Tewkesbury Festival and Religious Iconography in the WoRs

A few comments and images from another excellent, hot day at the festival, with many of the reenactors suffering from the heat during the and after the fight. As ever, I found the living history at the camps the real jewel, with plenty of generous and welcoming re-enactors.

There was a real international feel this year with French, German and Belgium groups, as well as the Italian flag throwers.

I was particularly struck by the flag below, the five wounds of Christ, carried by a member of the Paston Household. It is good to see some religious as well as heraldic imagery in use.  More on this is latter posts.

Woodcut from an English blockbook, ca. 1495

Loius XII

Another off-period project, Louis XII, based on Jean Bourdichon’s images from Jean Marot’s “La voyage de Genes” both depicting Louis XII's Genoa Campaign of 1507. Both are great sources for the colours and designs of French gendarme.

 

I’m quite happy with the end result, bar the bees which are rather stick-insect like and I should have removed the raised boss on the front of the horse furniture.

Stuart Mulligan’s Tudor dollies have just arrived so they may become Garde Ecossaise for him. Do read Stuart’s excellent, as ever, blog on how he has crafted and painted these. Alternatively, Louis may get repainted along, to create Flodden set along with the Tudor castings.

28mm Towton figures are next, really.

Tewkesbury Medieval Fayre

Another year, another visit to Tewkesbury, next weekend. For more details see - http://www.tewkesburymedievalfestival.org/

Another diversion – Painting Flats

Here are two flats/zinnfigurens painted as WoRs cavalry – with a nod to Neville colours.

Flats have always fascinated me. There is something exotic about them. They are so Continental European in tradition and subject matter – Peasants War, the Thirty Years’ War and the like. And, the way they are crafted from line drawings which are then transferred and revered carved into two pieces of slate that have to marry for the cast to work. And the way under a real master a near two-dimensional figure works of art, such as these by Bistulfi.

I finally started collecting flats – some painted, some not - , when I was living in Vienna, Here there is a small, arcane but vibrant scene shops opening at odd hours run as much a hobby and clubs as  businesses.  I even managed a painting class at Atelier Harlequin with the master painter of flats, Norbert Heyse. This is one of my favourite pieces by him Henry VIII  – the undulating carpet is amazing. 

I had my first dabble with oils, painting this landsknecht captain , though Heyse managed to achieve more with a few corrective brush strokes than I did the rest of the day. I deliberately left the figure as WIP.

These two cavalry figures, are however a bit more modest in execution, and a bit of an experiment, using acrylics - frowned upon in the flat painting community – and the Wargame Foundry/Dallimore method.  One was undercoated black, the other white and they do have a different finish. I’m happy with the end result, even if they don’t make the cut of Heyse or Bistulfi. If you are interested in knowing more do look at British Flat Figures Society or Michael Taylor’s Art of the Flat Tin Figure.

Livery Coats, Brigandines or Not

Some really interesting research by a Sir John Paston Household member, Alex Kay, on what C15th combatants may have been wearing  - based on intepreting the images in the Beachamp Pageant.


In summary, the Beachamp Pageant images show that coats without no obvious evidence livery badges seem to be the most common upper body clothing, followed by brigandines and "white armour".

From: Kay's "Project 'x' Statistics from the Beachamp Pageant"

Only a small percentage of costumes are clearly identifable as livery coats. Kay argues that this conclusion is worth reflecting on given that the Pageant was produced for the Beachamp family and therefore one would expect to see a high prevalence of Beachamp livery in the images. 

Other written and graphic contemporary evidence points to widespread use of livery coats including significant funding and material obtained for livery coats. Embleton's "Livery clothing, circa 1460-1480" in Dragon No 8, 1985, provides an excellent overview.

Where the balance lies isn't clear, but there is probably scope for re-enactors and wargamers to avoid far too uniformed (in both senses of the word) troop units representation. Handmade cloth production, incluing dyeing plus Kay's research suggests a bit more variety, including more brigandines may be needed.

Malory - Take Two

It was only when I put the images of the figure and his coat of arms together, in the post below, I realised I had only painted half of heraldry. Don't know how that happened.

So some quick rebrushing, and here he is again,
though I'm quite taken by the earlier erroneous one.

Gaming Syria 1941: Wrong Century Wrong Continent Wrong Conclusion

A bit of a diversion from my usual focus but last weekend, I gamed Operation Combat Series' "Reluctant Enemies" with a friend, Uncle Napoleon. 

The game covers the Allied invasion of Lebanon and Syria in 1941 - Operation Exporter. The Allies core aim was to take out the Vichy French airbase at Rayak being used by the Germans to supply a rebellion in Iraq and thus pressing Britain’s oil supplies, and use of the Suez Canal. The campaign took place as Rommel was upping the ante in the Sahara, as well as Greece and Yugoslavia falling to the Axis too.  For an excellent chronology of the campaign see pp 7-14 of "Reluctant Enemies" rules.

General Henri Dentz Commander Of Vichy Troops In Syria

After just about getting my head around the rules and unit markers, we launched into two days of campaigning. I took the Allies - a mix of British, Colonial forces and Free French, Uncle Napoleon the Vichy French defenders with a great array of local levies and some effective heavy artillery, cavalry and even air power. As per the real events, stiff Vichy resistance, using the difficult terrain including plenty of narrow valley routes effectively seriously hampered the Allied advance – as did some unlucky dice.   

After two days, the Allies suffered a crushing defeat – my advance had been far too slow and piecemeal.

Still a good way to waste a weekend in good company.