Hussite War Wagons

War wagons are one of those things I've often wanted but had shied away from for many years. I think I bought the first of these at a show where there wasn't much else I wanted, so I got them just because they were there.

It is possible that the use of this kind of converted wagon first started in Poland and then spread to Bohemia where they were used to great effect in the Hussite Wars. They were then adopted by Hungary and in Germany, with similar types being used in Russia.

Below are some of the wagons I have. The crew is a real mix. There are figures from Donnington, Khurasan, Minifigs, Irregular, QR, Vexillia and Mirliton. The Donnington peasants are particularly useful, with very Bohemian style clothing (15th century - not 1950s Greenwich Village).

Irregular

Some of the wagons have a crew which looks more professional which I use for the later 15th century such as the Hungarians.


These are the two styles of wagon from Irregular Miniatures. The wagon itself is the same in each case - the separately cast side planking is the difference. I think the style of planking is randomly provided.

They also do a wagon of the same style which comes with a small artillery piece.

Irregular

I have more Irregular wagons than any other, with enough to have some shooting to the left and some to the right.

Note the stone thrower - the wagons often had containers filled with stones for bombarding the enemy. Some other wagons have the stone throwing Swiss figures from Khurasan in them.

Alternative Armies

This wagon is from Alternative Armies (until recently sold as 15mm.co.uk and originally by Tabletop Games).

The wagons require more construction than the Irregular pieces. The sides of the actual wagon are separate but come with different options including the open ramp for one side. They come with horses but I decided to do them in a static pose.
It took a while to work out how to get everything together but once it was cleaned up of flash etc. they went together quite smoothly.

Alternative Armies (rear view)

This one has an artillery piece from Minifigs deployed alongside. The gunner is from QR, the shield bearer from Irregular.


 It also comes with a small section to go under the wagon - I haven't put these in as they are difficult to see but perhaps I will get round to it one day.

Minifigs

The Minifigs wagon has a one piece body with separate side hoarding. It is also provided with the under cart protection. It comes with two pairs of horse but I used Irregular horses for all the wagons.
The body of the examples I had from Minifigs needed a bit of tidying up including some filling but nothing too onerous

The comparison picture shows that the three companies go together pretty well. Each of them has its pluses and minuses. The Alternative Armies one, while tricky to put together, is probably the most accurate with its ramp and the suspension poles. It also doesn't have a driver's seat - the driver would probably have ridden one of the horses. However, the modern recreation at the Hussite Museum in Tabor does have a box for the driver to sit on.

I also have some by QR miniatures. These are much smaller though still pretty nice. Each pack has two wagons - one is dug in with its wheels partially buried.

Museum have fairly recently produced a range of war wagons. These look nice, and follow several modern reconstruction. However, I'm not convinced that the modern artists have interpreted the sources well - hinged side panels have become propped up roofs.

There are some very pretty war wagons on various websites, whereas I have gone for the plain wood look. This is based on contemporary pictures such as the Schlact im Walde* and the picture at the head of this blog.

What I will need to do is to add flags to some of the wagons. There are specific designs for different parts of the Hussite army. Since I have rather a lot of wagons, I may add some Hungarian heraldry to a few, as in Győző Somogyi's book on the army of Matthias Corvinus.

There are some clips online from a trilogy of Czech films made in the 1950s covering the Hussite Wars, There is certainly a political dimension to them, but the efforts to get a historical look are laudable. This is a clip of the Battle of Sudomer which has some good shots of war wagons. Note also the teams of unarmed pavise bearer and crossbowman. The music chosen by this editor may not be to everyone's taste :)


Wagner, Drobna and Durdik's book on Medieval Costume, Armour and Weapons has a particular emphasis on the Bohemians and shows several good pictures of wagons. Worth looking at, despite its age.

Much newer are the pair of books on die Heere den Hussiten. The plates aren't as interesting as the same company's book on the Teutonic Knights, so if you are not a German reader then I wouldn't recommend them.




*A wonderful source for the late 15th/early 16th century in Germany. One thing it shows is the wagons moving around the field, but how typical this was and how much is artistic licence is of course debatable. This and two subsequent posts give more details of the battle. A short account by von Berlichingen is here - this confirms that the wagons were attacked while still trying to form a wagenburg.

The Carroccio

Each year, the Society of Ancients organises a day where the same battle is played using a number of different rulesets. Speakers place the battle in its historical context, and there are usually discussions about the available sources and how to portray the battle in miniature.
For 2014, the chosen battle was Montaperti, which fits my existing collection of figures rather nicely.

I put on a DBMM version of this battle which you can read about in Slingshot 296 - the magazine of the Society of Ancients.

