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| Arms of Robert Babthorpe Sable, a chevron Or between three crescents Ermine |
Recently we have been playing quite a few games of Écorcheurs! by Rob Jones. I backed the Kickstarter and now after a few sessions I felt I wanted to create my first retinue. So using a few on-line resources to assist me in where to start research I have been able to identify a hopefully realistic retinue that fought at Agincourt (on the winning side too!).
Sir Robert Babthorpe
Robert Babthorpe seems to have originated from the Yorkshire village that bore his family name. By 1403 he was already a King's Esquire, and over the following decade he became increasingly closely associated with the Lancastrian royal household. His marriage to Eleanor Waterton brought another useful connection. The Watertons were themselves closely associated with the Lancastrian establishment, and Babthorpe's own career increasingly became that of a professional royal servant rather than simply that of a Yorkshire landowner.
In 1415 he joined Henry V's expedition to France and this is where he becomes particularly interesting for Écorcheurs!, because we actually have a remarkably good idea of the size of his retinue of four other men-at-arms and fifteen archers, and all twenty men were recorded as having fought at Agincourt.
Which is rather conveniently almost as if Henry V had organised his army with Écorcheurs! in mind.
The Campaign in France and Agincourt
Babthorpe himself was still described as an esquire when the campaign began, but seems to have been knighted during it, and was certainly a knight by March 1416.
In the surviving early-modern transcription of the Agincourt Roll, Babthorpe appears as:
SIR ROBERT BABTHORP, CONTROLLER OF THE KINGES HOWSE, WITH HIS RETENU.
- Thomas Babthorp.
- John Wardale.
- Thomas Wisse.
- William Mason.
- Thomas Hardewyn.
- Lances VJ
- Archers XVIIJ
At first sight, the Agincourt Roll appears to give Babthorpe a rather larger retinue than the one used here: six lances and eighteen archers, a total of twenty-four men. It also names five men beneath Babthorpe: Thomas Babthorp, John Wardale, Thomas Wisse, William Mason and Thomas Hardewyn.
Unfortunately, medieval administration rarely makes things quite that simple. Modern research by the Medieval Soldier project, using the surviving Exchequer and muster records alongside the Roll, concludes that Babthorpe actually fought at Agincourt with four other men-at-arms and fifteen archers.
The discrepancy seems to reflect changes between the original retinue and the men ultimately accepted and paid for service. In particular, William Mason was struck from the muster because his inclusion exceeded the numbers allowed under Babthorpe's indenture, while three additional archers similarly account for the difference between eighteen and fifteen.
His career continued after Agincourt, he returned to France, served during Henry V's conquest of Normandy and was present during the siege of Rouen in 1418-19. He also continued to rise within the royal household, becoming Controller of the King's Household in 1416 and later Steward of the Household.
Henry V clearly trusted him: Babthorpe was amongst those appointed to administer the king's will. He survived Henry by fourteen years, eventually dying in 1436.
Building the Retinue
To my mind, one of the challenges of building a retinue is trying to work out what a group of twenty actual men might have looked like. Usually that involves quite a lot of guesswork. With Babthorpe we have the considerable advantage of knowing the basic composition of his force: five men-at-arms and fifteen archers. We will wrap one of men-at-arms in to a standard bearer, whilst some of the retinue are mounted, they would normally dismount for battle. I think that Babthorpe would have outfitted his men-at-arms well so they have quite a high chance of being fully-armoured but armour as you see fit.
William Callowe
One of the nice things about Babthorpe's retinue is that at least one of the archers emerges from the records as rather more than simply a name.
William Callowe served under Babthorpe at Agincourt. During or immediately after the battle he and William Kempton, a man-at-arms serving Sir William Phelip, captured a Frenchman recorded as le Sire de Corps. More importantly, he was apparently worth £356 13s 4d in ransom. Not bad work for just an archer!
I've also made him the retinue's second Leader. There's no evidence that Callowe actually held such a position, but Écorcheurs! benefits from another Leader and, of the men we can identify, he seems by far the most entertaining candidate.
Babthorpe, Sir Robert. Fully-Armoured. Mounted. D8 Quality Die. 2CD in combat. Leader, Chivalrous, 50% chance of Puissant trait.
Standard Bearer. Part-Armoured, 66% chance of being Fully-Armoured. Mounted. D6 Quality Die. 2 CD in combat.
3 Men-at-Arms. Part-Armoured, 66% chance of being Fully-Armoured. Mounted. Sword. D6 Quality Dice,. 1 CD in combat.
Callowe, William. Part-Armoured. D8 Quality Die. Bow. 2CD in combat. Leader, Forester, 33% chance of Resourceful trait.
14 Archers. Unarmoured, 33% chance of being Part-Armoured. Bow. D6 Quality Die. 1 CD in combat.
I get the sense that Babthrope's retinue leant to wards a heavily armoured core of men-at-arms and a highly effective archer body led by Callowe.
If you would prefer a non-chance based retinue then this would be (a know war-gamers like a list after all!):
Babthorpe, Sir Robert. Fully-Armoured. Mounted. D8 Quality Die. 2 CD in combat. Leader, Chivalrous, Puissant trait.
Standard Bearer. Fully-Armoured. Mounted. D6 Quality Die. 2 CD in combat.
2 Men-at-Arms. Fully-Armoured. Mounted. Sword. D6 Quality Dice,. 1 CD in combat.
1 Men-at-Arm. Part-Armoured. Mounted. Sword. D6 Quality Dice,. 1 CD in combat.
Callowe, William. Part-Armoured. D8 Quality Die. Bow. 2CD in combat. Leader, Forester trait.
10 Archers. Unarmoured, Bow. D6 Quality Die. 1 CD in combat.
4 Archers. Part-Armoured. Bow. D6 Quality Die. 1 CD in combat.
Enjoy!
Sources & Further Reading
Medieval Soldier Project - The English Army in 1415
Medieval Soldier Project - English Army Table
Medieval Soldier Project - Agincourt Prisoners
Agincourt Roll transcription - Society of Archers 1673
Mapping the Medieval Countryside - Sir Robert Babthorpe IPM (1436)