The military retinues that formed the Plantagenet armies during the first phase of the Hundred Years War (1337–60) were raised during a period of transition in terms of the methods of recruitment used and the means by which they were administered. The focus of this article is a document that illustrates the difficulties of determining the payment due to soldiers of various ranks in the earlier part of the war and other variants of military organization such as duration of service, shipping and travel to points of muster, amongst other things, for service on an expedition not led by the king in person and more specifically, when the royal wardrobe was not present. The logistics involved in raising a force of any size brought about the system of indentures of service which had fully matured by the middle of the century; the extent of its advantages is reflected by the success of the English government in sending multiple armies simultaneously to the Continent to wage the extraordinarily effective multi-front warfare that compelled the French to accept the crippling Treaty of Brétigny in 1360.

The document that will be transcribed, translated, and analyzed below is a set of particulars of account produced in connection with the service of Sir James Audley of Heighley's contingent in the army Henry of Grosmont, earl of Derby, led to Gascony in 1345. This document shows the advantages of a fully contract army, and also illustrates a stage in the profound changes in the recruitment, structure, and general character of Edwardian armies. There are problems with the distinguishing of James Audley from his homonyms, and in particular from his relative Sir James Audley, KG, hero of Poitiers. Lord Audley can be clearly identified in the sources of this period when he is called either “banneret” or “Lord of Heighley,” otherwise some ambiguity must remain. His father's marriage to the dowager countess of Lincoln cemented existing ties between the house of Audley and the Lancaster affinity. Sir James's political and social influence and military standing largely derived from his inheritances, which combined the major baronies of Audley and Martin: he was a parliamentary baron as well as being a ward and son-in-law of Roger Mortimer, earl of March.