(WIP) "Ung bon coustilleur" - The Arming and Role of the Coustillier
There's not a whole lot on the coustillier, both online and in modern sources, especially in English, so I will attempt to shed some light them. I have translated quite a few sources for this, so enjoy!
The Coustillier
First, it is important to know who the coustillier is: he was the armed valet of the man at arms, and as such formed part of the lance fournie, that is, the 'furnished lance'. This is the man at arms and his entourage; the "lance" is the man at arms, and by extension, it is his crew. Although it changes between peoples, and changes over time, for the men of the Grande Ordonnances in the 15th century, this "lance" was the man at arms, a coustillier, a page for them, and two archers and a valet for them both; all were mounted. This was outlined in the 1445 Luppe le Chastel ordinance of Charles VII:
"... that is to say each man at arms [shall have] a coustillier, a page and three horses, and two archers, a page or a valet de guerre and three horses..."
- Ordonnance de Charles VII, 1445, Translation by Me
The Burgundian ordinance companies were similar (and almost certainly were formed on the French model), but different in both the lance and the purpose the lance. For the French, the ordinance companies (in the 15th century) were not intended to consist of the full army (or if they were, it was only for nine years); for in 1448, the francs archiers would be formed; they provided the foot archers (although the mounted archers fought on foot as well), and later (perhaps in 1468), they would provide vougiers and footmen with long lances. But the lance of the Burgundian ducal ordinance companies of Charles le Téméraire (at least from 1471 onwards) consisted of the man at arms, a coustillier, a valet, three mounted archers, a pikeman, a handgunner, and a foot archer. This valet serves both the man at arms and the archers (or at least maintains their horses for them to dismount), unlike in the royal companies.
For both the French and Burgundian lances, only the page and coustillier were paid with the man at arms; the archers and footmen were paid directly (unless they were "subjects" or "servants", but these are additional to the two or three archers; however, the Burgundian ordinances make no distinction between the 'free archers' (not to be confused with the francs archiers) and the 'subject' or 'servant archers', so these may have been paid directly as well).
But the coustillier is paid alongside the page through the man at arms. They are a servant of the man at arms first; they support him and their horse serves as a remount should the man at arms' horse fall. But he was also armed, and was and should be considered a combatant.
The Arming of the French Coustillier
"Item, they furthermore use another manner of men armed only with haubergons, sallet, gauntlets and leg harness; who willingly carry in their hand a fashion of dart which has a large head [fer], which they call langue de boeuf, and they call these [men] coustilleux."
- Pseudo-Cordebeuf, Icy apres sensuit la façon comment les gens de guerre du royaulme de France, ~1446, Translation by Me
This is the earliest description of the coustilliers d'ordonnance that I have found. Note how they wear "only" haubergons.
"Item, the said coustilleux willingly carry Catalonian leaves [fueilles de Catheloigne] a little long and narrow, and [these] are a little stiff, and daggers the same."
"That is to say, he caused to place all his people of arms [gens darmes] and of shot [de traict] in good and sure habiliments; the men at arms mounted with three horses each, for him, his page and his valet; each [man at arms] armed with cuirasses, leg harnesses, sallets and swords, all garnished with silver, and lances, which the pages carried for each. The said valet was armed with sallet, brigandines, jacks, or haubergon and axe or guisarme. And each of the said men at arms [had] for a lance, two mounted archers..."
These are likewise coustilliers of the Grande Ordonnances, and note here how they carry an "axe or guisarme"!
"... furnished lances, that is to say each man at arms well mounted on three good horses, [and] that they have a good costelleur dressed in jacks or brigandines and sallet and with a javelin..."
- Commission donnée par Charles VII à Théaulde de Valpergue, 1453, Translation by Me
"Javelin" here (and the late medieval context as a whole) means a "light lance".
"... & it is understood in this manner: that each man at arms has two horses for his person, good & sufficient for to be able to work upon; & his coustilleur well and sufficiently mounted, as to what pertains to a coustilleur, with a horse upon which he can perform his duty; & also that the man at arms be armed as it pertains to [him], & his coustilleur be armed with corselet, small guardbraces, small gauntlets, sallet & gorget, espee de passot & glaviot."
- Ordonnance de Charles VII, 1454, Translation by Me
This ordinance is for the royal arriere ban, the levy of the rear fiefs, or the vassals of vassals (similar to how the fyrd simply applies the gesith all the way down the chain).
"... and make that each gendarme has a good coustilleur armed with brigandine and sallet and a demilance, for half of the gensdarmes of today don't have any that have value, and in times passed they contrarily [autrement] took care there, for they serve greatly next to the man at arms and are among the number of the ordonnances..."
- Robert de Balsac, , ~1492, Translation by Me
The Arming of the Breton Coustillier
I have not found many references to their arming, but it will help start to form an idea of the coustillier of the French-world (at least French military-wise).
"And those with eight hundred to a thousand livres of revenue [rente], will be similarly in the habiliments of men at arms, well mounted & will have two archers with brigandines, sallets, bows, & sheaves, jusarmes, & a gros vallet in brigandine."
- Ordonnance de François II, 1467, Translation by Me
This "gros vallet" was the older term for the armed valet.
"And those who will be with javelin, will pass as Coustilliers under the lance of a man at arms; [they] will be paid per month 3 Reaux."
