SOLDIERS NAMED ‘LARGE’ IN THE GARRISONS OF LANCASTRIAN NORMANDY 1415-50

“The Soldier in Later Medieval England” project brought together large numbers of records which include the names of individual soldiers written down at a muster of his company, or if his aim was to protect his lands or estates during his absence from England, or for another reason.

Names of 128,525 soldiers serving in the fifteenth-century garrisons held by the Lancastrian crown in Normandy were first made available to the general public in December 2009 as part of medievalsoldier.org, and the names of further soldiers have been added since then. The majority of the garrison musters formed part of the archive of the chambre des comptes: many have been lost in later centuries, and have been dispersed as far as the USA and Russia, although the majority are to be found today in the Biblothèque Nationale de France in Paris.[1]

The muster records include not only regular garrisons muster quarterly but also men assigned to temporary garrison reinforcements, armies operating in the field or undertaking particular sieges or other actions in France during this period, which were usually mustered monthly. From 1424 onwards, the office of controller was introduced in the Normandy garrisons to keep a quarterly counter-roll. These counter-rolls listed the names of soldiers leaving and entering the garrison during the quarter, those who were changing their rank, “being absent in the field or on their own business (for which they might lose pay) and taking prisoners and booty as profits of war (a share of which belonged to the captain and king).” [2] Maintaining and providing the supplies required for service by troops in the Normandy garrisons, was an enormous task, but it resulted in quite long periods of service away from home.[3]

Approximately 40-50% of the original records for Lancastrian Normandy appears to have survived, whereas the number of musters for garrisons in other parts of northern and southern France, are few and far between. It follows that the records of men who served in Normandy have become a fruitful source of research.[4]

Levels of payment varied according to rank, status and the place of military service. For the periods of service undertaken by the soldiers described below an archer would expect to receive 6d. a day and a mounted man-at-arms, 12d. a day, and a foot man-at-arms 8d per day. Converting an archer’s wage of 6d. a day in say, 1400, into the equivalent  sum today is fraught with challenges, but using a Purchasing Power Calculator results in a relative value in 2018 of £18.70, by multiplying £0.025 by the % increase in the Retail Price Index (RPI) from 1400 to 2018 (the latest year for which the calculation applies). Other methodologies produce rather different values. Average daily wages of artisans in England between 1400-1409, from which group many archers would have been drawn, for example, were 3.67d. for a thatcher; 4.00d. for a tiler; 4.29/6.00d. for a mason and 4.64d. for a carpenter. And the average daily wage for an artisan between 1400-1409 was 4.92d.[5] It follows that if an archer served in the military over a period of months or years, his income would have been significant, and may well have exceeded what he could have expected to earn at home.[6]

The majority of troops who fought for the English crown during the Hundred Years War were archers, and they account for almost 150,000 entries in the Soldier database as a whole. However, as will be noted immediately below and in the case of William Large, archer, the names include the same man who served in more than one retinue or campaign over a period of time. These have been, appropriately, designated ‘units of service, because the soldiers’ names recorded do not invariably represent different individuals who happen to share the same name, but the same man who served in more than one location or at more than one time.’[7] This is particularly likely to be the case when the men have very rare surnames, such as Large. Their success in past battles, including at Crécy in August 1346, meant that English archers were especially valued, and, because the pool of potential recruits was much bigger, they were cheaper to hire than men-at-arms.[8]

Within the muster evidence for the Norman garrisons we find 92,299 archers (72% of the total number for whom details survive), serving in approximately 45 different locations, including in Rouen (capital of Normandy) and Caen, as well as in other places in the duchy.[9] These troops had not only the role of holding their garrisons against assault, but they took part in sieges and other military actions from within the retinues of their captains and commanders, outside the confines of the garrisons.

A total of 17 examples of men called ‘Large’ or a variant surname were found in the database, although many of the entries refer to the same individual, whose retinues and military duties changed and progressed with the passage of time, so that some names appear on more than one occasion, as discussed below. All these examples of men called ‘Large’ appear between 1423 and 1442, which is almost certainly too late for them to be identifiable using the Poll Tax methodology adopted in the first study, which was entitled “Using the Poll Tax to identify Medieval Archers”.[10] Often their names were written by French clerks or scribes who recorded the musters of the garrisons, and they appear to have been given a ‘French flavour.’ In this connection, it is worth noting that the English surname ‘Large’ originally meant ‘generous’ rather than referring to body size. It was this surname which was the basis for the earlier study using the poll tax evidence.

