Essays throwing fresh light on what it was like to be a medieval soldier, drawing on archival research.The "long" fourteenth century saw England fighting wars on a number of diverse fronts - not just abroad, in the Hundred Years War, but closer to home. But while tactics, battles, and logistics have been frequently discussed, the actual experience of being a soldier has been less often studied. Via a careful re-evaluation of original sources, and the use of innovative methodological techniques such as statistical analysis and the use of relational databases, the essays here bring new insights to bear on soldiers, both as individuals and as groups. Topics addressed include military service and the dynamics of recruitment; the social composition of the armies; the question of whether soldiers saw their role as a "profession"; and the experience of prisoners of war. Contributors: Andrew Ayton, David Simpkin, Andrew Spencer, David Bachrach, Iain MacInnes, Adam Chapman, Michael Jones, Guilhem Pepin, Remy Ambuhl, Adrian R. Bell

IntroductionMilitary Service and the Dynamics of Recruitment in Fourteenth-Century England - Dr Andrew AytonTotal War in the Middle Ages?: The Contribution of English Landed Society to the Wars of Edward I and Edward II - David SimpkinA Warlike People? Gentry Enthusiasm for Edward I's Scottish Campaigns, 1296-1307 - Andrew SpencerEdward I's Centurions: Professional Soldiers in an Era of Militia Armies - David S. BachrachWho's afraid of the Big Bad Bruce? Balliol Scots and 'English Scots' during the second Scottish War of Independence - Iain A. MacInnesRebels, Uchelwyr and Parvenus: Welsh Knights in the Fourteenth Century - Adam ChapmanBreton Soldiers from the Battle of the Thirty [26 March 1351] to Nicopolis [25 September 1396] - Michael JonesTowards a Rehabilitation of Froissart's Credibility: the non fictitious Bascot de Mauléon - Guilhem PepinThe English Reversal of Fortunes in the 1370s and the Experience of Prisoners of War - Remy AmbuhlThe Soldier, 'hadde he riden, no man ferre' - Adrian R. Bell