just over a month later it looked like it would prove a decisive move when a substantial French relief force arrived at the town. Those who expected a pitched battle to follow were left wanting, however. Both the English and French armies took up defensive positions, with neither ready to commit first. Eventually, representatives from the two sides met to negotiate terms. A truce followed that was to last until the following June, giving both sides much-needed time to recuperate. Edward was, however, unhappy with the arrangement: he longed for glory. The household knights present on the campaign are as follows: (Source: TNA, E 101/389/8, mm. 9-16.)

 

Household Knights on the Campaign:

Name	Rank	Notes
Maurice Berkeley	Banneret
Thomas Bradeston	Banneret
John Darcy ‘le pere’	Banneret/ Steward
Henry Ferrers	Banneret/ Chamberlain
Robert Ferrers	Banneret
Walter Mauny	Banneret
Ralph Stafford	Banneret
John Stirling	Banneret
Simon Basset	Knight
Giles Beauchamp of Alcester	Knight
John Beauchamp of Warwick	Knight
Roger Beauchamp of Bletsoe	Knight
John Beaumont	Knight
John Brocas	Knight
Hugh Calkyn	Knight
John Carru	Knight
Alan Clavering	Knight
Reginald Cobham	Knight
Gawain Corder	Knight
Richard of Cornwall	Knight
William Councy	Knight
Robert Dalton	Knight
John Darcy ‘le fitz’	Knight
Richard Darmoury II	Knight
Robert Fitzelys	Knight
William Fitzwarin	Knight
William Frank	Knight
Wulfard Gistell	Knight
Simon Hale	Knight
Thomas Holland	Knight
Nicholas Langford	Knight
Henry Lisle (Tyeys)	Knight
John Lisle of Rougemont	Knight
Nigel Loryng	Knight
Thomas Pabenham	Knight
Michael Poynings	Knight
John Sapy	Knight
Thomas Saunford	Knight
Henry Shal? (unreadable)	Knight
John Sherborn	Knight
John Sturmy	Knight
William Sturmy	Knight
Thomas Swinnerton	Knight
Warin Trussell	Knight
William Trussell	Knight
Gilbert Turbeville	Knight
Hugh Tyrell	Knight
Edmund Ufford	Knight
John Ufford	Knight
Ralph Ufford	Knight
Ralph Vernon	Knight
Thomas Wake of Blisworth	Knight

 

 

1342-1343 – The Breton Campaign:

 

Background:

Having been largely frustrated in his efforts to pursue his war with France via the Low Countries between 1337 and 1340, from 1341 onwards the War of Breton Succession offered Edward III a new theatre on which to focus his war aims on the continent. The war of succession had broken out when John III, duke of Brittany died without children, and thus no obvious heir. Two main claimants soon emerged: Charles of Blois, the husband of John III’s niece Jeanne de Penthièvre; and John de Montfort, John III’s half-brother by his father’s second marriage. As Charles was the nephew of the French king, Philip VI, he usurpingly quickly gained French royal backing for his claim. He was also the most popular choice for the Breton nobility. However, Montfort’s claim was also strong, and he was able to secure the backing of the English king. 

A small English force under the command of Walter Mauny was initially sent to aid the Motfordian cause in March 1342, which helped in the relief of several castles that were under siege from Charles of Blois’ forces. A second, larger force joined them in August, under the leadership of the earl of Northampton. Finally, in late October, Edward III arrived with the main army. First, he made for Brest, to meet up with the main Montford force, before moving on to Vannes, which was soon invested. Vannes, however, was well stocked and well garrisoned, and by January, with the town still holding out and French reinforcements on the way, Edward III sought a truce. This was agreed in late January, and stipulated that the status quo would be maintained until September 1346 (unless either side should recommence hostilities). 

The household knights who joined the king in Brittany during the winter of 1342-1343 are listed below. They are taken from the vadia guerre account of William Edington, Keeper of the Wardrobe. In theory, this account should offer a complete record of all those who served on the campaign. However, Edington’s account is far from perfect, and misses out several retinues that were present on the campaign, and includes others that quite possibly were not. The list below thus needs to be understood in this light.[1] Notes have added to show where this is particularly applicable. (Source: TNA, E 36/204, ff. 105v-10v.)

