Liticiani-Letavi -Letavii-Letaniae auxiliary skirmishers IV

Auxiliary Javelin 

 Second last unit of my Bretons completed, another simple skirmishers unit.

Figures are gripping beast hand painted shields.

Cheers

Matt

Liticiani-Letavi -Letavii-Letaniae auxiliary spear IV

Liticiani-Letavi -Letavii-Letaniae, Third last uni completed of Breton auxiliaries off the table, 2 more units and two command stands to go and the army will be complete for this year, I have enjoyed this build and would like to add some more pieces in the future.

A mix of Footsore and gripping beast with mixed shields, LBM studios

Cheers

Matt

100 years war Knights/Chevaliers and squires/écuyers I

French Knights and Squires 100YW

For the last 10 years I have been researching  Knights/Chevaliers and Squires/écuyers of the 100 years war, pulling information from all over the place, the last two months since the lockdown I have been pulling this all together specifically for Chevaliers and écuyers of Maine for the eleven local battles within 100klm, plus the 50 odd sieges.

My main focus to start with will be the French army from Baugé to Verneuil, concentrating first on the Chevaliers and écuyers locally, plus adding Bretons and Anjou Armagnac, Scottish, plus the opposing English and Burgundian and Normans, plus mercenary units up to Orleans and the campaign for the recovery of Normandy in the west, . I expect these armies to be more than 400 figures when completed.

I intend to predominately use perry plastics and a number of metals plus resort my old Glory army into late and early.

Wish me luck!

Kicking off with some Perry plastics for Chevaliers and Écuyers who fought at La Brossinière.

Pierre de Montdoucet, écuyer, seigneur de la Greve, et Le chateau Cormier, at Baugé and La Brossinière. 

 Pedro Jordan Pierre de Panhard, écuyer banneret, seigneur de la motte-Juvigne, present at Baugé, La Brossinière and Verneuil. Company commander at La Brossinière.

 Étienne d'Aubert, écuyer, seigneur de Draumerie et de Frétigne. Captain de chateau de Saint-Ouyen. At la Brossinière  in Andre de Locheac company, at Baugé in Guy de Laval company.

 Raoul de Percy, écuyer, seigneur de Soulles, de Courteille. In the company of Beaumont at La Brossinière

 Jean de Trochon, écuyer, seigneur de Valette, et la Fauvellière. At la Brossinière, in the company of Pierre Michel at Vitré.

 Jacque de Mathefelon, Chevalier, seigneur de Mathefelon, chateau Durtal, de Lancheneil, Nuillé-sur-Vicoin. At Baugé, La Brossinière, and Verneuil.

Cheers
Matt

Liticiani-Letavi -Letavii-Letaniae auxiliary spear III

Liticiani-Letavi -Letavii-Letaniae, Breton auxiliaries off the table, 3 more units and two command stands to go and the army will be complete for this year, I have enjoyed this build and would like to add some more pieces in the future.

A mix of Footsore and gripping beast with mixed shields predominantly LBM transfers.

Cheers

Matt

Jean de Vaux, Scottish schiltron

Jean de Vaux, Direlton castle, Scottish noble and retinue. Additions for my Scottish army for the Scots war of independence and rebellions.

28mm a mix of Claymore and Antediluvian Miniatures.

Cheers
Matt

Liticiani-Letavi -Letavii-Letaniae Breton skirmishers III

Liticiani-Letavi -Letavii-Letaniae, skirmishers off the table, 4 more units and two command stands to go and the army will be complete for this year, I have enjoyed this build and would like to add some more pieces in the future.

Gripping beast miniatures hand painted shields

Cheers
Matt

Liticiani-Letavi -Letavii-Letaniae Bretons II

Breton heavy infantry 

The Liticiani-Letavi -Letavii-Letaniae, much conjecture surrounds them as to where the kingdom was located during the dark ages. Mentioned in a number ancient references with the field army of Aetius by Gregory of Tours. Mentioned by Jordannes at Challons with the Roman army of Gaul against the Huns and with Paulus and Riothamus defending Angers against the Goths and Saxons.

A mix of Footsore miniatures and Gripping beast, LBM shield transfers and flag.

Cheers
Matt

Vikings II

Norsemen cometh 

More norsemen off the desk last night to add to the growing raiding party. In our part of Pays de la Loire the vikings main targets were monasteries, linen, leather production and trading centers, they used the tributaries of Mayenne and Sarthe to raid and pillage up to Entrammes and Le Mans. Taking advantage of the continual infighting among the Frankish lords and using Breton alliances to control some of the region for 30 years.

