Commission of array
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A commission of array was a commission given by English sovereigns to officers or gentry in a given territory to muster and array the inhabitants and to see them in a condition for war, or to put soldiers of a country in a condition for military service. The term arrayers is used in some ancient English statutes, for an officer who had a commission of array.[citation needed]
History
Commissions of array developed from the ancient obligation of all free men to defend their tribal lands. Commissioners were usually experienced soldiers, appointed by the crown to array able bodied men from each shire. By the time of the Wars of the Roses, conscript levies were less important than troops raised by indenture.[citation needed]
Medieval examples
- A Commission of Array was established in October 1403 by King Henry IV by letters patent to raise an army to resist the Welsh rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr, who had recently captured Newport Castle.[1]
- In October 1473 there was a commission to oust the rebels who had entered St Michael's Mount in Cornwall.[2]
Civil War revival
Although long obsolete by the 17th century, the system was revived by King
Devon
28 Commissioners of Array were appointed in Devon on 19 July 1642, including:[3]
- Henry Bourchier, 5th Earl of Bath[3]
- Edward Chichester, 1st Viscount Chichester[3]
- George Southcote of Sheriff of Devon during the Commonwealth. Father of Thomas Southcote (c. 1622–1664), also of Buckland-Tout-Saints, MP.[5]
- Sir John Acland, 1st Baronet (c. 1591–1647)[6]
See also
- Posse comitatus
References
- ^ Cal. Patent Rolls, Membrane 20, 1403, 7 Oct. Gloucester.
- ^ "Calendar of patent rolls, preserved in the Public Record Office". 1948.
- ^ a b c d Andriette, Eugene A., Devon and Exeter in the Civil War, Newton Abbot, 1971, p.56
- ^ Andriette, p.57
- ^ "SOUTHCOTE, Thomas (c.1622–64), of Buckland Tout Saints, Devon". History of Parliament Online.
- ^ "ACLAND, Sir Hugh, 1st or 5th Bt. (c.1639–1714), of Killerton, Devon". History of Parliament Online.
Bibliography
- 1828 Webster's Dictionary
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "Arrayers". Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al. p. 342.