Demons - real and imagined

I've always had a soft spot for Tim Harford but his reputation has grown furhter in light of him narrating this BBC Cautionary Tale -  Demonizing Dungeons & Dragons  - on ignorance, moral panic, depression and isolation but aslo imagination and the fact he is D&D player too. 

A brilliant series that helps explain and expose bigger issues and flaws.

Northumberland's Retinue and Religous Builidings

 

Here we have, the 3^rd Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy, and bodyguard of MAAs and standard bearer. The figures are all Perry’s, except for the the standard bearer, one of my few remaining Essexes. All straight from the box, awaiting bases.

Percy, who led the right wing of the Lancastrians at Towton, was killed in the battle.

The two figures with coats of arms are:

- Sir Edward Gascoigne, of Parlington, Yorkshire. His heraldry is Argent, on a pale Sable a lucy’s head erect and couped Or.  I’m not sure if there is a nod to his Percy lord’s own use of (three) lucys in his arms. 

And,

- Sir John Pennington, (c.1393-1470) of Muncaster in Cumberland. His arms are, according to Freezewater's list  - Or 5 fusils in fess Azure a label of 5 points Gules. 

Pennington seems to have had a full life, as recorded in The History of Parliament’s blog, in its excellent studies of  those parliamentarians who fought at the Battle of Agincourt.  He came from “one of the richest and most ancient of the gentry families of the north-west”. After fighting at Agincourt, he left the French campaigns in 1422, following Henry V’s death. He was a member of the 1432 Parliament, though this seems to have been a brief career choice. His main focus was local politics of a more muscular and typical kind. He was involved in the Percy’s strong-arm activities in the north.

“In 1443 he took up arms in the Earl of Northumberland’s dispute with John Kemp, archbishop of York, over conflicting spheres of influence in Yorkshire. More significantly, on 23 October 1448 he was one of the leaders of a raiding force into Scotland commanded by the earl’s eldest son, Henry Percy, Lord Poynings, which suffered a defeat, both unexpected and humbling, by the Scots at the river Sark. Later, as the rivalry between the Percys and their great local rivals, the Nevilles, became dangerously intense, he again took up arms. On 10 August 1453 he was singled out by the Crown as a ‘greet sturrer and moever’ of riots in the north and ordered to obey royal commissioners. Two weeks later, entirely unabashed by this royal order, he was in the Percy army which confronted the Nevilles at Heworth Moor near York. Thereafter his fortunes fluctuated with those of the two great rival families, which in turned mirrored those of York and Lancaster as the Nevilles committed themselves to the former and the Percys to the latter.”

The House of Parliament blog says that despite there being little evidence, “it is likely that, despite his advanced years, he was in the Percy retinue at the battles of St. Albans in May 1455, at Wakefield in December 1460 and at Towton in March 1461.” The Battle of Towton and Freezewater lists, possibly circular in their evidence, place him at Towton.

The Parliament blog also says there is a family legend that Pennington hosted Henry VI on his flight from Towton.

“According to a lost monumental inscription in the church of Muncaster, Henry VI came to Muncaster in 1461 and gave Sir John, ‘a brauve workyd Glasse Cuppe’, which, if the family kept it unbroken, would ensure that their affairs thrived, ‘whyche Cuppe is Kalled the lucke of Molcastre’. Unfortunately the inscription was not contemporary and contained clear errors. None the less, there is nothing intrinsically unlikely about the defeated Henry VI having come to Muncaster either after Towton or else after the later Lancastrian defeat at Hexham in 1464.”

The Muncaster Castle website suggests, however, that Henry VI was sheltered by Pennington after Hexham rather than Towton.

Despite his Percy affinity, Sir John was not forfeited at any time. He may have been pardoned in 1462. However, “William, either Sir John’s son or grandson, was among the Lancastrians executed after capture at the battle of Hexham.  Sir John lived long enough for the restoration of the Percy earl in March 1470 but died three months later.”