 

Household Knights on the Campaign:

Name	Rank	Notes
Maurice Berkeley	Banneret
Thomas Bradeston	Banneret
John Darcy ‘le pere’	Banneret/ Chamberlain
Robert Ferrers	Banneret
Thomas Lucy	Banneret	Not included in the vadia guerre accounts, but may have been on the campaign.
Walter Mauny	Banneret
John Montgomery	Banneret	Not included in the vadia guerre accounts, but may have been on the campaign.
Ralph Stafford	Banneret/ Steward
John Stirling	Banneret
Ralph Ufford	Banneret
Simon Basset	Knight
Giles Beauchamp of Alcester	Knight
John Beauchamp of Warwick	Knight
Roger Beauchamp of Bletsoe	Knight
Thomas Beaumont	Knight	Only joined household in 1343.
John Brocas	Knight
Bartholomew Burghersh the younger	Knight	Only joined household in 1343.
John Carru	Knight
Edward Chandos	Knight
Reginald Cobham	Knight
Gawain Corder	Knight
Richard of Cornwall	Knight
Robert Dalton	Knight
John Darcy ‘le fitz’	Knight
Richard Darmoury II	Knight
Robert Fitzelys	Knight
William Fitzwarin	Knight
William Frank	Knight	Did not receive any retinue payments, but may have been present.
Alan Holland	Knight	Only joined household in 1343.
Otho Holland	Knight	Only joined household in 1343.
Thomas Holland	Knight
Nicholas Langford	Knight
Henry Lisle (Tyeys)	Knight
John Lisle of Rougemont	Knight
Nigel Loryng	Knight
John Maunduyt	Knight	Only joined household in 1343.
Thomas Pabenham	Knight
John Sapy	Knight	Did not receive any retinue payments, but may have been present.
Thomas Saunford	Knight	Did not receive any retinue payments, but may have been present.
John Sherborn	Knight
John Sturmy	Knight
William Sturmy	Knight
Thomas Swinnerton	Knight
William Trussell	Knight
Gilbert Turbeville	Knight	Did not receive any retinue payments, but may have been present.
Hugh Tyrell	Knight	Did not receive any retinue payments, but may have been present.
Ralph Vernon	Knight
Thomas Wake of Blisworth	Knight
Alan la Zouche	Knight	Only joined household in 1343.

 

 

1346-47 – Crécy/Calais Campaign:

 

Background:

The truce that had been agreed in January 1343 following the Breton campaign did not last the three and a half years that it had stipulated. Over the next two years brutal skirmishing continued in Brittany, and the English made strenuous efforts to bolster their position in Gascony. In 1345, meanwhile, the earl of Lancaster lead an expedition in Gascony and the earl of Northampton took a force to Brittany. Edward III also probably intended to campaign in Normandy this year, but a political crisis in Flanders diverted his attention. 

By July 1346, however, despite various delays, the king was ready to lead his campaign in northern France. It was to be the largest and most famous of his reign. Landing at Saint Vaast la Hogue on the Norman coast on 11 July, the king and his army of c.14,000 combatants spent the next six weeks ravaging their way eastwards across northern France, coming within just twenty miles of Paris before turning towards Calais. By the 26 August, however, shortly after crossing the Somme, the English army were met by a larger French force who had been pursuing them. The English, who may well have been seeking such a pitched battle from the start of the campaign, thus arranged their troops along a ridge near the village of Crécy-en-Ponthieu and prepared for combat. With the French forces still arriving in dribs and drabs, their leading commanders, against the orders of their king, decided to push forward with an assault. First, the Genoese crossbowmen, serving as mercenaries in the French army, were sent forward but, without their defensive pavises behind which to shield while reloading (which had not yet arrived), they were easily overrun by the English archers. Following this, the French army attempted several disorderly cavalry charges, each of which lost much of its impetus under fire from the English archers before reaching the English men-at-arms. That said, there was still much fierce hand-to-hand fighting, and the English king’s eldest son, the Black Prince, who was with the vanguard of the English army, nearly found himself overwhelmed. Overall, however, the English emerged from the encounter with a clear victory. From Crécy, they were thus free to continue their march northwards towards Calais, which they eventually captured following a twelve-month siege. 

The household knights present on the campaign are listed below. Unfortunately, because the wardrobe account book for this year has only partially survived, we do not have a reliable list of recipients of household robes and fees for this year, nor do we have the all-important vadia geurre accounts recording who was serving on the campaign. Instead, we are reliant on a number of incomplete and/or condensed copies of the information that were made in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These copies were themselves then subsequently published in the nineteenth century. While the information these later copies offer is thought to be broadly reliable, the below list should, nonetheless, be taken cautiously.[2] There may well have been household knights present who are not recorded below. Similarly, some of those recorded below may not have been present on the campaign, or may not have been household knights at all. That said, the summaries of fees paid to household knights does survive for this year (£770), and tallies almost exactly with the amount that one would expect to find being paid to the thirty-four household bannerets and sixty simple household knights listed below, somewhat firming up the confidence we might have in this list of knights. Moreover, an additional column has been added to the table for this year recording which knights took out Letters of Protection (giving them some manner of protection from legal cases in England while they were away) before the campaign, or received royal pardons following it, which also give a guide to those who served on the campaign (or, in the case of Letter of Protection, at least intended to). (Sources: College of Arms, M series, M.16bis, ff. 82-97, printed in G. Wrottesley, ‘Crecy and Calais’, in Collections for a History of Staffordshire, edited by the William Salt Archaeology Society, volume 18 (London, 1897), pp. 191-202;BL Harleian MS. 3968, ff. 114r-31v, printed in Lettres de Rois, Reines et Autres Personnages des Cours de France et d’Angleterre, ed. M. Champollion-Figeac (Paris 1839), pp. 82-5.)

