Outlaws at War
For Edward I, filling his army with criminals made perfect sense.
Edward I’s unconventional methods of recruiting an army for war against the French in 1294 have received a substantial amount of negative attention. Late medieval historians have generally viewed the king’s decision to enlist criminals and outlaws for his campaign in Gascony – through the grant of a royal pardon, and then to provide them with wages at 3d. per day – as an overreach of the royal prerogative and an abuse of the act of mercy.
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