The Anglo-Saxon military organization came to be known as the fyrd.

Service in the
fyrd was directly linked to an individual's landholding status. It is believed today that
the fyrd was divided into two groups. The "select fyrd" consisted of the kings personal
bodyguards, and his thegns and their immediate retinue. The select fyrd would have
been well equipped. The thegns would have had mail shirt, a helm, round shield,
sword/axe and spear. They would have rode to battle on horses and dismounted to fight.
Their retainers (ceorls mostly) would have at least possessed a shield, spear and the
characteristic scramaseax, or long knife. A very few may have been archers/slingers.
The "greater fyrd" was a general calling out of the population to arms to meet a serious
threat. The better equipped would have a small shield, spear and scramaseax. Most may
have only had a spear, club or agricultural implements. The Anglo-Saxons did not field
a regular mounted arm. They fought on foot as a rule.
The tactics of the fyrd were not particularly imaginative or flexible. The army would
form up into a line, the better-equipped warriors in the front, with their shields forming
a wall. The warriors forming this shield wall (schildburh in old Saxon) would attempt to
maintain cohesion while in battle. When fighting another shield wall formation the
battle would turn into a shoving match until one side lost cohesion. The majority of
casualties were inflicted during this stage of the battle. Once this happened the defeated
force would retreat with the victors in pursuit.
The fyrd system performed pretty well against Celtic invaders and the limited wars
between the kingdoms, however, a new threat sorely tested the system. In 793 AD the
Norseman (Danes, Norwegians) raided the island monastery at Lindisfarne. This began
over a century of warfare that plagued the entire British Isles (Celt and Anglo-Saxon
alike). The Norse used their swift longships to perform lightning fast raids along the
coasts and up rivers. Once on land they would "liberate" horses and continue wreaking
havoc further inland. They were masters of surprise and only rarely were they caught
and defeated by the fyrd. The Danes launched a full-scale invasion in 865 AD and
occupied much of eastern England (known as Danelaw). The Anglo-Saxons were on the
defensive during this time. King Alfred of Wessex had success against the Danes and by
1014 AD (this army's close date) there was one king of Anglo-Saxon-Danish England.

Enemies
II/68b Picts, 81d Sub-Roman Britons, III/19a Welsh, III/24 themselves, III/40ab
Vikings and III/45a Pre-Feudal Scots.

Army Composition
III/24a 607AD700AD - The a list army represents the period of
transition from invader to settler.
1 x 4Wb (Gen)

The chieftain and his personal bodyguards or

hird-men. Well-equipped warriors relying on the
shock of the charge.

1 x 4Wb

Additional hird-men charging forward to break

the enemy.

6 x 4Sp

The spear-armed fyrd warriors formed up in a

shield wall.

2 x 4Sp or 7Hd

More spear-armed warriors or the lesser-armed

bondsmen used to fill out the ranks.

1 x 2Ps

Archers (probably shooting from within the

shield wall ranks) or Scouts.

The war band would be the most likely option.

The Anglo-Saxons did not field mounted troops
1 x 3Cv or 4Wb as a rule, although the Saxons of Mercia did
employ vassal Wreocensaete and Magonsaete
(Celtic-British) cavalry.
III/24b 701AD-1014AD. The b list represents the period of the
established Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of East Anglia, Sussex,
Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria, ruled by such kings as Offa,
Alfred the Great, Athelstan and Ethelred the Unready.
1 x 4Sp (Gen)

The select fyrd and personal bodyguard of the

general. These would represent the best-equipped
warriors of the fyrd.

8 x 4Sp

The select fyrd. Spear-armed warriors holding the

shield wall.

2 x 4Sp or 7Hd

The spear represents the select fyrd and the

hordes represent the greater fyrd.

1 x 2Ps

Archers (probably shooting from within the

shield wall ranks) or scouts.

Army Composition
The armies of al-Andalus varied greatly in composition and make up throughout the
Reconquista, but Jinettes, light skirmishing, javelin armed horse warriors were always a
main stay. Even the more heavily armoured nobility used this tactic primarily.
As the Reconquista progressed, the Andalusians adopted more and more the European
style of fighting. Their Jinettes began to abandon the javelin for spears used for
throwing and jabbing. Furthermore, eventually the Andalusians fielded their own
knights toward the end. They also employed knights from the Christian realms that
surrounded them as well.
With the varied cavalry elements, a modeller has great opportunity to field many
different types of figures. Light horse units could be made up of Andalusians, Berber, or
Christian riders. They would be lightly armed and typically used javelins, however bow
armed horse troops were also known. The cavalry elements could be more heavily
armoured Jinettes, using the same javelin dominated tactics. They could also be

represented by spear armed troops as well. Again, Andalusian, Berber, and Christian
figures could be used here as well because of the common use of mercenaries.
The foot troops of the early Andalusian armies were primarily skirmishers using slings
or javelin. Slingers were very prominent, but bow-armed skirmishing foot troops were
not uncommon. Skirmishing troops could be Andalusian, Berber, Christians, or even
Slav slaves brought in from Eastern Europe working off their slavery as well. As time
progressed, the crossbow was adopted. In an Andalusian army, crossbow-armed troops
acted as skirmishers, so for later armies, crossbowmen could be included on psiloi
elements.
As the Reconquista progressed, the Andalusians adopted spear armed units more and
more. Often these spear armed units would be mercenaries from Berber tribes in North
Africa, the Almohads and Almohavrids in Andalusia, Nubian states, or from the
Christian realms to the north. As such, there are many choices, including even french
spearmen! So, feel free to pull out those Norman spearmen elements!
Perhaps the one thing missing from the DBA list is the mercenary knight option.
Andalusian armies often employed mercenary Christian knights within their armies, and
it is a shame not to have the option to field some! As for other mercenaries, they can be
represented in the spear and psiloi options easily enough.
The DBA al-Andalus army list includes the following element types:

3Cv and
General

The general would be accompanied by heavily armoured noble cavalry or

mercenary cavalry carrying throwing spears or javelins. [3Cv+G Image],
[3Cv Image]

2LH

Andalusian or mercenary Jinettes often using javelin, but were also known
to use bows and throwing spears. [2LH Image], [2LH Image]

2Ps

Poor, often conscripted skirmishing slingers. Bows were also not unknown.
Slingers could derive from anywhere, bow troops were commonly
Andalusian. Crossbows appeared in later armies. [Image], [Image],
[Image], [Image], [Image], [Image], [Image], [Image]

4Sp

Spears could be made up of Andalusians or mercenaries, including Berbers

or Christians from the northern realms. [Image], [Image]

Scots Isles and Highlands

1050-1493 AD (III/77)
By Roy Beers
I'll begin this article by apologizing for its length, and by advising anybody seeking a
quick army breakdown to fast-forward to the last sections and the various links.
Scottish medieval military history has tended to focus on Stirling Bridge and
Bannockburn to the exclusion of almost everything else; and Gaelic West Highland
history - all but written out of the mainstream Scottish script by post-Reformation
historians - remains shadowy and little understood. To Scottish or British history the
Gaels are little-known barbarians, surfacing only when they threaten a Scottish or (in
the 18th century) British monarch. A major TV series, The History of Britain, contained
precisely five references to Scotland in total, and no discussion at all of Gaelic
influence, culture or history - even although Scotland was a primarily Gaelic "Celtic"
culture before the reign of David I, and feudalism.
Yet the domain of the Isles, in particular, was effectively an independent "country" for
more than three centuries, a fact which may largely explain why Scottish Gaelic culture
has managed to survive to the present day, despite the ravages of the post-Culloden
period and the Scottish national shame of the Highland Clearances. Somerled's warriors
proved mightier than the Vikings, and their descendants later helped in no small
measure to win Bannockburn, Scotland's most decisive battle. In fact quite apart from
this specific military contribution it is no exaggeration to say that King Robert I could
not have won the First War of Independence without the aid of Clan Donald, in
particular, as in times of defeat the Lordship (and its Irish kin and allies) provided an
impenetrable refuge where he could not be pursued. Hebridean warriors spearheaded a
major Gaelic resurgence in 13th century Ireland, defeating the hitherto invincible
Anglo-Normans in a series of shattering victories - and these Galloglaich (also spelled
Galloglaigh, and frequently anglicised as "Galloglasses") remained a major factor in
Irish warfare until the turn of the 17th century.
But Hebrides-based political independence was effectively extinguished following the
abolition of the Lordship of the Isles in 1493, and in later Scottish history cultural and
political power would be rooted ever more firmly in the (non Gaelic) Lowlands. The
Gaelic historical tradition was oral, in a world where it was to become forbidden to
speak Gaelic in schools; and was marginalised or deliberately proscribed to the point
where even the mighty Somerled was either forgotten or, at best, remembered as a
barbaric pirate chief.
However Somhairle Mhor casts a very long shadow, and in recent years new interest in
Scottish history has produced some marvelous original work, although very much more
remains to be done. I have tried to avoid too much duplication with the original DBA
1.1 article, while bringing in some new material - the web link to the illustrated essay on
West Highland Heraldry is particularly recommended.
In this essay the word "Lowland" in commas signifies Lowland cultural influence rather
than geography: for example medieval Aberdeen (on the north-east coast), while

