Byzantine Army of Jack -- The Formed Infantry

Jack brought his Byzantines over on Mothers Day.  We'd hoped to have a game that afternoon, but the rest of the guys were occupied with more important matters.  So Jack and I spread the army out, shared conversation, and took pictures of the arrayed forces.

The army is all painted and glued to the bases, but much is still not flocked.  However, the formed infantry was complete, and so will be the feature of this photo study.  First we'll focus on the command stands Jack has completed, the emperor and a general.

Emperor Constantine Diogenes and infantry line

George Maniakes - Strategos attacking a Syrian horseman in the foreground, while Harald Hardrada and his Varagians await the enemy

The two general stands can be combined as one piece, seen here in front of two Skoutato units

My previous blog post, Byzantine Dioramas by Jack Ladd, features more shots of the George Maniakes base.

The main line infantry of the Byzantines were the Skoutatoi, close order heavy foot (FP in Impetus) armed with long spear, and backed up by a stand of supporting archers.  These are a deep unit in Impetus for the Nikephorian and Konstantinian armies, or are separate units in in Comnenan armies.

The standards are both Little Big Man Design banners and art-work Jack found on the internet or in other places.  The LBMS pieces are the more vibrantly colored ones, but I think the combination of sources works well.  This is a well arrayed army.

The Varangians are the other component of the formed infantry.  These are mercenaries from northern Europe and Russian -- originally they were primarily Swedes and Russ, although many other adventurers joined their ranks.  After the Norman conquest of England many huscarls joined the Varangian ranks.

Harald Hardrada's unit

Gunnar's unit, with a murder of crows!

The cavalry and light infantry will be featured in a future post.

Jack's work is very nice -- FYI he does do commission work.

TTFA