The surname or family name dates to the medieval period before the time of Lancastrian Normandy, as, for example, in the case of Adam le Large, whose name appeared in the Lay Subsidy Roll of 1327 in the village of Clenfeld (modern Glenfield), Leicestershire, in the sum of 18d. The names of Richard le Large and Henry le Large were recorded in nearby villages at the same time.  Robert le Large, was the ‘Constable’ for the village of Beans, Leicestershire, at the time of the Poll Tax of 1377, implying that he held a certain status in his community.[11] And even earlier than this, William le Large was a witness to a grant by Thomas, the Abbot, and the Convent of Burton, to William Reyner, of Stafford, of land in ‘Bromleya abbatis’ (Bromley Abbey), sometime between 1280 and 1305, more than 100 years before the current period of interest.[12] In Norfolk, the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1327 and 1333 recorded the names of Thoma (Thomas) Large in South Creake, and Roberto (Robert) Large in North Elmham, and others in the immediate vicinity, none of whom have “le” interposed in their names.[13] In view of the way the soldiers’ names were recorded in the Normandy Garrison Rolls, care needs to be taken when attempting to work out their nationality, men whose names were written down by French clerks.

The soldiers named ‘Large’ whose names were recorded in the garrisons of Lancastrian Normandy are included here in summary, and it is worth emphasising that this was a very rare surname. Its extreme rarity has made it possible to use the name as an investigative device to explore the ways in which a soldier might move between different retinues, captains and garrisons, and also change his rank and type of service.[14]

A total of 17 individual entries of ‘Large’ were identified, 13 of them on Muster Rolls and 4 on Counter Rolls, all pertaining to the Normandy Garrisons, representing 0.013% of the total, and many of these refer to the same individual on repeat occasions:

(i). William Large, archer, fought under the captaincy of John Talbot, later 1^st earl of Shrewsbury, in a detachment of the garrison of Rouen in the field recorded on 28 December 1441, on a Counter Roll,[15] and 3 days later, on 31 December 1441, on the same membrane.[16] These two records clearly refer to the same individual. William Large, archer, also served at the same detachment of the garrison of Rouen, at the siege of Chaumont, on 29 March 1442, (on the very next membrane).[17]

According to numbers of entries on the database, Talbot had the captaincy of at least 7,200 men during the occupation, mostly under his sole command, though as in the case of William Large several of his men are found in the musters and counter-rolls more than once.

To illustrate this further, it could be argued that the 17 Garrison database entries of “Large” which follow, might represent as few as 4 individual soldiers. In 1441, Talbot pursued the French army on four occasions over the rivers Seine and Oise, aiming to bring about a battle between the two sides. Around February 1442, he returned to England to request urgent reinforcements for his commander, the lieutenant general of France, Richard, duke of York, in Normandy.[18] Although this study concentrates on soldiers in the lower ranks of the army who were named ‘Large,’ it is worth recording that John Talbot has been described as one of the most, if not the most, distinguished military leader in the Normandy campaigns. He was known as “The Terror of the French,”[19] about whom the population of Gascony would cry “the Talbot cometh, the Talbot cometh” and this despite his devotion to the traditions of English chivalry. Whether the troops under his command recognised this, is unclear, but they may well have done so.[20] This is not to diminish the achievements of his fellow military leaders in any way, but he was the type of captain who could have inspired respect and loyalty from the men under his command, much as did some military leaders during the World Wars of the last century. Talbot had a reputation for being quarrelsome and violent on the one hand, but decisive and ruthless on the other,[21] but today, he is an almost forgotten hero.[22]

(ii). John Large, archer, served under the captaincy of Sir John Fastolf (1378-1459) in the Garrison of Pontoise (reinforcements), in July 1429.[23] The name of John Fastolf, who came from a Norfolk gentry family, was immortalised by William Shakespeare as ‘Falstaff’ in his plays ‘Henry IV, parts 1 and 2’ and also in ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor.’ Fastolf’s character was evidently nothing like that of his cowardly, and often inebriated near-namesake, but rather he was a distinguished, and wealthy military leader, serving under the command of Henry V, including at the siege of Harfleur (1415), and in other encounters at Verneuil (1424), Rouvay, also known as The Battle of the Herrings (1429), and at Patay (1429), in which the English were heavily defeated, despite the deployment of great number of longbow men.[24]