One notable feature of the battle is the presence on each side of a carroccio - a wagon carrying a banner.

Even today, many Italian cities feature these in their festivals. 

The Mirliton 15mm Carroccio
(with Black Hat Feudal figures on the same base as escorts)

The carrocci and similar great standards carried on wagons were a feature of many battles, especially in the 11th to 13th centuries.

Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia summarises the origin and some details of these wagons but I thought I would bring together some of the evidence about them.

Frederick II taking the captured Lomabard League carroccio into Cremona.
For the parade, it was drawn by his elephant.

The description of Richard I's standard at Arsuf (1191) sums up much of  the appearance, and both the value and the disadvantages of the wagon standard.

"The Normans defended the standard, which we do not consider it irrelevant here to describe. It was formed of a long beam, like the mast of a ship; made of most solid ceiled work, on four wheels; put together with joints, bound with iron, and to all appearance no sword or axe could cut, or fire injure it. A chosen body of soldiers were generally appointed to guard it, especially in a combat on the plains, lest, by any hostile attack, it should be broken or thrown down; for if it fell by any accident, the army would be dispersed and put into confusion. For they are dismayed when it does not appear, and think that their general must be overcome by faint-heartedness when they do not see his standard flying; for no people have strength to resist the enemy if their chief is in alarm from the fall of his standard; but whilst it remains erect they have a certain refuge. Near it the weak are strengthened; the wounded soldiers, even those of rank and celebrity, who fall in the battle, are carried to it, and it is called “Standard,” from its standing a most compact signal to the army. It is very properly drawn on wheels, for it is advanced when the enemy yields, and drawn back if they press on, according to the state of the battle. It was surrounded by the Normans and English." 

(Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi)

Battle of the Standard - 19th century copy from 'ancient manuscripts' 
Also known as the battle of Northallerton, where an Anglo-Norman army defeated the Scots of David I. It is possible that the standard was used in deliberate imitation of the Italians.

"Some of them soon erected in the centre of a frame which they brought, the mast of a ship to which they gave the name of the Standard.

On the top of this pole they hung a silver pyx containing the Host and the banners of St Peter the apostle, and John of Beverley and Wilfrid of Ripon, confessors and bishops. In so doing their hope was that our Lord Jesus Christ, through the efficacy of his Body, might be their leader in the struggle. They also provided for their men a sure and conspicuous rallying point, by which they might rejoin their comrades in the event of their being cut off."

(Richard of Hexham)

The Emperor Otto's standard at Bouvines (1214)
This seems to be a 'draco' style standard.  Harold II, Henry III and David I are also described as using dragon standards though not carried on carts. See my post for an interpretation.
"Soon after, Otto, already flying his banners as if he wanted to celebrate before the fact the triumph he was so sure of, raises his standard high, surrounds himself with the supreme honors of the empire, so as to make his rays shine in the middle of such a great show and to proclaim himself the sovereign of the whole world. On a chariot, he has a pole raised around which a dragon is curled which can be seen far away from all sides, its tail and wings bloated by the winds, showing its terrifying teeth and opening its enormous mouth. Above the dragon hovers Jupiter's bird with golden wings while the whole of the surface of the chariot, resplendent with gold, rivals the sun and even boasts of shining with a brighter light."

(Phillippiad by William of Breton)

 

Minifigs 15mm Carroccio.

"And to the end the Fiesolans which were come to dwell in Florence might be more faithful and loving with the Florentines, they caused the arms of the said two commonwealths to be borne in common, and made the arms to be dimidiated red and white, as still to our times they are borne upon the Carroccio and in the host of the Florentines. " (G. Villani IV.7)

"In the year of Christ 1228, when M. Andrea of 
Perugia was Podestà of Florence, the Florentines led an army against Pistoia with the Carroccio" 

(G. Villani VI.5)

1241
"And the heads of the Ghibellines in Florence being banished, the people and the Guelfs who remained in the lordship of Florence, changed the arms of the commonwealth of Florence, and whereas of old they bore the field red and the lily white, they now made on the contrary the field white and the lily red; and the Ghibellines retained the former standard, but the ancient standard of the commonwealth dimidiated white and red, to wit, the standard that went with the host upon the carroccio, never was changed." 

(G. Villani VI.43)

Montaperti (1260)
The most extensive sources on the carroccio which I have found have been regarding the battle of Montaperti.

