A shire levy was a means of military recruitment in medieval

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. As opposed to a levy of

noble families Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

, a shire levy was effected within a geographical administrative area (a shire), entailing the mobilisation of able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60 for military duty under command of their

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. The English shire levy was descended from the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

'' Fyrd'', and continued under the Norman kings, notably at the

Battle of the Standard The Battle of the Standard, sometimes called the Battle of Northallerton, took place on 22 August 1138 on Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire, England. English forces under William of Aumale repelled a Scottish army led by King Dav ...

(1138). The force was reorganised under the Assizes of Arms of 1181 and 1252, and again by King Edward I's Statute of Winchester of 1285. Shire levies were especially important for England during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantag ...

, when the escalation in warfare with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

increased the need for soldiers: "the king was able to rely on the military support of the nobility and of the shire levies." Traditionally, the Scottish shire levies were called out by riders galloping through towns and villages bearing the ' Fiery Cross'.Gervase Phillips, ''The Anglo-Scots Wars 1513–1550'', Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1999, {{ISBN, 0-85115-746-7, pp. 46–54.

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