 

Household Knights on the Campaign:

Name	Rank	Letters of Protection (LP) and Pardon (P)	Notes
Giles Beauchamp	Banneret	LP
John Beauchamp of Warwick	Banneret	LP
Maurice Berkeley	Banneret	LP
Roger Beauchamp	Banneret	LP
Thomas Bradeston	Banneret	P
Thomas de Brewes	Banneret	LP
Bartholomew Burghersh the elder	Banneret		Present on main campaign but only entered the household as chamberlain on the return of John Darcy ‘le pere’ to England in late 1346.
Reginald Cobham	Banneret	P
William Councy	Banneret
John Darcy ‘le fitz’	Banneret	LP	Promoted to the rank of banneret on the day of the battle.
John Darcy ‘le pere’	Banneret	LP
Robert Ferrers	Banneret	LP; P
William Fitzwarin	Banneret	LP
Henry of Flanders	Banneret		Joined household mid-way through campaign.
Fulk Frene	Banneret		Joined household mid-way through campaign.
Hugh Hastings	Banneret		Serving with Flemish army.
John Howard	Banneret		Joined household mid-way through campaign.
Thomas Latham	Banneret		Joined household mid-way through campaign.
John Lisle of Rougemont	Banneret	P	Promoted to the rank of banneret on the day of the battle.
John de Louedale	Banneret		Joined household mid-way through campaign.
John Maltravers	Banneret		Serving with Flemish army.
Walter Mauny	Banneret		Joined campaign late as under siege at Aiguillon in Gascony.
Edward Montagu	Banneret	LP	Joined household mid-way through campaign.
John Montgomery	Banneret		Serving with Flemish army.
Auger de Montaut	Banneret
Robert Morley	Banneret	P
Michael Poynings	Banneret
Peter of Spain (Pedro the Cruel)	Banneret		Joined household mid-way through campaign.
Ralph Stafford	Banneret		Joined campaign late as under siege at Aiguillon in Gascony.
John Stirling	Banneret	P
Richard Talbot	Banneret	LP
Thomas Ughtred	Banneret		Served in retinue of earl of Warwick for the main campaign.
Adam Asshurst	Knight		Serving in retinue of William Kildesby at start of campaign.
Edward Attwood	Knight		While no Edward Attwood features in the Wrottesley transcriptions, Ayton believes that he should be included in the household retinue as he is recorded as a new knight in the Eulogium Historiarum but died during the assault of la Roche Guyon. Ayton, ‘The English army at Crécy’, p. 248, n. 15.
Simon Basset	Knight	LP
John Beauchamp, son of Giles	Knight		Promoted to household knight on day of battle.
Thomas Beaumont	Knight	P
John Berkeley	Knight	LP
John Borhmant	Knight
Thomas Bourn	Knight	LP
Amyan de Brett	Knight
Peter de Brewes	Knight		Promoted to household knight on day of battle.
Guy Brian	Knight		Promoted to household knight on day of battle.
John Brocas	Knight	LP; P
Hugh Calkyn	Knight		Joined household mid-way through campaign.
John Carru	Knight
Menald Cheshunt	Knight
Alan Clavering	Knight
John Cobham	Knight
Thomas Colville	Knight	P
Gawain Corder	Knight	LP; P
Hugh de Courtenay	Knight
Robert Dalton	Knight
Adomar Darcy	Knight	LP
William Darcy	Knight
Richard Damory	Knight	LP; P
Henry Dengayne	Knight		Promoted to household knight on day of battle.
Philip Despenser	Knight
John Deyncourt	Knight	LP
William Felton	Knight
Ralph Ferrers	Knight
Ivor Fitzwarin	Knight	LP; P
William Frank	Knight		Recruiting reinforcements in England, reached the king in September 1346.
Wulfard Gistell	Knight
William Grantstone	Knight		Joined household mid-way through campaign.
John Hampton	Knight
Thomas Haukeston	Knight		Recruiting reinforcements in England, reached the king in September 1346.
Thomas Hoggeshagh	Knight
Otho Holland	Knight
Thomas Holland	Knight	LP
Thomas Lancaster	Knight	LP	Promoted to household knight on day of battle.
Nicholas Langford	Knight	P
Henry Lisle (Tyeys)	Knight	LP
Nigel Loryng	Knight		Serving in the retinue of the earl of Lancaster at the start of the campaign.
William Marmion	Knight
Robert Mauley II	Knight		Promoted to household knight on day of battle.
Robert Neville	Knight
John Radcliffe	Knight
Giles dit Paonet de Roet	Knight
Walter de la Pole	Knight		Joined household mid-way through campaign.
John Potenhale	Knight		Serving in the retinue of Thomas Bradeston at the start of the campaign.
Theobald de Rachecourt	Knight		Joined household mid-way through campaign.
John Ravensholme	Knight		Promoted to household knight on day of battle.
Thomas Roland	Knight
John Sherborn	Knight	LP; P
Miles Stapleton	Knight
Thomas Swinnerton	Knight	P
Warin Trussell	Knight
William Trussell	Knight	P
Gilbert Turberville	Knight
Richard la Vache	Knight
Stephen Waleys	Knight	LP; P
John Ward	Knight
William Warrene	Knight