retaining some Gaelic aspects, was by the time of the Battle of Harlaw a thoroughly
feudalised society run along southern Scottish lines. In the 12th century, when
feudalism really took hold in Scotland, many of today's standard Scottish surnames
were created by incoming feudal seigneurs with names such as St Clair (Sinclair);
Guiscard (Wishart) and -my own family name on the distaff side - Somerville.
"Lowland" military forces also naturally reflected southern norms, with armoured
nobles, schiltron spearmen, etc., albeit sometimes with regional variations or additions.
The list aims primarily to reflect the sort of seaborne raiding force assembled under the
Hebridean Lords of the Isles and their predecessors (from the mid 12th century AD to
around the 1480's), and for that purpose is perfect for DBA 2.0 - especially as the
Littoral aspect to terrain allows you to bring in reinforcements by sea (and there's now a
point to doing a beached ship, or "birlinn" model, as it can act as your camp.) But there's
a problem. While the old DBA 1.1 list seemed to me to be just about perfect, allowing
you to field plenty of Bd (Galloglaich) elements or, alternatively, Ax and Wb elements,
this one places the emphasis very heavily on Galloglaich (or their equivalent), almost to
the exclusion of everything else. And this begs the question: what about the "and
Highland" part of the equation?
The biggest historical battle involving this type of army was Harlaw, 1411 AD, where a
Gaelic host of perhaps 6,000-10,000 men mustered initially from the Isles and West
Highlands of Scotland marched to sack the Highland capital of Inverness, before
striking towards Aberdeen on the North-East coast. They were fought to a bloody draw
by the greatly outnumbered "Lowland" forces (who would in effect be a Scots Common
army). The proto-Highland clansmen who made up the bulk of the army at Harlaw were
unarmoured warriors fighting solely with target and sword, spear, axe and javelin: their
leaders and perhaps their bodyguards may have worn the classic equipment of the
Galloglaich but in every other regard this was a classic "Celtic" warband army. King
Robert I ("The Bruce") during a campaign in England, used Islesmen to scale steep
slopes in order to fall upon his English opponents from the rear; while at the Battle of
the Pass of Brander in the Highlands we find a Highland army under Bruce and Douglas
outflanking a rival army (which had been lying in ambush) to attack from above - again,
hardly the behaviour of heavily-equipped troops.
On the other hand, some time after the failed Scottish invasion of Ireland by Edward
Bruce, King Robert arrived at Carrickfergus in Antrim, northern Ireland, in a fleet
bearing 800 Hebridean galloglaich - clearly a solid force of professionals assembled for
the impression they would be able to create (and, of course, formidable enough to act as
a now powerful monarch's bodyguard): the hero of Bannockburn had close
Celtic/Gaelic ties in the Isles and Highlands, as in Ireland and the south-west of the
country.
Without going into still more detail it is enough, perhaps, to note that in the medieval
Scottish Isles and Highlands there were broadly two main types of army - the purely
Hebridean seaborne strike force, consisting very largely of "professionals" equipped
with ahketon, nasal helmet and two-handed axe; and the largely mainland-derived
prototype "clan" forces. Besides being more lightly equipped, these latter warriors, were
"seasonal" combatants, although inevitably experienced through endless internecine
feuds, raids, etc.. The galloglaich "heavies" were - more or less - permanently embodied
retainers. Not to put too fine a point about it you should really be able to field an "and

Highland" army which contains no seaborne warriors at all and only a relatively few
heavy-equipped men.

The Area of Operations

The "Isles" designation has also confused some authors. While the descendants of
Somerled (in Gaelic, Somhairle, or Somhairle Mhor - "the great" and/or "the
progenitor") were styled the Lords of the Isles, with great leaders often known by names
such as Donald of the Isles, the area covered by the Lords and their adherents also
covered, besides most of the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the whole seaboard of the
Scottish West Highlands, and at its high point also included the large and relatively
prosperous Earldom of Ross in the Highlands proper. Ross was the feudalised version
of the old Mormaer-ship of Highland, Gaelic Scotland - so inevitably became a bone of
contention between the rival Gaelic and (royal)"Lowland" centres of power.
The fulcrum of the control and government of the Isles was the island of Islay ("Isle ah"), also the seat of the Council of the Isles (at Loch Finlaggan), at which parliamentstyle decisions were made by delegates from the most powerful chieftains' factions and
from each of the main strata of society, from freeholder upwards.
In addition to the larger islands of the Inner Hebrides (Innse Gall or "the foreign isles"
as was) and the Firth of Clyde, the whole West Highland coastal region is in fact an
archipelago of hundreds of lesser islands and islets, in which important sounds or straits
were guarded by strong stone keeps and where natural harbours (as at Dunyvaig on
Islay) were of great strategic importance. Power rested on fleets of swift galleys
(birlinns) which were Norse in inspiration but which were designed with Hebridean
sailing conditions in mind. However to give an idea of a galley's "range" crews from
Barra in the Outer Hebrides would sail a full 300 miles to stage raids on the northern
(Scandinavian) Shetland and Orkney Isles.
Although the inhabitants would otherwise have struggled to get by on fishing and
subsistence farming, the region was a nautical crossroads between Norway, mainland
Scotland and Ireland (linking also to the Isle of Man and points south). Extensive trade
and diplomatic links with Scandinavia and the Continent meant that the Lords of Isles
(and the aristocracy) frequently consumed better wine (from France) than even the
English court; while the chief surgeon to the Lords of the Isles had at one time studied
cutting-edge medicine at Montpelier.
In this wild Gaelic "kingdom" - whose upper echelons appear to have lived with a
certain style - cattle was the currency, and the inspiration for many a land or sea raid;
and galleys were the embodiment of power. Some chieftains, notably the Macruaris,
reckoned their strength in galleys rather than men, and following on from earlier
tradition many chieftains honoured their military obligations in "ship service" rather
than warriors.

