Hi, my name's Kevin Hicks welcome to my Youtube channel the History Squad. Now today's video
is about the rank structure in a medieval army, particularly the Hundred Years War
which is what we've been covering. Now this is in response to a question from one of my
subscribers. Now before I go into the rank structure of the army we've got to go back
a little bit and cover the feudal system as this is important as to the rank structure later on.
So let's have a look at the feudal system. Now the feudal system was imposed on my ancestors,
1066 Battle of Hastings. The Saxon army which had been very busy defeating Vikings was now defeated
in turn by the invading army of William the Conqueror, the Normans or if you like the French.
They imposed the feudal system upon my ancestors, so have a listen to this. They stole the land,
England. My language Saxon, gone. My religion, gone. Everything changed. The feudal system,
so the King's at the top, he owns all of the land, all of England. He's going to keep 20 percent for
himself, he's going to lease 25% to the church, they can build their monasteries, their Cathedrals
it's how the creeping power of the Norman church oversaw the Saxon churches. The barons these are
these real powerful noblemen, 55% of the king's land was leased to these barons, these noblemen.
Now in turn both the church and the barons could sublet and the barons would sublet two knights,
the church to artisans or to smaller monasteries that kind of thing. But at the very bottom of it
you have peasants who will work the land for the knights. In return the knights will protect them.
The peasants will then supply food and manpower in time of war to the knights who will then return
their service to the barons who are serving the king that's the way it works it's nice isn't it
the king has his land he has protected, the barons have their land they're protected,
the knights have their land that protected but the peasants don't own the land.
They just work it, and then produce is sent back up the line
to the knights this is a form of taxation isn't it but I needed to go through this feudal system
quite briefly because it reflects on how armies were commanded at the time of the Hundred Years
War. No longer could they just gather up peasants because warfare had changed there
was a big difference in the armies of the Hundred Years War for the English and it was those bowmen,
they really meant something and they had to be commanded and they had to be commanded right.
So the rank structure now remember that uh bit I told you about the feudal system it all starts
with the king. I've got a king here, my little Henry V. Now he will of course be in overall
charge of his army. Now an English army 100 Years War typically have three parts the Vanguard at
the front the main or midguard in the middle and the rear guard now the middle guard or the main
is commanded by the king, but don't forget he's in overall charge. Now he will have his
Earl Constable and his Earl Marshalls, and one of those will command the Vanguard and the rearguard.
But also there's a constable, I've got one here magnificent on his horse, will be in charge of the
cavalry. So this all comes from the feudal system but it's when you get a little bit further down
the line and you get amongst the troops. So how do you control them? And I'll tell you they did.
Discipline, right. Now as an ex-soldier I'll tell you discipline it's so important. Medieval times,
you look at the Battle of Agincourt those troops soak him wet and all different kinds of conditions
faced by an enormous French army which should be wiping them out and yet they had the discipline
to hammer in their stakes, sharpen them bring the arrows down they move the entire Army forward and
not run away when the French charged. You look at the Battle of Crecy, the entire English army all
three divisions was actually lying down they'd had their meal and then the French army appear
on the battlefield the entire English army rise up in their positions. Now that's discipline.
Now there was a later battle, uh Villenue, it's going to be one of mine later where an English
army was really in big trouble. The French had got them and they charged with their heavy cavalry,
so this English army, this disciplined army, the bowmen simply got out the way of the cavalry. The
men at arms and knights lay down, or made lanes for the cavalry to charge through then stood up
and engaged the French pretty much destroying their army. By the time the French Cavalry had
come back they couldn't get anywhere because they were facing now a very angry English army.
Discipline, and it's how they maintain their discipline. Now when I first joined the army,
infantryman a rifle section, then you're in your platoon, then you're in your company. I'ts very
similar, 20 men. Now I've got 20 bowmen here. 20 men are actually commanded by a vintenar right,
now there he is. Now your next one, so you've got a vintenar, that's a vintaine, so if you have one,
two,three, four, five vintaines right, that's a hundred men. So you will have a centinar
in charge of all of these. But then when you get up to a thousand men they're commanded by a
millenar, so a millenar under him has 10 centinars and each centinar has five vintenars. So I suppose
if he look s at it as in the modern British Army the millenar is the regimental sergeant major.
Underneath him of course, he has his sergeants and then your corporals and lance corporals. It was
very similar in a medieval army ,it seems to have followed through a little bit in the in the rank
structure but it was very effective, the men close in, could organize their little companies and
move them around the battlefield as required. Now there's an extra little thing here if a nobleman,
a knight brings his own retinue of soldiers they're his own men, they wear his livery,
they still have to fall in with the different command structure. They can't just be on the
battlefield. So the English army, well and truly commanded from the top, then his earl marshals,
earl constables right the way down, millenar right the way down to centinar and the vintenar,
this is the rank structure, pretty much in a nutshell, Battle of Agincourt time. Well I
hope you found that film interesting. I did, lots of research, I hope I got everything right. So if
you did enjoy it, like, share and subscribe and don't forget turn on the notification button and
you'll know it's coming on down the line. We're gonna shoot the how to raise a medieval army uh
next so you'll see when that's coming on. But before I go, a quick shout out to some of my
Patreon members, David Strother, Joey Baker and Mark Wright, hey guys thanks a bunch. Bye for now.