New Weaponry, Tactics and the Decline of the Knight

The Longbow and Battlefield Tactics

A single soldier releasing 15 lethal projectiles in 60 seconds completely rewrote the rules of medieval combat.
The longbow was a devastating weapon measuring roughly 1.8 metres (6 feet) tall, usually crafted from yew or elm. With a draw weight frequently exceeding 100 lbs, it required immense physical strength but delivered exceptional results.
A skilled archer could maintain a rate of fire of 10 to 15 arrows per minute, which was roughly five times faster than a crossbow.
The standard effective range on the battlefield was 200 metres. At close ranges, archers used a specialised bodkin point—a narrow, hardened metal tip—that could easily punch through chainmail and exploit weak points in plate armour.
Battlefield tactics (short-term methods for achieving immediate goals) evolved around this firepower. At the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the English deployed archers in a V-shape formation on the flanks, creating a deadly crossfire, and protected them from cavalry charges using angled, sharpened wooden stakes.
The weapon also dictated broader strategy (long-term military planning). At the Battle of Falkirk (1298), commanders deliberately used massed archery to punch holes in static enemy formations, creating gaps for cavalry to exploit.

Battlefield Firepower (Worked Example)

If an army deployed a regiment of 4,000 archers on a flank, how many arrows could they unleash on an advancing enemy in a three-minute window? (Assume a skilled archer fires 12 arrows per minute).

Step 1: Identify the key figures.

$Total\ archers = 4000$
$Rate\ of\ fire = 12$ arrows/minute
$Time = 3$ minutes

Step 2: Calculate the arrows fired in one minute.

$4000 \times 12 = 48{,}000$ arrows/minute

Step 3: Multiply by the total time.

$48{,}000 \times 3 = 144{,}000$ arrows

The Cannon and the End of the Castle

Massive stone walls that had protected lords for centuries were suddenly reduced to rubble in a matter of days.
First appearing in European warfare in the 1320s, the cannon (often called a heavy bombard in its early siege form) became a standard battlefield feature by 1450.
Early cannons fired stone balls, but these lacked density and often shattered on impact. In the 15th century, armies transitioned to cast iron balls, which were three times denser and could efficiently punch through solid masonry.
Two major technological leaps increased artillery effectiveness. Trunnions (metal pivoting rods on the barrel) allowed gunners to alter their vertical aim accurately. Meanwhile, the invention of corned powder in the 1420s increased explosive force by 30% and was highly resistant to damp weather.
This caused a major shift toward the active siege. Instead of passively starving out a garrison over many months, attackers used concentrated artillery fire on the base of a wall to create a V-shaped collapse, forming a ramp of rubble for infantry to storm.
Fortifications had to adapt; high, thin walls were replaced by lower, earth-filled walls designed to absorb shock. Builders also added the bastion to eliminate defensive blind spots.

The Schiltron and Defensive Formations

Imagine a giant, bristling hedgehog made of sharp wooden poles that terrified charging warhorses.
The schiltron was a dense, tightly packed infantry formation containing up to 2,000 men. Soldiers wielded the pike, a long wooden spear measuring 3 to 5 metres, which allowed infantry to strike cavalry before the riders' lances could reach them.
By presenting multiple rows of outward-facing pikes, the formation successfully repelled heavy cavalry charges, as seen at the Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297).
However, the original circular schiltron had a major negative feature: it was completely static and could not maneuver. At Falkirk (1298), this immobility left them highly vulnerable to longbow fire, which thinned their ranks until cavalry could break the formation.
To solve this, commanders evolved the tactic into the rectilinear (rectangular) schiltron by the Battle of Bannockburn (1314), allowing the formation to move offensively across the battlefield.

Discussing the Decline of the Mounted Knight

Why would a monarch choose to spend vast sums of money on commoners instead of relying on their traditional, heavily armoured noblemen?
The decline of the knight was driven by a combination of technological obsolescence and the rising cost of professional armies.
Technologically, the combined arms of longbows and schiltrons stripped the knight of his greatest advantage: the shock cavalry charge. Horses became too vulnerable, forcing knights to dismount and fight as infantrymen. Furthermore, the cannon destroyed the castle, which was the traditional power base of the feudal lord.
Socially and economically, the feudal levy—which required knights to provide 40 days of unpaid service—proved too short and unreliable for lengthy campaigns.
Monarchs shifted toward professionalisation. Nobles paid scutage (shield money) instead of fighting, which kings used to hire a professional mercenary.
Armies were increasingly raised via the indenture system, where captains signed formal contracts to provide a paid retinue of troops for 6 to 12 months. Royal Commissioners of Array were dispatched to select the highest quality men-at-arms.
To ensure a supply of skilled troops, the Assize of Arms and the 1285 Statute of Winchester legally required men to own weapons. By 1363, Edward III mandated mandatory archery practice, creating a class of professional peasant soldiers earning a lucrative 3d to 6d per day.
Ultimately, while new weapons physically defeated the knight on the battlefield, it was the structural shift towards a highly paid, contracted infantry that permanently replaced the chivalric, feudal system.