Historical Framework
The Gaelic inhabitants of the Isles were originally Gaels from Ulster in northern Ireland,
a region where close family ties and alliances were to continue and to be strengthened
right through the period. The whole region, including the West Highland seaboard and

most of the North of Scotland, as well as much of northern Ireland, came under Norse
rule from about the 8th to 9th centuries AD, and it seems that in the Isles Norse and
Gaelic cultures effectively merged, with the Viking element being subsumed by the
more numerous host culture: Norse culture was not antipathetic to Gaelic and through
time the "Vikings", and their language, would "disappear" into Gaelic society - much as
the Picts are assumed to have "disappeared" into the Scots. This hybrid people would
become known as the Gall-Gaedhil (or foreign Gaels) and in military terms were to
exhibit many strong Norse characteristics.
The most famous fighting men, the Galloglaich, translating from the Gaelic as "foreign
young warrior" also reflect this Norse influence. They may have been so called even at
home, reflecting their perennial trade as mercenaries in Ireland. Gaelic Isles lords fought
on the Norse side as early as the battle of Clontarf in Ireland in 1014, and by that time
must have started to acquire Norse fighting methods.
In the mid 12th century the half Norse, half Gaelic warlord Somerled led a major Gaelic
resurgence in the Isles, fighting a bloody naval battle (probably in the Sound of Islay)
against the Norse forces of Godfred of Man. It was a technical draw but Godfred was
forced to cede half of his Isles domain to Somerled - who later overran the Viking
stronghold of Man (now the Isle of Man).Thereafter the Norse hegemony of the Isles
was on a downward spiral, and the Isles and west coast seaboard, known to the Vikings
as the Sudrejars, were to become emphatically Gaelic.
The descendants of Somerled maintained the convention that they held the Isles "in
trust" for the King of Norway (while in fact acting as independent monarchs), while
from time to time (particularly after the 1266 Treaty of Perth, when Norway formally
ceded the Isles to Scotland) acknowledging that real suzerainty belonged to the King of
Scots - in theory. This neat distinction became increasingly problematic because no king
of Scotland could view with equanimity a sovereign power occupying, as in Viking
times, the whole north-west of the country.
The struggle for possession of various Isles continued into the 13th century, but when
the Norse made their final bid to enforce control of their Isles possessions in the 1260's
they had few Gaelic allies to call upon. After the messy beach scrimmage with the Scots
in 1263 known as the Battle of Largs it was clear Scandinavian political influence on
mainstream Scotland - and the Gaelic Hebrides - was at an end. The northernmost areas
of Scotland, and the Orkney Isles, would remain at least technically Scandinavian for
far longer.
The 14th century was the apogee of the Isles. Clan Donald (descendants of a grandson
of Somerled) was in the ascendant, helped greatly by the aid it had given King Robert I
during the Wars of Independence. However the senior line of Somerled, the
MacDougalls, allied themselves to the English crown, receiving cash to finance their
war galleys and warriors: but they were comprehensively defeated by Clan Donald and
King Robert I by sea and by land. Sween (or Suibne) the Red (whose family had strong
Irish connections) of Castle Sween in Knapdale, Argyll, also became a sort of English
admiral, and his faction was later driven from its home turf to become a purely Irish
power - MacSweens, Sweeneys, etc, were particularly strong in Donegal. The Scottish
crown's "Lowland" (feudal) appointees in the North came increasingly into conflict with

the Gaelic rulers during the 15th century, in a sporadic running dispute whose main
event was the sanguinary Battle of Harlaw in 1411.
In 1428 James I, (first of the Stuart dynasty) summoned 40 chiefs, including Alexander,
Lord of the Isles, to his parliament in Inverness. Each was brought forward and hurled
into a bottleneck dungeon, with James making witty quips in Latin about their "hempen
departure" to follow. In fact just three were hanged and the rest pardoned of any
offences supposedly committed. Alexander waited until James and his entourage had
left, then razed Inverness to the ground. Summoned to the king's presence in Edinburgh
he made a grovelling apology and was again pardoned - almost certainly because James
feared a fearsome Gaelic backlash if he were to execute the Lord of the Isles.
Powerful leaders such as Donald Balloch and Angus Og could still play fast and loose
with the Scottish Crown as late as the 1480's - winning battles against feudal
appointees; staging major raids; then using their galley fleets to evade pursuit when
pressed. Since at various times the Lords could openly intrigue with the English (as in
1468 with Edward IV) their power would clearly have to be broken eventually if
Scottish independence were to survive: the first forfeiture of the Lordship of the Isles
was in 1475, by which time the writing was clearly on the wall. The wealthy Earldom of
Ross, so long a bone of contention between Isles and Crown, was stripped from the
Lordship, and valuable estates in Knapdale and Kintyre were also appropriated for the
Crown's nominees.
But ultimately it was internal dissent which spelled the end of the Lordship, and its
massive influence on Scottish history, allowing James IV (ironically the last king of
Scotland to speak Gaelic) to ordain the abolition of the title and its assumed rights in
1493. There would be plenty of future claimants, and occasional revolts - even an
attempt to divide Scotland three ways between the Isles, the English, and a rebel Earl of
Douglas - but with the unifying leadership of Clan Donald removed, the power base,
and thus the capacity to raise dangerous numbers for a concerted effort, was gone
forever. No single leader would ever again be able to generate unswerving loyalty from
the myriad of now mutually hostile chieftains. The very last attempt to regain the title
was staged by Donald Dubh in 1545. Henry VIII of England, engrossed in Irish wars and understandably concerned at the presence in Irish waters of a 4,000-strong force of
galley-borne Hebridean warriors - swiftly paid the silver Donald demanded for the
attempt.
Land grants from the Crown to chieftains it could use to rule by proxy, in particular to
Clan Campbell, limited Clan Donald power still further - and of course laid the seeds of
a whole new seam of bitter inter-clan warfare. The formal end of the Lordship and the
increasing influence and control of the Scottish monarchy did not, however, spell the
end of the Isles-based Galloglaich, who as family or clan factions continued much as
they had done for centuries by acting as mercenaries and allies in the various Irish wars.
Examples of Galloglaich who began as Scottish chieftains and migrated to more or less
full time employment as mercenaries in Ireland include the MacSweens and the
MacAlistairs. The MacAlistairs, based in the Kintyre peninsula - the closest point to
Northern Ireland - would take to their galleys when alerted and summoned by signal
fires on the Antrim coast.

Nor did the end of the Lordship makes the Isles and Highlands a noticeably more
peaceable region - in fact almost the reverse is true. The factions involved in raids or
inter-clan wars were, perhaps, numerically smaller, and the potential threat to the
Lowlands was much reduced - but visceral warfare raged between various clans and
factions into the 16th century and beyond. When the Macdonalds and Campbells fought
on opposing sides at Culloden in 1746 they were in effect playing out the last drama of
an ancient feud.

The Legacy of Somerled

Somerled, named from the Norse "Sumerladi" (or "summer voyager"), wrested control
of the Inner Hebrides from (his relatives through marriage) the Manx Vikings, and also
drove the Norse from mainland Morvern and Argyll. He participated in the pan-Scottish
army which met defeat at Northallerton in 1138 and thereafter seems to have been in
almost permanent conflict with the Scottish crown. When in a series of military
expeditions, Malcolm IV of Scotland ended the virtual independence of the wild NorseCeltic Galwegian enclave in the south-west (a separate "Celtic" realm whose people
were related to, but separate from the Hebridean Gaels), the Hebridean warlord may
have concluded that, if he failed to act, Scottish hegemony would surely replace Norse
rule in the Isles just as conclusively.
The showdown came when Somerled and his warriors, with the Dublin Norse as allies,
sailed up the Firth of Clyde to Renfrew with an armada of 160 galleys. The aim was
almost certainly to stage a major punitive raid to overawe the King of Scots. Instead he
died, with one of his sons, at the onset of what appears to have been a pre-emptive strike
by the forces of Feudal Scotland - quite possibly (as John Marsden surmises in his
biography of Somerled) in a charge by mailed knights.
However rather than ending Hebridean independence this episode marked just the end
of the first chapter of the Gaelic resurgence; and for more than three centuries the Sons
of Somerled and their descendants would rule the West.

