English Shire Levy System

Timeline

1. 1181–1290The shires of England · EnglandHenry II's Statute of Arms required freemen to equip themselves according to property, with sheriffs responsible for inspection and levy; the 1295 Model Parliament further brought shire knights and burgess representatives into war finance consultation, combining shire levy with parliamentary authorization.
2. 1337–1380Southern English ports · EnglandDuring the Hundred Years' War the crown issued troop quotas to each shire; sheriffs assigned archers and light infantry by hundred or constituency to serve in escorts, garrisons, and expeditions; levied troops received daily pay and rations, fighting mixed with contracted knights.
3. 1381–1390London and the southeastern shires · LondonThe peasant uprising of June 1381 destroyed tax collectors' records and some shire offices, questioning the poll tax and levy injustices; after Richard II suppressed the rebellion he reaffirmed sheriffs' authority, and in the later 1380s the shire levy remained the main channel for expeditions to France, though the crown relied more on paid contracted soldiers for supplements.