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Exam Tips

Common Mistake
Students often claim the longbow immediately replaced the knight, but actually it forced knights to adapt by dismounting and fighting on foot as heavily armoured infantry.
2
In 16-mark 'Discuss' questions about the knight's decline, examiners expect you to evaluate both technological factors (like the longbow) and economic/social factors (like scutage and indentures) to reach a balanced conclusion.
3
When analysing changes to castles, explicitly contrast the 'passive' sieges of the 13th century (starvation) with the 'active' bombardment tactics made possible by the 15th-century cannon.
4
To achieve top marks when discussing schiltrons, distinguish between the early circular schiltron (which was static and vulnerable to arrows) and the later rectilinear schiltron (which allowed for offensive movement).

Key Terms(18)

Longbow: A powerful medieval bow, approximately 1.8m tall, capable of rapid fire and long-range penetration.
Bodkin point: A narrow, hardened metal arrow tip specifically designed to penetrate chainmail and exploit gaps in plate armour.
Tactics: Specific, short-term battlefield methods used to achieve an immediate goal, such as placing sharpened stakes.
Strategy: Long-term military planning and overarching approaches used to win a campaign or war.
Cannon: A heavy gunpowder weapon that fired projectiles; early, large siege versions were often called bombards.
Trunnions: Metal rods projecting from the barrel of a cannon that allowed it to be pivoted vertically for accurate aiming.
Corned powder: Gunpowder processed into small grains, which increased explosive power by 30% and resisted dampness.
Active siege: A strategy of using artillery to actively bombard and breach walls, replacing the passive strategy of starving out defenders.
Bastion: An angled structure projecting from a fortress wall that allowed defenders to fire along the face of the walls and eliminate blind spots.
Schiltron: A compact, dense formation of pikemen used to counter cavalry charges.
Pike: A long spear-like weapon measuring 3 to 5 metres, used by infantry to engage cavalry at a safe distance.
Feudal levy: The traditional medieval system where men were obligated to provide 40 days of unpaid military service to their lord.
Scutage: Money paid by nobles to the King instead of providing military service, which was then used to hire professional troops.
Mercenary: A professional soldier hired to fight for profit rather than out of feudal duty or loyalty.
Indenture: A formal, written legal contract between the King and a military captain detailing troop numbers, pay, and length of service.
Retinue: A group of professional, contracted soldiers serving under a specific lord or military captain.
Commissioners of Array: Royal officials sent to local areas to inspect troops and select the most capable men-at-arms for campaigns.
Assize of Arms: Medieval laws that legally required men to own specific military weapons based on their level of wealth.

Previous NoteComposition and Command of the Medieval Army Next Subtopic: The Experience of WarThe Experience of War

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Key Terms(18)

Longbow: A powerful medieval bow, approximately 1.8m tall, capable of rapid fire and long-range penetration.
Bodkin point: A narrow, hardened metal arrow tip specifically designed to penetrate chainmail and exploit gaps in plate armour.
Tactics: Specific, short-term battlefield methods used to achieve an immediate goal, such as placing sharpened stakes.
Strategy: Long-term military planning and overarching approaches used to win a campaign or war.
Cannon: A heavy gunpowder weapon that fired projectiles; early, large siege versions were often called bombards.
Trunnions: Metal rods projecting from the barrel of a cannon that allowed it to be pivoted vertically for accurate aiming.
Corned powder: Gunpowder processed into small grains, which increased explosive power by 30% and resisted dampness.
Active siege: A strategy of using artillery to actively bombard and breach walls, replacing the passive strategy of starving out defenders.
Bastion: An angled structure projecting from a fortress wall that allowed defenders to fire along the face of the walls and eliminate blind spots.
Schiltron: A compact, dense formation of pikemen used to counter cavalry charges.
Pike: A long spear-like weapon measuring 3 to 5 metres, used by infantry to engage cavalry at a safe distance.
Feudal levy: The traditional medieval system where men were obligated to provide 40 days of unpaid military service to their lord.
Scutage: Money paid by nobles to the King instead of providing military service, which was then used to hire professional troops.
Mercenary: A professional soldier hired to fight for profit rather than out of feudal duty or loyalty.
Indenture: A formal, written legal contract between the King and a military captain detailing troop numbers, pay, and length of service.
Retinue: A group of professional, contracted soldiers serving under a specific lord or military captain.
Commissioners of Array: Royal officials sent to local areas to inspect troops and select the most capable men-at-arms for campaigns.
Assize of Arms: Medieval laws that legally required men to own specific military weapons based on their level of wealth.