Fighting Style and the Norse Influence

As noted above the Isles and West coast were a Gaelic region heavily influenced by the
Norse, even although even indirect Norse control of the Inner Hebrides did not outlast
the 13th century. While the whole of the North of Scotland is peppered with
Scandinavian place names (the result of the much longer-established and more
entrenched Norse influence) there are almost none in Argyll or the Isles (there are
exceptions, for example Knapdale in Kintyre; and nearby Loch Melfort from Mael
Fjord - beautiful fjord).
However in the highly recommended book The West Highland Galley by Denis
Rixson we learn that many Hebridean nautical terms are Norse derived, while certain
common Gaelic names are of course Norse or Norse inspired - Ranald (and hence
Clanranald) from Ragnvald or Rognvald; Dougall or Dugal (hence MacDougall) from
Dhugall (dark foreigner - i.e. Viking). The author of The West Highland Galley goes on
to speculate that there may have been a distinct Norse pedigree to famous warriors, or
sailors, or both, and that these may have amounted to a distinct social caste. Given the
hereditary "family business" nature of Galloglaich warfare this seems quite feasible.

Apart from the whole area of galleys and galley warfare the Norse influence was to be
seen at its strongest in the fighting style of the galloglaich. The nasal helm and chain
mail coif over a padded ahketon appears to be standard equipment for Isles warriors
(and their mainland kin) throughout the period. The axe was already an important
Scottish weapon but the emphasis on the two-handed axe was also a characteristically
Norse feature; as was the importance placed on archery at all ranks of society.
The one feature which appears to be missing is the shield (which would be carried on
the back during action by a warrior wielding a two handed weapon), although they were
certainly used by the Picts and Scots of the early Norse period and presumably right into
medieval times in the mainland Highlands proper. I have seen a funerary stone (at
Kilmory Chapel in Argyll) which combines targes with Hebridean equipment of the sort
to be seen in effigial warrior stones, so it is possible shields were in fact used, or were
an optional extra.
John Marsden (Somerled and the Emergence of Gaelic Scotland) surmises that Isles
warriors of the 12th-13th centuries might have resembled the famous walrus ivory
Lewis chess set, which shows Norse warriors wielding straight-topped kite shaped
shields. These would not be compatible with two-handed weapons, but it is possible
some warriors may have used them with other weapons - in every other respect the
Norse chess men might just as easily be Islesmen.
Funerary effigies of Galloglaich-style warriors always carry spears (or sometimes just a
sword) as opposed to axes, but this may have some special rank or other significance.
Apart from long (but not two handed) swords, 12th to 14th century warriors also used
heavy short-range javelins, or throwing spears - probably intended mainly for ship to
ship fighting. Two-handed swords are generally accepted as a phenomenon dating from
the late 15th or early 16th century - although some were used by particular Scottish
warriors much earlier; and they were certainly used by "Lowland" knights at Harlaw in
1411 AD.
Another feature missing from West Highland warrior effigies is a chain mail hauberk
(although they always wear a mail coif) while effigies in Ireland of exactly the same
warrior class from the same period do have chain mail. The explanation seems simple:
warriors wore heavy kit when fighting dangerous adversaries like armoured foot or
cavalry (as in Ireland) but found it a pointless encumbrance when fighting lightly-armed
opponents in seaborne raids. However from the 14th century at least some warriors
began to add items of mainstream European equipment, such as chain mail and plate leg
protection; and could also carry "heater" style shields.
Since we know most warriors remained lightly equipped, at least when fighting in
Scotland, it is reasonable to suppose those which took on the trappings of conventional
southern equipment were both high born and heavily influenced by (or closely affiliated
to) the Scottish Crown. Rather later than our period an eyewitness account describes
Islesmen as being tall men, apparently uniformly dressed in mail shirts and carrying
two-handed swords - to an outsider would still look "antique" as compared with feudal
English or Scottish men-at-arms.
It is clear from otherwise sparse battle accounts that it was quite usual practice to deploy
discrete bodies of "archers", usually in a position to use flank fire - and it's possible

certain areas, or families, had a special proclivity towards archery (just as others were
famous for boat building) - even if they were also proficient with other weapons. In
Scots Common armies of the period, archers from the larger islands of the Firth of
Clyde (eg Arran, Bute, Cumbrae) were reputedly highly valued, and these had all been
Viking-ruled at one time. One account of the 15th century Scottish siege of Roxburgh
Castle talks about an Isles contingent fighting "in the old Highland manner with axe,
bow and haubergeon", which though ambiguous appears to show warriors could mix
and match weapons to suit the occasion. The Galloglaich each had two servants to carry
kit and so forth, and one can imagine a warrior calling for his bow or axe, much as a
golfer might ask his caddie to produce a favourite club.

Highland Dress
Without going into detail (though see the links from the DBA 1.1 article if you need to
know more) it's maybe worth pointing out that the one item you would not find on any
Gaelic Isles-and-Highlands warrior would be trousers - except, just possibly, of the
close-fitting trews type worn by cousin clans in Ireland. Norse who presumably arrived
wearing trousers in the 9th century obviously lost them by degrees and "went native"
and I am tempted to think that the fearsome Orcadian Viking Magnus Barelegs may be
an example of a Norseman who has adopted the dress style of Celtic kin or adherents in
the Hebrides - a trouserless Viking in a betrousered Viking society!
Highland warriors wore a shirt, called in Irish the leine, and usually some form of cloak:
only the relatively wealthy appear to have died the shirt saffron. Men of any social
stature would increasingly wear the plaid (as a cloak) either self-coloured or in a simple
"tartan" pattern - more as in the modern American term "plaid" than anything to be
found on modern kilts. Again, warriors of rank would fasten the plaid or cloak with a
brooch, which also served as a badge of rank.
It cannot be stressed too strongly that the plaid was not worn as anything remotely
resembling a "kilt" at this period: the belted plaid is reckoned to have come into fashion
around the turn of the 16th century, but even this remains fiercely debated. However
loose folds may have been gathered around the body, bandolier style (as later): a fullsize plaid ideally had many yards of cloth. Having said that in later centuries it was
common practice to leave this valuable item with the servants and do battle in shirt
alone (often with the tails tied between the legs).
A legend of Somerled talks about his warriors wearing cowhide jackets of some sort,
and certainly these were common much later - and for the wealthier sort may also have
supported brigandine or equivalent protection.

The Military Context

A cursory examination of the Battle of Harlaw suggests a fighting style based on a
screaming charge and an almost complete absence of tactics - but of course Harlaw is a
very atypical battle. Even so one of the foremost Gaelic heroes, Red Hector Maclean
died in single combat with an opponent of equivalent rank, and before the battle had
made a sizeable land grant to another chief who might have argued he was entitled to
the position of honour on the right of the battle line, lacking which generosity there
might have been the genesis of a deadly feud.

Far more usual (whether considering an Isles host, a Highland warband or a mixture of
the two) was an encounter involving a few hundred or a couple of thousand warriors,
often close kin used to fighting and raiding together. In a battle fought by Angus Og in
the 1480's the Islesmen lured heavily equipped cavalry across a stream before charging
downhill to fell riders with two-handed axe strokes. The authoress I F Grant speculates
that a body of archers would have supplied flanking fire - a favourite and possibly even
"standard" tactic.
Battles in passes and to defend fords were common for obvious strategic reasons, and
several obscure and lonely Highland glens bear Gaelic names pointing to ancient and
forgotten clan battles. In an all-Gaelic "set piece" encounter a battle would invariably
commence with exhortations from the war host's seannachie ("shawn-ach-ee") - a vastly
important man who combined the roles of clan historian, poet and herald. He would
proclaim the lineage of the chieftains and the clans, urge the warriors to honour the
proud pedigree of their forefathers, and - a finely-honed speciality - deliver particularly
cunning verbal insults towards the foe. In this 'heroic" form of warfare there might
follow individual duels amongst champions, a general exchange of missiles, and then an
all out fight to the finish.
However these almost formal clashes were greatly outnumbered by raids and ambushes,
often revolving around (often very large scale) cattle raids.
Clan feuds were endemic and could run, vendetta style, for generations. One notorious
feud did erupt between erstwhile allies over that ticklish business as to which clan
should hold the position of honour on the right of the battleline - hence the face-saving
deal with Red Hector before Harlaw. Apart from long-running feuds between individual
clan factions - which occasionally became gruesome wars of outright extermination there were also wars between confederacies and between rival (more or less permanent)
clan alliances.
The most famous clan confederacy was Clan Chattan (or "of the cat"), which is thought
to have ancient roots in the Pictish tribe or confederacy of the same name. In Christian
times the confederacy took its inspiration from St Catan, whose name conveniently
"punned" with the former "cat" title while adding a note of religiosity. Many clans have
as their badge the Scottish wild cat (sometimes shown wielding a target and sword!): if
you are unfamiliar with this now rare beast (felix caledonicus) it closely resembles a
very big version of a domestic mackerel-stripe cat, but with thicker tail - and plays for
keeps.
At this point it's perhaps worth mentioning that notionally "Lowland" adversaries were
not as conveniently "different" from the Gaels as later historians liked to imagine.
Though the Germanic Lowland Scottish language (Lalans) began to make major inroads
on traditional Gaelic-speaking areas from the late 13th century many or all of the
combatants at Harlaw would have been Gaelic speakers, or bilingual: the father of the
"Lowland" commander at Harlaw was the notorious Wolf of Badenoch, who led his
wild Highland horde on a campaign of extortion and murder - on one occasion burning
down Elgin Cathedral.
Another point possibly worth making is that the Highland Line was much farther south
then than now, and in, say, the 14th century, anywhere north of Stirling in the Central

