Bradbury Jim. The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare

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for Milan against Florence, using a feigned flight.

CASTAGNARO, BATTLE OF, 11 MARCH 1387

Victory of Padua against Verona with Venetian support. Hawkwood commanded the

Paduans for Francesco Carrara, Ordelaffi the Veronese with Cane among his captains.

The Paduans were besieging Verona but abandoned the siege and retreated via the Adige.

At Castagnaro the Veronese caught up. They had ribauds in their artillery—small

cannons bound together to fire in concert. Ordelaffi hesitated before opening hostilities

late in the day. Hawkwood’s front was protected by a stream. He used archers to repel

Veronese charges. He kept a cavalry reserve and, when it attacked from the flank, the

Veronese broke. Their

carroccio

(symbolic chariot) was captured, as were Ordelaffi and

Cane. The victory enhanced Hawkwood’s reputation. Both opposing towns soon fell

under Milanese control.

CERIGNOLA, BATTLE OF, 28 APRIL 1503

Victory of Aragonese over French for control of the kingdom of Naples, fought near

Foggia in Apulia. The French, with Swiss mercenaries, were commanded by the duc de

Nemours, the Spanish by Gonzalo de Córdoba. The Spanish marched from Barletta to

take a defensive position on a hillside, defended by ditches and palisades. Their

gunpowder blew up and they could not make full use of their cannons. Their arquebusiers

still repelled the French charges. A Spanish counter with pikes and cavalry won the day.

Nemours was killed.

CHIOGGIA, WAR OF, 1378–81

The fourth and last attempt by Genoa to challenge the domination of Venice. They

were the main trading powers of Italy. They fought intermittent wars against each other

from the mid-13th century. In October 1378 Venice captured Tenedos from Genoa. On

16 August 1379 Genoa, with aid from Padua, captured Chioggia on the Gulf of Venice. It

was recovered by Venice on 22 June 1380. Venice’s rivals by land (Hungary, Austria,

Milan and Padua) encouraged making the Peace of Turin on 8 August 1381. Venice

remained a great power for some time but Genoa’s peak had passed.

CORTENUOVA, BATTLE OF, 27 NOVEMBER 1237

Victory for Frederick II over the Lombard League. He moved from Cremona and

caught the enemy by the crossing of the Oglio at Cortenuova. Frederick’s van had initial

success but the Milanese around their

carroccio

held on. After dark the Lombards

abandoned the field in heavy rain, leaving the

carroccio

stuck in the mud. Frederick

made a triumphal entry into Cremona, pulling the

carroccio

by elephant. The success was

neutralised in the following year when Frederick failed to take Brescia.

CURZOLA, NAVAL BATTLE OF, 8 SEPTEMBER 1298

Victory of Genoa over Venice in the Adriatic off the Dalmatian island of Curzola,

during the wars between the cities. The Genoese fleet was under Lamba Doria. Peace was

made in 1299, leaving Genoa to dominate the Black Sea. Venice decided to reorganise its

government, making tighter rules for membership of the great council.

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EIGHT SAINTS, WAR OF THE, 1375–8

Florence organised a league in the Papal States, causing rebellion against the papacy in

1375. The war is apparently named in error, confusing the eight who led Florence to war

with the eight (‘saints’) who levied tax from the clergy. In 1376 Gregory XI declared the

Renaissance Italy, 1250–1525 241

whole city excommunicated. In 1377 the papal legate, Robert of Geneva, captured

Cesena and ordered his mercenaries to massacre the citizens. In 1378 a rising in Florence

y the Ciompi under Michele di Lando took over the city. The new regime made the

Treaty of Tivoli with the papacy, paying an indemnity. A rebellion against the new

regime was suppressed.

