Routiers () were
mercenary
A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...
soldiers of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. Their particular distinction from other paid soldiers of the time was that they were organised into bands (''rutta'' or ''routes''). The term is first used in the 12th century but is particularly associated with
free companies who terrorised the French countryside during the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
.
Routiers of the 12th and 13th centuries
Although paid soldiers were known before the 12th century, the phenomenon of distinct bands (
German ''Rotten'',
French ''routes'') of mercenary soldiers, often mainly
footsoldiers (spearmen, slingers, javelineers, archers and crossbowmen), appears to date from the mid 12th century. Exactly what distinguishes these mercenaries from simple paid soldiers is disputed by scholars but common elements include fighting for profit (as opposed to other reasons such as fealty or faith), a "foreignness" of coming from a different geographical area to that in which they were fighting, and that as members of a rutta, a company of soldiers hired for specific campaigns, routiers moved from contract to contract. Numerous different terms were used for these troops, some geographical (e.g. ''
Brabançons'' from
Brabant, ''Aragones'' from
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
, ''Bascoli'' from the
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
country) and other nicknames (e.g. ''cotereaux'' or ''cotereli'', perhaps from the knife they carried).
Mercenary bands were mainly seen in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Aquitaine
Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
and
Occitania
Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...
but also
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, England and the lands of the
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
. They were noted for their lawlessness, with many complaints from the church about their depredations, leading to an explicit condemnation by the
Third Lateran Council in 1179. Mercenary bands continued to be used but by the early 13th century they began to decline. While useful, they became increasingly unpopular. In England, not only was their brutality condemned, but the rise of mercenary leaders of lowly origins to high office caused friction within the nobility.
King John's use of mercenaries in his civil wars led to condemnation and banishment of mercenaries in
Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...
in 1215. Mercenary bands also fell from favour in France in the early 13th century, the end of the
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...
and the beginning of a long period of domestic peace removing the context in which the routiers flourished.
Routiers in the Hundred Years' War
The
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
, which lasted from 1337 to 1453, was the backdrop to their pillaging. The Hundred Years' War was fought between two royal families over control of the French throne: the Plantagenets from England, and the
House of Valois from France. The War, which is divided into three stages – the Edwardian War (1337–1360), the Caroline War (1369–1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415–1429) – saw the development of new tactics and weaponry that revolutionised warfare during that time period.
By 1348 the
Black Death
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
was tearing through Europe, England was bankrupt, and Edward was invading mainland France. In 1347 Edward besieged the city of
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
on the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. Capturing Calais was a major strategic victory, which allowed the English to permanently keep troops in France. King Edward's son,
the Black Prince, led a large band of routiers, captured the French King John II, and soon the French government began to fall apart.
Origins
The routiers' history can be traced back to a few years after the start of the Hundred Years' War, to Brittany in the early 1340s. No revenue was being generated from the revenues of the Duchy of Brittany for the English army, which meant that the army's soldiers had to live off the land. This "living off the land": began as simple freebooting, but quickly transformed into ''patis'', or "ransoms of the country". A village near a garrison would usually be ransacked for any supplies. Subsequently, the village would be forced to pay the respective garrison for future protection.
This system soon caused much instability in the region for a few reasons. The ''patis'' system did not generate any revenue for the English cause but it made small fortunes for individual captains. These captains, whose income depended on controlling an area, rather than wages from the Duchy, were hard to control. While in theory, the King's Lieutenant could rely on his garrisons in time of war, they were scarcely enthusiastic combatants. Furthermore, garrisons that were stationed in fringe territories were subject to boredom, which was relieved by random brutality. That state, coupled with the fact that they were surrounded by hostile inhabitants, caused a lot of animosity between the peasants and soldiers, which in a few instances led to skirmishes and made the task of governing the Duchy harder.
The problem was not confined to Brittany.
Château de Lusignan was a fortress near
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...
captured by the
Earl of Lancaster in September 1346. When the Earl withdrew from the area he left a garrison under the command of
Bertrand de Montferrand. Many of his troops were men with questionable pasts: criminals and misfits. Despite a truce between 1346 and 1350, the garrison laid waste to over fifty parishes, ten monasteries, and destroyed towns and castles throughout southern
Poitou
Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe.
Geography
The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...
. In May 1347, a French force was sent to recapture the fortress but was ambushed by the garrison and forced to retreat.
Nature of the Companies
Geographical origins
Routiers were usually referred to as "Englishmen" in France, but they were actually composed for the most part by
Gascons, after the name of the region of what is now South-West France in which they resided. But the Gascons were considered then as a distinct people from the French. The full demographic that filled the ranks of the routiers included Spaniards, Germans, English, and Frenchmen. Although there had been major raiding campaigns led by English noblemen such as
the Prince of Wales, many individual ''routes'' were led by Gascon officers. Kenneth Fowler has examined the origins of 166 named captains. Ninety one of these were involved in the Great Companies. 36 were English, 26 from Aquitane, 19 were Gascons, five from
Béarn and five from Germany. In addition to these, there was a group of 45 Breton captains and a further group from Navarre.
Organisation
Unlike the earlier routiers companies, the ''routes'' of the Hundred Years' War were primarily mounted forces. Their main fighting men were
men-at-arms, sometimes accompanied by mounted infantry including mounted archers. For example, the companies operating around
Auvergne in September 1363 were estimated at 2,000
lances of men-at-arms and 1,000 mounted infantry. In addition, the companies could be accompanied by groups of pillagers. A route operating around
Beaune
Beaune (; in Burgundian: ''Beane'') is widely considered to be the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and a major ...
in September 1364 were numbered as 120 "good lances", 100 other combatants "not including pillagers", suggesting these last were not considered as militarily significant. Larger companies of routiers could be surprisingly well organised. They each had a command structure with a staff that even included secretaries to collect and disperse their loot.
[Fowler (2001), p. 9] A few of the groups had their own uniforms, such as the notorious
Bandes Blanches of the Archpriest
Arnaud de Cervole.
Examples of routiers
John Hawkwood is the most famous of the English routiers. Beginning as a routier, he ultimately spent three decades as a mercenary captain in Italy.
References
Bibliography
*Seward, Desmond, ''The Hundred Years War. The English in France 1337–1453'', Penguin Books, 1999,
*Sumption, Jonathan, ''The Hundred Years War I: Trial by Battle'', University of Pennsylvania Press, September 1999, {{ISBN, 0-8122-1655-5
See also
*
Mercadier
*
Free company
A free company (sometimes called a great company or, in French, ''grande compagnie'') was an army of mercenaries between the 12th and 14th centuries recruited by private employers during wars. They acted independently of any government, and were ...
*
Écorcheurs The ''écorcheurs'' (, "flayers") were armed bands who desolated France in the reign of Charles VII of France, Charles VII, stripping their victims of everything, often to their very clothes.
They were mercenary, mercenaries without employment sin ...
Military units and formations of the Hundred Years' War
Mercenary units and formations of the Middle Ages