The Coventry Muster records for 1455 show the mechanisms by which a town raised forces during the Wars of the Roses. The Muster for Coventry, from the Leet Book, is rare as very few records of arraying forces from the period remain. In the case of Coventry, some 100 men in addition to a Captain were mustered. This provides an insight into the numbers which could be – and were – raised for war. That can be helpful when attempting to assess the possible numbers raised for various campaigns in the wars of the roses.<\/p>\n
Memorandum that what follows is a copy of a letter sent from our sovereign lord the king to the mayor and sheriffs of the city of Coventry.<\/p>\n
[…]<\/p>\n
It is our wish and desire that you, in whom we place our special trust, accompanied by the most capable and properly equipped force \u2013 for which you will be held accountable \u2013 that you can muster to serve us and be at our command, will join us wherever we may be, as quickly as possible. By doing so, you will give us a particular reason to be a good and gracious lord to you, and to hold you in our special favour and concern. Issued under our signet [ring seal] at our palace of Westminster on 18 May.<\/p>\n
This letter was delivered to the mayor by John Metyngham on 22 May following the date on the letter, and the mayor gave him 6s.8d as a reward.<\/p>\n
Whereupon the mayor, having given careful consideration to the contents of the letter, had the city aldermen and councillors summoned to come to him along with his colleagues, and the letter was read out to them. They, being concerned about the welfare as well as the safety and preservation of the king, as every true subject ought to be, decided that a hundred good men, properly equipped with bows and arrows and outfitted with jacks and sallets, should be readied as quickly as possible to join our sovereign lord at St. Albans, and to remain with him and serve him in whatever his highness might command. And the mayor and aforementioned worthy men decided that William Tybeaudis should be the captain of the 100 men.<\/p>\n
There follows a record of the costs and supplies provided the captain and the 100 men.
\nFirst, for tartan to make a new pennon, 16d. For ribbon for the same, 14d. For making the pennon and a silk tassel, 14d. For furbishing the spear-head, 2d. Item, for a garment for the captain<\/p>\nFirst, for one and a half quarters of green cloth, 9d.; for one and a half quarters of violet, 9d.; for one and a half quarters of red cloth, 9d.; for one and a half quarters of Musturdevylers, 12d. For making the garment, 16d. Total: [not entered].<\/p>\n
Also, for 25 yards and one and a half quarters of green and red cloth bought to make bands for the 100 men, 18d. a yard. Total 38s.7\u00bdd. For making the bands, 4s.2d. Total: [not entered]<\/p>\n
And because neither the captain nor the 100 men set out at this time, because of certain news that was brought and because the king was taken back to London and his plans were not followed through, the bands, garment, and pennon were given to the wardens for safekeeping.<\/p>\n
Source: Coventry City Record Office, Leet Book<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Wars of the Roses<\/a><\/h4>\n
Causes of the Wars of the Roses<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Battles of the Wars of the Roses<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Personalities of the Wars of the Roses<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Women in the Wars of the Roses<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Timeline of the Wars of the Roses<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Infographic: Key Facts on the Wars of the Roses<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Primary and Secondary Sources on the Wars of the Roses<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Nathen Amin \u2013 the Rise of the Beaufort\u2019s and Tudor England<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Coventry Muster records for 1455 show the mechanisms by which a town raised forces during the Wars of the Roses. The Muster for Coventry, from the Leet Book, is rare as very few records of arraying forces from the period remain. In the case of Coventry, some 100 men in addition to a Captain… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":306,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5814","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t