. Military and religious life in the Middle Ages and at the period of the Renaissance. celebrated Bertrand du Guesclinmade his first campaign (Fig. 47). The paid gendarmery, a mixture of heavy and light cavalry, committed,in the reign of Charles VI., many breaches of discipline, without atoning forthem by lending any really efficacious aid to French chivalry, which wasalmost entirely cut to pieces in the bloody disaster of Agincourt (October25th, 1415). Charles VII., replaced on the throne of his ancestors by hisnobles after he had driven out the English, by the help of Grod and Joanthe Virgin
. Military and religious life in the Middle Ages and at the period of the Renaissance. celebrated Bertrand du Guesclinmade his first campaign (Fig. 47). The paid gendarmery, a mixture of heavy and light cavalry, committed,in the reign of Charles VI., many breaches of discipline, without atoning forthem by lending any really efficacious aid to French chivalry, which wasalmost entirely cut to pieces in the bloody disaster of Agincourt (October25th, 1415). Charles VII., replaced on the throne of his ancestors by hisnobles after he had driven out the English, by the help of Grod and Joanthe Virgin, determined therefore to disband the gendarmery. From thepicked men of the body he formed the framework of fifteen new companiesof artillery, numbering nine thousand combatants, amongst whom wereincorporated all the regular cavalry of the kingdom. Each gendarme,thoroughly equipped, was attended by two archers and two followers onhorseback ; this group of five mounted men was called a lance fully 1447, a sixth man and horse were added to it. A little later, Charles raised several paid bands, recruited by voluntary enlistment and commandedby responsible captains, who were paid by the war treasurers, according tothe number of men on the monthly muster-roll. This creation of mer- WAR AND ARMIES. 55 cenary troops diminished still further the importance of the ban, which wasno longer anything but a badly-equipped secondary militia, though stillarmed with bows and pikes, and still obliged to wear a uniform. On theactual field of battle the pikemen were always posted in the van; behindthem came the foot archers, wearing salades, or helmets without vizors,the brigandine or short coat of mail, and armed with cross-bows. Butthis reorganization of the troops had no invigorating effect on the infantry
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