The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ancient and Medieval Warfare

Peter Connolly, John Gillingham, John Lazenby

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781135936815
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

The Dictionary of Ancient and Medieval Warfare provides a comprehensive guide to the battles and wars, commanders, tactics, formations, fortifications, and weapons of war in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, India, China, and Japan from the beginning of recorded history to the 16th century. More than 3, 000 entries, written by expert military historians, cover all aspects of warfare from the emergence of the earliest walled cities in the Ancient Near East up to and including the period of European discovery of the New World. The Dictionary is unique, the only work to cover 3, 500 years of military history. Expert authors writing in their specialty have created the most comprehensive and accessible reference work ever produced on this subject.

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caballaro villano medieval Spanish ‘peasant knight’ lightly equipped Spanish horseman, recruited from their lands and towns by Christian rulers in need of manpower for the ⇨Reconquista. Caballaros villanos were widely employed in the raiding-style border warfare epitomized by ⇨El Cid.

Caecus, Appius Claudius Roman politician, the most famous member of the Appii Caludii, one of the great patrician families of the Republic. Nicknamed Caecus (‘the Blind’) in old age, his loss of eyesight did not prevent him from winning undying fame by dissuading the Senate from negotiating with Pyrrhus after his victory at Heraclea (see ⇨Heraclea, Battle of) in 280 BC.

Caen castle citadel castle on the river Orne, Calvados, Normandy, overlooking the town. It was built by ⇨William (I) the Conqueror about 1047. Henry I of England built a keep which was destroyed during the French Revolution (1789–99). The remaining walls date from the 12th century, and the Exchequer Hall dates from about 1100. Philip (II) Augustus of France captured Caen while conquering Normandy in 1204; the castle finally fell to France in 1450.

Caen, Siege of (1346) attack on 26 July 1346 on the town of Caen in northern France by ⇨Edward III of England at the beginning of the Crécy campaign and the start of the ⇨Hundred Years’ War. The French defenders were massacred.

Edward landed in the Cotentin peninsula in western Normandy. Caen was garrisoned by about 1,000 French troops, including Genoese crossbowmen. The city was strongly fortified, including a large castle, but the citizens of the undefended suburb of St Jean demanded protection. As a result the French were spread too thinly and the English soldiers, eager for booty, rushed the west gate.

Caen, Siege of (1450) one of the final conflicts of the ⇨Hundred Years’ War between the French and English. The recovery of the town of Caen in northern France was a vital stage in the French reconquest of Normandy from England.

The Duke of Somerset had retired to Caen after the loss of Rouen, as the French advanced through Normandy. The French besieged Caen in June 1450. The efficiency of the ⇨Bureau brothers’ cannons was apparent during three weeks of bombardment: one cannonball crashed into the room where Somerset’s wife and children were sheltering. They were unharmed, but he surrendered on terms.

Caer Caradoc, Battle of popular name for the battle between ⇨Caratacus and Ostorius ⇨Scapula in AD 50, possibly fought in central Wales. After reconnaissance, Scapula allowed his soldiers to attack in a direct assault. His legionaries and auxiliaries faced no serious difficulties, but Caratacus escaped after being defeated.

Caerlaverock castle castle in Scotland, on the north shore of the Solway Firth, near the mouth of the river Nith. Built 1290–91, for 400 years it was the seat of the Maxwells, earls of Nithsdale. Triangular in plan, it is surrounded by an inner moat, earth ramparts, and an outer moat, with a powerful twin-towered gatehouse facing north.

It was captured by Edward I of England in 1300 and held until 1312, then much strengthened in the 15th century.

Caerleon fortress Roman legionary fortress on the bank of the river Usk at Caerleon (Roman Isca), southeast Wales, that guarded southern Wales from the late 1st to late 3rd centuries AD, providing the home for the 2nd Legion (Legio II Augusta). It was founded in AD 75 and was constructed in typical ‘playing card’ shape (rectangular with rounded corners).

Facilities for the soldiers included a large bathhouse built within the fortress and an amphitheatre outside. Though it was designed to house the 5,500 soldiers and officers of the legion, most were often serving on the distant frontier in northern England. By the late 3rd century the legion was finally moved from Caerleon and the site was abandoned.

