DBA Special: Book IV list 83a Wars of the Roses 1455 to 1485 (1460)

Many thanks for indulging me this little 'late August; flurry of posts ... there are a number of items that have been almost ready post, and relate to the July-August activities that I had had scheduled to clear before the end of the month.

Today we are catching up with the Wars of the Roses ...

 Book IV list 83a Wars of the Roses 1455 to 1485 (1460 battle of Northampton) 15mm

Drawn from my '3 command' Northampton specific collection ...

I x Gen ... 4Bd or 3Kn

 

(a: Yorkist commanders at Northampton)

 

 

(b: Lancastrian commanders at Northampton)

 

There are other Lancastrians you could use - Percy and Beaumont come to mind.

There are a variety of figures here, but for the command elements in particular, I have made much use of the amazing 'Burgundian' range from Mirliton, and some New Age Donnington.

The flags were printed fabric by the late Graham Fordham of Fluttering Flags who was always there with advice on heraldry, liveries and contacts.

 

1 x currours (Cv) border staves (LH) or unreliable levies (7Hd)

 

(improvised cavalry ... figures by Corvus Belli, Irregular and Donnington)
 

 

 

But the core of the DBA army is 8 infantry, 4 longbow and 4 bills/men-at-arms.  Here are some Harringtons and some Fauconbergs.

(4Bw: Figures here from Corvus Belli, Mirliton, Peter Pig, TTG, Essex and Irregular)

 

1 x guns (Art)

 

Although not all battles featured artillery, and some involved so many guns, I'd allocate 2 elements, the basic DBA army requires everyone to have one piece.  They would have been proper wheeled field guns, not obsolete bombards.

(a nice, handy, 15th cent. Field Gun from Peter Pig)

1 x Welsh (3Pk),  Irish (3Ax), men-at-arms (3Kn/4Bd) or mercenary handgunners (Ps)

(an interesting pair of handgunners fron Thistle & Rose: they needed an extra deep base)

CAMP

(15mm Royal tent)

This is actually the King's tent from the Lancastrian camp at Northampton - the Yorkist baggage would have been some way from the battlefield ... but the Lancastrian camp was taken, and the hapless .king captured at his tent.

The model is entirely scratchbuilt from card and tissue.  Graham printed me an extra 'plantagenet' flag to cut up and apply as drapery.

The flags to the flank are Beaumont (left) and Egremont - 'Percy' (right)

EDIFICE

(the archbishop of Canterbury and the Eleanor Cross, Northampton 1460)

No battle of Northampton would be complete without a cross on a hill - from which reliable sources say Thomas Bourchier, the archbishop and Francesco Coppini watched the battle.  It may indeed have been site of the Yorkst HQ.  Coppini excommunicated the Lancastrians before the battle - so it may even have been important.

The model is entirely scratchbuilt from cork, mdf, metal rod and miliput.  I followed the extant original as best I could (although my method and intentions were knowingly impressionistic*)

 

(Phil's Eleanor Cross and the real one)

There are some tweaks in list 83 for Henry Tudor's army at Bosworth, but basically, this army fights other versions of itself. Or you can design your own variant according to a given historical prototype.

* NB it is quite a complex structure *wry smile*