The Arming of the Burgundian Coustillier
"Item, that the man at arms counted for pay will have three horses, and there will be an armed coustillier, furnished with javelin."
"Item, two coustilliers will be counted for pay in case that they are each mounted with a horse which are valued twenty florins d'or per piece, sufficiently armed and furnished with javelins."
- Idem, 1468, Translation by Me
"The coustillier of the man at arms will be armed in front with white plackart with arrest and the rear will be of brigandine, and if he cannot acquire the said habiliment [he should] provide himself with white corselet with arrest; and if he can only find brigandines, he should for the first muster be furnished with a plackart over [the brigandine] with arrest; and one of the three habiliments will be sufficient for the said coustillier. His headwear will be a good sallet and a gorget or houscout, [&] will have small guardbrace, vambrace, gauntlets or mittens depending on the body-habiliments that he will be able to find; and [he] will have also a good javelin in the fashion of a demi lance, which will have handle and arrest de lance, with a good sword of medium length that is of thrust and of cut [d'estoc et de taille] to aid oneself with one hand, and a good dagger with two edges with a blade of one foot [in length]."
"... the which coustillier shall be dressed in brigandine or in corselet split at the side in the German fashion, gorget, sallet, flanchards, faulds or braies of steel: with vambrace with small guards and gauntlets, javelins with light arrest and the stiffest that he can find for to couch as needed, and [he] shall be furnished with a good sword and a long dagger [that is] sharp on both sides."
"... the which coustillier shall be dressed in brigandine or in corselet split at the sides in the German manner, gorget, sallet, flanchards, faulds or braies of steel, with vambrace with small guards and gauntlets, javelin with light arrest and the stiffest that he can find for to couch as needed; and [he] shall be furnished with a good sword and a long dagger [that is] sharp on both sides."
"... and his costiller armed with sallet, brigandine, corselet or crest du dos; and those who are levied [tauxez] for [to be] mounted combatants, also one or more armed in the manner of a costiller, furnished with demilance or cranequin..."
- Ordonnance pour les fiefvés et arrière-fiefvés de Charles le Téméraire, 1475, Translation by Me
The Role of the Coustillier
[I still need to translate and find some things, but I will post what I have right now; once I get around to updating this post, the bottom of the post will say what I added.]
"Item, people of shot [gens de trait], coustilliers, nor others will carry any loads [bagues] except such that belong to their person."
And reconfirmed in 1473:
"Also accompanying their said ensigns will be the coustilliers, who from henceforth will not be able to carry the baskets of their masters upon the third horse or cart or the said third horse will be hindered, under the pain of confiscation [of] the said horse for the profit of the one who accuses him and finds him doing the contrary, and also to fine him arbitrarily in regards to the conductier, given that for to carry their loads [bagues] my lord has ordered them to raise three francs per month for a fourth horse."
And here it is explicitly forbidden to have the coustillier carry loads so that the horse of the coustillier (the "third" horse) will not be hindered. We can view two things from this: some men at arms had their coustilliers carry their stuff (hence the reconfirmation), and that the horse of the coustillier was to be kept as fresh as possible (or at least as possible it would be to have an armored man riding it). Surely, he was seen as a servant to the man at arms, unlike the archers.
"At the left side of the said pietons, in the same order as they are, you must have your gents de traict [lit. people of shot] in four files [en quatre de front], all along your aforesaid pietons, up to the last [iusques aux derniers]: & if they were more than four in width, it would not be good: for the pikes which are at the sides for to sustain [the gents de traict], would not be long enough for to sustain them against the shock [choc] of their enemies. And at the right side of your said pietons, you must have your riders [chevaucheurs]: that is to say twenty men at arms in front, & always twenty by twenty [ie, successive groups of twenty] or more, depending on the number of that you have, that [they] advance [with] each other, & behind them [should be] all the coustelliers, other gents de defence, whom are not men at arms: & you must retain still a number of men at arms whom you will place two by two [ie, groups of two], who themselves will join at the outside of the last twenty men at arms, & always the one after the other, who will cover the side of these demilances & coustelliers who will be after the men at arms: & the other side will be covered by their pietons.
This said order of riders [chevaucheurs] must march joining the pietons at the right side of them, & they must not place themselves to advance further than the first rank of the pietons: but the first rank of the men at arms must not be more advanced or hardly [more] than the host of the ensigns of the said pietons. And they must not place [themselves] to give [battle] sooner outside than the pietons. & yet they are [to be] put so behind, as to have as much distance [course] as there is from where they are, up to the first rank of their pietons, [and] there [is] where they should encounter, at the same time [quand & quand], and not sooner than one another. And the mounted gents de traict, you should place behind your artillery: & if the said artillery was placed in two bands, you should place the said gents de traict to the right hand: & that which I say, this order placed behind the whole square [carroy], is not without reason."
- Philippe de Cleves, Instruction de toutes manieres de Guerroyer tant par terre que par mer, 1516, Translation by Me
Here, de Cleves has the coustilliers charging behind their men at arms.
Please check back every now and then to see if the final part of this post is updated! I know of quite a few more sources, but I just haven't gotten around to them. I thought it better to get it out there (lest I would never finish it), so mea culpa!
- William
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