Even before the emergence of William of Normandy as William the Conqueror, the use of feudal armies began to diminish. This reason for the change in army forces is, for the most part, summed up in one word: Mercenary. Therefore, we must explore this phenomenon in order to trace the roots from feudal army to the armies-for-hire that became the norm throughout conquered, yet not always so-unified England. It was already customary for every able-bodied …showed first 75 words of 2639 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2639 total…spear to unhorse the charging knights, it was the introduction of the staff-weapon, namely the halberd, that caused the influx of bows to counter the growing numbers of infantrymen present on the battlefield, thus sealing the fate of the cavalry-heavy armies were decreasing. In addition to the required readings, more information was found in: Contamine, Philppe. War in the Middle Ages. Malden: Blackwell Publishers Inc., 1986. Beeler, John. Warfare in Feudal Europe 730-1200. Ithaca: Cornell University, 1972.