New Weaponry, Tactics and the Decline of the Knight

The Longbow and Battlefield Tactics

A single soldier releasing 15 lethal projectiles in 60 seconds completely rewrote the rules of medieval combat.
The longbow was a devastating weapon measuring roughly 1.8 metres (6 feet) tall, usually crafted from yew or elm. With a draw weight frequently exceeding 100 lbs, it required immense physical strength but delivered exceptional results.
A skilled archer could maintain a rate of fire of 10 to 15 arrows per minute, which was roughly five times faster than a crossbow.
The standard effective range on the battlefield was 200 metres. At close ranges, archers used a specialised bodkin point—a narrow, hardened metal tip—that could easily punch through chainmail and exploit weak points in plate armour.
Battlefield tactics (short-term methods for achieving immediate goals) evolved around this firepower. At the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the English deployed archers in a V-shape formation on the flanks, creating a deadly crossfire, and protected them from cavalry charges using angled, sharpened wooden stakes.
The weapon also dictated broader strategy (long-term military planning). At the Battle of Falkirk (1298), commanders deliberately used massed archery to punch holes in static enemy formations, creating gaps for cavalry to exploit.

Battlefield Firepower (Worked Example)

Step 1: Identify the key figures.

$Total\ archers = 4000$
$Rate\ of\ fire = 12$ arrows/minute
$Time = 3$ minutes

Step 2: Calculate the arrows fired in one minute.

$4000 \times 12 = 48{,}000$ arrows/minute

Step 3: Multiply by the total time.

$48{,}000 \times 3 = 144{,}000$ arrows

The Cannon and the End of the Castle

Massive stone walls that had protected lords for centuries were suddenly reduced to rubble in a matter of days.
First appearing in European warfare in the 1320s, the cannon (often called a heavy bombard in its early siege form) became a standard battlefield feature by 1450.
Early cannons fired stone balls, but these lacked density and often shattered on impact. In the 15th century, armies transitioned to cast iron balls, which were three times denser and could efficiently punch through solid masonry.
Two major technological leaps increased artillery effectiveness. Trunnions (metal pivoting rods on the barrel) allowed gunners to alter their vertical aim accurately. Meanwhile, the invention of corned powder in the 1420s increased explosive force by 30% and was highly resistant to damp weather.
This caused a major shift toward the active siege. Instead of passively starving out a garrison over many months, attackers used concentrated artillery fire on the base of a wall to create a V-shaped collapse, forming a ramp of rubble for infantry to storm.
Fortifications had to adapt; high, thin walls were replaced by lower, earth-filled walls designed to absorb shock. Builders also added the bastion to eliminate defensive blind spots.

The Schiltron and Defensive Formations

Imagine a giant, bristling hedgehog made of sharp wooden poles that terrified charging warhorses.
The schiltron was a dense, tightly packed infantry formation containing up to 2,000 men. Soldiers wielded the pike, a long wooden spear measuring 3 to 5 metres, which allowed infantry to strike cavalry before the riders' lances could reach them.
By presenting multiple rows of outward-facing pikes, the formation successfully repelled heavy cavalry charges, as seen at the Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297).
However, the original circular schiltron had a major negative feature: it was completely static and could not maneuver. At Falkirk (1298), this immobility left them highly vulnerable to longbow fire, which thinned their ranks until cavalry could break the formation.
To solve this, commanders evolved the tactic into the rectilinear (rectangular) schiltron by the Battle of Bannockburn (1314), allowing the formation to move offensively across the battlefield.

Discussing the Decline of the Mounted Knight

Why would a monarch choose to spend vast sums of money on commoners instead of relying on their traditional, heavily armoured noblemen?
The decline of the knight was driven by a combination of technological obsolescence and the rising cost of professional armies.
Technologically, the combined arms of longbows and schiltrons stripped the knight of his greatest advantage: the shock cavalry charge. Horses became too vulnerable, forcing knights to dismount and fight as infantrymen. Furthermore, the cannon destroyed the castle, which was the traditional power base of the feudal lord.
Socially and economically, the feudal levy—which required knights to provide 40 days of unpaid service—proved too short and unreliable for lengthy campaigns.
Monarchs shifted toward professionalisation. Nobles paid scutage (shield money) instead of fighting, which kings used to hire a professional mercenary.
Armies were increasingly raised via the indenture system, where captains signed formal contracts to provide a paid retinue of troops for 6 to 12 months. Royal Commissioners of Array were dispatched to select the highest quality men-at-arms.
To ensure a supply of skilled troops, the Assize of Arms and the 1285 Statute of Winchester legally required men to own weapons. By 1363, Edward III mandated mandatory archery practice, creating a class of professional peasant soldiers earning a lucrative 3d to 6d per day.
Ultimately, while new weapons physically defeated the knight on the battlefield, it was the structural shift towards a highly paid, contracted infantry that permanently replaced the chivalric, feudal system.

