The Soldier in later Medieval England

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Details about 250,000 soldiers who fought in the latter stages of the 100 Years War (1337 – 1453) have been put online: www.medievalsoldier.org The database, which is part of the Medieval Soldier research project, enables family historians to search for soldiers by surname, rank or year of service. It also includes information about soldiers who fought at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

The data has been compiled by researchers at the Universities of Reading and Southampton who have analysed sources such as muster rolls held by the National Archives at Kew. They have been able to build a picture of career progression through what they believe are the origins of England’s first professional army.

Muster Roll database

The online muster roll database currently holds just under 90,000 service records. These are taken from muster rolls housed in The National Archives (TNA) for the years 1369 - 1453. Unfortunately there are no records of the Ramsdale surname or any of its variants between these years in this database. However, the following 30 entries were returned under the surname search “Ram*”:

First Name	Surname	Rank	Captain Name	Commander	Year	Nature of Activity
Richard	Ramell	Man-at-arms	Percy, Thomas, Sir	Percy, Thomas, Sir	1385	Expedition Naval
John	Ramesden	Archer	Marny, William, Sir	Berkeley, Thomas Lord	1404	Keeping of the Sea
Robert	Ramesey	Man-at-arms	Buxhill, Alan de, Sir	Buxhill, Alan de, Sir	1371	Garrison St Sauveur, Normandy
Richard	Ramesey	Archer	Scales, Thomas, Lord		1421	Expedition France
John	Ramesey	Archer	Cornwall, John senior, Sir		1421	Expedition France
Robert	Rameseye	Man-at-arms	Basset of Drayton, Ralph Lord	Lancaster, John of Gaunt, duke of	1373-1374	Expedition France
Robert	Rameseye	Man-at-arms	Buxhill, Alan de, Sir	Buxhill, Alan de, Sir	1370-1371	Garrison St Sauveur, Normandy
John	Ramessey	Archer	Ferrers, Ralph de, Sir	Buckingham, Thomas of Woodstock, earl of	1377-1378	Expedition Naval
John	Ramessey	Archer	Ferrers, Ralph de, Sir	Buckingham, Thomas of Woodstock, earl of	1377-1378	Expedition Naval
Thomas	Ramfyld	Man-at-arms (Esquire)	Devon, Edward de Courtenay, earl of	Arundel, Richard Fitz Alan, earl of	1388	Expedition Naval
Roger	Ramidue	Archer	Norfolk, John Mowbray, Earl of	Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of	1417	Expedition France
John	Ramm	Archer	Chetwynd, Phillip, Sir	Huntingdon, John Holand, Earl of	1439	Standing force, Aquitaine
William	Rammesbed	Archer	Basset of Drayton, Ralph Lord	Lancaster, John of Gaunt, duke of	1373-1374	Expedition France
Thomas	Rammesbed	Archer	March, Edmund, Earl of	Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of	1417	Expedition France
Richard	Rammesey	Man-at-arms	Northumberland, Henry Percy, Earl of	Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of	1417	Expedition France
William	Rampesden	Archer	Saint Amand, Aymer de, senior, Sir		1369-1372	Garrison Southampton/Royal Business/Escort/Expedition Naval
William	Rampston	Archer	Fitz Walter, Walter Lord	Fitz Walter, Walter Lord	1384	Standing force Scotland (West March)
John	Rampston	Archer	Huntingdon, John Holand, Earl of	Henry V	1415	Expedition France
John	Ramsauch	Archer	Radcliff, Thomas de	King Henry IV	1400	Expedition Scotland
Robert	Ramsaue	Archer	Scrope, Stephen le, Sir	Scrope, Stephen le, Sir	1395-1397	Standing force Ireland
Nicholas	Ramsell	Man-at-arms	Camoys, Thomas, Lord	Henry V	1415	Expedition France
John	Ramsey	Archer	Windsor, William de, Sir	Buckingham, Thomas of Woodstock, earl of	1380-1381	Expedition France
John	Ramsey	Archer	Windsor, William de, Sir	Buckingham, Thomas of Woodstock, earl of	1380-1381	Expedition France
Richard	Ramsey	Man-at-arms	Godard, John	Henry V	1415	Expedition France
John	Ramsey	Man-at-arms	Grey, John, Lord, of Codnor	Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of	1417	Expedition France
John	Ramseye	Archer	Neville, William de, Sir	Neville, William de, Sir	1374	Expedition Naval
John	Ramsoye	Man-at-arms	Nottingham, Thomas de Mowbray, earl of	Nottingham, Thomas de Mowbray, earl of	1389-1390	Standing force Scotland (East March)
John	Ramton	Man-at-arms	Berkeley, Thomas Lord	Berkeley, Thomas Lord	1404	Keeping of the Sea
Edmund	Ramynton	Archer	Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of	Henry V	1415	Expedition France
Robert	Ramysbotham	Archer	Hense, Henry, Sir	York, Richard, Duke of	1441	Expedition France

