In the last generation or so, the affinities of a number of later medieval magnates, among them the dukes of Lancaster and the earls of Pembroke and Warwick, have been studied in some detail and to great effect. These studies, however, relate to only a small proportion of the retinues which flourished in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Research has naturally tended to focus on the few magnates about whose retinues a considerable body of evidence survives, while opportunities to research other lords and their followers have usually been overlooked because of the supposed paucity of material. Yet even in cases where no indentures of retinue, livery rolls or household accounts have come down to us, it is still possible to discover a great deal about such matters as size, composition and inner workings. Charters, correspondence, estate accounts, bishops' registers and, of course, the ever important body of government records, can all be brought together to build up a picture. Only by studying more magnate affinities can generalizations be avoided, and arguments corroborated or dismissed. One retinue which it is possible to reconstruct in a fair degree of detail is that of Thomas of Brotherton, earl of Norfolk (d. 1338).

In its widest sense, the affinity consisted not only of the lord's knights and menat-arms, but also of his household and estate officials and domestic servants. The size of a lord's affinity was an important factor in itself, not only because it provided a strong force in wartime, but because it served as a highly visible affirmation of his status, wealth and social standing in times of peace.