Sign up to continue reading

Get full access to revision notes, key terms, and exam tips for every subtopic.

Exam Tips

Common Mistake
Students often claim the longbow immediately replaced the knight, but actually it forced knights to adapt by dismounting and fighting on foot as heavily armoured infantry.
2
In 16-mark 'Discuss' questions about the knight's decline, examiners expect you to evaluate both technological factors (like the longbow) and economic/social factors (like scutage and indentures) to reach a balanced conclusion.
3
When analysing changes to castles, explicitly contrast the 'passive' sieges of the 13th century (starvation) with the 'active' bombardment tactics made possible by the 15th-century cannon.
4
To achieve top marks when discussing schiltrons, distinguish between the early circular schiltron (which was static and vulnerable to arrows) and the later rectilinear schiltron (which allowed for offensive movement).

Key Terms(18)

Longbow: A powerful medieval bow, approximately 1.8m tall, capable of rapid fire and long-range penetration.
Bodkin point: A narrow, hardened metal arrow tip specifically designed to penetrate chainmail and exploit gaps in plate armour.
Tactics: Specific, short-term battlefield methods used to achieve an immediate goal, such as placing sharpened stakes.
Strategy: Long-term military planning and overarching approaches used to win a campaign or war.
Cannon: A heavy gunpowder weapon that fired projectiles; early, large siege versions were often called bombards.
Trunnions: Metal rods projecting from the barrel of a cannon that allowed it to be pivoted vertically for accurate aiming.
Corned powder: Gunpowder processed into small grains, which increased explosive power by 30% and resisted dampness.
Active siege: A strategy of using artillery to actively bombard and breach walls, replacing the passive strategy of starving out defenders.
Bastion: An angled structure projecting from a fortress wall that allowed defenders to fire along the face of the walls and eliminate blind spots.
Schiltron: A compact, dense formation of pikemen used to counter cavalry charges.
Pike: A long spear-like weapon measuring 3 to 5 metres, used by infantry to engage cavalry at a safe distance.
Feudal levy: The traditional medieval system where men were obligated to provide 40 days of unpaid military service to their lord.
Scutage: Money paid by nobles to the King instead of providing military service, which was then used to hire professional troops.
Mercenary: A professional soldier hired to fight for profit rather than out of feudal duty or loyalty.
Indenture: A formal, written legal contract between the King and a military captain detailing troop numbers, pay, and length of service.
Retinue: A group of professional, contracted soldiers serving under a specific lord or military captain.
Commissioners of Array: Royal officials sent to local areas to inspect troops and select the most capable men-at-arms for campaigns.
Assize of Arms: Medieval laws that legally required men to own specific military weapons based on their level of wealth.

Previous NoteComposition and Command of the Medieval Army Next Subtopic: The Experience of WarThe Experience of War

Back to The Nature of Warfare

Put your knowledge into practice — try past paper questions for History

Key Terms(18)

Longbow: A powerful medieval bow, approximately 1.8m tall, capable of rapid fire and long-range penetration.
Bodkin point: A narrow, hardened metal arrow tip specifically designed to penetrate chainmail and exploit gaps in plate armour.
Tactics: Specific, short-term battlefield methods used to achieve an immediate goal, such as placing sharpened stakes.
Strategy: Long-term military planning and overarching approaches used to win a campaign or war.
Cannon: A heavy gunpowder weapon that fired projectiles; early, large siege versions were often called bombards.
Trunnions: Metal rods projecting from the barrel of a cannon that allowed it to be pivoted vertically for accurate aiming.
Corned powder: Gunpowder processed into small grains, which increased explosive power by 30% and resisted dampness.
Active siege: A strategy of using artillery to actively bombard and breach walls, replacing the passive strategy of starving out defenders.
Bastion: An angled structure projecting from a fortress wall that allowed defenders to fire along the face of the walls and eliminate blind spots.
Schiltron: A compact, dense formation of pikemen used to counter cavalry charges.
Pike: A long spear-like weapon measuring 3 to 5 metres, used by infantry to engage cavalry at a safe distance.
Feudal levy: The traditional medieval system where men were obligated to provide 40 days of unpaid military service to their lord.
Scutage: Money paid by nobles to the King instead of providing military service, which was then used to hire professional troops.
Mercenary: A professional soldier hired to fight for profit rather than out of feudal duty or loyalty.
Indenture: A formal, written legal contract between the King and a military captain detailing troop numbers, pay, and length of service.
Retinue: A group of professional, contracted soldiers serving under a specific lord or military captain.
Commissioners of Array: Royal officials sent to local areas to inspect troops and select the most capable men-at-arms for campaigns.
Assize of Arms: Medieval laws that legally required men to own specific military weapons based on their level of wealth.