Belt of the Scottish Lowlands could be regarded as Gaelic. So too was the separate
enclave of the south-west of Scotland (modern Dumfries and Galloway) - home of the
fearsome Galwegians. At the risk of going off at a tangent it should be stressed the
Galwegians, also a Gaelic-speaking Norse-Celtic "kingdom", separate from mainstream
Scottish control for many centuries, were related to but separate from the Islesmen.
They wouldn't be found in numbers in the Isles or Highlands.
In the Harlaw campaign, again, the host of Donald of the Isles encountered and defeated
the brave but outnumbered clansmen of Clan Mackay before marching on Aberdeen neatly illustrating the fact that traditional Gaelic factions could be allied to the
notionally "Lowland" Scots. The Gordons, a thoroughly Gaelic and Highland clan,
inhabited arable lands and were practically the only clan able to raise a significant
cavalry arm - but from which date it is difficult to say. They owed their name to a feudal
incomer, and the upper strata of this great clan probably adopted such "Lowland"
trappings as suited them. The Frasers (from fraiseur, "grower of strawberries") are
another important example of a regional Highland people with a name linked to baronial
immigrants - and there are several other examples.

Allies and Enemies

With an DBA Aggression rating of 3, the Islesmen are clearly going to be staging
seaborne raids a lot of the time - although if you are playing amongst friends you might
consider that a purely mainland Highland army (which in any case needs a new list)
ought to be perhaps Ag 2
Enemies listed are - III/40b Norse Viking (which would be 11th through to 13th
centuries); III/45 Pre-Feudal Scots (Both Scottish Crown forces and armies of the
"Celtic" Mormaers; III/46 Norse Irish (based in Dublin); III/77 Scots Isles and
Highlands (inter clan and faction feuds, raids etc); IV/16 Scots Common Army (feudal
times to early 16th centrury - for example the Battle of Harlaw, 1411); and IV/58
Medieval Irish (eg Galloglaich expeditions in Ireland).
To these you could add Anglo-Irish, if you delete any Kn options when "playing away."
This would represent either defence against a Galloglaich seaborne raid or the 1296
expedition (there may have been others) by Anglo-Irish levies acting for Edward I.
There is only one ally listed, III/40b, Vikings, presumably centered on the early 11th
century to early 12th century before Somerled's Gaelic resurgence. To this you could
add III/46 Norse Irish, as the Dublin Norse accompanied Somerled on his fatal
expedition to Renfrew. In Big Battle (etc) games you might also add Scots Common (an
Isles host made up a considerable part of the pan-Scottish army defeated at
Northallerton, 1138).

The DBA Army List

As opposed to the more versatile DBA 1.1 options you now get.
1 x 4Bd

The head of faction or clan - perhaps Somerled in person - or

(Gen)

captain of Galloglaich, with his kin and close bodyguards.

8 x 4Bd

The rank and file of the main body, equipped broadly as

above, led by lesser chieftains.

Still more of the Galloglaich equivalents or "brigaded"

bowmen from the ranks of Bd (many of whom will carry bows
3 x 4Bd or
anyway) acting as a tactical grouping of archers. The one Wb
(2 x 3Bw &
element is presumably either allied clansmen or a second
1 x 3/4Wb)
class of warrior ("brigaded" servants, or youths?) acting as
combat support for the archers.

Variant Ideas
Having explained why I don't think the list does the full job here is a conjectural list
which can act either as allies or enemies: this allows for some versatility and offers the
chance of seeing some of that "Hilly" Scottish scenery.

Generic Highland Army

This could represent a single faction (e.g. Clan Mackay in the
campaign of 1411) or a confederacy. It's presumed to be primarily
land-based and has Ag2 with compulsory terrain of (no surprises
here) Hilly.
1 x 4Bd

Donald of the Battle Axe; Red Hector Maclean or some other

worthy with his close kin and bodyguards - essentially similar to
the command element in the regular list.

6 x 4Wb

Clan warriors - very lightly equipped, fighting with (usually)

leather targe; and mixture of (in order of likelihood) axe/spear
and other polearms, sword, bow, javelins.

2 x 3B or
"Brigaded" archers, or more clan warriors with melee weapons
4Wb
(8Hd) are camp servants and home defence peasants. (Ps) are
2 x 8Hd
youths or smaller numbers of noted marksmen acting as bow
or 2Ps or
skirmishers. (Ax) are Irish auxiliaries supplied through cousin
4Ax
clans and inter-family alliances.
1 x 2LH
or 2Ps

Pony-mounted scouts and raiders (especially in relatively arable

country towards the east of Scotland; or more bow skirmishers.

Scots Common (1124-1512)

DBA IV/16
by Roy Beers
This list begins appropriately at the start of the reign of King David I, a highly
successful monarch who extended a measure of control over what had tended to be
independent regions by imposing a Normano-Scottish feudalism on the disparate parts
of the realm - partly through land grants to imported Anglo-French nobles and partly by
formalising in feudal form the provincial rule of strong existing hereditary rulers. The
great territories controlled by the Mormaers of earlier times transmuted to Earldoms for example of Ross or Moray - combining local continuity of power with at least
technical royal control under a "modern" mainstream European system. It was
fundamentally at odds with Gaelic culture, however, and would exacerbate the friction
between Gaeldom and the Lowland Scots in years to follow.
David I lost the battle of Northallerton in pursuance of his own feudal right to
Northumbria - but kept the territory anyway as England, wracked by the Stephen and
Matilda war (Matilda was his niece) could not afford another Scottish invasion.
The division between Scotland and England was far less distinct than today, since great
nobles would continue to own huge estates on both sides of the border - for example the
de Brus family owned large tracts of Northern England, by feudal right - and by Bruce's
time the Borders lands in particular would become in effect a militarised zone, in which
local magnates would pursue their almost private wars. At the start of the Wars of
Independence the entire population of Berwick upon Tweed was massacred by Edward
I, and control of the town would ultimately pass between England and Scotland 14
times. Towards the end of the Middle Ages Northumberland and Cumberland became
specifically "English" as the "real" Border settled on the Tyne - Solway line.
David's successor Malcolm IV brought the south-western region of Galloway under
control after three separate military expeditions, and repulsed a Gaelic-Norse descent on
the Lowlands (1160) very probably killing in the process Somerled, progenitor of the
Lords of the Isles. But Scotland, whose royal focus was then around the coronation
place of Scone in Perthshire - the heart of ancestral Pictland - still had the Vikings to
contend with. Norse suzerainty over Scotland's west coast and isles had been broken by
Somerled, and the Hebridean west was now (and despite Somerled's demise) effectively
an independent isles "kingdom" - and at its height the Lordship of the Isles would also
control the mainland Earldom of Ross, and other territories. Although technically
subject to the Scottish crown Somerled's successors often argued the old western
territories had been held by their ancestors for the King of Norway, not that of Scotland.
They exercised power through fast-travelling fleets of Highland galleys.
But the northern isles, and the northernmost mainland territory of Caithness, remained
Norse - and Norwegian claims on land won in Scotland by their ancestors only ceased
after the Battle of Largs in 1263 - which was really just a postscript to a naval invasion
which had been hopelessly scattered by a storm. Two years later Scottish troops at
Helms dale in Sutherland repelled with great slaughter what may have been the last
serious Norse attempt to regain its former influence in the far north of the country.