An archer with the name John Large also appeared under the captaincy of Thomas Burgh at the Garrison at Tombelaine, in September 1429.[25] John Large, archer, served under Sir Thomas Kingston in a detachment from the garrison of Falaise at the siege of Château-Gaillard, on the River Seine (and partly at Mereville), in March 1430.[26] John le Large, crossbowman, served in Naval Service, under the captaincy of Robert Baron in the siege of Château-Gaillard  in May 1430.[27] Chateau Gaillard was one of four in Normandy which resisted the advances of Henry V in 1419. The castle eventually fell to the English, and Normandy came under English control, save for Mont St Michel which the English never took. The French recaptured Château-Gaillard in 1430 in an attack led by Étienne de Vignolles,[28] only for it to fall into English hands again, within a month.[29]

Johan Large, archer, served at the Garrison of Falaise, under the captaincy of John of Lancaster (1389-1435), duke of Bedford, in June 1432. Despite the difference in spelling, this is most likely to have been the same man who served at the same garrison two years earlier in 1430.[30]

John le Large was a gunner serving in an Ordnance Company under William Gloucester (master of ordnance), at Rouen in November 1435.[31] The final example of the name of John Large, archer, was recorded under the captaincy of John Talbot and the command of John Bruse, at the garrison of Rouen (gates), in June 1443.[32]

It is possible that all of these database entries refer to the same man, particularly considering how rare was the surname, and that he changed his retinue and type of involvement according to local requirements at the time. The reference to John Large, gunner, illustrates the growing use of gunpowder in warfare during a period which had relied heavily on arrows shot from English longbows, or bolts shot from the cross bow. The soldier, John Large, serving in an ordnance company, under a captain described as a master of ordnance, is the sole example of a man with the surname ‘Large’ in this position. Siege guns and hand guns were both in development at this period of military history, and they were becoming more and more important for armies attacking the walls of towns or enemy garrisons, for obvious reasons. Contemporary paintings of the sieges of French towns and garrisons show the use of canon and field artillery which would not have looked out of place in much later conflicts. A painting illustrating the siege of Orléans in 1429, is thought to be the first battle in which artillery (cannon) was used, both by the assailants and the defenders.[33] The likelihood that John Large, gunner, would have been familiar with artillery of this type, whether siege or hand-held, is very high.

John Large may therefore have served for at least 14 years, respectively. Such a length of service must have been common, and there are examples of archers, for example at Harfleur, who saw action for as long as 15 years in the case of John Palmer (1416/18 to 1431), and 29 years in the case of Hegyn (Hugh) Tomson (1416 to 1445).[34]

The names of the soldiers Perrin le Large and Denis le Large in (iii) and (iv), below, are particularly interesting because of the way in which their names have been recorded. Great care needs to be exercised when trying to decide their country of origin because of the implications of the following quotation, taken directly from a review of the topic:

But the vast majority of rolls, and virtually all those produced in Normandy after 1421, are in French and were compiled by French scribes, who Frenchified all names. Some Englishmen thus appear by their forenames to be French and it is difficult to identify genuine Normans or French by name evidence alone.[35]

This comment derived from work which concentrated on men-at-arms, but the arrangements for recording the names of the more numerous archers would have been similar, because the same French clerks were used.  

Bearing in mind the examples of the Englishmen called “le Large” mentioned earlier from Leicestershire and Staffordshire, were Perrin and Denis Le Large English or were they French?

