Disciplinary ordinances for English and Franco-Scottish armies in 1385: An international code?

The earliest known complete set of disciplinary ordinances for an English army dates to the reign of Richard II. They were drawn up at Durham on 17 July 1385 as the king’s large army assembled for an invasion of Scotland. They are known through their inclusion in London, British Library, MS Cotton Nero D. VI, a manuscript connected to Thomas Mowbray, earl of Nottingham, who had been appointed marshal a few weeks earlier. In the same month ordinances were also drawn up in Edinburgh for a joint Franco-Scottish army which was planning to invade England. These are found in the ‘Blak Buik’ (Edinburgh, National Archives of Scotland, PA5/4, Liber Niger) which contains acts of Scottish parliaments and councils. Each text needs to be set into its own context, but it is also possible to point to similarities between the ordinances and to discuss the extent to which they suggest the existence of an international code of military discipline at this point in the Hundred Years War.

► Examines the earliest complete set of disciplinary ordinances for an English army.
► Ordinances survive for a joint Franco-Scottish army for an invasion of England.
► Both sets of ordinances are connected to the campaigns of 1385.
► Examines the existence of an international code of military discipline.