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TRUMPETER, 12th-13th CENTURIES
An extract from Armies of Feudal Europe 1066-1300by Ian Heath
21. TRUMPETER, 12th-13th CENTURIES
Trumpeters were used in most armies of this era in exactly the same way as is described in Armies of the Middle Ages, volume 1 - ie, to transmit the orders to break camp, to prepare for battle, to commence the attack, to rally, and so on (and in Scandinavia as a signal to go to the boats, to launch them and the like). The trumpet signals - usually a series of one or more blasts were normally used in conjunction with flag movements which indicated the direction of attack as well as giving the order to halt. In addition the flag served as a rallying point (see page 152). The figure depicted here, wearing just a mail corselet for protection, is taken from one of Matthew Paris' mid-13th century mss. Others might be entirely unarmoured.
Other than the army's commander and his marshals, the only man permitted to ride before the banners was another 'musician', the jongleur, who preceded armies going into battle in the earlier part of this period. Of these the best-known is Taillefer, who rode before the Normans at Hastings. Jongleurs were responsible for boosting the army's morale with stirring words and martial songs, juggling with their swords in the face of the enemy. The last reference to a jongleur in a military context dates to c.1100.
[Based on 'King Offa Setting Out on His Expedition' from the Life of Saint Alban by Matthew Paris]
