Warrior Ancient and Medieval Rules

[Dave_H]

I've made a few posts before on rules specific to the period of Emperor Andronicus II of the Byzantine Empire as this is a period of time of great interest to me. Kelly W. introduced me to the game with Sicilian Hohenstaufen as I've always been a huge fan of German history and, unfortunately, there aren't any very competative German armies in Warrior. However, having read up on my army, the war of the Sicilian Vespers, Spanish politics and the great Catalan expedition eastward, I've become enthralled with this era and especially the war between the Catalan Company and the Byzantine Empire.

I just finished reading a translation of Ramon Muntaner's Chronicle by Robert D. Hughes entitled The Catalan Expedition to the East. Muntaner's first hand recounting of this period of time is incredibly vivid. I have to admit, however, that at times it seems that he over-exagerates some facts, though I am certainly not in authority to dispute them. Even so, this is a spectacular work, and I encourage anyone who has interest in the Catalan Company, the later Byzantine Empire, or medieval mercenary politics, to give this book a read.

Now with that said, I know that there is some debate as to whether the Almogavers (as written in this book, Almughavars otherwise) used shields in battle. The creators of warrior made a fine choice, I believe, in opting to give half of each unit the ability to purchase shields, as these troups were renown for their fighting ability and this could not be demonstrated in warrior without them. The Chronicle makes a reference to them using shields. In Hughes' translation, chapters 29 through 31 refer to the siege of Galipolli as laid on by the Genoese captain and knight Sir Anthony Spinola for Emperor Andronicus II. Chapter 29 states, "one hundred and thirty four foot-soldiers - some seamen, others Almogavers [...] remained behind with me [Muntaner]." It should be noted that there were also seven horsemen, including Muntaner, and around 2000 women who took to the walls against the sieging force as well. In preperation for a sallying force against the besiegers after a day of Genoese crossbow harassment, Muntaner writes

"[...] I summoned a hundred of the best men I had [...] and I made them all stand ready, in their shirts and breeches, each bearing a shield and with a lance in his hand, his sword girded on and a dagger under his belt."

At this point, Anthony Spinola had gone forward to the gates and was giving battle to those on the other side with his standards and 300 men on horseback. Muntaner and the six other horsemen along with the footsoldiers came pouring out and quickly slaughtered most of them - those that lived had fled. This is beside the point, but still intriguing. This was sometime in the summer of 1306.