Why England’s Longbowmen Dominated Medieval Battlefields

Explore our new Evolution of Armor Coloring Book! Available on Amazon: https://link.amazon/B0aioYarc Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Check out "The Book" here for 10% off: https://mdsh.io/sandrhomanhistory (Use code: SANDRHOMAN10) The Book: The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding a Civilization by Hungry Minds is a luxury coffee table book packed with handmade illustrations and mind-expanding ideas. If you’re into unique gifts, premium books, or just love going down rabbit holes - this one’s for you. Artwork from the channel collected into a coloring book (line art + colored versions): https://amzn.to/4veRAb4 It also includes some illustrations that haven’t appeared in the videos yet. (Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.) At the start of the 14th century, England faced a serious problem. Its armies had suffered a string of humiliating defeats at the hands of the Scots, the worst being the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. There, King Edward II’s troops, despite outnumbering the Scottish infantry three to one, were routed and suffered massive losses. Bannockburn was a disaster for England, and a wake-up call that the old English military system was in desperate need of change. It was Edward III who finally addressed these shortcomings. He reformed England’s armies so profoundly and lastingly that some historians even describe his reforms as a military revolution. The result was a war machine that proved almost unbeatable on the battlefield, combining the steadfastness of dismounted men-at-arms with the deadly firepower of longbowmen. In this video, we’ll explore how Edward III’s reforms transformed England’s armies and laid the foundations for the rise of the longbowman. Let’s begin with the foundation on which Edward built his forces. Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/sandrhomanhistory Paypal (thank you: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/SandRhomanhistory Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sandrhoman Bibliography DeVries, K./ Capponi, N., The Genoese Crossbowmen at Crécy, in: Livingston, M./ DeVries, K. (eds), The Battle of Crécy. A Casebook, Liverpool 2015. Harbinson, Michael, The Lance in the Fifteenth Century: How French Cavalry Overcame the English Defensive System in the Latter Part of the Hundred Years War, in: Journal of Medieval Military History XVII (2019), pp. 141-199. Hardy, Robert/Strickland, Matthew, The Great Warbow. From Hastings to the Mary Rose, Somerset 2011. Livingstone, Marilyn & Witzel, Morgen, The Road to Crécy: The English Invasion of France 1346, London 2004. Rogers, C., War Cruel and Sharp: English Strategy under Edward III, 1327-1360, Woodbridge, Suffolk 2000. Sumption, Jonathan, The Hundred Years War, vol. 1, Trial by Battle, London 1990. Sumption, Jonathan, The Hundred Years War, vol. 2, Trial by Fire, London 1999. Teutsch, Ch., s. v. "Crécy, Battle of" in: Clifford J. Rogers (ed), The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, 2010. 00:00-01:03 Introduction 01:03-04:33 1: Contract Armies 04:33-08:07 2: Discipline and Trust 08:07-13:08 3: Mounted Archers 13:08-18:12 4: Social Mobility and Professionalization 18:12-23:21 5: The Universal Soldier