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French Knightly Heavy Cavalry System
The French knightly heavy cavalry system was the core of feudal warfare in medieval Western Europe, characterized by the mounted charge of vassal kni…
Timeline
- 1291–1294Kingdom of France · FranceVassal knights owed their lords forty days of military service under feudal contract, providing their own warhorses, armor, and attendants, forming the basic unit of the kingdom's cavalry mobilization.
- 1294–1297Northern France · FranceKnights launched lance charges in close formation, protected by chain mail and great helms; they were the most shock-effective arm on European battlefields of the time and were frequently committed in border conflicts against England.
- 1297–1300Paris · ParisPhilip IV recruited royal knights through contracts of hire and cash stipends, gradually reducing reliance on purely feudal levies and opening the way for direct royal control of military power.
Sources
- Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, 1000–1300 — John France (1999)
- Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages: The English Experience — Michael Prestwich (1996)