Welcome to the Strelets Forum. Please feel free to discuss any aspect of 1/72 scale plastic figures, not simply Strelets. If you have any questions about our products then we will answer them here.
The book and author (Paul Hill lecturer and author of all things Anglo Saxon) is at pains to point out these were not cavalry who generally did their fighting on horseback , these are mounted infantry , using horse to get from A to B quickly , to get out of trouble more quickly than they got in to it, although by the contemporary description of the rout after Edington it can only be interpreted as some of Alfred`s army did indeed fight on horseback when an opportunity arose ie a fleeing broken enemy formation.
Persuing a defeated enemy mounted does not make them cavalry or even capable of fighting from horseback as a horse has a mind of its own and you have to get used to its quirks, you should note also that the Normans brought their mounts (exclusively stallions) with them with good reason as they would have been used to them and trained for battle... transport to and from a battle and persuit for an untrained mount I doubt would be a problem, but untrained horses do get frightened quite easily.
Dont forget if you can afford a mail shirt (Norman 1040ad cost 7 pounds/silver "Cnut" Lawson Pg37) you could easily afford a mount to ride to battle...
On two handed weapon use from horse back, been done since the hellenistic era using the lance two handed I would guess like the horse its more a case of training...
There is a 12th century Medieval medical treatise that deals with treatment for dislocated limbs and head injuries mostly caused by "warriors" falling of or being thrown from their horses...
In reference to Alan's post, his Anglo-Saxon sources make sense to me. It is an interesting topic that academics have been arguing about for a couple of centuries now, as it is hard to definitively prove. Artwork (particularly the Bayeux Tapestry) is notoriously unreliable on this front, so a clump of horseshoes on a proven Anglo-Saxon/Anglo-Norse battlefield sure would be nice. :joy:
I think the mounted riders would not fit Strelets' current 1066 themed line very well (the majority percentage of the current sets wear too much armour to be very viable for pre-11th Century scenarios, although a few poses can naturally be cherry picked), but would be an option if they want to branch out to something earlier. This could be something like the famous Lindisfarne raid or, as you noted, the life and times of Alfred. I would be TOTALLY for that, although I don't think Strelets are too inclined toward pre-1700 AD sets anytime in the near future.
Which, if you guys at Strelets are reading this, I am honestly fine with. Frankly I would support some re-stocks on your current Medievals over producing more sets, particularly the crossbowmen (STRM025) and Muslim sets (especially STRM013-14).
Until then, it is Empire: Total War time! LOVE that new British Artillery set, the guns and gunners look amazing. I think you guys are up to the challenge of a limber and carriage, but we shall see. Either way, great work! :grin:
P.S.- In terms of Ancients/Medievals, the Linear-A phalangite masters look VERY promising! If those can be gathered together and put into a nice looking formation it would easily put them in the running for the best pre-1500 AD set of the past five years, if not ten!
Afraid my family's roots are purely Norman. Which would explain our penchant for seaside landscapes, global oriented wanderings, and having a random axe lying around the house at all times. So, thanks King William of Normandy!