Feudal Nobility, part 2
The Battle of Bannockburn 1314 . The military followers of the original conquerors in Europe were themselves divided into classes such as yeomen and petty land-holding farmers. From the aristocracy of the conquest of Europe came the knights, the leaders in the wars, and the common gentry, and those who became known as esquires in Britain. From the petty land-owners came the men-at-arms, foot soldiers and archers. It is mistaken to believe that most soldiers came from the lowest levels of society, this was most certainly not the case in the Middle Ages. In the armies on the march there were serfs who undertook menial tasks but they were not charged with fighting the war. Being unfree they would have...