Protection database

The online protection and attorney database currently holds just under 20,000 records. These are taken from the treaty rolls, housed in The National Archives (TNA), for the years 1369 - 1453. This database should be used with care, as unlike the muster roll database a protection or attorney only indicates an intention to serve, rather than actual service. Again, there are no records of the Ramsdale surname or any of its variants between these years in this database. The following 4 entries were returned under the surname search “Ram*”:

First Name	Surname	Captain Name	Commander	Type	Date	Duration	Location	Place	Occupation
John	Ramesey	Buxhill, Alan de	Knolles, Robert, Sir	Protection	13700703	1 year	France (overseas)
Andrew	Ramesey [alias Trigge]	Exeter, John Holand, Duke of		Protection	13990104	1 year	Calais town	London	Fisherman
Nicholas	Ramshull	Camoys, Thomas, Lord		Protection	14150617		to France	Wiltshire
William	Rampston	Beaufort, John, Earl of Somerset		Protection	14400000		to France	Bingham, Nottinghamshire	Rector

Garrison database

The Garrison database is in draft form at present. This is in order to stress test the database, as it contains over 110,000 service records. The records are drawn from mainly French repositories and record service for the English crown, in the occupation of Normandy from 1415 - 1453. The data currently accessible here are accurate, but are not fully complete at the moment. More information about these data and where they are drawn from will be added shortly (August 2009). As with the Muster Roll and Protection databases, there are no records of the Ramsdale surname or any of its variants between these years in this database. The following 56 entries were returned under the surname search “Ram*”:

First Name	De	Surname	Rank	Captain Name	Lieutenant	Field Commander	Nature of Activity	Location	Date
William		Rambolt	Archer				Garrison	Rouen castle	14320816
Richard		Ramiston	Archer mounted	Salvain, John, Sir			Official retinue	Rouen	14241001
Tallifer	de la	Ramonnerie	Man-at-arms	Robessart, John, Sir			Garrison	Caudebec	14231004
Richard		Ramsay	Archer mounted	Harrington, Thomas, Harrington, Richard & Tempest, John			Garrison additional	Pont de l'Arche	14310127
William		Ramper	Archer	Bedford, John, Duke of	Bucton, William, Sir		Garrison	Bayeux	14341102
Taillefer	de la	Ramonnerie	Man-at-arms (Esquire)	Ramonnerie, Taillefer de la			Personal retinue	Touques	14350326
Thomas		Ramesay	Archer mounted	Salvain, John, Sir			Official retinue	Rouen	14290907
Tallifer	de la	Rammoniere	Man-at-arms (Esquire)	Ogard, Andrew, Sir	Rammoniere, Tallifer de la		Garrison	Touques	14370701
Perceival	de la	Rammoniere	Man-at-arms foot	Ogard, Andrew, Sir	Rammoniere, Tallifer de la		Garrison	Touques	14370701
John		Rampel	Archer	Minors, William			Garrison	Tancarville	14390323
Richard		Ramford		Gerard, Thomas			Garrison	Creil	14381027
John		Rames	Archer	Beaufort, Edmund, Earl of Dorset			Garrison	Alencon	14401110
John		Rames	Archer	Stanlawe, Hugh		Talbot, John, Lord	Personal retinue	Field	14410510
William		Ramorel	Man-at-arms	Eyton, Fulkes		Fauconberg, William, Lord	Garrison detachment	Neubourg	14420414
William		Ramorel	Man-at-arms	Eyton, Fulkes		Fauconberg, William, Lord	Garrison detachment	Neubourg	14420519
John	de	Rams	Man-at-arms	Fauconberg, William Lord		Fauconberg, William Lord	Personal retinue in field	Field	14420616
John		Ramgot	Archer	Robessart, John, Sir			Garrison	Carentan	14420630
Stephen		Ramon	Man-at-arms	Surienne, Francois, Sir			Garrison	Galardon	14420628
John		Ramon	Man-at-arms	Surienne, Francois, Sir			Garrison	Galardon	14420628
John		Ramphtom	Archer	Warwick, Richard Beauchamp, earl of			Garrison	Rouen gates	14300203
John		Rameshede	Archer	Hoo, Thomas, Sir			Garrison/official retinue	Mantes/bailli Mantes	14400802
John	de	Rams	Man-at-arms	Fauconberg, William Lord			Garrison/garrison creu	Evreux	14391126
Richard		Ramsey	Archer	Bucton, William, Sir			Garrison	Montereau	14231007
Thomas		Rampston	Man-at-arms (Knight)	Bedford, John, duke of			Garrison detachment in field	Siege of Orleans	14281115
Richard		Ramzey	Archer	Harling, Robert, Sir			Personal retinue		14290207
John		Rambille	Archer	Stanlowe, John			Garrison	Eu	14291001
William		Rameni	Archer	Kingston, Thomas, Sir			Garrison	Falaise	14291215
John		Rampston	Archer	Warwick, Richard Beauchamp, earl of	Curson, Richard		Garrison	Rouen gates	14291218
John		Rampston	Archer	Warwick, Richard Beauchamp, earl of			Garrison	Rouen gates	14300503
John		Ramystone	Archer				Garrison	Rouen gates	14300521
Thomas		Ramesey	Archer mounted	Salvain, John, Sir			Official retinue	Rouen (bailli)	14300531
Thomas		Ramesey	Archer	Harrington, Thomas		Willoughby, Robert Lord, and Beaumont, John Lord	Field	Siege of Louviers?	14310420
Thomas		Ramsey	Archer mounted	Harrington, Thomas		Willoughby, Robert Lord	Field	Siege of Louviers	14310525
Taillefer	de la	Ramonneris	Man-at-arms				Escot	Honfleur-Rouen
John		Rammeston	Archer	Baron, William		Arundel, John Fitz Alan, earl of	Field	Siege of Montfort l'Amaury, Houdan etc	14340303
John		Rampton	Archer						14350620
[illegible]	de	Ramcy [?]	Archer				Personal retinue, additional		14350720
Taillefer	de la	Ramomierie	Man-at-arms	Ogard, Andrew, Sir			Garrison	Touques	14360523
Percival	de la	Ramomierie	Man-at-arms foot	Ogard, Andrew, Sir			Garrison	Touques	14360523
Richard		Rampsey	Man-at-arms	Redford, Henry, Sir			Garrison	Vernon	14360714
John		Rameshede	Archer	Guethin, Richard, Sir			Garrison	Mantes	14370522
Bernard	de	Rambures	Archer	Don, Griffith	Howell, Thomas		Garrison	Neufchatel	14390612
Simkyn		Ramys	Archer	Stanlowe, John			Official retinue	Normandy (treasurer general)	14401108
Symkyn		Rames	Archer	Stanlowe, John		Talbot, John Lord	Official retinue in field	Louviers + Conches	14401219
Nicholas		Rambert	A/M	Scales, Thomas Lord			Garrison	Domfront	14410329
John	de	Rams	Man-at-arms	Fauconberg, William Lord			Personal retinue in field	Pontoise	14410713
John		Rames[…]	Archer	Grey, Ralph, Sir			Garrison	Mantes	14411018
John	de	Rams	Archer	Eu, Count of			No garrison/field	Neuborg	14420415
John	de	Rams	Man-at-arms	Fauconberg, William Lord			No garrison/field	Neuborg	14420519
John		Rameshed	Archer	Hoo, Thomas, Sir			Garrison	Mantes	14430323
John		Ramysheth	Archer	Hoo, Thomas, Sir			Garrison	Mantes	14440618
John	senior	Ramon	Archer	Hoo, Thomas, Sir			Garrison	Mantes	14440618
John	a	Rameford	Man-at-arms	Rainford, Laurence			Field	Regneville	14440330
John		Rameshed	Archer	Hoo, Thomas, Sir			Garrison	Mantes	14460804
John		Ramgot	Archer	Robessart, John, Sir			Garrison	Carentan	14410203
John	de	Rames	Man-at-arms	Fauconberg, William, Lord			Personal retinue	Field	14420610

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