FERRARA, WAR OF, 1482–4

The war resulted in invitations to foreign powers to intervene in Italy. Pope Sixtus IV

invited Venice to give naval aid against Naples in return for territory belonging to

Ferrara. Venice declared war on Ferrara, then under Ercole d’Este, occupying Rovigo and

the Polesine. Florence and Milan declared for Ferrara and allied with Naples under its

Aragonese ruler. The papacy ended its alliance with Venice, which sought French aid and

revived Angevin claims to Naples. The war was ended by the Peace of Bagnolo in 1484.

FORNOVO, BATTLE OF, 6 JULY 1495

Venetian victory with Milanese allies over the invading Charles VIII of France, fought

y the River Taro near Parma. Charles retreated and Gonzaga blocked his route through

the Pontremoli Pass. The Venetians were under Francesco Gonzaga. The French had

Swiss mercenaries. Venice won but not conclusively. The French escaped and Charles

VIII departed from Italy. Gonzaga was fatally wounded.

GARIGLIANO, BATTLE OF, 29 DECEMBER 1503

Victory of the Aragonese under Gonzalo de Córdoba over the French with Italian allies

to control the kingdom of Naples. Córdoba attacked in bad weather. His engineers

constructed a bridge over the River Garigliano for a surprise attack. The French fled to

Gaeta. Piero de’ Medici, son of Lorenzo and on the French side, drowned in the river.

LEGNANO, BATTLE OF, 29 MAY 1176

Defeat of Frederick Barbarossa by the Lombard League, the climax of his fifth Italian

expedition. He assembled at Como preparing to attack Milan. Legnano is 15 miles north-

west of Milan. Henry the Lion failed to answer Frederick’s summons to the expedition.

Some of Frederick’s troops were elsewhere in Italy. Frederick had few cavalry and rashly

accepted battle against a larger and better-

alanced Lombard force. His charge was

repulsed by pikes and dismounted knights, the infantry holding steady round the

carroccio,

an early example of good infantry beating heavy cavalry. Lombard

reinforcements arrived to attack the flank. Frederick was unhorsed and believed dead, but

escaped to Pavia. His shield, lance and treasure were captured. He made peace with the

apacy and recognised the liberties of the Italian communes. Later he took revenge on

Henry the Lion.

MARIGNANO (MELEGNANO), BATTLE OF, 13–14 SEPTEMBER 1515

Victory for the French under Francis I in Italy against Milan and the papacy. The

French were entrenched ten miles from Milan, their main target. The Swiss infantry,

allied with the Italians, attacked, taking the French by surprise before they could make

full use of their artillery. The Swiss were halted. The French victory came from their

ower in cannons, which proved more than a match for the Swiss pikes. It lasted two

days because the Swiss, despite heavy losses, refused to break. Venetian reinforcements

under Bartolomeo de Alviano for the French turned the battle. The French took control o

Milan.

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The routledge companion to medieval warfare 242

MESSINA, NAVAL BATTLE OF, 11 OCTOBER 1283

Victory for the Aragonese with a Catalan fleet under Roger de Loria, an exile from

Calabria, against the Angevins. It followed the Sicilian Vespers rising against Charles o

Anjou in Sicily. Pedro of Aragón entered Messina. Charles besieged Messina but his fleet

was defeated and he retreated to the mainland. The Spanish won again at Naples the

following year. The Spanish took over Sicily from the Angevins.

MILAN, SIEGE OF, 1158–62

During Frederick Barbarossa’s second Italian expedition in 1158 he besieged Milan.

His force included Italian allies. Frederick could not surround the city but used three lines

of men to shoot in missiles and starved Milan into submission. All aged between 14 and

70 had to take an oath of loyalty. Milan was leader of the Lombard League, opposing

imperial authority. It revolted again in 1159. Frederick was occupied at Crema, which

Milan tried to aid. Frederick returned to Milan in September 1161 with reinforcements

from Germany. He laid waste the area, disrupting food supplies. Five Milanese captives

were blinded while a sixth lost his nose but kept his eyes to lead the others home. The

city surrendered on 1 March 1162. Frederick promised mercy but destroyed much of the

city.

