“The outer trappings are not everything. It is necessary to work profitably for the health of your body, And I advise and direct you to exert toil and effort to be swift and in good condition”
Olivier de La Marche, “The Resolute Knight”, 1483
If one were to speak to a random selection of people on any given street about “medieval armour”, many would espouse the commonly held view that medieval “knights” in full plate armour were ungainly, compromised, and immobile in their “suits” of armour. If they fell over, they couldn’t get back on their feet, and they needed cranes and other mechanical devices to mount their horses. This view has over the last 30-40 years been roundly challenged and debunked, with much work done on the practicalities of using armour. Although good armour allows the operator to function with a more or less full degree of function, this ability to use it to its fullest capabilities requires prior preparation and acclimatisation, and a big part of that is the physical capacity (fitness) to function effectively in it.
Modern soldiers train intensively to be successful in their equipment, as its effectiveness is conducive to survival, but little is widely known about what medieval soldiers did to make themselves effective in similar circumstances. Did they train at all? Did they need to?
Sphere of Influence
First off, we need to understand who wore armour, and in what circumstances. This may seem to be really obvious, but there were actually different groups of people who owned and wore armour, for different lengths of time and intensity, and for different purposes. Armour was a weapons system, right? Yes, in the main part, but it was also more. Owning it was a status symbol and an obligation depending on how wealthy you were and what your place in society was. Medieval society was very stratified and controlled, and there were many scenarios where a person may own armour but not use it for its practical intention. They may not even use it themselves but supply it to other people who undertook obligatory service on their behalf.
Take an example of one extreme; In the Suffolk village of Ixworth, near Bury St. Edmunds the Gerard family were on the up. They leased a lucrative brick kiln[1], which in the 15th Century turned a considerable profit. This allowed them to also rent the grandest house in the parish and was the catalyst that permitted them to increase their social status and standing in society. Indicative of this was that John Gerard (senior) was able to equip his son (John, junior) with a fine harness of armour to display at military musters[2]. Owning the armour and being in the position and environment to leverage it are different things, and just because somebody can afford an item doesn’t mean they can use it. It is likely that the Gerard son (John) would have had many commitments and priorities, aside from using his armour (and training to use it) that would preclude him from devoting the necessary time to become functional, let alone fluid, whilst wearing it. Who would have guided him in preparing himself to operate in it? Who could convey the shortcuts and tips (“hacks” in today’s parlance) that make him more effective? Peer networking was vitally important, as was the culture of traditional transmission from generation to generation. It is eminently possible that it was used only on formal musters and kept in a chest at all other times.
At the other end of the spectrum was John Sothyll[3], who was indented to be retained by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (later Richard III of England). Richard was a militaristic noble that enforced the rule of his brother, Edward IV. Richard ensured that his immediate retinue was well equipped and of a sufficient size, at one point ordering 168 complete harnesses (armours) for the men of his household at a staggering cost of several hundred pounds[4]. Richard was also known to have owned an English translation of Vegetius, the Roman text which includes techniques that are the common denominator of many training techniques mentioned in contemporary medieval texts. Household men served in a Noble’s immediate entourage and performed a wide range of tasks from administrative to ceremonial duties. When it was time to fight, they formed the core of his forces, so their duties would have transcended the boundary between peace and war. It was therefore in a magnates’ best interest that they were effective in a combat situation. Added to this there was a culture of chivalric competition whereby the gentry and nobility vied for honour and status amongst themselves (which contributed to their overall “worship”) as well as meeting the expectations of what was expected of the ideal knight. High on the list of desired attributes was martial prowess. This indicates that in this environment the household servant would be in a much stronger position to be able to, and have the appetite for, training to become proficient in harness.
So, we can see that there are a wide-ranging group of men with different views, aspirations and commitments that would have been equipped with armour in the 15th Century, and they could potentially have a very differing degree of conditioning.
The keen
Let’s move away from those who didn’t train in their armour, or who didn’t prepare for using it to those that did. What are the essential requirements for successful training?
Free time – need to be able to focus and commit to a certain amount of preparatory time either as a continuous activity to meet a long-term goal, or as a build up to a specific activity. Either way they would need to be able to not have full time commitments that precluded this, and wealth and status (high) wouldn’t guarantee this. Rich people were busy too
Healthy environment – this would include being well nourished, rested and relatively free from serious health issues
Access to technical guidance or instruction – would need to have the financial capacity to engage a professional to guide them or be immersed in a culture whereby ideas and ideals were freely circulated
Motivation – would need to have the drive and reason to train and prepare for an ordeal such as battle
Where did the training methods come from?
