Italian Wars

[FreddBloggs]

Being the wargames butterfly I am, and never turning up the chance of a new period I have dusted off an age old hankering for this period and started rereading up on it.

Now to my question to those in the know.

There are multiple reference to Lances, my understanding is a lance is 3 heavy cavalry with lances although 2 of them might be called mounted archers.

ANd that this may also apply when Men at Arms are listed.

Have I got it wrong, right or nobody is quite sure anymore?

[Paul]

It's an abbreviation of "Lances Fournies" (I think)

It refers to a Men at Arms (Knight) plus his various hangers on, In the French ordnance this is: The Knight and a Sergeant at Arms, who both fought mounted then on foot a squire and a couple of archers.

I am sure that this was altered as people saw fit to make best use of who the Knight had raised to accompany him. This probably means that richer Knights had more hangers on whilst poorer ones might not even have the Sergeant. So basically a "Lance" could be the Knight and up to a dozen others including archers and Sergeants. Most were effectively mounted infantry though.

[FreddBloggs]

Do you ever get worried the way a vague plan can suddenly come together?

Talking to someone not seen in ages, and in the email exchanges comes the question, you collect odd periods, want some warlord landsnechts cheap, sprues are fine but the boxes are iffy.

Yeah I might be interested I said, what do you have?

Oh 2 battallia boxes, £100 quid the pair.

I said yes, and he added, I'll chuck in a box of crossbow/arquebusiers as well then, free.....

Somewhere in Olympus is a God waiting to drop the other shoe, while laughing at me!

[valleyboy]

Great stuff Fred, good to see a new convert!

[FreddBloggs]

I have a unit of swiss zweihanders from the 90s (the Peter Guilder Range! Conniseur?) Already, so more,finally moving forwards!