NAPLES, NAVAL BATTLE OF, 5 JUNE 1284

Victory of Roger Loria for the Aragonese over Charles of Anjou in the Bay of Naples.

The Angevins emerged but Roger captured 48 of their galleys. Charles the Lame, son o

Charles of Anjou, was captured and later ransomed. The defeats for Charles at Messina

and Naples confirmed his loss of Sicily with the Sicilian Vespers.

NOVARA, BATTLE OF, 6 JUNE 1513

Swiss victory over the French under La Trémoille in Italy, west of Milan. The French

invaded Italy, seeking to evict Massimiliano Sforza from Milan. He sent against them

Swiss mercenaries who linked up with the Milanese garrison at Novara to make a

surprise dawn attack. The French infantry was destroyed though the cavalry escaped to

France.

PAVIA, SIEGE AND BATTLE OF, 1525

Francis I invaded Italy in 1524, besieging Pavia on his way to attack Milan. An army

for Charles V (HRE) came to the relief. The battle was fought on 24 February. The

French charged with initial success but were held and defeated. Le Trémoille was killed.

Francis was unhorsed, wounded and captured. Some French escaped under Charles duc

d’Alençon. In 1526 Francis was released after agreeing the Treaty of Madrid, abandoning

his claims in Italy.

POLA, NAVAL BATTLE OF, 1379

Victory off Pola for Genoa over Venice in the War of Chioggia. The Genoese were

aided by Padua and commanded by Luciano Doria. The Venetians were under Vittorio

Pisani. Doria was the victor but was killed. His brother Pietro went on to take Chioggia at

the entrance to the Venetian lagoon. The Genoese success did not last.

SAPIENZA, NAVAL BATTLE OF, 4 NOVEMBER 1354

Victory of the Genoese fleet over Venice at Porto Longo off Sapienza, the largest

island off Modon in the south-west Peloponnese. Sapienza was a noted pirate haunt. The

attle was an early clash in a war between the cities that spanned the 14th century,

Renaissance Italy, 1250–1525 243

concluding with the War of Chioggia. The Venetian fleet was virtually destroyed.

SEMINARA, BATTLE OF, 28 JUNE 1495

Defeat for the Aragonese under Gonzalo de Córdoba by the French. Swiss mercenaries

for the French played a large part. Córdoba thereafter employed Swiss infantry and went

on to a series of successes.

SICILIAN VESPERS, THE, 1282

On Easter Monday 30 March the local people attacked the unpopular Angevin

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garrison in Palermo. The revolt began as bells rang for evening worship, Vespers. A

French sergeant insulted a local woman. Her husband knifed him and riot followed. The

rebellion spread. Messina was taken. The French shut themselves in Mategriffon Castle.

Charles of Anjou king of Naples and Sicily was expelled. He besieged Messina in 1293

but failed to take it. The crown was offered to Pedro III of Aragón, married to Constance

daughter of Manfred of Hohenstaufen. Pedro relieved Messina. There was war between

the two outside forces for 20 years, the Aragonese finally succeeding.

TAGLIACOZZO, BATTLE OF, 23 AUGUST 1268

Defeat for Conradin, son of Conrad IV (HRE), the last Hohenstaufen in Sicily. He

invaded the kingdom of Sicily with German and Spanish allies in 1267, seeking to make

good his claim against Charles of Anjou. Suppporters revolted against Charles in Sicily.

The battle was fought in central Italy as Conradin advanced south. Charles took position

behind the River Salto. Conradin’s men failed to take the bridge but others crossed

further up and attacked the Angevins on the flank. Then the bridge was crossed. Charles

recovered by leading a charge with a hidden reserve when many of the enemy, thinking

victory theirs, pursued Angevins off the field. He then defeated the returning enemy. It

was largely a cavalry battle, a costly victory: ‘never was victory so bloody, for nearly his

whole army had fallen’. Conradin fled but was captured and executed in Naples in

October. It ended German Hohenstaufen rule in Sicily, leaving the Angevins in control.

