Free Company Names

Jehan de Pelham · Post by **Jehan de Pelham** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 11:31 pm

What are all the names of all the free companies known in the Hundred Years' War?

Jehan, squire of Sir Vitus

Egfroth · Post by **Egfroth** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 6:03 am

I'm on an academic list which might have access to this information. I'll ask them if there's a source available.

In the meantime, you might try Trial by Fire
The Hundred Years War (Vols I & II)
Jonathan Sumption
Publisher: Faber & Faber, 1999, 2001

and

Contamine, Philippe. Guerre, ÃƒÂ©tat et sociÃƒÂ©tÃƒÂ© ÃƒÂ la fin du moyen ÃƒÂ¢ge . Paris: Mouton, 1971.
Favier, Jean. La Guerre de cent ans . Paris: Fayard, 1980.
Perroy, Edouard. The Hundred Years War , trans. W. B. Wells. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1951.

I have no idea whether these books have the information you need. I did a google search on routier hundred war

Good luck with it.

Egfroth · Post by **Egfroth** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:06 am

Well, I got a reply - as follows:

Your best starting point would be Kenneth Fowler's "Medieval
Mercenaries" (2001).

Jehan de Pelham · Post by **Jehan de Pelham** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 8:49 am

Very good, I thank you.

Jehan, squire of Sir Vitus

jester · Post by **jester** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 2:08 pm

In Italy -

The Great Company (more than one)
The Company of the Dove
The Company of St. George (more than one)
The White Company (more than one)

According to what I have read the men of the companies tended to refer to themselves as routes (travelling groups) identified by a leader. Ruffin's Route, for instance. The routes claimed membership in the Great Company. It appears, though I cannot substantiate this, that they considered themselves members of a sort of brotherhood of professional warriors rather than members of a cohesive military organizaton. This apparent trend can also be seen in the names the companies took for themselves which ape the secular knightly orders (the Garter, the Star, etc...)

Other known company names out of your selected time period:

The Company of the Hat
The Company of Death
The Grand Catalan Company

Sorry, that's all I've got off the top of my head. I'll dig out my research notes when I get home tonight.

Jehan de Pelham · Post by **Jehan de Pelham** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:19 pm

Jester, I should have just asked you direct. You are, after all, the mercenary subject matter expert here. Thanks!

Jehan, squire of Sir Vitus

Egfroth · Post by **Egfroth** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 6:02 pm

And another reply with some sources -

Try Jonathan Sumption's Trial by Fire (London 1999), Chapter 10:
Unfinished business 1360-1364, p. 455-503, which discusses the rise of
the companies after the peace of Bretigny 1360. Very clarifying.