Plantagenet Family in 1334:
[I will not include the females]
1. Edward III [1312- ], King of England
2. Edward of Woodstock [1330- ], Crown Prince of England
3. Thomas of Brotherton [1300- ], Uncle of Edward III & Earl of Norfolk
4. Edward of Norfolk [1323- ], Son of Thomas & Main Protagonist
5. John of Kent [1330 - ], Nephew of Thomas, Earl of Kent, Son of Edmund of Woodstock (deceased brother of Thomas)
6. Henry of Lancaster [1281 - ], 1st Cousin once-removed of Edward III, Earl of Lancaster and Leicester, Wealthiest Peer of England & Head of Royal Council
7. Henry of Grosmont [1310 - ], Son of Henry of Lancaster
Currency in Medieval England:
1 Pound (£) = 20 Shillings (s)
1 Shilling (s) = 12 Pence (d, for denarius or the Roman penny)
Extra Information:
-Penny = 1 pence
-Half-penny = ½ pence
-Farthing = ¼ pence
-Groat = 4 pence
-Half-groat = 2 pence
-Leopard = 72 pence
-Noble = 80 pence
-Rose Noble = 120 pence
-Angel = 80 pence
-Shilling = 12 pence
-Pound = 240 pence
-Mark = 160 pence
Estimation of Money:
-Estimates suggest that between £1,500,000 and £2,000,000 was in circulation by 1313.
-By 1331, an average peasant possessed around 6-7 shillings.
-There were around 4 archbishops, 27 earls, 21 bishops & abbots, and around 200 baronies in the 14th century.
-The average baron had an income of a little over £200 a year, with the wealthiest bringing in over £750, and the poorest less than £100.
-Constables of the royal castles were paid by the Crown. In 1287, for example, the fees paid to the protectors of the largest castles like the Tower of London or Chester for their work were £50 and £40 respectively; a much smaller property like Cambridge Castle was only worth a fee of £5.
-A porter would have been paid 4 pence a day, and a watchman, 2 pence. Military personnel received considerably more: a knight cost 2 shillings a day to employ, a sergeant, 7 and a half pence, and a crossbowman, 3 and a half pence
- A noble wishing to endow his castle chapel with an income to support the chaplain and their staff might have needed to provide land worth anywhere between £2 and £25, depending on the location, size of the establishment, and the degree of comfort they expected the clergy to enjoy.
-Before the Black Death, an unskilled laborer would have earned one and a half pence a day; after the epidemic and the consequent reduction in the workforce, this rose to around 3 pence by the 1390s. Craftsmen saw a similar increase over this time, from 3 pence a day to 5 pence.
-Only the wealthiest top-third of the barons could have afforded to construct castles, along with some of the major landowning knights under the great barons – and, of course, the King himself.
-In the late 12th century, a simple stone castle would cost at least around £400 to build – around twice the yearly income of a typical baron. Around this time, the Crown was spending very large amounts on a handful of key castles.
-Henry II spent £1,413 on constructing Orford Castle between 1165 and 1173, for example, while £8,248 and £4,019 was spent by Henry and his heirs on developing Dover Castle and the Tower of London.
-A century later, King Edward I's construction work in the newly conquered North Wales proved particularly expensive. Between 1282 and 1304, the total cost of his castle building came to at least £80,000, almost six times Edward's annual income.
-Caernarfon's and Conwy's castles and town walls, for example, each came to around £15,500 to construct, while Harlech Castle cost £8,190 to erect. Such works would have been well beyond the income of any but the wealthiest baron.
Medieval Army:
-Consisted of Knights, Men-at-Arms, Crossbowmen, Archers, Spearmen.
-A lord (and this included kings) would dole out parcels of land to his followers, in the expectation that they would provide military service when called upon to do so.
-In the Middle Ages, mercenaries were good supplemental troops. They were good fighters, brought their own weapons, and could be called up quickly. They had no local loyalties and would fight as long as they were paid.
-Mercenaries were organized into "free companies". These companies were led by CEO-like captains who managed profit and loss.
-Mercenaries were not just used during times of war. Many medieval lords would hire mercenaries to act as their professional soldiers instead of having to pay for the equipment and training of their own soldiers.
-An average baron could muster around 100 troops in peacetimes and 500(including unskilled peasants) during wartimes.
-An earl could muster up to 500 during peace and around 2,000 at war(including unskilled peasants).
-A King can gather around 10,000 to 20,000 men during war.
Succession:
-During the Middle Ages, succession was based on primogeniture, a system of inheritance where all property was passed down to the firstborn son. The oldest son of the Lord of the Manor would become the Lord upon his father's death. The oldest son of a king would gain the crown.
-If there were no sons, the daughters would inherit ahead of more distant male relatives. If a king died without issue, he would be succeeded by his brother or the brother's son. If the king had no siblings, then his cousins would succeed him.
-In medieval Europe, younger sons of nobility were often kept around as a "spare" in case the heir died. They were usually not as knowledgeable about administration and were more likely to be warriors.
-Younger sons of nobility often sought careers in the: Church, Military service, Government.
-In medieval England, the traditional rule was:
First son inherits
Second son becomes a soldier
Third son goes into the priesthood
-Some younger sons stayed around their family estates and acted as: Stewards, Retainer, Administrators, Seneschals.
-This was not seen as dishonorable, but more like a man performing his duty.