TRAPANI (TREPANI/DREPANA), NAVAL BATTLE OF, 1264

Victory for Venice over Genoa in the first war between them. Trapani was a harbour in

western Sicily. Venice increased its hold on trade to the east and improved its position in

Constantinople.

The routledge companion to medieval warfare 244

PART III

Military topics

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A crossbow with a steel bow

The routledge companion to medieval warfare 246

Arms of the warrior

A–Z OF TERMS

Angon, arquebus, axe, bill, bolt, bow, coustel, crossbow, crossguard, dagger, falchion,

firearms, franciska, glaive, goedendag, guisarme, halberd, hammer, hilt, lance, longbow,

mace, misericorde, morning star, pike, pole-axe, pommel, quarrel, scabbard, seax,

shortbow, sling, spear, spring-bow, sword.

OUTLINE HISTORY

We are here concerned with the personal arms of individual warriors. The five main ways

to know about medieval arms are from archaeological finds, surviving examples,

manuscript illustrations, sculptures, and accounts in documents and chronicles. The

evidence is scantiest early on and increases gradually through time.

Both Romans and barbarians contributed to early medieval arms development. Too

many historians have stressed the contribution of one to the detriment of the other.

Romans and barbarians also borrowed from each other and there is no clear distinction

etween the arms of one and the other. Both owed a debt to Bronze and Iron Age

predecessors.

The medieval weapon par

excellence

is the sword. Other significant weapons were

spears and axes. Some weapons declined in importance afterwards. The small throwing

axe of the Franks is an example, probably because it proved less effective when used in

larger infantry formations. Most weapons had their particular advantage—the bow was

more effective at a distance than the spear, the sword less cumbersome in close combat

than the axe.

With the increased significance of mounted knights more emphasis was placed on

cavalry arms. The lance developed into a specifically designed weapon, longer and with a

special grip. Swords needed to be adaptable, light enough to wield from horseback,

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and

useful for the knight on foot. Smaller personal weapons such as knives and daggers were

handy in emergencies.

There were changes in infantry tactics. It was necessary to find a way to counter the

strength of mounted charges. Cavalry proved ineffective for this and various infantry

tactics were developed, as with bows, spears and other weapons. Crossbows returned to

favour and larger trained forces of archers were employed. Spears were retained for

thrusting rather than throwing and became longer, the beginning of pike tactics. There

were further changes in the later Middle Ages. Crossbows were improved. The ordinary

ow, or longbow, came to its peak period, a riposte to mounted charges. Pikes had the

same function, especially with large numbers of trained men forming a wall or square.

All these weapons had a long ancestry but lost some significance with the development

of firearms. Gunpowder had been known of for a long time but was now used with

effective weapons, both handguns and artillery. Artillery weapons for best effect in battle

needed to be portable. The development of portable artillery and handguns proceeded in

parallel.

A–Z OF TERMS

ANGON

A barbed javelin, only mentioned in connection with the Franks, described as not very

long and used for throwing or stabbing. The angon was similar to the Roman

pilum

and

may have derived from it. The head was iron and long in relation to the shaft. The point

was small with two barbs. A head found in Germany was a metre long. The head was

arbed and difficult to extricate from a wound or shield. If the angon struck a shield, the

Frank could wrench away the shield using the angon as a handle.

ARQUEBUS (HARQUEBUS)

An early portable gun, first used as artillery but later a personal weapon. Its name

comes from Middle Low German

hakebusse

(hook-gun), because a hook attached the gun

to its carriage. The name was later commonly used for various portable guns and

handguns. The arquebus was often placed on a carriage, trestle or rest. The main part was

a metal tube. With an added wooden stock it became a hand weapon, fired from the

shoulder via a touch-hole using a match. It was used from the mid-15th century. The

Hussite hand culverin was probably the model for the arquebus. Charles the Bold o

Burgundy employed arquebusiers in the 1470s. At the same time Matthias of Hungary

claimed that a fifth of his infantry were arquebusiers. The arquebus became a favourite

Spanish weapon. At first, loading was slow. In the late Middle Ages a mechanism was

developed to carry a slow match to the powder, its lever shaped like a letter S or serpent,

a name then used for the weapon.

