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Medieval Warfare In Europe and Japan Europe • The collapse of the western Roman Empire around 410-12AD, left Europe in chaos – Former provinces ruled by various tribes, each with a chief or king – Depression in population as food shortages and war take their toll – Populations once connected by roads and common government become isolated – Single largest power structure in Europe remains the Catholic Church Trends in Medieval Period • Lack of central organization means an end to large, professional armies paid for by government – Armies become smaller, and entirely funded by private money (usually individual nobles) – Focus of battle now on elite warriors who can afford the best weapons, armor and horses – Creation of isolated, fortified manors known as castles or keeps to defend land with fewer men Example: Tours- The Battle that Saved Christian Europe • By the 730s, Muslim Umayyad Dynasty had expanded across Africa and conquered most of Spain • Now proceeding across Pyrenees Mountains to conquer France and the rest of Europe • Odo the Great, Lord of Aquitaine appeals to Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer), King of the Franks for aid against the impending invasion – Charles agrees if Odo swears loyalty Battle of Tours • Battle is emblematic of later Medieval warfare – Charles enters battle with a small corps of elite warriors and a large army of auxiliaries who are basically arrow fodder – Charles’ army is small, but wins through proper deployment of troops Battle Battle • Moors greatest asset is the cavalry, armed with long curved swords called scimitars • Charles arrays his forces in a formation known as the square, two lines of men in a square formation to hold back enemy horsemen – Trees help to baffle incoming cavalry charge – Arms men with pikes: 5-6ft long sharpened stakes for killing horses The Battle • Day 1: Charles’ forces decimate the Umayyad cavalry • Day 2: Umayyads forced to commit infantry • Day 3: While fighting infantry, Charles dispatches his scouts to hit Umayyad supply wagons, causing as much havoc and freeing as many slaves as possible – Umayyads retreat in disarray with heavy losses Consequences of Battle • Charles’ family forms the first post-Roman Empire, the Carolignian Dynasty – Charles’ battle becomes model for other kings • Had Charles lost, there would have been no other comparable army to stop the Umayyads – A Muslim Europe? Muslim Caliphate after Tours Europe develops new military strategy • Europe forced to develop new strategies in response to realities of post-Roman world – Fewer fighting men – Threat of invading tribes – Need to protect only wealth left: agriculture – No one king able to pay resources to hire an army on his own Answer: The Feudal System • Kings offer land to lords (alternately known as Dukes, Karls, Counts, etc.) in exchange for promises of fealty – Lords must respond to Kings call for battle, and pay taxes, but are otherwise given total control • Lords in turn offer swaths of their land to Knights – Knights protect land by building fortified manors or castles, pay taxes and fealty to lords • Knights directly control peasants who farm land Feudalism The Manor becomes the Castle • Castles were self-sufficient fortresses designed to slow an advancing army, hold strategic areas and serve as watchtowers on the border • Castles ranged from small walled forts, to massive complexes of buildings Castles Common features of castles • Motte: An earthen mound with a flat top on which the castle rested (often artificial). These later became known as moats, because often, a depression would be built around the castle and filled with water to slow attackers Castles • Curtain Wall: Castles were surrounded by at least 1, if not multiple walls • Bailey: Fortified areas within castle walls, held spaces for animals, crops and supplies • Gate: Large fortified gates in walls, usually protected by a donjon- a high tower capable of raining down attacks on besieging armies • Keep: The central house of the castle, containing the lord’s manor Effect on Medieval Society • Focus of society entirely on nobility – One was not a citizen of a country, but a subject of a local lord – Knights required to swear personal loyalty and their honor to a lord – Should that Lord fall in battle, it would essentially be the death of the Kingdom as well. Example: The Battle of Hastings • In your textbook read pages 14-17 and answer the following questions • Why were Harold and William fighting over England? • What turned the tide of battle for the Normans? • What were