king
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
(or duke) summoned to war all the
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th Germanic ''here'' (army) and ''Ban (medieval)">ban'' (proclamation); compare German ''Heerbann">Ban_(medieval).html" ;"title="Germanic languages">Germanic ''here'' (army) and ''Ban (medieval)">ban'' (proclamation); compare German ''Heerbann''.
Although in theory, the arrière-ban depended on feudal relations, in practice it amounted to a general Conscription#Medieval levies, levy on all able-bodied males in the kingdom. In theory, this included all men between the ages of 18 and 60 years, in practice such a wide-ranging levy was never carried out for fear of conjuring an ill-suited mob. Most arrière-ban's were in fact local in nature. Conscription could be commuted by a money payment, which became an important source of revenue for the crown.
The
Duke of Normandy
In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. In 924 and again in 933, N ...
retained the right of arrière-ban and used it routinely down to 1204. The distinction between the public obligation of freemen and the feudal obligation of the duke's vassals was maintained, but in practice the arrière-ban may have been used mainly to call up the better armed subtenants of his vassals., p. 311–312.
Considered archaic and appropriate only in emergencies, the royal arrière-ban was re-instituted in France by Philip IV (1285–1314), who asserted his right to military service from the tenants and vassals of his vassals. The arrière-ban was proclaimed throughout the Kingdom of France on 30 April 1337, at the start of the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
., p. 184 Thereafter, there were numerous summons, causing the practice to become ineffective and unpopular. After the disaster at Poitiers, the arrière-ban was not used for some decades as
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
Kings and Emperors
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
Others
* Charles V, Duke ...
introduced a more permanent fighting force. It reappeared after 1410. Its practice continued into the early modern period, notably during the
Thirty Year's War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, while ...
. In 1636, when the Spanish approached Paris,
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
...
successfully gathered thousands of noblemen to defend the city by calling ban (of his vassals) and the arrière-ban (of all free men), allowing him to repel the Spanish.
See also
*
Commission of array
A commission of array was a commission given by English sovereigns to officers or gentry in a given territory to muster and array the inhabitants and to see them in a condition for war, or to put soldiers of a country in a condition for military ...