The Battle of Nibley Green 1470 by Leonard James

Author:Leonard James [James, Leonard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bretwalda Books
Published: 2014-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

The arms of the Berkeley Family.

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Chapter 3

Men, Weapons and Tactics

The armies of the Wars of the Roses were raised in three basic ways. First there were the town and county militias, second were the retainers of the various noblemen and third were mercenaries, mostly foreigners. At Nibley Green it was primarily the militia and retainers who were involved. Berkeley had the militias of Bristol and the Forest of Dean on his side along with his retainers. Lisle had his own retainers plus the militia he was able to raise from his manors and estates.

At this date the militia, sometimes termed “trained bands”, were made up of citizens who were trained to use weapons at weekends, but who worked at their own trades during the week. Arrangements varied, but these men were usually paid a small amount each month in return for turning up to train equipped with weapons and armour. Each town or county employed a Constable who was responsible for training the men, checking their equipment and recording any absences from training sessions. In times of war he was the commander of the unit on campaign.

When a royal “commission of array” arrived asking for the militia to turn out it usually specified the numbers of men needed and how long they would serve for. It was then the task of the local authorities to find the men, usually volunteers from among those who came for training. While the men were usually expected to provide their own weapons and armour, it was the town council or county sheriff who paid and supplied their clothes and food out of local taxation. In most instances the men would be provided with a new suit of clothes and a travelling cloak before they set off. These clothes were provided in bulk by the authorities and while they fell short of being a uniform they did tend to be in a uniform colour or pattern which meant that all men from one town or county were dressed alike. Nottingham, for instance, is known to have supplied red outfits while Coventry favoured red and green stripes.

As for weapons, it would seem that the militia tended to go for weapons that did not demand much in the way of skill to wield in battle. In 1457 the men of Bridport, Dorset, paraded armed with a sword and dagger each, plus a shield, helmet and quilted jacket. The rural village of Ewelme in Oxfordshire provided a rather more mixed array. Among the 6 men recorded as parading for training were two archers, one of whom had a helmet and body armour, three men with partial armour and a bill and one man who had no armour and was armed with “a staff”. Quite how much use the last would be in battle is unclear, though all armies needed someone to collect firewood and dig latrines so perhaps that was his task.

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