(iii). Perrin le Large, archer, fought under Sir François Surienne (c. 1398-1465), who was originally a Spanish mercenary, later promoted by the English to the post of captain[36] at the garrison of Gallardon in June 1442.[37] Surienne (“de Aragonnais”), who had fought for the English since 1437, led a total of 1,123 men at various times under John Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury, Richard, duke of York, and Edmund Beaufort, earl of Dorset. At other sites of action, he was in sole command. Surienne was appointed Knight of the Garter in 1447.[38] However, he subsequently returned this and renounced his English allegiance.[39]

Perrin is a distinctly French name. A brief review of the names of men in Surrienne’s command suggests that they were either French, or if some were English, their names have been recorded in a French format. When the work for this study was begun, “Perrin” as a first name appears in the garrison muster and counter-roll database 966 times (0.75%), and so it is not unexpected to find only one single example of the name Perrin le Large.[40] His origin or nationality was not recorded, as was the case in the overwhelming majority of soldiers with the first name “Perrin.” However, 69 of those with the name Perrin (7.1%) were recorded as “Norman”, 2 were “French”, 6 were “French &/or Norman,” 5 were “French & English,” 5 were “English but with French-sounding surnames,” 5 were “Gascon,” 1 was a “Savoyard,” 1 was a “Lorrainer,” 1 was “English/Welsh” and 2 were “English.” The majority have no record of nationality or origin.  It is virtually impossible from these small numbers to be certain whether Perrin le Large was French or English. He could have been either, although English commanders usually had English troops serving under them. The case of Denis le Large (below) appears to differ from this general rule, and is all the more interesting because of this.

A soldier called Perrin Largeman, archer, is found in the garrison of Verneuil under William Neville, Lord Fauconberg, earl of Kent (1405-1463) in June 1437.[41]   His was the only entry in the database with this name, and it is highly likely that he and Perrin le Large were almost certainly one and the same man, and that he was relocated from Verneuil to Gallardon, 5 years later. Indeed, it would be very difficult to argue the contrary. Verneuil and Gallordon are 68 kilometres (42 miles) apart.

(iv). Denis le Large, archer, served under Sir Henry Redford (Retford) at the garrison at Essay, in March 1439,[42] June 1439,[43]December 1440,[44] and in March 1441.[45] The fact that three of these four records appear on the same muster roll and in the same group of membranes strongly suggests that the same individual was involved on each occasion, two years apart.

In any case, “Denis” was recorded as a first name on only 185 occasions (0.07%) on the Garrison database: on 34 occasions as a man-at-arms, and once as a crossbowman. All the rest, 150 (80%), were archers. Furthermore, Denis le Large was described as ‘Norman’ in two of the rolls, in 1439 and in 1441. None of the other soldiers named ‘Large’ in the muster rolls of Lancastrian Normandy was given a country of origin, making this soldier unique in this respect. The recording of nationality was required after 1430, when reversals in fortunes made the English concerned about the trustworthiness of local soldiers, but the policy was never universally or systematically applied, as research by Professor Curry cited below reveals.

A small number of the soldiers called “Denis” did have their nationality recorded, as follows: 5 were “Norman” (including our man), 3 were “English,” 2 were “French,” 2 were “Gascon,” and 1 was “Irish.” In total, therefore, although we are dealing with very small numbers of men, only 13 of 185 soldiers called “Denis” (7.0%), had a nationality attached to their names, and of these, the majority were clearly not English. Henry Redford, the garrison captain, was sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1427 and 1454, and Mayor of Bordeaux in 1452. His father, Sir Henry, senior, became Speaker of the House of Commons in 1402.[46]

The entry of “Denis le Large, Norman” indicates an undoubted ‘French’ connection for the name and the likely origins of the family, much as anticipated from its meaning as “generous.”

Is there any documentary evidence to support the suggestion that men called ‘le Large’ were living in what is now northern France during the medieval period? The following summary indicates that the answer to this question is definitely ‘yes’ although to date, the records of the name ‘le Large’ are in Brittany rather than in Normandy, and many generations before the period currently under consideration. Ralph le Large was living in Gahard, Brittany, in 1040, where he was a co-conspirator with Radulfus Anglicus (Ralph the Englishman, implying he was part English by birth), Lord of Gaël. It seems most likely from this ancient, pre-Conquest form of the name, that Radulphus/Ralph had mixed Breton/English parentage or ancestry. He was influential in the court of Edward the Confessor, acting as his constable.[47] Ralph, or Raoul le Large as he was also known, was born in Aubigné, part of the district of Rennes, Bretagne/Brittany, and he and his son, Main de Aubigné, have been described as the Lords of Aubigné, an area which included a group of towns and fortifications centred on the Breton village of Saint-Aubin-d’Aubigné. The other villages in this group were Aubigné, Chauvigné, Gahard, Saint-Médard-sur-Ille, Mouazé, Saint-Germain, Saint Sulpice-la-Forêt and Montreuil-sur-Ille, all located between Rennes and Vitré. The Lords of Aubigné held land in fee to the Lords of Fougères (Ferns), and probably shared a close relationship with them through marriage. The evidence shows that Ralph’s family formed an Anglo-Breton line, since he was granted lands near Raynham in north west Norfolk, 5 miles south west of Fakenham, but which he subsequently lost because of his involvement in part of the Breton revolt of Ralph de Gaël in 1075.[48]

