Outlaws at War

For Edward I, filling his army with criminals made perfect sense.

Adam Drake | Published in History Today Volume 73 Issue 3 March 2023

English army with banner, from the Chroniques de France ou de St Denis, late 14th century. — English army with banner, from the Chroniques de France ou de St Denis, late 14th century © British Library Board. All Rights Reserved/Bridgeman Images.

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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