Warrior Ancient and Medieval Rules

Greetings:
I've named my CIC Norman and not Frank so, loose order troops are
minimal. There is however a group of LHI called "Cottereaux." Who are
these guys and what do they look like? Welsh? French? Thank you.
Skip

--- In WarriorRules@yahoogroups.com, "stork1656" <tork50s@c...> wrote:
>
> Greetings:
> I've named my CIC Norman and not Frank so, loose order troops are
> minimal. There is however a group of LHI called "Cottereaux." Who
are
> these guys and what do they look like? Welsh? French? Thank you.
> Skip
>
I'm collecting a Norman army (using Museum Miniature Figures) and I've
no idea what Cottereaux are either. I've bought a figure in chainmail,
with a simple helmet, long spear (though they are listed as JLS) and a
round shield. It's just a guess really.

Cottereaux or Coterets (Sp. varies wildly) were various routiers or mercenaries,
the nickname coming from their carrying heavy knives (or short swords). I can
find references back to the 12th century for Brabancon spearmen getting referred
to by this name, but I suspect it was more generic at its inception and referred
to any freebooter with basic kit.

From George Duby "France in the Middle Ages" (trns Juliet Vale)

"Such mercenaries were the drudges of war: they, too, operated in teams'
grouped behind a leader, who negotiated with employers. The vast majority
came from wild and impoverished regions, such as the Pyrenees) or the
borderlands of Flanders or Provence; they were called 'Cottereaux' or
'BrabanEons' after their place of origin. The foot-soldiers in an army
(armed with knives, pikes, billhooks and crossbows) were not unlike
the communal militias which assembled when the alarm was raised; but
perhaps they had more in common with the heavily armed convoys of
longdistance
merchants going to fairs, who were bound together on oath' After
them came the baggage train and camp-followers. They were a permanent
grouping, and continued to roam, pillaging and living off the land, when
they were not receiving wages. A recent arrival in the theatre of war, they
were already quite incapable of leaving it, and spread fear wherever they
went. Defiled by bloodshed, corrupted by money and by the gratification
of their voracious appetities, these sacrilegious ruffians caroused from the
chalices they had stolen from churches. Recruired from the very dregs
of society and frequently illegitimare, they had known only penury and
destitution. These men could not live without prayers and worship, however,
and they had their priests, despite a papal ban. To the rest of the
population these companies seemed like a terrible plague visited on them
by the wrath of God, to be expelled from the land with all possible speed
and might. The Lateran council of l179 called for rheir elimination,
identifying them as heretics. Yet, in practice, a lord rich enough to employ
these companies found it difficult to defend his lands without them. They
were indispensable to anyone who wanted to offer effective opposition to
the enemy, captuie his castles, or simply correct the excessive balance in
favour of mounted knights. In 1163 Louis vII and Frederick Barbarossa
met on the Franco-Imperial frontier and agreed not to employ mercenaries
within the area bounded by Paris, the Rhine and the Alps. But for all his
piety, the king of France was not prepared to forgo the services of paid
soldiers on the exposed western flank of his kingdom."

Hope this helps,

Chris Cameron


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