Anjou-Maine Dark age infantry V

Carolingian Frank- Anjou-Maine Infantry V

Carolingian Frank - Anjou-Maine dark age heavy infantry, miniatures are plastic gripping beast, ready to repel the Viking or Breton invaders!

Figures are gripping beast plastics with Victrix plumes, a mix of hand painted, war flag and LBM transfers, with additional dry brushing.

Cheers
Matt

Vikings!!! In the Loire

Vikings, striking terror in the Loire and Brittany!

The first raid in the Carolingian empire was on the monastery of the coast of Nantes in Pays de la Loire (Nuestria) on the Île de Noirmoutier in 799 in the bay of Biscay. The northmen finally departed the Loire and Brittany in 1076. Noirmoutier monastery became the most regularly raided monastery in France and a major base for Viking raids of Neustria and Armorica (Loire, Brittany, Normandy and Aquitaine.)

I have been painting the lovely V& V Vikings on and off for the last two weeks while I prepare our Vikings in the Loire tour information and battlefield Wargame and tour release for 2020.

These figures will be for the skirmish raids that made up most of the fighting locally, as they tended to raid Monasteries, trading centres, salt and Linen production  centres along the Brittany, Pays de  la Loire, Normandy and Aquitaine coasts and up the large rivers and tributaries. Lots more coming this weekend.

Cheers
Matt

Republican Roman Impetus markers

Completed some more markers this week, done them on the side while I was doing some transfers for some dark age figures. Again left over shields from first corps plus some first corps markers which are quite nice helmets shields and swords plus one with a stump. Again markers for impetus.

Cheers
Matt

Liticiani-Letavi -Letavii-letaniae or more Bretons!

Breton light infantry 

Liticiani-Letavi -Letavii-Letaniae, much conjecture surrounds them as to where they were located in Brittany during the dark ages. Mentioned in a number ancient references with the field army of Aetius by Gregory of Tours. Mentioned by Jordannes at Challons with the Roman army of Gaul against the Huns and with Paulus and Riothamus defending Angers against the Goths,   some suggest they were a Saxon German tribe or perhaps even a mainland Welsh tribe.

Personally I follow the thought train that a Celtic Godess is named Letavia and the mentions on name of a Latin region in the Armorican peninsular in a large number of documents refer to the southern region of modern Pays de Loire as Letavi and the recent archeological find at Clisson near Nantes pointed toward an inscription on a partial tile of a military unit building with “Leto”(waiting for the full report though, before fully drawing my bow).

Looking at all of this I have settled that were either Auxilla or old veterans in Armorican peninsular, around Nantes and Angers defending the Breton Marshe under command of Riothamus.

Figures are 28mm Footsore miniatures, I have elected to depict the unit of skirmishers in pure white bleached tunics and shields, and for the following heavy infantry I will do the same. The current pandemic has allowed me to complete another two units which I will roll out over the next few days.

Cheers
Matt

Late Roman Sagittarii Tungri

Late Roman Sagittarii

A unit completed for my late Roman Western army,  ready to fight my Goths, Franks, Huns and other Romans. I will also use them in my Romano Breton army. This unit represents a cohort of a Auxilia Palatina unit the Sagittarii Tungri.

Figures are from the footsore range

Cheers
Matt

Anjou-Maine dark age shieldwall III

Carolingian Franks - Anjou-Maine Infantry III

Another unit of Carolingian Frankish Anjou Maine dark age infantry circa 800 when the Count of Anjou was created up to the Northmen invasions fighting with the Bretons for Maine in the 9th and 10 centuries. 

Figures are Plastic gripping beast with LBM transfers, need to pick up another three boxes to complete the army I think

Cheers
Matt

Auluerci Diablintes tribesmen IX

Another unit off the table the final naked unit, now to complete some more plaid!

Cheers
Matt

Saxon Pirates Dark Age Command

Saxon Pirates

I received these figures already painted as a gift for Christmas and decided to base them as a Saxon command or a generic dark age command, figures are Gripping Beast, mix of hand painted shields and transfers, plus the flag is LBM.

Buried in research at the moment for 100YW armorials for lords and knights of Anjou Maine.

Cheers
Natt