Advance Banners English Warfare in the Fifteenth Century

ADVANCE BANNERS
In set battles in the Middle Ages, English commanders almost never yelled
"charge" or "attack". They exhorted their men to move forward against the
enemy battle line with the command of either "banners forward", or "advance
banners". This had significant meaning in England during the Middle Ages.
This is the second of a three-volume set. The first volume of this narrative
began in 1397, which is distinctly not part of the fifteenth century. But in
order to understand the Lancastrian revolution, and what motivated the man
who would become Henry IV, it is necessary to understand a little about his
predecessor, and the tyranny that Richard II promoted. So, Volume I of this
reference work starts in 1397, when Richard II's absolutism gained a full head
of steam. A little over two years later, Richard II was deposed. Volume I, covers
this period, and also includes the entire reigns of both Henry IV and Henry
V. It also covers the first few years of the reign of the toddler king, Henry
VI. In the process, Volume I includes over 30 battles (including Agincourt,
Baugé, Cravant and Verneuil) and over a dozen major sieges.
This second volume begins in 1426, taking up where the first volume left off.
Sir John, Duke of Bedford, was laboring mightily to complete the work of his
older brother, the deceased Henry V, and complete the conquest of France.
His work was made far more difficult by the machinations of his fickle allies,
Burgundy and Brittany. But he also had to deal with a resurgent Charles VII
of France and the unlikely intervention of a young peasant girl named Joan (or
Jeanne). His task was further compounded by a weak and indecisive English
monarch, by the greed and corruption of the English government, and by
a discontented populace that finally had had enough of foreign wars and
just wanted peace and stability at home. This volume ends in 1450, and the
events that bring about the collapse of English Normandy. It also covers the
groundwork that was laid to bring about the Wars of the Roses. In the process,
it also covers much of the reign of Henry VI, and touches on the beginnings
of what will become the Wars of the Roses. Along the way, it covers almost
30 major and minor battles (including Patay, Rouvray (Herrings), River Sark,
and Formigny) and over two dozen sieges.