Martial Music in the Middle Ages

[Glaukos the Athenian]

I had the strange coincidence, -desperate for movies to watch and short of time to shop for them- of watching in close succession "The 300 Spartans" (1962) and "Waterloo" (1970) (Christopher Plummer must be one of the coolest actors EVER out there)

I noticed, the Spartans with their flutes. (Thucydides describes the Spartans marching to the sound of flutes at Mantinea so as to maintain the pace, so does Xenophon)

Of course, martial music really comes of age with the Age of Reason, recall thes scene from Barry Lyndon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfvCjLgb ... re=related

and closely associated in the English Speaking world with the "redcoats"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPq_ZKT1vyQ


Then the Napoleonic armies [img]http://my.telegraph.co.uk/VirtualContent/87459/20070722192552.jpg[/img]
Coming straight from the earlier models, or the goose bump raising scene of the Black Hat regiment advancing in support of Buford's cavalry on the first day at Gettysburg, from the movie of the same title. (1993)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYjfQP96X1w

Now I am aware that in these cases the armies were based on contingents of infantry who depended upon coordinated field displacements, as opposed to mounted knighthood and a sort of, kinda like, less important body of infantry, that while numerically significant, did not become relevant as a battle-winning force until let's say Crecy. (Ok I'll give you Courtrai even though they were technically more urban militias than an army)

So are there references to, or perhaps even extant pieces of "knightly" martial music...?


Rowan of Needwood

[Gaston de Clermont]

Are you looking for music used on the battlefield, or songs about deeds of battle? Some of the latter can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agincourt_Carol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGAMzFzGa3A
The link is kind of a wussy arragement, but you get some idea from it. I've seen a number of illuminations of horns and shawms used in tournament processions, but haven't seen them in depictions of battles. I'm not sure if they were widely used in that context.

[Glaukos the Athenian]

The former....

Music to march towards your enemy by....

Are you looking for music used on the battlefield, or songs about deeds of battle? Some of the latter can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agincourt_Carol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGAMzFzGa3A
The link is kind of a wussy arragement, but you get some idea from it. I've seen a number of illuminations of horns and shawms used in tournament processions, but haven't seen them in depictions of battles. I'm not sure if they were widely used in that context.