A Court of Arraye (or View of Men at Arms) was a method of ascertaining numbers of men capable of fighting in towns and cities before England had a

standing army A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars ...

. A statute of

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

(1134–1159) ordered that all men capable of bearing arms should be inspected by the

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

of each major town and city of England. Since there was no standing army, this was a way to find out how many men could fight in a war. The Court of Arraye was confirmed with the

Statute of Winchester The Statute of Winchester of 1285 ( 13 Edw. 1. St. 2; ), also known as the Statute of Winton, was a statute enacted by King Edward I of England that reformed the system of Watch and Ward (watchmen) of the Assize of Arms of 1252, and revived th ...

in 1285 which commanded that "every man between 15 years of age and 60 years shall be assessed and sworn to armour" according to their wealth and means. The statutes of Arraye were repealed in the reign of James I (1566–1625). After the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, when England had acquired a standing army, courts of Arraye were no longer necessary, and about the year 1680 they were abolished. The tradition of a Court of Arraye has continued in carnival form at Lichfield bower in Staffordshire, which has evolved from the procession that the men took after being inspected.

References

Lichfield City Council
Customs and Traditions

The Lichfield Bower Warfare in medieval England 1680s disestablishments in England Former courts and tribunals in England and Wales Courts and tribunals established in the 12th century Courts and tribunals disestablished in the 1680s {{england-stub