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Wednesday 20 March 2013

Gloucester's retinue - work in progress

Having just announced the Earl himself, it seemed remiss of me not to bring on his boys. I painted three of the featured knights a while back, and published the details then so will not repeat the pics here. But the new boys are shown below, who, together with half a dozen sergeants, form a cavalry unit for Gloucester's battle.

The banners are still on my painting table, awaiting completion, which I hope to achieve in the next few days. Then just the usual varnish, base and texture. Figures are the Fireforge plastic Teutonic Knights and Sergeants except in a couple of cases. Whilst I have enough details to cover knights who were known to be in both Clifford's and De Valence's retinues at Bannockburn, I have as yet been unable to get definitive details on either Gloucester's or Hereford's retinues. Some of the knights in the collection going forwards may not even have been at Bannockburn, or even in Scotland during this period, but I have the heraldic details and I am going to use them!!!

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One of the aforementioned possible/ probable non-Bannockburn knights is Sir John Giffard of Bowers Giffard in Essex. His heraldry features in the Osprey "Scottish and Welsh War"s book.

Fleur-de-lys frustrate the crap out of me and they usually end up looking like Christmas trees. These just look like Vladimir's trident from the Ukrainian football team badge, so that is an improvement in my book.

Sir Hugh de Vere, brother of the Earl of Oxford, from the same source as Giffard (sort of...see below)

This heraldry posed a problem. As depicted in Osprey and other sources, it can  have the red and yellow transposed and even have the mullet on the yellow. I chose to be heraldically correct and have my metals on colours, so the mullet went on the red first quarter, as described in the WRG Armies of Medieval Europe vol 1 for the later Earls of Oxford  - Quarterly gules and or, in the first a mullet argent. The indented border is from the Osprey book.

William Latimer of Corby. This heraldry too survives into the HYW.

And again.

The unit together, showing the various sergeants in the second rank. The figure one from left with the green horse housing is a Black Tree rider on a Fireforge horse, who is due to receive de Monthermer's banner. Hugh de Vere's banner will be presented to the figure with the quartered shield.

A front three quarter shot, showing Marmaduke de Thweng (white), Ralph de Monthermer (yellow) and Robert de Mohaut (Blue), now joined by the rest of Gloucester's gang.

3 comments:

  1. Nice work and even nicer to see you knight force grow. Looking even more impressive all together.

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  2. Fantastic group of figures, that colourful heraldry is one of the reasons why I'll always love the medieval period.

    Regards,
    Matt

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  3. Simply amazing brushwork! Your heraldry is most impressive! Respects, Dean

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