Although nearly 400 years before the time of Denis le Large, evidence such as this is sufficient to show a connection between men and families called ‘Large’ living in northern France before the Conquest, and those who came to live in eastern England, and no doubt, elsewhere, after the Norman invasion. And it highlights the value of using the Soldiers’ database, not only in its own right, but also as a starting point for more detailed researches in other documents of the medieval period which may also include records of the names under investigation. It is in this way that additional, valuable biographical information can be gleaned for a group of soldiers who were crucial to the English crown, but whose identities, origins, families and trades, are still relatively unknown. It is true that at the time, Brittany and Normandy were separate duchies with different cultures, loyalties and affinities, but the distance of Saint-Aubin-d’Aubigné, the centre of our Breton region of interest, to Rouen, the capital of Normandy, is only about 185 miles, and it is not difficult to envisage movement of families called ‘le Large’ between the two duchies in either direction in the intervening years before the time of Denis le Large. These are good examples which support the general view that it is not possible to deduce a man’s origins simply by looking at the way his name has been recorded, in the database. This requires additional consideration in order to draw the correct conclusion.

(v). Gracie and Gracean de Large, man-at-arms (foot) in both the entries, were under the captaincy of Sir William Appleby at the garrison of Pontoise in November 1423, and November 1424, respectively.[49] Although recorded on two occasions twelve months apart with slight variations of the spelling of the first name, it is almost certain that these were one and the same individual.

The name “Gracie” occurs on 9 occasions in the database and 4 of these were men-at-arms, and of the soldiers attached to Normandy garrisons between 1423 and 1446, the following garrisons were represented: Pontoise (2), Verneuil (3), Evreux, Gisors, Neufchatel, and Gournay/Gerberoy (1 each). One of the men-at-arms in the Garrison database called “Gracie” was identified as a “Gascon,” but no other nationalities were recorded, although the surnames all appear on the face of it, to be French. Three other men-at-arms were almost certainly also entries of the same man with variant surname spellings: Gracie Doucet, Gracie Doncette and Gracie de Uscete.[50]

The name of Gracean de Large is the only one recorded with this first name in the entire Normandy Garrison database. It is difficult to be certain whether he was Norman or English from his name, because his origin or nationality was not recorded. However, it is certain that the military commanders had to be sure that there would be no conflict of interest were French troops to be employed on French soil, fighting for the English against their fellow countrymen.[51] This concern, together with the presence of an English captain may suggest that our man-at-arms was English, in spite of the French-sounding gloss put on his first name. The modern equivalent, Gracian, has generally been regarded as a rare male first name in the English-speaking world, the female equivalent, Grace, being much more common.[52]

It follows that the greater the interval after the Poll Taxes of 1377-1381 their names appear, the more difficult it would be to make cross-references of the names with Poll Tax lists in the towns, villages and manors where their captains and commanders held their landed estates. But a teenager who was 14 years in 1377 and hence eligible for payment of tax (born in 1359), could still have been in service in the 1410s and 20s, since we know men served into their 60s. But it is extremely unlikely that anyone serving in the late 1420s and 30s could be found in the Poll Tax records.

Conclusion

This is the last of three projects which have examined the Medieval Soldier database using the very rare surname ‘Large’ as a device or tool for investigating patterns of enlistment into the military, and of the way soldiers might change their rank, status, weapons, captain, commander, and occupation, sometimes over a period of several years, provided they survived the rigors of medieval warfare. This study of the Garrisons of Lancastrian Normandy adds to the previous findings which show that the method appears sound and would be worth employing on a bigger scale to confirm the basic premise which underpin the projects.