 

 

1359-1360 – Reims Campaign:

 

Background:

The final campaign that Edward III led in person came in the winter of 1359-1360. The king’s ability to build on the victories he had won in 1346 and 1347 had been severely hampered by the arrival of the Black Death in Europe shortly after. Even so, by the end of 1349 fighting had resumed and the 1350s witnessed ongoing efforts to find a more lasting peace, punctuated by vicious English campaigns on the continent. The most famous and successful of these were led by the Black Prince, who took charge of a ‘grand chevauchee’ across southern France in 1355 and led the English to a resounding victory at the battle of Poitiers the following year. This latter engagement even resulted in the English capture of the King on France. Despite this great fortune, however, peace terms could still not be agreed between the warring parties, and so in 1359 Edward III decided on a further campaign to strengthen his hand. 

The campaign began on 28 October 1359, when the English king landed at Calais at the head of an army consisting of over 3,000 men-at-arms and 5,000 mounted archers. From there, the English marched through Artois and Cambresis to Reims, where they laid siege to the town. While no French relief force came to their aid, the town was strong enough to resist the assault and on 11 January 1360 the English broke the siege and moved into Burgundy, before finally moving to the outskirts of Paris. None of this was enough to press Charles, the regent of France, to battle, however, and after suffering losses to disease and poor weather, the English agreed to a short-term truce with the intention of finding a longer-term peace. The outcome of these negotiations was the treaty of Brétigny, agreed on 8 May 1360 and ratified in Calais in October that year. It saw Edward III renounce his claims to the throne of France in return for extensive lands in Gascony, Poitou and elsewhere in France, to be held without homage to the king of France. It also established the ransom of John II of France at three million écus. While the treaty had broken down by the end of the 1360s, it is broadly seen as the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years War. The household knights on the campaign in 1359-1360 are as follows: (Source: TNA, E 101/393/11, ff. 79r-87r.)

 

Household Knights on the Campaign:

Name	Rank	Notes
Nicholas Burnell	Banneret
John Beauchamp of Warwick	Banneret	Only with the army between March and May 1360.
Guy Brian	Banneret
John Chandos	Banneret
John Charlton I	Banneret
Edward Despenser	Banneret
Reginald Grey	Banneret
William Latimer II	Banneret
Almaric de St Amand	Banneret
Thomas Ughtred	Banneret
William la Zouche	Banneret
Simon Basset	Knight
Thomas Beauchamp	Knight
Henry Beaumont	Knight
Thomas Berkeley	Knight
Peter de Brewes	Knight
John Brocas	Knight
John Burley	Knight
John Charlton II	Knight
Gilbert Despenser	Knight
John Deyncourt	Knight
Henry Grey	Knight
Thomas Hoggeshagh	Knight
Robert Hole	Knight
Edward Kendale	Knight
Thomas Kingston	Knight
Nicholas Loveign	Knight
Andrew Luttrell	Knight
John Marmion	Knight
Thomas Montagu	Knight
Dennis Morbeke	Knight
Thomas Murreux I	Knight
John Pecche	Knight
Richard Pembridge	Knight
John Potenhale	Knight
Edward de St John	Knight
Thomas St Leger	Knight
William de Say	Knight
William Silton	Knight
Miles Stapleton	Knight
Thomas Swinnerton	Knight
Richard la Vache	Knight
Thomas de Vere	Knight
Guy de la Warr	Knight
Hugh Wrottesley	Knight
Richard la Zouche	Knight