Medieval Welsh

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Historical Overview Section

Post-Roman Britain saw Wales take on a separate identity beyond the borders of England, as a series of semi-independant kingdoms eventually united under Owain Gwynedd (1100-1170) - the first Welsh ruler to use the title princeps Wallensium (prince of the Welsh). This independance was shattered by Edward I's late C13 invasion, leading to the construction of the great stone castles of Beaumaris, Caernarfon, and Conwy to control the principality and overshadow the Welsh royal home and headquarters Garth Celyn, Aber Garth Celyn, on the north coast of Gwynedd.

There was no major uprising except that led by Owain GlyndÅµr a century later, against Henry IV of England. In 1404 Owain was reputedly crowned Prince of Wales in the presence of emissaries from France, Spain and Scotland; he went on to hold parliamentary assemblies at several Welsh towns, including Machynlleth. The rebellion was ultimately to founder, however, and Owain went into hiding in 1412, with peace being more or less restored in Wales by 1415.

Allied Contingents

French, Medieval : 1405 Storm of Arrows 34 4-8 Knights and 4-6 XB keeps this nice and focused

Using the army in FoG

Longbows without Swordsman capability, and MF Spearmen. Its a bit risky...
Needs rough terrain, and lots of it to thrive. This may entail the IC and 12+ LH being chosen.
The knights aren't worth having, and the lancer cavalry are undrilled so are a liability waiting to happen. Back to plan A - longbows and spears in Rough Going then...

Useful Links

User-contributed links about this army:

Welsh DBA Figure Gallery for this army - from Fanaticus
Owain GlyndÅµr on Wikipedia a Welsh ruler and the last native Welsh person to hold the title Prince of Wales. He instigated an ultimately unsuccessful but long-running revolt against English rule of Wales
Biography on 100 Welsh Heroes
put the link text readers will see in here write some more detail about the link here

Painting and collecting the army

Owain's army was essentuially that of a marcher lord with plenty of hangers on. The better troops would look much like any other English army of the time. The spearmen on the other hand were very much less formally equipped.
Owain's personal arms were quartered, with lion rampant (facing left) red on gold top left and bottom right, gold on red top right and bottom left.

15mm Manufacturers supplying figures suitable for Late Medieval Armies

You can see some of the figures in the Ancients Photo Gallery also on this site

Essex Miniatures - vast range of generic medieval figures
Donnington C15 Europe Range, 36-strong WOTR range, & new 100YW range launched 2009
Museum Miniatures 100YW & WOTR ranges with nice generic mounted and dismounted knights
Gladiator Miniatures by Fighting 15's (Previously Black Hat) 40+ Medievals, 18 WOTR, plus Feudal/Crusade ranges
Corvus Belli 30 or so figures in a well-regarded 100YW range
Old Glory 15's, limited number of medieval figures in their Rank & File range
Minifigs 2 large and separate 100YW Crecy & Agincourt ranges, plus large WOTR selection
Irregular Miniatures 60 medievals in a range spanning East/West Europe from Late Feudal to C15
Lancashire Games Around 30 generic & English medievals
QRF Models A dedicated Welsh range can provide most of the infantry and bowmen. You would need to visit the MK (medieval) or WOTR figure codes for later cavalry types.
Tin Soldier 40 C14 & C15 medievals, including Swiss and equipment
Battle Line Miniatures (NZ) 60 generic Medievals, some noted for WOTR
Vexilia Extensive Mirliton & Venexia Italian/Burgundian Wars ranges for C15 armies
Isarus - sold by 15mm.co.uk 70 codes in their C11-C15 Medus ranges
AlainTouller Figurines A dedicated Spanish/Almughavar late medieval range
Gallia 21 Late Medievals (a little small)
Lo Hobbi.t.Studio - Welsh Range

Army Lists

Sample army lists for this army

Name of Army / Date
1x IC
2x TC
1x ally TC
1x LF spearmen 8 stands
1x LF spearmen 6 stands
1x LF LB 8 stands
1x Arm Cav 4 stands
2x Prot LH 4 stands each
2x MF spear 10 stands each
1x MF spear 6 stands
1x MF well equiped LB 8 stands
1x French men at arms 6 stands
1x French xbow 4 stands

Remember to leave a line before you copy the above section as a template for your own list