AXE

The Franks possessed a small throwing axe, the franciska, about two feet long. They

were used as missiles and thrown in unison. The Vikings used hand axes, as

demonstrated on a gravestone from Lindisfarne. The larger battle-axe had a shaft of some

five feet with an iron head fixed by socket. It was wielded with both hands. The battle-

axe was popular with the Vikings and often called a Norse or Danish axe. Vikings

sometimes named their axes, such as ‘Witch’ or ‘Fiend’, suggesting their personal nature.

The Vikings used bearded axes named from the shape of the drooping lower edge, and

broad axes. The latter

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emerged in c.1000, sometimes with a steel edge welded to the

lade. The blade was narrowest at the socket, broadening to a curved edge about a foot

long. The bipennis was a double-headed blade. Axes were favoured by the English at

Hastings and employed by English and Scandinavians in the Byzantine Varangian Guard.

Byzantines and Muslims used axes, especially hand-axes such as the saddle-axe. The axe

continued in use in the later Middle Ages but with decreasing importance. King Stephen

at Lincoln in 1141 was handed an axe by a citizen, suggesting it was still a weapon for

ordinary folk. Irish and Scottish troops used axes in the later period though the English by

then saw it as primitive. An axe was employed by a Scot at Otterburn in 1388—albeit a

riest defending the Earl of Douglas. From the 13th century one finds smaller and lighter

The routledge companion to medieval warfare 248

axe-heads. Axes did not disappear in the later Middle Ages, when they were still used in

Scandinavia and eastern Europe. They were probably the predecessors of staff weapons.

The later medieval type with a lighter head and a hammer at the rear of the blade suggests

such a development. Mongols used small axes. A hand-axe known as the horseman’s axe

regained popularity in the late Middle Ages as a reserve weapon for cavalry.

BILL (BILLHOOK)

Formerly the name for a type of sword but more commonly meaning a staff weapon

with a concave or curved blade, having a rear spike and a spear-like top. The name was

applied to a variety of staff weapons. Initially it was like a scythe. Its distinctive feature

remained the curved, crescent-shaped blade. The bill was replaced in popularity by the

pike in the later Middle Ages.

BOLT (QUARREL)

Missile shot by a crossbow, shorter and heavier than an arrow, about a foot in length. It

appears as Latin

bolta

quarellus (quadrellus)

—hence quarrel. The butt end was

tapered and flattened. The head or pile was usually of iron and pyramid-shaped. Bolts

were described as ‘four-sided’. Early shafts were often of ash or yew with feathered

flights. Sometimes wood was used for the flight. The bolt was placed in the groove of the

crossbow and over the nut. The string was pulled over the nut to lay against the butt end

of the bolt. A vireton was a bolt with a spiral flight so that it rotated in flight, making it

more accurate. Bolts had to be the correct size for the particular crossbow. An English

inventory of 1298 lists three different sizes. The

Milemete Manuscript

illustration shows

a type of bolt as an early missile for a gun. Incendiary bolts were known in the 15th

century, constructed with a bomb-like shaft. They could be shot on to roofs to cause fire.

The term bolt is used for the missile of a balista.

BOW (SEE ALSO CROSSBOW, LONGBOW,

SHORTBOW, SPRING-BOW)

A weapon to shoot missiles—arrows, bolts, quarrels. The essential idea of all bows is

to tense a string, which when released will propel a missile. The string is tensed against a

solid but flexible stave. Longbows and ordinary wooden bows had a wooden stave,

generally yew, while crossbows had wooden, and later steel, staves. The shortbow had a

composite stave. The efficacy of the weapons at different points of time led to one kind

of bow replacing another in popularity. In the early period the three main types of bow

were all known. The longbow was not a later medieval invention as often suggested. The

crossbow tended to be slower in operation, and early on was made of wood. The later use

of a metal bow saw an increase in its velocity and impact. The shortbow gained its

efficacy from bending a composite stave against its own spring. The shortness made it

useful for horsemen. It was used by nomads from the east. The spring-

ow was not really

a weapon of the usual kind. It was a bow set as a trap ready to spring automatically when

released by the victim accidentally.