Much was gleaned from the Romans; Vegetius was a Roman author who wrote a popular treatise which covered military matters, “De Re Militari” – “concerning military matters”. This was translated and published many times throughout the medieval period, and we know that Richard III owned a copy (Manuscript 18A.Xii in the Royal Library) and it was widely read. Other methods were based on common sense and experience. Some of the training and applicable feats may well have been idealised and were essentially what was desired in “the perfect knight”, not necessarily what was actually practiced or what armoured warriors were routinely capable of.
What has been left to us from the medieval period?
There have been a number of accounts of training techniques left to us via the nobility of 15th Century Europe. Some in biographical chronicles, some in overtly practical manuals, and some even in allegorical poems. The main high medieval (pre-Renaissance) sources are:
Boucicaut – Marshal of France, early 15th C
Dom Duarte – Portuguese King, first half of the 15th C
Olivier de La Marche – Burgundian chronicler – Second half of the 15th C
Pietro Monte – Spanish courtier, scholar and soldier, late 15th C
Hans Talhoffer – 15th C German fight master
Don Pero Nino - The Castilian Count of Buelna, late 14th/early 15th C
The training
This can be broadly can be split into two parts; exercises that are performed to build strength to assist in performing the desired activities (conditioning), and exercises that showcase and further enhance the ability to function in the desired capacity. The latter are generally recorded as being unusual and worthy of mention, to identify the subject as exemplary.
Strength building exercises
Running
Both Dom Duarte and Boucicaut advocate running, and Pietro Monte mentions it frequently as a sporting pastime, even describing a “unique” technique that must have been interesting to watch for the modern viewer. Boucicaut was said to “go for long runs on foot, to increase his strength and endurance”, whilst Dom Duarte recommends that “The trainee gets fully armed and runs up a slope for a goodly distance as hard as he can”. Olivier de La Marche states in preparation for his upcoming duel with “Lord Accident” that “You must rise in the morning and stop up your nose and mouth, course up and down mountains.” Clearly running is quite a key element of base training.
“Among all practices involving speed, running is especially useful” – Pietro Monte.
Training with weapons in kit
Again Dom Duarte and Boucicaut mention this; Dom Duarte advises training twice daily, with the activity to be performed after the aforementioned running, and Boucicault would
“..train for hours with a battle-axe or a hammer to harden himself to armour and to exercise his arms and hands, so that he could easily raise his arms when fully armed.”
Training twice a day is also recommended in Vegetius.
Training with weighted weapons
This is mentioned in almost all the surviving medieval texts and is also recommended in Vegetius.
Vegetius: “They gave their recruits round shields woven with willows, twice as heavy as those used on real service, and wooden swords double the weight of the common ones. They exercised them with these at the post both morning and afternoon.”
Duarte: “…and when the trainee wants to spar with someone, he gets equipped with arms half again as heavy as those he would actually use on the day of battle.”
Olivier de La Marche: “And you must wear a steel habergeon weighing thirty pounds, reinforce your shoes with lead so that you may be quicker in the armour which you must put on. And you must hold a lead-weighted club, in order to grow more agile.”
Pietro Monte: “To make our sword seem lighter in combat, for some days beforehand we should practice with a much heavier one, and likewise the day before the fight we should use a heavy staff or iron bar, so that our arm, relieved of these heavy things, is content and light with the lighter weapon we give it afterwards.”
Heavy weapons are mentioned in the 13th C Norwegian text “The King’s Mirror”, and although the author doesn’t recommend using specifically overweight weapons, he does advocate training with heavy weapons and in full armour, notably the “heaviest” weapons.
Interestingly, the only author who doesn’t advise using weapons which are heavier than usual is Boucicaut.
Throwing
Again, this is another widely mentioned activity, that aside from the supplementary strength building capabilities has a practical application – sieges! Pietro Monte dedicates a considerable amount of page space to the techniques of throwing not just stones of varying sizes, but also iron bars as well.
