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IMC 2017: Sessions

Session 541: Castles and Later Medieval Warfare

Tuesday 4 July 2017, 09.00-10.30

Sponsor:Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Culture, University of Southampton
Organiser:Peter Douglas Clarke, Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Culture, University of Southampton
Moderator/Chair:Anne Curry, Department of History, University of Southampton
Paper 541-aCastles and the Defence of the North in the Reign of Edward II
(Language: English)
Dan Spencer, Department of History, University of Southampton
Index terms: Architecture - Secular, Military History, Politics and Diplomacy
Paper 541-bThe Castle of Mont-Aimé and the Hundred Years War in Champagne in the 1420s
(Language: English)
Aleksandr Lobanov, Department of History, University of Southampton
Index terms: Architecture - Secular, Military History, Politics and Diplomacy
Paper 541-cThe Agincourt Retinues of the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester
(Language: English)
Mike Warner, Department of History, University of Southampton
Index terms: Military History, Politics and Diplomacy
Abstract

The session reflects a major strength of our research centre (CMRC) to which all the participants belong, namely medieval military history, especially the Hundred Years War. It further deals with the research theme of 'Castles' that the centre will be exploring in two of its main annual events in 2016-17, its research day and the Reuter Lecture; the latter will also form the keynote address in a major conference on 'Castles' to be organised by CMRC members. The session is thus designed to raise the profile of our centre and its activities. The content of the individual papers in this session are as follows: Paper -a: English control over newly subjugated Scotland gradually deteriorated over the course of the reign of Edward II. A succession of Scottish victories, culminating in the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, meant that the Scots were able to launch a series of damaging raids into the border counties of England. This paper will examine the efforts made by the English to defend the northern border against Scottish raids. It will explore the reasons why their defensive 'castle strategy' was so unsuccessful and what the implications are for our understanding of the role of the castle in warfare in this period. Paper -b: The paper aims to consider one of the episodes of the Hundred Years War in Champagne, a theatre much less known than Normandy, Maine, or Ile-de-France. The castle of Mont-Aimé (or Moymer) near Vertus became an important centre of Valois resistance to the Lancastrian regime, resulting in two sieges in 1425-1426 and 1426-1427. The paper will bring together evidence from both English and French sources to discover the role of Mont-Aimé in regional warfare, the efforts of the Lancastrian government to capture it, the response to its loss and the demolition of the castle after its recovery. Paper -c: In 1415 Thomas, duke of Clarence, brother of Henry V, recruited and led to war 980 men. This paper investigates who these combatants were, where they came from, and why they served under the duke of Clarence in 1415. Through penetrative prosopographical research, this paper explores the vertical and horizontal rigidity of Clarence retinue. Moreover, this study provides a challenge to the prevailing theory of decreasing retinue-level stability from the mid 14th-century onwards. In exploring these issues, this paper locates itself within a bourgeoning field of historical study.