English Military Ordinances 1385-1599

In modern armies, the enforcement of discipline is a fundamental principle—but what of earlier times? English Military Ordinances, 1385–1599 offers important new insights into how the armies of English monarchs in the late medieval and early modern periods were governed through the issuance of disciplinary ordinances.

The volume presents the full texts of ordinances issued for campaigns in a range of theatres of war, from the Scottish campaign of Richard II in 1385—the earliest for which a complete text survives—to the Irish campaign of 1599 commanded by Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. Each set of ordinances is carefully contextualised within the campaign for which it was issued, making it possible to trace both continuity and change in the ways armies were raised, organised, and deployed.

English Military Ordinances, 1385–1599 is the first comprehensive study of the rules governing conduct in English royal armies during a period of profound military transformation. It clearly demonstrates how systems of disciplinary control were developed and expanded in response to evolving challenges at home and abroad.