The two places to begin your search offhand are "The Howard Household Books", which lists armour lent out to men of Howards Household, and the odd weapon - if you can wait for a few months, I'll have part II of my article ready that will cover this. "The Medieval Soldier in the Wars of the Roses", by Boardman would be another place to start - Always look to the primary documentation when you can. I believe boardman lists the Bridgenorth Muster roll, which is a roll compiled to see the heads of households were meeting their obligations regarding the supply of bodies and arms .

You need to look at any primary documentation in it's entire context as well, I've seen the Bridgenorth rolls used to "proove" the existance of Female soldiers in England, due to the 'researchers' ignorance of English custom and law (women are listed as the head of household, due to an absent or dead husband).

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I usually don't send people to Osprey books, but this is a budget-friendly decent starter source and better than most Osprey pubs:

Bartlett; English Longbowman 1330-1515, Osprey Warrior series #11; Reed Consumer Books Ltd., London, 1995

Another bit is an article:
Bartlett, Clive and Embleton, Gerry; The English Archer c.1300-1500 (1&2); Military Illustrated Past & Present; No. 1 & 2; 1986 (I can send you a copy)

And online, there is a lot of material at: http://www.companie-of-st-george.ch/dragons_1.phtml

Use all such "Secondary" material with caution: it's not absolutely right. Find specifically what you want to do, Ask about the details and we'll give you a hand in picking the best material for a good period archer kit.

[ 07-29-2003: Message edited by: Jeff Johnson ]

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If you want to get the Howard Household accounts, you will need to go through the Richard III Society in the UK.
www.richardiii.net

I think you might be able to order it via the R3 Society in the US.
www.r3.org

Cheers,

Jenn

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If you cam make Michelmas, it'd be great. I'd advise you to concentrate on your civilian kit first. I can outfit you with a helmet and archer gear (if you have a medium draw length) or with crossbow at Michaelmas. You can see what archers in the groups use and pick up a lot of help from archers there to help you figure what you want and need for a kit.

Jeff

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Yes, Michelmas and Paston Palooza II are the same event.

Jenn

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