I’ve also managed to complete two religious structures. The cross is a from a religious pendent. I’ve a few more of these to use.

The chapel started off as a chalet load for a Majorette Saviem, bought on holiday many moons ago. One a bit like this, if only I had realised the price these go for on eBay, I may not have got the saw and glue out.

I miss French toy shops of old, with Majorettes trucks and Starlux plastic soldiers.

Anyway, cribbing an idea from Painterman and John Boadle’s somewhat more impressive examples, it’s a plastic card build around the shell of the chalet, leaving the roof and windows exposed, then a render, a spare box door, and dry brushing and lots of washes until it had the lived-in-look I wanted.

I did make it for my WoRs project, but its hard to find images of medieval British chapels and shrines, Henry – VIII and Cromell – Oliver, put pay to them. Its far easier to find extant ones and images for continental ones. If you haven’t already come across it, the illustrations in the Luzern Chronicles illustrated by Schilling are a great inspiration for virtually anything late-C15th / early-C16th for everyday life items, from churches and castles to target shotting with handguns, glass work, ships, foodstuffs and baggage.

 

 

Summer snapshoot

Some sundry updates,

Lots of digging in our back garden has reaped some archaeological rewards - local Boarstall/Brill ware pottery, from c1350-1450. The Boarstall kilns were less than 10 miles away from our home, and Oxford and it environs were their key market. You can read more about the kilns, which were quite an industrial complex,  here. And thanks to Emma of Trinty Court Pottery for helping identify the pieces.

 

A week in Northumberland bagged a fair few castles with a WoRs – Alnwick, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh –  part of the gatehouse photo’d below. The latter, built in the early C14th, had a lively time in the WoRs. The castle was held by the Percys, and besieged three times, by Edwards IV and Warwick in the early 1460s. Warwick took possession of the castle after Sir Ralph Percy’s death at Hedgeley Moor in 1464. 

During these assaults, it took a pounding by Yorkist artillery. It would have been a tough duty hauling the guns along the sandy and marshy coastal route, deliberately flooded as part of the defences, to the castle.  

 

 

 I also managed to get to Flodden. Possibly one of the easier battlefield landscapes to understand, helped by some excellent interpretation boards. But as ever, that odd dichotomy between a rural idyllic landscape on the day of our visit, and the reality of day. Never sure about the ethics of visiting such sites.

And continuing on the Northumberland theme, there is a stand of Percy and some of his MAAs nearly completed. Hopefully will be done in the next few weeks. 

 

Landsknect block finished

 

The kitbash mix of WG/PG, Perry and War Hammer are finally done.

Clearing the backlog

Finally based about 4 months worth of figures, a mix of projects:

 

Some Duke of Northumberland archers. I fancied a few in different poses, not necessarily losing the arrows, one preparing his stake, two others using their side arms.

 

Two WF Swiss repurposed as Scots

Landsknecht gunners

And a Bad Squiddo undead Landsknecht.

I hope my pace this year will be faster.

Typological life and genealogy of Edward IV

 

Edward Duke of York with Salisbury and Warwick en route to Calais

 I "discovered" some excellent images from the Typological life and genealogy of Edward IV, an English produced illustrated manuscript from c1470, via a History Today article on Kingship during the WoRs.

Its great to see some different contemporaneous images than the ones that are usually used by most books and articles on the WoRs, with some good armour, tents and civilian high-end clothing, as well as the history of Edward's rise to power including the parhelion at Mortimer's Cross, depicted.

Edwards's life with the Parhelion

Edward's geneaolgy, in the former of the Tree of Jess

Rolls Royce Tenders

 This was a quick turnaround and a fun build. A few bits from the spares box and some simple scratch built extras.

I may press gang the vehicle into my Operation Countenance efforts. The Iraqi campaign of '41 certainly had a few remnants of WW1 and 1920s.

And another, this I think looks better but its lledo model and is massive.