There is no suggestion that the men called ‘Large’ who fought during the Hundred Years War, and whose names were found in the databases were part of the same family or were related to each other in any way; this is unlikely despite the very rare surname. However, some of them probably have living descendants, and some of these may bear the surname ‘Large,’ although no claims of any family descent are being made for any individual living today whose surname happens to be ‘Large.’ In the present state of knowledge, these are namesakes and not descendants. Modern DNA studies comparing material from human remains from the fourteenth or fifteenth century with those of the living would be fascinating, but very difficult to carry-out, because of the lack of grave stone or documentary evidence of most of the soldiers’ burials. The likelihood is that the vast majority of medieval archers have no record of their last resting places, even in major battles such as Agincourt, Towton and Bosworth. On the other hand, the remains of a small group of allied soldiers who were killed in October 1914 near the French village of Beaucamps-Ligny duringThe Great War, have been identified by comparing their DNA with known living descendants.[53] This French village is about 65 miles south east of Calais, and less than 50 miles north east of Agincourt, in an area of northern France which saw a great deal of fierce fighting during the Hundred Years War. It is doubtful whether it will ever be possible to identify the lower ranks of the dead of the Hundred Years War in this way, and no doubt this will remain a challenge for military archaeologists and experts in DNA technology for many years to come. Until then, we will continue to rely on modern developments such as the Medieval Soldiers Database and contemporary historical records, to uncover more of the lives of medieval soldiers and their comrades.

Acknowledgements: I am very grateful to Professors Anne Curry and Adrian R. Bell for their encouragement, help and support during the work for this study.

David M. Large.

Useful reading

Anne Curry, The Nationality of Men-at Arms serving in English Armies in Normandy and the pays de conquêt, 1415-1450: A Preliminary Survey. https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/GCMS/RMS-1992-07_A._Curry,_The_Nationality_Of_Men-at-Arms_serving_in_English_Armies_in_Normandy_and_the_pays_de_conquete,_1415-1450.pdf. pp. 135.

References and Sources

[1] Adrian R Bell, Anne Curry, Andy King, and David Simpkin. The Soldier in Later Medieval England. Oxford University Press 2013.

For general comments on Normandy Garrisons, see pp. 4, 5, 12-14, 105 & 186.

[2] The Soldier in Later Medieval England. Datasets described. /help/datasets-described/

[3] Bell, Curry, King & Simpkin, ibid. p. 5.

[4] Anne Curry, English Armies in the Fifteenth Century, in A. Curry and M. Hughes, (eds), Arms, Armies and Fortifications in the Hundred Years War (Woodbridge, 1994), p. 49. Quoted in Bell et al, ibid. p. 12.

[5] Johan Schreiner, Wages and prices in England in the later Middle Ages. Scandinavian Economic History Review, 2:2, 61-73,

DOI: 10.1080/03585522.1954.10407617. Table II, p. 63. First published in 1954. Published online, 20 Dec 2011; For a general review of wages in medieval Europe and onwards, see Robert C. Allen, The Great Divergence in European Wages and Prices – from the Middle Ages to the First World War. Explorations in Economic History 38, 41 1-447 (2001). doi: 10.1006/exeh.2001.0775. available online at http://www.idealibrary.com.

[6] Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1270 to Present, Measuring Worth, 2020.  https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppoweruk/

[7] Bell, Curry, King & Simpkin, ibid. p. 139.

[8] Bell, Curry, King & Simpkin, ibid. p. 141.

[9] Curry, ibid. p. 4.

[10] /about/soldier-profiles/using-the-poll-tax-to-identify-medieval-archers/

[11] David M. Large, The Life and Family of Robert Large, Mercer, Mayor of London 1439-1440, First Employer of William Caxton. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, 2008, pp. 58-59.

[12] Large, ibid. p. 59, quoting Charters and Muniments belonging to the Marquis of Anglesey. The Staffordshire Record Society, formerly known as The William Salt Archaeological Society, 1936. D603/A/ADD/3o1. 1280-1305.