Caernarvon castle (Welsh Caernarfon) castle in Wales, at the southwestern end of the Menai Strait.

Caernarvon was first fortified by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, who built a woode castle here at the end of the 11th century. By 1115 he had been driven out, when the country was recovered by the Welsh. The present castle was begun in 1283 by Edward I and was habitable by 1292. In 1294 a revolt led by Prince Madog burned the castle, and after settling the revolt Edward extended the defences 1295–1301.

More work was carried out 1304–05 and 1309–27, the principal constructor being James of St George. For many years it was a prison, but in 1404 it was still strong enough to resist a siege by Owain ⇨Glyndwr.

CAESAR, GAIUS JULIES (100–44 BC)

Roman general and dictator, considered Rome’s most successful military commander. He formed with ⇨Pompey the Great and Marcus Licinius ⇨Crassus (the Elder) the First Triumvirate in 60 BC. He conquered Gaul in 58–50 and invaded Britain in 55–54. By leading his army across the river Rubicon into Italy in 49, an act of treason, he provoked a civil war which ended in 45 with the defeat of Pompey and his supporters. He was voted dictator for life, but was assassinated by conspirators on 15 March 44 BC. Caesar was a skilled historian whose Commentarii, recounting his campaigns, has had a major impact on the way military history is written up to the present day.

Caesar’s early career was conventional, in marked contrast with that of his later rival Pompey. He served as a military tribune in Asia, 80–78 BC where he received Rome’s highest decoration, the corona civica, usually awarded for saving a fellow citizen’s life. As governor of Further Spain (equivalent to modern Portugal and much of western, central, and southern Spain), he carried out some highly successful policing actions against the tribes of the area in 61–60 BC. His political alliance with Pompey and Crassus led to a consulship in 59, and in 58 he was given a five-year governorship, extended to ten years in 55, of the provinces of Illyria on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea and both Transalpine and Cisalpine Gaul (corresponding to present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, part of Germany, and the southern Netherlands). During his tenure as governor, Caesar conquered Gallic territory up to the river Rhine, suffering only two reverses in this period: a detachment of 15 cohorts was annihilated in the winter of 54, and his attack on the Gallic fortress-town of Gergovia in 52 which ended in a costly failure. When his governorship ended in 49, Caesar was immensely wealthy and the leader of a highly efficient and fanatically loyal army. Pompey had become his rival after Crassus died at Carrhae in 53 (see ⇨Carrhae, Battle of), and sided with factions in the Senate who wished to prosecute Caesar. Caesar led his army across the river Rubicon to meet Pompey’s army in Italy, provoking a civil war that lasted until 45 BC. Caesar’s brilliance as a general led to his great victories at Pharsalus (see ⇨Pharsalus, Battle of) in 48, Thapsus (see ⇨Thapsus, Battle of) in 46, and in 47 against King Pharnaces II (ruled 63–47 BC) in Asia Minor, a campaign he summarized succinctly as veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered’). His final victory, in 45, over the sons of Pompey at Munda in Spain, ended the war. However, Caesar failed to create a permanent peace and on 15 March 44 was stabbed to death at the foot of Pompey’s statue in the Senate (see Marcus Junius ⇨Brutus, ⇨Cassius).

Caerphilly castle (Welsh Caerffili) castle in Wales, 16 km/10 mi north of Cardiff, built by Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, in 1271. The second-largest castle in Europe, it had an immensely strong system of defence which, although besieged three times, was never overcome by an enemy.

Laid out to a concentric plan, it had a square inner ward with four towers and two combined keeps and gatehouses, surrounded by an outer ward with an eastern gatehouse leading over a bridge to a form of barbican. The outer ward was surrounded by a ditch that expanded to a flooded area to the north and south. This inundation was kept in place by the barrage or barbican structure that protected the entire eastern side of the castle and consisted of a double wall with towers. The western entrance led across a bridge to a hornwork, or advanced defensive position, that also acted as a barbican.

caetra buckler (small round shield) carried by Iberian warriors from about 300 BC to about 100 BC. This distinctive shield, about 30–45 cm/12–18 in across, was used by light troops, and provided the name – caetrati – for javelin troops who used it. Many representations exist in sculpture and painted vases.