the consequences for English language and culture as a result of the victory? Chivalry • Code of honor all knights were expected to adhere to – Developed from the laws of the Ordo Equistriis (the Roman Equestrians) as well as the code established by various kings, and literature – Rules • Duty of the Knight to protect the poor (typically meant ruling over the peasants in his care, knights had absolute power over their peasantry) • God and Lord: Knights must be loyal to the Church and Lord above all • Duties to women: treat noble women with deference and respect Knight’s equipment • Armor: Early middle ages knights used light armor or chain for maximum mobility on horseback. – By the late middle ages, knights increasingly used heavy gothic armor, made of interlocking plates – Knights became increasingly protected, but increasingly immobile Armor of Henry II of France Knight’s Equipment • Knights had to maintain a stable of warhorses, bred to handle battle, and carry a fully armored and armed knight • Weapons – Lance: A long spear used as a stabbing weapon from horseback – Broad sword, a long double-bladed sword that could double as a stabbing or swinging weapon – Mace/Warhammer: A heavy hammer (often with flanges, for crushing the skulls of enemies) Medieval weapons Power of the Church • Church during the Middle Ages acted much like a secular government – Maintained its own extensive lands, ruled by knights – Maintained its own orders of monk/knights • Knights Templar • Knights Hospitaller Church as a Military Power: The Crusades • 1066 Popes had built a power-base of knights, and made alliances with European Kings (height of the Pope’s secular power) • Launched a holy war against the Umayyads in order to retake the Holy Land • Pope promised martyrdom to anyone who died in the Crusade (instant forgiveness of all sins) – Kings and Knights flock to banner, adding to Papal Army The People’s Crusade • The People’s Crusade – Numerous Dukes form an unruly mob to attack heretics – Unable to organize enough to get to Asia Minor, the mob begins attacking Jews and Orthodox Christians wherever they can find them – Several Archbishops in cities like Cologne attempt to shield Jews from attack, but largely unsuccessful • Thousands killed or forced to convert People’s Crusade Early problems with the Crusade: The Siege of Antioch • Antioch was a town of major importance in Asia Minor – Half-way between Constantinople and Jerusalem • Combined Crusader forces besiege the city • Crusaders led by religious zealot named Peter Bartholomew • Turkish forces led by a warlord named Fakr alMuq Radwan Siege of Antioch 1097 1st Battle • Crusaders outside city learn that advancing Turkish army may trap them against walls • Bribe a tower guard to allow them to enter city – Results in the slaughter of the town’s Muslim and Jewish population 2nd Battle • Crusaders now find themselves besieged in the ruins of the town they just captured • Bartholomew claims to find The Spear of Destiny (the spear which supposedly stabbed Jesus) uses it to lead a charge against Turks – Meanwhile large contingent of Turkish forces desert, fearing that, should he win Radwan would become too powerful – Christians see victory as a sign from God 3rd Battle (against plague) • Plague quickly breaks out in the area as bodies taint the water supply • Muslim and Jewish peasants in the countryside refuse to provide food to Crusaders • Crusaders descend on a nearby village – Reports of cannabalism against villagers 1099 Siege of Jerusalem • By the time crusaders reach Jerusalem they are down to 16,000 men, from 25,000 – Resolve to assault city – Destroy ships in order to make siege machines – Jews and Muslims in city unite to fight crusaders • City taken by assault in July – Muslims slaughtered throughout city – Many Jewish families burned alive inside chief Synagouge (trapped inside by Crusaders) – Slaughter estimated at 10,000 people Christian image of the Siege of Jerusalem Aftermath • 1st Crusade establishes a series of Crusader states, loyal to the Church • Knights Templar (A knightly order set up to guard the Church of the Sepulcher) become extremely important – Set up first Church banking system – Control flow of wealth through holy land – Tithe much of wealth to the Church Aftermath • The First Crusade is followed by nearly 26 more Crusades, each more disastrous for Crusaders than the last. Effects of the Crusade on Europe • Creates modern banking – Church based system to allow pilgrims to store and recover money while in Holy Land – Adopted by major Italian families like the Medici and the Pazzi who