Entry
The Écorcheurs — The bands of unemployed soldiers who plundered the kingdom between the peace of Arras and the compagnies d’ordonnance
The peace of Arras left thousands of men of war without pay, who lived off the land, in France and on its margins, down to the peasant’s shirt — hence their name. Charles VII sent part of them towards Switzerland and Alsace in 1444, and an ordinance, which kept the best in his pay, ended the Écorcherie; the bands that remained turned to brigandage. (Editorial synthesis)
The Écorcheurs began in 1435 (Julian calendar). (source: Encyclopædia Universalis)
The Écorcheurs ended in 1445 (Julian calendar). (source: Larousse)
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