Getting orders across via Trumpets and Banners ect

[Longmane]

Signalling with trumpets has been noted as early as their use by the Merovingian armies.  Their use in the ninth century is briefly mentioned: Louis the Pious ordered a trumpet signal for breaking camp.  These were also used elsewhere, for example in the Middle East, where orders were given as follows: at the first trumpet blast each man had to arm himself, at the second blast the banners or units had to be formed, and at the third blast the whole army had to be assembled.   At Worringen the trumpets sounded the calls 'to arms' and 'take arms' before the battle.  They sounded again to start the attack, as in tournaments.   When the duke's standard was brought down however, the trumpeters were so distraught over the outcome of the struggle that they stopped blowing the trumpets, which shook the soldiers' morale.   As soon as the banner was raised again, the trumpets sounded once more, and after the victory they were used to summon the men for supper.   In the battles of Arsuf, Bouvines, Courtrai and Mons-en-Pévèle, trumpets were frequently mentioned, but the use of them was so general that the chroniclers thought it superfluous to speak of them, or to explain for what purpose the instruments were used.

During the retreat of the Flemings at Mons-en-Pévèle they were used to re-assemble the troops, a use that may be frequently noted in the chansons de geste.   In the Chanson de Roland camp was broken at the sound of the trumpets; they were also used to herald the assault and to give the soldiers the order to take arms.   During the battle the scattered troops were collected again at the sound of the trumpet or horn.    Jean le Bel described the same custom in the English army of Edward III: at the first blast the horses had to be saddled, at the second the troops had to put on their arms, and at the third they had to mount and get into formation.   The same usage was codified by Charles the Bold in the Grande Ordonnance of 1473.  It was thus a general usage which was also common in the Flemish cities, where trumpeters are found in every expedition.

Banners were also used to give orders.  To take a banner forward was the sign to begin the attack, and it was also used to halt it, and to direct the setting up of camp.  Men rallied round the banner in hand-to-hand fighting to re-form a compact unit.

Commands and Evolutions: a Comparison with Byzantium

In order to form a clear idea of the training of knightly units it is very important to know what movements the knights could perform, with or without orders.  Fortunately excellent material is available for comparison in the cavalry orders as they existed in Byzantium, where the classical tradition lingered on for a long time in the army.  These orders were derived from the Strategikon. They are the exercises of the tagma, the basic tactical unit, consisting of about 300 horsemen.

In this unit the standard was placed in front of the first rank or in it, which coincided with knightly custom, for the banners were brought forward before the attack, and the attack was started with the standard in the front rank by the Templars among others.   The mandator, one of the commanders, then called out: 'Silentium! Nemo demittat, nemo antecedat', which agrees with the prohibition against leaving the  ranks during a charge, which we have also seen in the tournaments. 'And he gave strict orders that no one should move in front of the banners, nor move at all until commanded to do so', said Jean le Bel of the order given by Edward III in 1327.

The march was begun at the sound of the buccina or boukinon—a trumpet-like instrument that was also used among the knights—, or at the command of a leader who shouted: 'Move'.  This order, 'Mouvez', was given at Courtrai by Artois.353 Sometimes the signal was given by the banner, as in the case of the Templars.

The signal to halt was given by striking a shield, by a hand sign, by a trumpet-signal on the tuba, as in many cases in knightly armies, or by the order 'Stop' (Sta). In the Chanson de Roland Roland halts the column by a banner signal.

In order to march off properly lined up, the leader gave the order 'Aequaliter ambula', which is the same thing as 'ordinata aequaliter acies', in which Henry I's men marched against the Hungarians in 933.  It was the general rule to march in perfectly aligned formations: 'nobody dared, by the fear of losing his head, to ride before the banners, except the marshals'.

In order to draw up the cavalry units in thinner lines and thus to encompass a broader front, the command was given 'Largiter ambula'.  This is immediately reminiscent of the advice given by Raas of Liedekerke to the men of Brabant at Worringen:

'I look at their line and see
That it is broad and long;
They could against our will
Encircle us before we knew it:
So make our ranks long and thin,
Before they attack us.'

To get the men into closely packed ranks Liebrecht of Dormael shouted:

'Thick and tight! thick and tight!
Let every man bravely press as
Close as he can to his comrade'.

And then they all shouted:
'Stick together, thick! Thick!'

Two commands used by the Byzantine armies were not common among the knights.  They were primarily intended for units in deep formation: 'ad latus stringe', close in on the flank, and 'iunge', to close ranks from back to front, so that the last lines came closer to the first.  It is quite possible that this is what is meant by the 'thick and tight' of the Brabançons at Worringen, however.

In order to speed up the cavalry advance, the order was given: 'cursu mina', which might be translated as 'Spur your horses'.  It is obvious that such an order was also used among the knights: in the struggle for the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, Robert de Clari explains it in these words: 'Two of the bravest and wisest men were selected from each bataille, and whatever they commanded was done.  If the command 'Poingniès' (spur!) was given, we spurred our horses; if the order 'Alès le pas' (go on step), we stepped slowly.'.  The knights' formation advanced slowly at first, and then charged when they reached a suitable distance from the enemy.

Another command was used in the Byzantine armies: 'cum ordine seque', given as soon as the skirmishing cavalry came within a mile of the enemy.  To lead them back the order 'cede' was given, to make them attack again: 'torna mina'. Other orders, such as 'depone sinistra, depone dextra' meant that the cavalry had to move left or right.  In case of an attack on the rear, the order was given to make a new front in that direction, but without making the original front move its position.  There is no reference to these orders in the chronicles, but the knights were able to execute them.  This was indispensable for fighting and manoeuvring with foot-soldiers on the battlefield, in close cooperation.

Finally, it was foreseen that the front line of cavalry might give ground and move back to the second line or the reserve.  Then the standard-bearer (bandophoros) of the formation shouted: 'Suscipe', 'take them up'.  It was thus that Villehardouin hastened to give help after the defeat of Baldwin I at Adrianople.   At Arsuf the reserve twice let attacking units withdraw in order to regroup.  This was another reason why a reserve unit was held back during a pursuit.  At the end of the battle of Hastings, during the pursuit of the defeated enemy, Count Eustace, at the head of fifty knights, wished to sound the retreat: receptui signa canere.  Duke William arrived there and ordered the pursuit to be continued.

Finally, the Byzantine army had yet another custom: a bowshot from the enemy a soldier cried out 'Parati!'  Another answered 'Adiuta' and then they all shouted 'Deus'.  It was taken over very early by the French knights, and we find it in the Chanson de Roland as 'diex aie'.   It was also used by the Crusaders before Jerusalem: it was especially used by the Normans.

The cantator was an important figure in both the Byzantine and knightly armies.  It was his duty to urge on the troops by harangues and especially by martial songs.   This was the role of Taillefer in the battle of Hastings.

[Shizzle]

Interesting :)

[WarMaid]

I'm way behind on reading the forum, but I really dug this post.  This is exactly the sort of thing (or one of the sorts of things) that I've been hoping to see from the background thread:  interesting, relevant, and very usable information (in this case lovingly extracted from some reliable sources.)

Thanks!

[egamma]

I give Longmane a +1 whenever I can.

[Longmane]

I'm content enough simply knowing some of my fellow BM's find what I post interesting, heh although I wouldn't say no if someone offered me a solution to the problem of not only knowing "not what" to post, being as the book's I'm currently working from is sooooo full of cool and interesting stuff, but finding enough time to actualy copy, edit and post it  ;D