go on to found first modern Republics – Becomes a basis for future economic expansion Effects of the Crusade on Europe • Rediscovery of lost or banned Roman and Greek documents in Arabic libraries – Leads to the birth of the Renaissance and the Humanist Movement • Rejection of Church Authority • Growth of an intellectual class in Europe Effects of the Crusade on Europe • Growing disgust with Church – Nobility sees Crusades as increasingly wasteful and dangerous – Intellectuals in Church see it as cause of growing Church corruption • Need for cash results in use of Indulgences – Purchases of absolution from sin, including future sin, by simply paying money to the church – Had previously only been used under special circumstances Indulgences Effects of the Crusades in Europe • All of this will lead to the eventual Protestant Reformation as Christianity splits into numerous warring factions – Church power replaced by that of strong secular rulers – Foundations of the modern state 100 Years War: Death of the Knight • Lasts from 1337-1453 • Conflict over Normandy, a large portion of Northern France originally controlled by William the Conqueror The War • Broken into 4 parts, separated by brief treaties • Pitted the best of French and English knighthood against each other • Part 1: – French attempt to make an alliance with the Scots against the English – English King Edward (known as the Black Prince) sails to France • War briefly interrupted by Black Plague – Edward wins several key battles, throwing French into Chaos Key Weapons • The French Crossbow – Designed for poorly trained French bowmen/peasants – English considered it un-Christian to use – Rifle design allowed for easy aiming – Shorter range, but more power – Took longer to reload than a skilled bowmen Crossbow Key Weapons • Welsh Longbow – Large bow (sometimes up to 5-6ft.) – Long range, could fire heavy steel tipped arrows – Capable of piercing armor – Required extremely skilled bowmen to use Battle of Sluys • French Fleet prepares to invade England • Prince Edward of England (known as the Black Prince) attacks with an inferior fleet • Use of the Broadside – Firing from the side of the ship so that maximum firepower can be brought against a target – Used Welsh Longbows • Despite being outnumbered, English destroy French fleet Battle of Sluys Battle of Crecy, 1346 • 15,000 English troops invade France led by Prince Edward vs. 25,000 French forces • English position well hill, with Archers in a V formation – French march to fight English, Philip IV is so eager that he launches his exhausted men into battle – French charge so fast that they are forced to leave behind their Pavises • Large rolling shields designed to deflect arrow fire Battle of Crecy • French find that crossbows have half the range of the English longbowmen – French archers neutralized by volleys of arrows – Despite this, Knights charge –straight to their deaths Result • End of the first phase of war with French on the run, forced to surrender large portions of land to the English Battle of Agincourt, 1415 • Battle of Agincourt decisively puts an end to the age of Knights – Henry V, a highly intelligent French king, vs. Charles VI (known as Charles the Simple) – English vastly outnumbered The death of French Knighthood • English array their men-at-arms across a narrow valley, with archers commanding the hills • French lured into attacking seemingly vastly outnumbered foot soldiers • French Knights utterly massacred by repeated volleys of arrows – Demonstrates that a peasant with a good bow could destroy a wealthy knight End of the Hundred Years War • French forces led by Joan of Arc (a religious zealot believed to be inspired by God) lead a massive counter-assault • Despite Joan’s capture and execution at the stake by the English, the French continue the momentum • English in no position to continue due to civil war over who gets to be the next king (War of the Roses) – French win by default…. Hooray for France Timeline of the Hundred Years War Rise of the Condotierre • Increasingly governments begin relying on professionally trained soldiers • Based on the Condotierre model – Italian mercenaries who would sell their skills to the highest bidder • Nobles increasingly lose power in the governments, feudalism replaced by professional armies led by powerful kings Conclusion • Nobility is forced to adapt to a growing changing world – Becomes irrelevant or secures a place in the larger military structure – Europe modernizes in response to guns, and military advancement to become most powerful and organized military force on Earth