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COUSTEL

A dagger, descended from the seax, the derivation for the name of a warrior using a

dagger or knife (a

coustiller

coutilier

). A coustiller was an armed personal servant of a

higher class warrior. Coustillers fought at Bouvines and were common in France in the

later Middle Ages. The name coustillers was also applied to brigands.

CROSSBOW (ARBALEST)

Arms of the warrior 249

A bow with a mechanism to draw the string. The bow was small and bound to a

wooden stock, which the archer held. The end of the stock is the tiller. The string was

released by trigger. The string was drawn back over a nut on the stock. The trigger

retracted the nut. The crossbow was known in the ancient world, used by the Chinese and

the Romans. The T’ang dynasty had a Crossbow Office. Early crossbows were drawn by

hand and foot, with the foot on the bow and the hands pulling the string. Various

improvements were made to this process, such as a stirrup at the end of the stock for the

foot to grip, or a claw on the belt to attach to the string so that the weight of the body

could be used to draw. Mechanical devices were invented to draw the bow—a pulley, a

goat’s foot lever (with a cloven end fitting over pins fixed in the stock), a windlass (a

winding device) and a cranequin (with a metal ratchet bar and cogs). The bow of early

weapons was of wood. By the 13th century composite bows of wood, horn and sinew

were used. From the 15th century steel bows were produced. The crossbow shot a bolt or

quarrel, fitting into a groove on the stock. The nut was commonly of horn, shaped like a

thick coin with a groove in the centre of the edge. It fitted into a socket in the box of the

stock. The Latin for crossbow was

balista

(the same word as f or a throwing engine that

was in effect a large crossbow, causing confusion in translation). The Normans probably

used crossbows at Hastings. Two English kings were killed by crossbow bolts: William

Rufus in the New Forest and Richard the Lionheart in France. The papacy banned

crossbow use (1096 and 1139) against Christians though this was often ignored. Later its

use was permitted against heretics or in a just war—most rulers claimed their wars were

ust. The crossbow was widely used by the 13th century, often by mercenaries. The

French used Genoese crossbowmen at Sluys and Crécy. It is said the crossbow was not

commonly used in England but this is incorrect. With a steel bow the impact was

considerable and the range from 400 to 500 yards.

CROSSGUARD

The transverse piece of metal that forms the first part of a sword hilt, separating it from

the blade, protecting the swordsman’s hand. It was commonly made from one piece o

metal with a slot in the centre fitting over the tang of the blade. It varied in shape and

style, for example straight, curved, or in shapes resembling bow ties. Oakeshott has

produced a list of types of crossguard, an aid to dating swords.

DAGGER

Small knife for stabbing, usually a reserve weapon, often carried in a belt. It normally

had two sharp edges and a sharp point, but single-edged weapons were known. It became

more popular in the later Middle Ages. It descended from the earlier seax. Daggers were

used by the Visigoths, Franks, Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. The Byzantines saw it as the

assassin’s weapon. Charlemagne’s capitularies demanded that mounted warriors carry

daggers. A Latin term for dagger was

cultellus

e.g.

‘cultellum qui dicitur dagger’

(a knife

that was called a dagger). Early daggers were longer than was later common, such as the

‘long knives’ used at Bouvines, 1214. The mercenaries known as

cottereaux

were

probably so called because they carried daggers or knives

(couteaux)

. Daggers were

useful for piercing gaps in armour.

Misericorde

was a term for a dagger, probably from

using it on anyone begging for mercy. From the 14th century one finds

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the kidney

dagger or more properly (improperly?) the ballock dagger—from the shape of the hilt

The routledge companion to medieval warfare 250