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English Bill Infantry

Type Object Region England Time 1400–1520

English bill infantry was a close-combat infantry system using the bill as its primary weapon, adapted from the agricultural bill, capable of hooking…

Timeline

  1. 1400–1450The counties of England · EnglandThe bill evolved from a long-handled farm implement; its blade combined axe-chop, spear-thrust, and hooked-drag functions, able to hook down horses or pull down armored men-at-arms. In the later Hundred Years' War, English armies formed the convention of 'archers in front, billmen behind,' with billmen protecting the archers from cavalry charges.
  2. 1461–1465Yorkshire and northern England · YorkshireAt the Battle of Towton in 1461, bill infantry and archers fought in coordination, entering close combat to clear up after the arrow volleys. During Edward IV's peaceful years (1462-1468), retinue contracts commonly specified the ratio of billmen to archers, with a typical grouping of several billmen per ten archers.
  3. 1469–1470Lincolnshire and northern England · EnglandDuring Warwick's rebellion of 1469-1470, both sides' retinues again fielded mixed formations of bills and longbows in battles such as Edgecote. The bill infantry system remained stable amid political turmoil; weapon forms tended to lengthen to better counter armored infantry, but the basic tactical principles were unchanged.

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