Attempts by the Scottish crown to control or even keep in check the chieftains of the
Isles and Highlands were to be a dominant theme of the whole period, often involving
dangerous interaction with Scotland's increasingly fraught relations with England which, with the end of the Simon de Montford rebellion, was now for a time free of
baronial strife and set for aggressive expansion under the formidable Edward I. In the
Wars of Independence from 1286 through to the 1340's the Plantagenet kings repeatedly
tried to annexe and rule Scotland, but despite temporary successes in the years
following Bannockburn had effectively lost the struggle at that decisive battle - it was a
moral as well as physical triumph after which there could be no further doubt that
Scotland was a legitimate independent country under its own monarch. At Bannockburn
in particular the Clan Domnhaill (or Donald) adherents of Angus Og, Lord of the Isles,
of the line of Somerled, had backed the Bruce cause - in part because of dynastic links
with Bruce's ancestral Celtic feudal subjects and kinsmen in Galloway and Northern
Ireland (the original de Brus was gifted his south-west lands by David I) and his family
alliance with the powerful Hebridean line of MacRuari.
Just as importantly Bruce had, during the precarious early years of the bid for kingship,
been given him safe haven in territory where he could never be pursued effectively.
Nevertheless the would-be King Robert I had no shortage of home-spun enemies in the
Highlands, among them the MacDougall John of Lorne, who acted as an English
"admiral" and who, after battles by land and sea, ended up very much on the losing side.
By the turn of the 15th century the struggle for effective control of the Western Isles and
Highlands - between the Gaelic Lords of the Isles and the Scottish crown or its
appointees - more often resembled open war between rival states. Control of the wealthy
Earldom of Ross was the standard bone of contention, and led directly to the desperate
battle of Harlaw in 1411, in which the Crown forces were able to claim they had held
the field - but at the cost of perhaps half their entire force, and the loss of senior nobles
in the numbers usually associated with a major defeat. Further major clashes occurred at
Inverlochy (1439), Langerbrad, in Ross (1480) and Bloody Bay (1481).
When not looking anxiously to the real or perceived Gaelic menace in the North and
West, or towards fresh threats from England - which, in Henry VIII, was still intriguing
with would-be Lords of the Isles right into the 16th century! - Scotland and her doomladen Stuart monarchs had their own baronial wars to worry about: at the battle of
Arkinholme one faction of the house of Douglas was used by the Crown to suppress the
other in what amounted to a dynastic family civil war.
English embroilment in first the Hundred Years War and then the Wars of the Roses
naturally reduced the threat from the south for lengthy periods - and in fact the 15th
century saw the Earls of Douglas and Buchan leading their private armies to join France
against England (for which contribution the Scots archers were ever after the most elite
guard company of the French Crown) - but as late as 1462 a Scottish king could still
have to deal with a major threat such as the so-called Treaty of WestminsterArdhornish, in which the Lord of the Isles, Henry IV of England and an exiled Earl of
Douglas aimed to split control of Scotland three ways. Instead the Isles chieftains
became involved in a destructive struggle for power among themselves and, in a series
of forfeitures, lost control first of the Earldom of Ross, then Knapdale and Kintyre. The
last Lord of the Isles acquiesced to the abolition of the title and its rights altogether in
1493 (he was not executed, as erroneously claimed in one well-known reference book);

and retired to monastic obscurity on a pension - as had Fergus of Galloway in the days
of Malcolm IV - although in years to follow the standard of revolt would still be raised
on occasion by new challengers for the title.
By 1512, when this list ends, the supremely capable but ultimately unlucky monarch
James IV would still have to look carefully over his shoulder at the Gaelic west as he
prepared to lead his army over the border into the North of England as an ally of France
.in the 1513 campaign which ended in disaster at Flodden Field.
Throughout all of this period the Scots Common army - essentially a provincial levy remained essentially the same. Quick to raise it was also too often inexperienced - and
when it did field experienced (and more or less permanently militarised) levies, from
great lords such as the Douglasses, these could be potentially more of a threat to royal
power than the English The army was at its most impressive and professional under
Robert I (the Bruce), as seven years of continuous campaigning under a ruthless and
gifted commander had forged an unusually disciplined and totally committed instrument
of war - one able to undertake previously impossible manoeuvres, and at Bannockburn
to advance boldly directly against the dreaded heavy cavalry of England. In future the
schiltron spearmen of the Common army would lose a string of defeats to English
armies or their dissident Scots allies, at Dupplin, Halidon Hill, Neville's Cross and
Homildon Hill, but would also launch devastating raids into England under border lords
who were on a permanent war footing.
The cost of these large-scale Scottish chevauchees on occasion came close to
bankrupting England, and while battles might be won or lost the sheer expense and
unpopularity of Scottish wars - which typically saw the Scots wearing the starving
invaders out by endless marches across barren terrain - kept Scotland independent. For
several years after Bannockburn the Scots levied = massive sums in blackmail from
England's effectively defenceless northern counties, replenishing in part the
depradations committed by Edward I and his lieutenants. Besides Plantagenet armies
and those of northern barons the forces of the Scots Crown would also fight the army of
the Disinherited - Scots who had been in English pay; adherents of the ousted Balliol
faction, and assorted freebooters: Andrew Murray, son of the co-victor (with William
Wallace) of Stirling Brig, defeated David de Strathbogie, a leading member of the
Disinherited, at Culblean on Deeside in 1335 - and followed through with a successful
guerrilla war reminiscent of his father's brilliant North Rising whirlwind campaign in
1297.
As a whimsical and more or less accurate guide to what a fight with the Scots might
have been like here is a quote from the novel Sir Nigel by (a great Scotsman) Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame:
"And the Scotch?" asked Nigel. "You have made war upon them also, as I understand."
"The Scotch knights have no masters in the world, and he who can hold his own with
the best of them, be it a Douglas, a Murray or a Seaton, has nothing more to learn.
Though you be a hard man, you will always meet as hard a one if you ride northward. If
the Welsh be like the furze fire, then, padieu! the Scotch are the peat, for they will
smolder and you will never come to the end of them. I have had many happy hours on

the marches of Scotland, for even if there be no war the Percies of Alnwick or the
Governor of Carlisle can still raise a little bickering with the border clans."
"I bear in mind that my father was wont to say that they were very stout spearmen."
"No better in the world, for the spears are twelve foot long and they hold them in very
thick array; but their archers are weak, save only the men of Ettrick and Selkirk who
come from the forest."