Cahir castle castle in Ireland, 23 km/14 mi southeast of the town of Tipperary, Co. Tipperary. Building began in the 13th century on an island in the river Suir. The first construction was a roughly rectangular ward at the north end of the island, with three corner towers and a hall forming the fourth corner, and a two-towered gatehouse in the middle of the south wall.

In the 15th century this structure was converted into a great tower, and a curtain wall was placed around the southern half of the island to form a second ward or bailey. A barbican was also constructed to the west side of the northern ward. In the following century a wall was placed across the northern end of the southern ward so as to form a third ward between the north and south.

Caishi, Battle of (or Ts’ai-shih, 1161) battle in 1161 in which the Song Chinese defeated a Jurchen invasion led by ⇨Wanyen Liang at Caishi on the river Yangtze.

Liang’s army attempted to cross the lower Yangtze into southern China. The Song fleet under Yu Yunwen burned 300 of Liang’s boats and seized a key island in the middle of the river. As Liang prepared for a further attack – ordering the execution of his naval officers if they could not cross within three days – his soldiers, hearing of rebellion at home, murdered him in his tent.

Caishi, Battle of (or Ts’ai-shih, 1356) battle in March 1356 during the Chinese civil wars in which ⇨Zhu Yuanzhang defeated a Yuan river-fleet commanded by the Mongol admiral Manzi Khaya at Caishi on the river Yangtze.

Zhu was expanding from his base at Taiping on the south bank of the Yangtze. The victory enabled him to move on Nanjing.

Caister castle brick and limestone castle in England, 5 km/3 mi north of Great Yarmouth. It was built 1432–35 by Sir John Fastolf almost entirely of locally-made bricks. During the Wars of the Roses (1455–85) it was held by the Yorkist Paston family until it was besieged and taken by the Duke of Norfolk in 1429. The brickwork was considerably damaged by cannon fire.

It took the form of two quadrangles surrounded by water, with access between the inner and outer structures by drawbridge. The principal feature was the 27-m/90-ft-high circular brick tower keep of five stories. This castle is of particular interest because of the extensive records of its building which have survived.

Caizhou, Siege of (or Ts’ai-chou) fall of the last city held by Jin forces during the Mongol campaigns in China (see ⇨China, Mongol campaigns in), to a combined force of Mongols under Tatsir and Song Chinese under Ming Tong, 1233–34.

After the fall of Kaifeng (see ⇨Kaifeng, Siege of), the Jin emperor continued resistance in Caizhou, a small eastern provincial city. In autumn 1233 Mongol troops approached the city but were at first repulsed. Soon afterwards, 20,000 Song troops soined the ssege, attacking across a lake which they drained in order to storm a key tower, while the Mongols attacked from land. When they breached the outer wall the Jin emperor tried to escape, but could not get out of the city. Early in 1234 the besiegers stormed the inner wall; the emperor hanged himself, and the city fell.

Calais, Siege of major siege during the conflict between ⇨Edward III of England and Philip VI of France during the (⇨Hundred Years’ War. From 4 September 1346 to 3 September 1347, Edward besieged the strategically important French port of Calais and finally captured it. Calais remained in English hands for over two centuries as a bridgehead for the ambitions of the English kings in France.

Following his victory over the French at Crecy on 25 August, Edward moved directly to besiege Calais with a force of 10,000–12,000 troops. The English fleet blockaded the port but the first naval victory went to Philip’s Genoese fleet, which captured all 25 of the first English supply ships on 17 September. Gradually the English gained the upper hand, with some 32,000 men serving during the course of the siege. Philip’s relief attempts in October 1346 and May and July 1347 failed and the defenders were abandoned to their fate. They held on for 11 months, famously sending an embassy of six burghers to seek pity from Edward’s queen.

Calatrava la Nueva castle in Spain, now called Calzada de Calatrava, 28 km/17 mi south of Cuidad Real.

Built 1213–16 after Las Navas de Tolosa (see ⇨Las Navas de Tolosa, Battle of) in 1212, it b...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• List of contibutors and editors
• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z
• Select Bibliography