A Court of Arraye (or View of Men at Arms) was a method of ascertaining numbers of men capable of fighting in towns and cities before England had a

standing army A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars or n ...

. A statute of

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

(1134–1159) ordered that all men capable of bearing arms should be inspected by the

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

of each major town and city of England. Since there was no standing army, this was a way to find out how many men could fight in a war. The Court of Arraye was confirmed with the

Statute of Winchester The Statute of Winchester of 1285 (13 Edw. I, St. 2; Law French: '), also known as the Statute of Winton, was a statute enacted by King Edward I of England that reformed the system of Watch and Ward ( watchmen) of the Assize of Arms of 1252, and r ...

in 1285 which commanded that "every man between 15 years of age and 60 years shall be assessed and sworn to armour" according to their wealth and means. The statutes of Arraye were repealed in the reign of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

(1566–1625). After the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, when England had acquired a standing army, courts of Arraye were no longer necessary, and about the year 1680 they were abolished. The tradition of a Court of Arraye has continued in carnival form at Lichfield bower in Staffordshire, which has evolved from the procession that the men took after being inspected.

References

Lichfield City Council
Customs and Traditions

The Lichfield Bower Warfare in medieval England 1680s disestablishments in England Former courts and tribunals in England and Wales Courts and tribunals established in the 12th century Courts and tribunals disestablished in the 1680s {{england-stub