Boucicaut would “never tire of competing with the other squires in throwing a lance and other warlike exercises.” and Talhoffer recommends “throwing апd pushing stones”. Of Don Pero Nino, the Castilian Count of Buelna, it was said that “He was a mighty player at bowls and with the disc, as well as at hurling stones. He was also a mighty player with a spar and threw it better than other men”. There are a number of illustrations of these kinds of activities preserved, probably the most famous is from the Housebook of Wolfegg Castle, Germany where an illustration shows physical training techniques – and other activities besides.
Pietro Monte focuses on throwing methods, including techniques such as “How to throw the large stone, called the “esquina” in Spanish”
It is worth remembering that the act of picking a stone or rock up off the ground and raising it up ready to throw is a comprehensive conditioning exercise itself – and it then has to be thrown. Manipulating the object, which is irregular and potentially oddly balanced, enhances periphery strength to provide a functional conditioning activity – many of which are popular with today’s fitness enthusiasts. A 10KG rock is almost certainly more difficult to handle than a 10KG dumbbell, due to the irregularity, off-set centre of balance, and less than optimal grip points.
Jumping
Jumping is not as widespread amongst the authors, with only Pietro Monte and Talhoffer referring to it. Pietro Monte explains in considerable detail the techniques to be used, and it is likely that jumping was a major contributor to being able to vault.
Wrestling
Although wrestling is a martial art in itself, it is often cited as the fundamental activity that underpins all the other martial arts and practical combat skills. Pietro Monte covers it in depth, giving rather unscientific assessments of different nations’ wrestling abilities, and there are also numerous surviving practical manuals, Talhoffer being just one.
Swimming
Mentioned only by Pietro Monte it is nevertheless recorded as an important skill and training tool.
Exercises that showcase ability and enhance performance
These mainly come Boucicault and are used to emphasise his unique ability. They are unusual and are noted and recorded as they are above and beyond what is expected of a trained man at arms / knight. Listed they are:
Climbing between two closely situated walls
Climbing the underside of ladders
Vaulting
Dancing in armour
Performing a somersault in armour (sans helm)
Whether these activities were ever able to be performed and took place is another question, but they were certainly viewed as exceptional at the time.
Lifestyle
Only Pietro Monte mentions anything around lifestyle and diet, recommending that all food sources are taken in moderation, and to split meals into small amounts thereby distributing the daily calorie intake. Other authors mention fasting, but this is more from a religious devotional aspect that for practical reasons. They also recommend avoiding the usual vices and frowned upon practices.
Effectiveness of training
There is an ongoing debate raging within modern fitness circles regarding the effectiveness of using overweighted objects such as weapons. It is interesting to note that many medieval authors advocate this technique, although whether that is through practical effectiveness or because of a tradition of it being incorporated in “standard” works and it being derived from (fashionable) classically translated works is unclear. It is likely that base cardiovascular conditioning such as running would certainly be vital, and as previously mentioned physical manipulation of irregular objects such as rocks and metal bars has benefits aside from the basic physical lift of the object itself, and would encourage a more holistic, functional “whole body” style conditioning that is effective and practical. In fact, many of the techniques have strong roots in a practical application and are likely to have been directly beneficial to the activities that are required of an armoured medieval warrior. The fact that they can be practiced with minimal equipment has echoes down the centuries to recent times when modern solders, perhaps stuck in a remote Afghan patrol base maintain fitness with very rudimentary equipment and utilise bodyweight and functional equipment to affect a successful training regimen.
Summary
Medieval armoured soldiers were not a standardised or homogenous group. By looking at the type of men who owned and wore harness a fair cross section can be obtained of the middle-upper levels of society, and each individual had his reasons, motivation, and capability to condition himself to wearing and being effective in harness. Broadly speaking the men who were under pressure to be able to perform at the sharp end of conflict, and who had the time, guidance, environment, and support were more likely to be driven and able to condition themselves to be effective in harness. This would have resulted in a very disparate range of abilities across the group of men who were fully armoured on any given battlefield, and underlines that there certainly was no standardisation of physical fitness training either required or practiced.
[1] Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History Vol. XL Part 2
[2] Mark Bailey – Medieval Suffolk 1200-1500
[3] Nottingham City Archives, published in “Medieval Soldier”
[4] I am indebted to Dr Tobias Capwell for bringing this item to my attention
Bibliography:
The Medieval Soldier in the Wars of the Roses” - A. Boardman, 1998 ISBN : 0-7509-1465-3
Medieval Suffolk - M. Bailey, 2007 ISBN: 9-7818-4383315-4