"And note, that the carroccio, which was led by the commonwealth and people of Florence, was a chariot on four wheels, all painted red, and two tall red masts stood up together thereupon, whereon was fastened and waved the great standard of the arms of the commune, which was dimidiated white and red, and still may be seen to-day in S. Giovanni. And it was drawn by a great pair of oxen covered with red cloth, which were set apart solely for this, and belonged to the Hospitallers of Pinti, and he who drove them was a freeman of the commonwealth. This carroccio was used by our forefathers in triumphs and solemnities, and when they went out with the host, the neighbouring

The Florentine martinella and carroccio at Montaperti
Villani's Chronicle (Wikimedia)

counts and knights brought it from the armoury of S. Giovanni and conducted it to the piazza of the Mercato Nuovo, and having halted by a landmark, which is still there, in the form of a stone carved like a chariot, they committed it to the keeping of the people, and it was led by popolani in the expeditions of war, and to guard it were chosen the best and strongest and most virtuous among the foot soldiers of the popolani, and round it gathered all the force of the people. And when the host was to be assembled, a month before the time when they were to set forth, a bell was hung upon the arch of Porte Sante Marie, which was at the head of the Mercato Nuovo, and there was rung by day and by night without ceasing. And this they did in their pride, to give opportunity to the enemy, against whom the host should go forth, to prepare themselves. And some called it Martinella, and some the Asses’ Bell. And when the Florentine host went forth, they took down the bell from the arch and put it into a wooden tower upon a car, and the sound thereof guided the host. By these two pomps of the carroccio and of the bell was maintained the lordly pride of the people of old and of our forefathers in their expeditions."

(G. Villani VI.76)

"Ora, preso il partito per li Fiorentini di uscire a campo, partironsi di Firenze il grande campo; e per pompa e per grandigia e per mettere spavento ai nemici, menarono il carroccio, sopra del quale era una grande an tenna in sulla quale si spiegava 1' arme del comune di Firenze, che allora era bianca e vermiglia" 

(Pisan Chronicle)

"tirato da due grossi palafreni" (drawn by two great steeds)
"Con quest' ultimo Terzo veniva il carroccio , con suvvi il gonfalone reale , eh' era tutto bianco , e  ben dava conforto che pareva il manto della Vergine Maria. " 

(Letter of Aldobrandini)

The white banner of Camiolla is shown on the Sienese carroccio in Ventura's paintings. Note how rustic the wagon is, with solid wheels and possibly wicker sides.


According to the headphone guide provided by the cathedral, the two wooden poles here are the masts (antennae) of the Florentine and Sienese carrocci used at Montaperti. A nineteenth century study says that they are actually votive offerings of Sienese antennae.

This rather unprepossessing
doorway is seemingly
the home of modern Siena's
carroccio. It is right next to the
Piazza del Campo

Other battles where a standard wagon is noted include
Sirmium (1167) - used by the Hungarians
Legnano (1176) - where it formed the heart of the victorious Milanese defence
Bodesine (1213) - details seem confused but a Milanese carroccio said to have been captured here still exists - in part - in Cremona
Cortenuova (1237) - the Milanese carroccio was captured and sent via Cremona to Frederick's allies in Rome.
Kitzingen (1266). A banner of St Killian was carried on a Fahnenwagen by Wurzburg. It is described as 13' 6" by 7' 3" here
Wörringen (1288) - used by the Archbishop of Cologne. His opponents seem to have had their own but captured the Archbishop's and continued to use it in later years.
A 1621 picture of the standard wagon at Wörringen is here. Another, clearer, picture can be found in this modelling guide to making this wagon. The Rymkronyk can be found here. More info on the battle including a model of the wagon here.
Gollheim (1298) - used by the Archbishop of Mainz while fighting on the side of Albrecht von Hapsburg. There is a rather fanciful 18th century depiction here.


Lewes (1264) - De Montfort left his banner with his wagon but this does not seem have been a proper standard in the manner of the others. The wagon had been used to carry him around after he was injured and during the battle seems to have incarcerated some London notables.

Please let me know if you have details of other battles where carrocci are known to have taken part.


Model Carrocci:
Mirliton 15mm or 15mm,  28mm
Minifigs 15mm
Black Hat 15mm
Essex 15mm, 28mm
Hall of Ancient Warriors 15mm (I don't know anything of this one!)
Perry 28mm - also available with just the wagon
First Corps 28mm

Let me know if you are aware of others.

Downloadable banners from Krigsspil

Two Dragons Normans

ANCAV2

I seem to have acquired a Norman army!
I started off buying a few Normans for using alongside some Byzantines and before I knew it I had enough to field a Norman or early Anglo-Norman army - or various others from the same period.