The Scots Common Army

The DBA Scots Common army is comprised of Knights (General), Pike, Warband
(3Wb or 5Wb options), Bow and Psiloi, and can be fielded with three Knight figures, 40
pikemen, 8 highlanders or ribaulds/rabble for warband, and 5 archers for bow and
psiloi.
The average Schiltron man spoke the old-Scots tongue, a Germanic-derived language
related to Northumbrian (both are roots of modern English) - the word schiltron
translates as "shield troop" - although those from north of areas like the Lennox and
Lothian would speak Gaelic, as would the native Gallovidians in the south-west. He
would on set dates attend a wapenshaw - another old-Scots term, literally "show of
weapons" - bringing with him the basic equipment decreed by statute. The Lords would
speak their local language and, of course, French - at least in "polite society."
The long-spearmen of the schiltron levies in a "typical" Scots army of the period were a
reminder of the dense shieldwall of earlier times, when we are told the Scots and their
then Scandinavian allies fought in the same manner. The schiltron was intended both for
frontal combat and for all-round defence, and seems to have been an oval-to-circular
formation. Details of low-level drill are lacking, but it's likely men from villages, towns,
parishes and burghs would have formed units ranging from a five-man squad to
multiples of 10, up to 1,000. "Company" sized units probably gathered around a local
standard and local leader. Densely arrayed and capable of only limited manoeuvre as
were the raw forces raised for emergencies, frequent service on occasion created a far
more disciplined force - never more so than in 1314. Here we find the schiltrons arrayed
"deployment distance" apart and, as in Randolph's rapid blocking movement against a
cavalry flanking move on the Scottish left, evidently capable of adroit and efficient
changes of position: certainly the tactical dexterity of the Scots at Bannockburn was
greatly superior to that of the cobbled-together feudal array of England. When Bruce
was told that a vast English army was approaching, its rear elements straggling all the
way to the horizon, he ordered that his men be told they were coming on in great
disorder - which, despite the high quality of many individual English contingents, was
probably completely true. Conversely at Falkirk in 1298 the schiltrons were arrayed in
passive defence, front ranks kneeling, for despite the troops' fighting spirit it may not
have been practical to do much else.
We may imagine the spear grew to its 12 (or more) feet length at least partly to counter
the threat of new heavy cavalry enemies following the Norman Conquest of England.
The schiltron was generally an oval formation, at the front of which many wellarmoured lords would fight alongside their men, and the bulk of the army was generally
mustered in three or four such provincial schiltrons.

The army was "local" in character, much as had been the Saxon fyrd - and many
Lowland Scottish levies were probably very similar to their northern English
counterparts - and it was expected to serve for 40 days. The infantry was usually poorly
equipped and armoured - a padded jacket and simple skull helmet would be typical,
together with either a targe or "heater" shield: not all would have swords but many
would carry axes instead. Many also carried hunting horns of various sizes and when
trying to create an effect the whole army would sound them at once - a din which could
be heard four miles away, or six at night, according to Froissart - who notes the
consequent effect on enemy morale.
To the spearmen of David I's time had been added "levies" of feudal Normanic knights,
who were granted land specifically in return for maintaining heavy cavalry on standard
West European lines: this feudal array was completely effective at Northallerton, where
it smashed clean through the Anglo-Norman line (but was unable to win the battle
through lack of support) but was uncoordinated and out-classed at Dunbar in 1296. A
delivery of French armour harnesses was very warmly received on one occasion, which
may indicate Scottish chivalry was sometimes poorly equipped by mainstream
European standards.
From 1300 onwards the line between ordinary call-up infantry and land-granted feudal
cavalry became blurred, as the cavalry quotient increasingly devolved on the Borders
lords, who naturally favoured a lighter and more flexible style of fighting: it was these
lighter cavalry (who are not second class Knights but rather first class "Cavalry") who
rode down the English archers in a flank charge at Bannockburn. It's also worth noting
that Bruce, armed with a small axe and mounted on "ane small grey palfrey" neatly
sidestepped a charge by the heavily armoured English glory-seeker Humphrey de
Bohun before "cleaving him to the brisket" in front of both armies - which perhaps
neatly illustrates the adage "horses for courses."
A Scots army could also have with it (as noted) a quota of experienced archers from the
Borders Forests areas around Selkirk (e.g. the Ettrick Forest archers); and also from the
Isles, and the islands of the Firth of Clyde, where the bow was an important legacy of
former Norse rule. They were individual "snipers" - huntsmen and forest gamekeepers and in no sense the equivalent of England's massed Welsh archers.
It might also contain ferocious Gallovidian warbands from the south-west, both in
defence of the Lowlands and in raids upon England. Their heartland was, in the Middle
Ages, a deeply frightening place - and on campaign the locals may still have practised
head-hunting. In the late 15th century a military expedition had to be dispatched from
Edinburgh to clear our an extended family of cannibals . because emissaries from down
south, and other travellers, kept going missing.
In the wars in the Highlands and the Gaelic west the Scots Common army could have as
allies both Highland warbands and the heavily-armed axemen of the Hebridean chiefs and these seasoned professional warriors, with their Hebridean-derived galloglaich
cousins in Ireland, would also join the invasion of Ireland in 1316.
Finally all Scots armies would have their quotas of "ribauds" or "sma' folk" - levies of
small social standing - who could nevertheless be (as at Bannockburn, and as described
by Froissart, after Jacques Le Bel) - highly effective light infantry.

Allies and Enemies

With Arable home terrain (very often burned before the advancing English) the Scots
Aggression of 3 gives them plenty of scope for waging war on the Auld Enemy.
But it has plenty of other enemies too - III 40(b) Vikings; III 46 Norse Irish (eg when
repelling the Dublin Vikings in 1160); and 77 Scots Isles and Highlands - right through
the whole period. In book IV it meets IV 3 Anglo-Norman (eg Northallerton); fights
itself (eg Bruce v the Comyn faction in the North; or the Red Douglas faction against
the Black); fights all three of 21 a,b,c Anglo-Irish; 23 Feudal English (e.g.
Bannockburn); 58 Medieval Irish; 62 English 100YW and 83a Wars of the Roses
English.
To these you might add a speculative list, Galwegians or Gallovidians in the 12th
century - who could be I X 3Bd (King Fergus and Retinue) 10 X 3WB; 1 X 2PS or LH.
In a Douglas army there ought to be a Cv contingent, as these were the staple ingredient
of well-equipped raids over the Border - and in classic encounters between the
Douglasses and their counterparts the Percies of Northumberland it's not hard to
imagine the Percy forces might contain very similar - maybe even related! - mounted
troops. Experiences of Irish warfare may have influenced the Douglas tactic of
"plashing" woods and launching forest ambuscades, but of course Bruce - perhaps
inspired by reports of a major anti-cavalry success by Low Countries pikemen at
Courtrai in 1302 - also made extensive use of ditches, caltrops, concealed pits and so
on.
From 1304 or thereabouts I think the compulsory Kn element can often be switched for
a Cv element; in France I'd argue the Earl of Douglas must have taken a contingent of
Border horse - which would be Cv. The command element should usually be Pk, not
Kn, (with the prospect of one very powerful attack factor for a supported Pk element
fighting in ideal circumstances); meanwhile the Wb representing Islesmen are the
selfsame 3Bd troops we find dominating the Scots Isles and Highlands list and I don't
see why they should now be different. You might find Wb clansmen in the Highlands
proper - I am sure these were the men who, under Douglas, outflanked a mountain
ambush from upslope in the battle at the Pass of Brander during the Bruce wars - but if
serving in the Lowlands I think well-armed galloglaich equivalents are more likely (and
it was a specifically Isles contingent which served in 1314).
At Bannockburn they were "brigaded" with Bruce's own reserve schiltron, and were
probably "sprung" at the decisive moment, when the English were embattled and
thoroughly disordered. Well-equipped in nasal helms and sword-proof ahketons,
wielding two-handed axes and led in person by Angus Og, the most powerful man in
the Western Isles, they would have been a terrifying foe: their cousin galloglaich in
Ireland had over the last fifty years inflicted a series of crushing defeats on the AngloNorman lords and had spearheaded a major Irish-Gaelic resurgence. It is unclear
whether some or all were trained as schiltron troops before the battle, but on the first
day of action they had to be "called back" from an impetuous charge when the Duke of
Gloucester's cavalry probe on the Scottish right had come to grief - these were no halfhearted caterans. Hebridean expeditionary forces historically went with only two thirds

