Description

In today's armies the enforcement of discipline is a key element but what of earlier times? 'English Military Ordinances 1385-1599' offers important new insights into how the armies of English monarchs of the late medieval and early modern periods were controlled through the issue of disciplinary ordinances. It provides full texts of the ordinances issued for campaigns in different theatres of war, from the Scottish campaign of Richard II in 1385 - the first for which a full text survives - and the Irish campaign of 1599 commanded by Robert Devereux, earl of Essex. Each set of ordinances is set in the context of the campaign for which it was issued making it possible to trace continuities and change in how armies were raised, organised and deployed. 'English Military Ordinances 1385-1599' is the first comprehensive study of the rules for conduct in English royal armies over this period of considerable military change, demonstrating clearly how disciplinary control was developed and expanded in response to new challenges at home and abroad.