ANCAV12

I bought some 15mm Two Dragons Normans originally because I liked the look of the various scout figures. I thought I'd buy a couple of packs of knights to see how they looked and then ended up getting some more. The scout figures have a lot of character and I will post some pics soon. In the meantime, a couple of people have asked what the knights look like so I thought I would put up some photos. Once they are based I'll do a longer post and put up some comparisons between Two Dragons, Donnington, Essex and Khurasan.



ANCAV08

I like most of the poses of these figures - the energy and variety works well. The shields are fairly thick and this is most noticeable in ANCAV2. However, this is far more noticeable when unpainted and in larger pictures like these.  They are loose in most cases and have a variety of cast detail including the various rivet styles shown on the Bayeux Tapestry. Some have the crosses engraved on which is okay but I'd have preferred them without. Some of the shields may have come with infantry figures as I mixed and matched.


VIKCOM5 Standard Bearer

The figures come with moulded on lances. I normally remove them and replace with steel but in some cases this would have meant damaging the horses, especially where pennons are cast on. The pennons are a bit long but paint up well. The standard bearer from VIKCOM5 is a partner to their William I figure. He comes with a large moulded flag to use if you require. Incidentally, the personality figures for this period have a 'VIK' prefix so to find them in the catalogue go to the Vikings page.

ANCAV4

The range was fairly recently acquired by Caliver and is sold on their Minifigs page. They have just started selling the Dark Age range as individual figures which allows the most to be made of the variety available, especially for DBA players. It is also handy for getting the range of different figures available for the unarmoured scouts - the DBMM list allows up to three of these. I ended up with lots spare as I bought mine just before the individual figures went on sale. They have  gone to a good home though.


ANCAV7

ANCAV7



ANCAV3

ANCAV11

ANCAV11

Hungarians of the 13th Century

A few months back, I decided to have another go at finding some of the heraldry for the Kingdom of Hungary in the 13th century. My lack of any knowledge of Hungarian was a bit of a problem and it seemed that there was precious little available online in English although I did find a few coats in wikipedia.

In Pal Engel's book there were a few references to heraldry which made it clear that it had begun to emerge in the kingdom soon after it appeared in Western Europe. Armed with a few names, I eventually found some information. It turns out that the Hungarian for coat of arms is cimer from the French cimier  meaning crest. The arms belonged to a number of gens (clans - nemzetseg) and I think that various members of the clans would bear the same arms or close variations. Here is a potted history of some of the clans. One reason for this different approach is that society developed very differently in Hungary compared to Western Europe although some aspects of feudalism did appear especially under the Angevins in the 14th century.

The most useful site I found was here. I concentrated on those labelled nemzetseg  as most of the entries are civic. Even without any knowledge of the language it was possible to use dates to narrow down the arms I wanted to use. There was quite a change in the style of arms into the 14th and 15th century, so I tried to make sure I used the arms from this earlier period. I saved these as a word document so that I could refer to it during painting. Even with this site, I have likely made some errors.
Support for some of the arms comes from the Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum of the late 13th century. The author included a discussion of where some of the non-Hungarian familes had originated, many of which were German. In many cases the arms are described.



By the 13th century, there were increasing numbers of people who held land within Croatia and Hungary proper so I have included a few Croatian arms. I did intend to keep them on the same base but messed up! Here is a site with some background to Croat heraldry.

The King. I don't think I found a specific example of both sets of arms being used together, so a bit of poetic licence.
(EDIT - I rememeber now - the Chronica Pictum does show this combination though it may well be anachronistic. See here

Centre figure is OG15s flanked by two Mirliton figures.

Hont-Pazman, Buzad-Hahot, Jak

Keglevic (Croat), Hermann ('Saxon'), Kaplony 




Ratold, Gutkeled (both probably 'Saxon')



Gundulic (Croat), Doroszma, Subic (Croat)





Kacsics, Vaja, Boksa



There are a few alterations to some of the figures. The Vaja figure is a OG15s. It comes with quite a tall helmet which I didn't much like, so this was cut down and changed to form an early form of face mask helm. The same figure was used for Doroszma but this time the entire head was removed and replaced with a Minifigs helmet. The rest of the Minifigs figure was a bit small to fit the style of the other figures but this magnificent crest needed to be put to use. I have a couple of others which are likely to end up being used elsewhere, probably as Poles or the King of Bohemia. The Hermann figure has also had a Minifigs head grafted onto an OG15s body. The shape of the helms makes them ideal candidates for transplants, with enough room to drill a hole and insert a small piece of brass rod to keep the head secure. 

For some background reading, there is a list of sources here . This mainly focuses on the 15th centry, so I would add the chronicle I mentioned earlier and also Hungary in the Thirteenth Century . I managed to look at both of these at my local University library. The latter book has a reasonable amount of military detail including some about the first Mongol invasion.