of the men who wished to go on campaign, and inevitably the most seasoned and bestequipped contingents would be included.
It's a minor shock to find the Scots apparently have no friends: in fact you have to
deduce who these are for yourself, and find the Scots are indeed listed as Allies when
you look at the right armies - 100 Years War France (which also includes a Scots Pk
contingent option for an army not acting in alliance with a complete Scots DBA army).
A sizeable French army under Jean de Vienne also campaigned in Scotland in the late
14th century; Allies also include Medieval Ireland (e.g. during the 1316 Edward Bruce
invasion); and Wars of the Roses English (e.g. James II in alliance with Edward IV).
When fighting in France I suggest dropping the Wb options and counting maximum Pk,
and just possibly adding a Cv element to the existing Kn in place of a Ps element, to
represent the numerous (and useful) light Borders horse available to the Earl of
Douglas. From at least 1450 Scottish kings were artillery trendsetters and could field an
impressive train, but primarily for siege use - I don't have a reference for first use in the
field. Of course if you have a 15th century battle featuring a substantial BUA you could
always field an Art element and allow it to attack only the BUA.
If you paint a double-DBA army as 15th century Douglases you can field it the way it is
in in France of the 100YW or split it into Red and Black factions for the showdown at
home with 12 elements a side!
For more unofficial Allies I might also suggest both Anglo-Norman and Feudal English:
David I allied with Matilda in the Matilda v Stephen war (and by extension with Feudal
French); and De Brus and others fought as dissident barons (with massive estates on
both sides of the Border) for Simon de Montfort; and there may be other examples - Sir
William Douglas, captured by Henry Percy (Hotspur) joined and fought alongside him
when his fate as a captive became the cause of an open rift between Percy and the
English Crown! It could be he was joined by enough of his own men to count as an
Allied army: and it would certainly be novel to see the normally arch-rival Douglas and
Percy colours borne side by side!

AFRICA

GHANA. 500-1076AD. Early Ghana 500-800AD: Early Cavalry was mounted on

inferior horses and fought less aggressively so should be an Inferior rating) , Light
Horsemen armed with javelins and not bow were common among migrating tribes and
pre-empire nations. Effective archers were uncommon and highly prized. Lower class
were often grouped into spear formations. Armored foot were rare.
Imperial Ghana 800-1076: Cavalry was better than its local neighbors but still inferior
to its Berber enemies. The Cavalry was a full time regularly trained force. Archers were
still prized and amounted to 1/5 of the army. Feudal native levies from the city were
armed with long spears and some elite troops wore chain mail. Rural levies fought in

formations of mixed weapons. Subject tribes still fought in local fashion, so should be
light infantry or irregular loose or mass formations of mixed weapons.
MALI and SONGHAI armies were very similar with a high percentage of horsemen
wearing mail and fighting with a long spear and sword. The cavalry relied on impact to
break the dense formations of foot used by many of their enemies. Archers percentages
may have been as high as 1/4 or 1/3. Native foot became more heavily armored as the
empires grew. The forces used in campaigns were often custom designed for whether
the target was Berbers in the Steppes or a Mossi tribe located in a heavily wooded
region.
Feudal levies and subject tribes still fought in local fashion, so should be light infantry
or irregular loose or mass formations of mixed weapons. They were intentionally poorly
trained and equipped to prevent revolts. The Songhai ghulams were a well -trained and
equipped regular force. The long spear for both the cavalry and foot had a very wide
blade and was considered very deadly. Therefore a player may want to rate his better
infantry as either long spear or blade.
KANEM-BORNU: The contemporary term Horsemen of Bornu almost says it all for
the Kaneum-Bornu Empire. As with most empires the troop types employed became
better equipped and trained as the nation turned into an empire. Foot troops with mixed
weapons supporting mounted nobility characterized early forces. Later the number of
'mounted lancers' increased with the foot now supported by formations of archers.
Allies and subject troops continued to be poorly equipped and trained. During one
northern campaign in the 1500s, they hired Bedouin mercenaries to train a formation of
lancers mounted on camels.
Bulala forces were a majority of spears in mass formations supported by archers and
cavalry. I am not sure what percentage were armored but since they inflicted numerous
defeats on the Kanembu, it may have been significant.
Hausa City States 900-1500 Some of these rulers made an effort to provide chain mail
to their citizen foot and horse troops. Like most urban armies, most citizen troops were
armed with spears. Rural subject troops fought in loose formations and a few used
unarmored horsemen.

The Jutes (430 - 800 AD) - DBA 75c

DBA does a great disservice to the Early Germanics that I intend to set right here in the
DBA Resource Page! For those of you who like to game the post-Roman Germanic
"invasions" of Europe and especially Britain, DBA provides official army lists for
Franks, Burgundians, Alans, Rugians, Saxons, Frisians, Suevi, Bavarians and even
Thuringians. But where, oh where, are the Jutes?
The Venerable Bede records the arrival of large numbers of Germanic settlers in Britain
beginning in the 430s, and notes:
They came from three very powerful Germanic tribes, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes. The
people of Kent and the inhabitants of the Isle of Wight are of Jutish origin, and also those

opposite the Isle of Wight, that part of the kingdom of Wessex which is still today called the
nation of the Jutes

Actually it is likely that Britain had some previous experience of the Jutes, who hailed
from Jutland, in what is now Denmark. There are suggestions of earlier Jutish raids on
the Northumbrian coast, which are reminiscent of their Viking relations who were to
make a nuisance of themselves some 400-500 years later. It also seems that some Jutes
may have been brought to the Isles and employed as mercenaries before the fall of
Romano-Britain.
Kent was a significant kingdom in southeast Britain from 455 AD until the late 750s,
when Offa of Mercia effectively made the Kentish king his vassal. It was founded (per
historical accounts) by the german Hengest, who rallied the natives and drove out the
British in 455 AD, thus thwarting the aspirations of Vortigern. Kent's population was
apparently comprised of Saxons as well as Jutes, Frisians and others, and Hengest's own
ancestory is not clear, so it would probably be an error to characterize Kent as a Jutish
kingdom. However, there was clearly a Jutish dynasty installed on the Isle of Wight,
which repelled at least one Mercian invasion and resisted the tide of Christianity until
the late 600s.

Composition:
There are no readily available accounts of Jutish armies in the field, and there may have
been none to speak of. However, presuming there were, there is no reason to presume
that they would be significantly different from that of their fellow Germanic tribesmen:
10x 4Wb

Warband represent the bulk of any early medieval Germanic army, and there is no
reason to presume that the Jutes would be different.

1x 4Bd

It seems likely that a Jutish king would have had a body of more heavily armed and
experienced household troops and loyal allies who fought as heavy infantry; what
is often referred to in the Latin as a comitatus.

1x 2Ps

The sole Psiloi element represents the lightly armed skirmishers found in most
armies of this period, and would have been equipped with an assortment of
missile weapons, including javelins, bows and slings, with which to harass the
enemy.

[Faction Discussion] Khmer Empire #19

Light Infantryman
Posts: 22
Some unit ideas:

Nayars
The Khmers had elite troops called Nayars, who formed their warrior caste. They were
scientifically trained in all aspects of combat, including imitate and performing arts to
gain a psychological advantage over their enemies. It is said that the Nayars mime skill
was so great, that; 'He could pretend to throw a spear so convincingly, that an enemy
warrior would actually feel the pain of his body being pierced.'
Source: http://www.kunkhmerwarrior.com/history
Maiden guard
Maiden guard are depicted in one relief armed with ph'kak and mounted on horses
apparently disguised as dragons. Doubt has been expressed whether these are overinterpretations
of a damaged relief, but such equipment is only an exaggeration of the normal cavalry
tack, which includes a possibly leather rump guard over a tail plaited to a point, a
"dragon horn" (of stiffened horse hair?) on the forehead and sometimes face and chest
protection.
Source: http://www.modelismoflandes.es/archivos/dbmvol3.pdf
That last link is a miniature lists from a historical war game. Im not sure if the lists are
that useful, but I think the information under it is. Theres a some information about
armor/weapons/tactics etc.
It includes these factions:
-Pagan (page 10)
-Tibetan (page 14)
-Khmer and Cham (page 23)
-Dali (page 28)
-Japanese (page 40)
-Korea (page 41)
-Vietnamese (page 43)
-Song (page 61)
-Xi Xia (page 47/48)