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Charles VII Establishes a Standing Army
In 1445 Charles VII issued a military ordinance reorganizing feudal levies into fifteen royal standing companies (compagnies d'ordonnance), replacing…
Timeline
- 1444–1445Paris · Île-de-FranceAs French territory was gradually recovered late in the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII and his advisors set about disbanding inefficient feudal levies and bloated mercenary forces, seeking a royal armed force that could be maintained long-term.
- 1445France · FranceThe crown issued a military ordinance establishing fifteen standing companies, each of about a hundred lances (cavalry) plus supporting infantry, paid by the crown with officers directly appointed by it, replacing the nobles' ad hoc troop-raising model.
- 1445–1453France · FranceThe standing army became the main force in France's recovery of Normandy and Gascony; military command was concentrated in the crown, laying the armed foundation for the later centralized French state, though it also provoked discontent among some nobles.
Sources
- Charles VII — M.G.A. Vale (1974)
- Compagnies d'ordonnance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compagnies_d%27ordonnance