13 Timothy L Hawes, Inhabitants of Norfolk in the 14th Century. The Lay Subsidies 1327 and 1332 preserved in the Public Record Office: 42,000 names and payments. Cringleford, Norwich: Hawes Books, 2000-2002. pp. 259, 409.

14 Curry, ibid. p.3.

15 ADSM, 100J/33/20.

16 ADSM, 100J/33/20.

17 ADSM, 100J/33/21.

18 A. J. Pollard, John Talbot and the War in France 1427-1453. Pen and Sword Military, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, 1983, 2005. p. 68.

19 Pollard, ibid, John Talbot and the War with France, ibid. p. 2.

20 A. J. Pollard, Talbot, John, first earl of Shrewsbury and first earl of Waterford (c. 1387-1453). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online version 4 October 2008. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/26932: Pollard, ibid John Talbot, pp. 1, 2, 25, 139 etc.

21 Pollard, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography article on Talbot. “The War in France,” 1427-1445.

22 Pollard, John Talbot and the War in France, ibid. p. 5.

23 AN, K 63/7/6.

24 Sir John Fastolf, Encyclopaedia Britannica, online edition, 2019 https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Fastolf ; Paston Letters, Collection of English Correspondence, written by the Editors of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, ibid. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Paston-Letters#ref221183: Simon Scharma, A History of Britain, At the Edge of the World? 3000 BC – AD 1603, p. 269.

25 BNF, MS. 25768, no. 415.

26 BNF, MS. 25768, no. 403.

27 BNF, MS. 25769 no. 498.

28 Christopher Allmand, The Hundred Years’ War: England and France at War, c. 1300–c. 1450, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-31923-2.

29 Alfred H. Burne, The Agincourt War: A Military History of the Latter part of the Hundred Years War, from 1369-1453. Frontline Books, 2014, pp. 133-134. Cited in ‘Château Gaillard,’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_Gaillard#cite_note-37

30 BL, Add. Ch. 11768.

31 BNF, MS. 25772, no. 1016.

32 BL, Add. Ch. 12184.

33 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years%27_War#/media/File:Siege_orleans.jpg  From Les Vigiles de Charles VII, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. Gallica Digital Library, digital ID btv1b105380390/f117

34 Bell et al. ibid. p. 172, Table 4.5.

35 Anne Curry, The Nationality of Men-at-Arms serving in English Armies in Normandy and the pays de conquêt, 1415-1450: A Preliminary Survey. https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/GCMS/RMS-1992-07_A._Curry,_The_Nationality_Of_Men-at-Arms_serving_in_English_Armies_in_Normandy_and_the_pays_de_conquete,_1415-1450.pdf

36 François de Surienne. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_de_Surienne.

37 BL, Add. Ch. 12184.

38 John A. Wagner, Encyclopaedia of the Hundred Years War. Greenwood Press 2006. Google Books on-line, p. 231.

39 Wagner, ibid. p. 129.

40 AN, K 67/12/58 (Counter Roll).

41 BL, Add. Ch. 11988.

42 BNF, MS. Fr. 25775, no. 1400.

43 BNF, MS. Fr. 25775, no. 1411.

44 BL, Add. Ch. 8005.

45 BNF, MS. 25775, no. 1504.

46 Julian Lock, Sir Henry Retford, (c. 1354-1409). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/23252].

47 Katharine S. B. Keats-Rohan, Domesday People: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents, 1066-1166. Boydell & Brewer Ltd., 1999. Chapter 3, The Bretons and the Norman Conquest p. 44, 46.

48 Pam Wilson, Manager of the website, Raoul le Large (d’Aubigné), also known as “Radulphus Largus Albiniacus”, “Ralph the Large.” Quoting Feet of Fines for the County Norfolk, 1198-1202, 01770244 “of all the land which Ralph Largus (Radulfus Larges) held in Reinham (Raynham)” Date: 1200, deeds.library.utoronto.ca/charters/

49 BNF, MS. Fr. 25767, no.46, and BNF, MS. Fr. 25767, no. 109.

50  /database/

51 Curry, ibid, pp. 142, 143. Although, note this related to Pontoise in the 1430s, rather than 1423.

52 Given Names c. 1450-1650. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~oel/givenmames.html#G

53 Soldiers killed during WW1 named via DNA from relatives. BBC News report, 22 March 2014. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26690387