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Re: Scottish Sciltron

Great to hear I can use this set for several other medieval theatres, which I hoped.
The right line of the hands is important indeed.
For any weapon.

Re: Scottish Sciltron

I imagine these are the Scottish pikemen that helped win the battle of Bannockburn for Robert the Bruce enabling him to win Scottish independence, for a brief time, & the Scottish crown. These will go along with the previous 2 medieval Scottish sets. Generic? yes! But useful? Heck yeah!

Re: Scottish Sciltron

Won our independence for a brief time? From 1314 till 1707!

Re: Scottish Schiltron

Dear all

Yes schiltron (or shiltron) gets Google going and is the accepted term. Probably the same root as the Anglo Saxon scild or scield meaning shield or defence together with "truma" meaning array or troop. Scildtrum is probably OK but never used in this context(source-a concise Anglo Saxon Dictionary). Defensive array sounds good which is probably what was meant by the chroniclers when they saw it.

I am not sure what this set adds to the set 081 other than the shields but then they were important but the troops are still a bit too well armoured. The Medieval Levy set 2 is good as well. I suppose all the sets together make for a mixture which is good for the period.
According to Froissart the bulk of the Scottish infantry was mounted on small ponies. A Scottish infantryman with pike/spear on a pony traveling to battle is OK though of course they dismounted for battle. They often used mounted infantry on raids. The Irish/English hobelar as a counter to this is again an important troop type missing from most all? sets.

Furthermore:

http://medievalnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/medieval-scottish-soldiers-fought.html

So they were dressed in yellow. Let's revise all those models that have them dressed as for an encounter at Murrayfield or the Andy Stewart show.

I suppose "Braveheart" did some good after all if it sparked off genuine research.

David

Re: Scottish Schiltron

I've been wonderin' where the term "yellow b*st*rds came from, maybe this is it. No disrespect to any clansman.

Re: Scottish Schiltron

George Gush's book "Renaissance Armies" remarks that the Scots wore yellow shirts upto about 1600 (p.44 Patrick Stevens 1982), so not really new info considering that it was originally published in 1875 and I am sure was drawing on older secondary material.

Re: Scottish Schiltron

But presumably the Lowland Scots who must have made up the majority of Bruce's armies (and who weren't Gaels, and presumably eschewed those cultural trappings), would have resembled their English cousins/neighbours more closely.

Still, i suppose the point of this set from Strelets is to do something different from the more generic medievals, so, apart from the sporrans, i'm sure they'll look fine in their yellow shirts.

cheers, steve

Re: Scottish Schiltron

Oooops! Sorry Mr. Gush, just re-read my post and I meant 1975 not 1875 (venerable as he is, even George couldn't manage that).

I'm sure Lowland Scots would not have looked very different from their English counterparts.

Re: Scottish Schiltron

Dear Graham

Taking up the 1875 tag William Morris and his followers were well aware of medieval costume, dyes and their properties so that date is probably not far off for the original source material.

David

Re: Scottish Schiltron

One of my heroes! You are right Morris was a great admirer of medieval tradesmen and was well versed in the technologies and skills of those days. I went to school in Bexleyheath where he had a house (the Red House) which is full of textiles and painting - the walls are even gridded with small indentations in the plaster to help the unskilled produce artwork.

Re: Scottish Schiltron

Dear Graham

Yes, very much hands on medievalism.

His poetry was good as well:

"..From Robert's throat he loosed the bands
Of silk and mail; with empty hands
Held out, she stood and gazed, and saw
The long bright blade without a flaw
Glide out from Godmar's sheath, his hand
In Robert's hair, she saw him bend
Back Robert's head; she saw him send
The thin steel down; the blow told well,
Right backward the knight Robert fell,
And moaned as dogs do, being half dead,
Unwitting, as I deem: so then
Godmar turn'd grinning to his men,
Who ran, some five or six, and beat
His head to pieces at their feet....."

from Haystacks in the Flood

David

Re: Scottish Schiltron

No detail spared!