Clifford J. Rogers, "The Military Revolutions of the Hundred Years' War"

Rogers, Clifford J. "The Military Revolutions of the Hundred Years' War." The Journal of Military History. Vol. 57, No. 2 (Apr. 1993). pp. 241-278.

After analyzing the prevailing historical theory that Western Europe became the dominant military power in the world due to the so-called "Military Revolution" between 1500 and 1800, Rogers posits that the Revolution was not a single event, but rather a series of smaller revolutions that culminated in Europe's military superiority. In addition, he places the first of these movements during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), a much earlier date than that set in the popular theory. Rogers dubs this event the "Infantry Revolution," which saw the replacement of aristocratic cavalry with commoner infantry as the decisive force on the battlefield.

In Chaucer's England, this change manifested itself in the development of the longbow, a weapon that for the first time allowed archers to easily pierce the armor of feudal knights. Whereas the medieval battlefield before this time focused on capturing and ransoming rival knights with amazingly few casualties, the innovations set forth by the longbow and similar weapons created vast killing grounds that were indiscriminate of class and rank. Such military might in the hands of commoners was problematic for the old social order. Greater political and social power was given to English commoners in order to placate them, all the while moving the nation (and all of Europe) towards a point when knights would become almost completely obsolete.

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- John Campbell