The Romano British Military

This will be a brief discussion on the Romano-British military and how it relates to the wargamer and my decisions and thought processes in regards to the creation of the army.

The Migration-Era/Sub Roman/Early Medieval, whatever one wants to call it, is both my favourite period of history and wargaming. It allows for the creation of many fine stories and scenarios based in both history and legend. The general nature of the warfare (well at least in Great Britain) does not require too many figures and allows for a great variety of both colours and types (lets not forget the shields! Late Roman/Romano British designs have to be my favourite).

To begin, Sub Roman Britain (post 410AD) is a period with rather limited written and physical evidence (and that's before you even bring the question of Arthur in!). This is especially apparent with regards to the military structures. The main point of contention is the nature of Roman institutions and how long they continued/are applicable post departure. This point should be qualified that this is very dependant upon the location within Britain. Upland areas, those to the North and West, generally had far less Roman influence than those to the South and East. So it is expected that these areas would have 'reverted' far sooner if not straight away. This is primarily based off of excavations and re-use of upland sites/hillforts combined with coinage distributions.

For the purposes of this blog my Romano-British force is from what would be Southern England from the mid 5th Century. The force still exerts a strong Roman influence in terms of equipment and organisation. Whether this was actually the case is debatable. My own knowledge and research as a scholar is, to be frank, unsure. There is some evidence to suggest some characteristics continued as seen in the Breton Kingdom of the later 5th Century (for those unaware the Bretons of Brittany were migrants from Southern Britain). For miniature purposes, however, I enjoy the Romanised style far more than that of the 'traditional' Celtic styles. This may be partly explained due to the greater contrast it provides with the barbarian forces they would face, both in terms of appearance as well as organisation.

The army that I have assembled consists of:

• 10 Heavy/Shock Cavalry in the Roman style
• 20 Regular Armoured Infantry in the Roman style
• 20 Unarmoured Infantry in the Roman style
• 20 Archers in the Roman style
• 2 x 20 Militia/Pedyt in a rather my irregular style to the above

The Cavalry could represent the Comitatus/Bucellari of a Warlord/General or professional regulars. The Romanised infantry are meant to represent Comitatenses or Limitanei (or equivalents thereof collectively termed Milites) left or raised locally for the Civitates. The Pedyt are what would be found later on in the period and represent those locals/citizens doing levied or selective military service.

The core of said army would not be out of place within a Late Roman force of the same period. Units of all of the above were found within Late-Roman Britain. Whether this force accurately represents the military of lowland sub Roman Britain is another matter. I think it is definitely possible and probably but the study of history require more than that. Like all my forces they very rarely represent actual units or kingdoms but attempt to cover the general period while being as accurate or true to the general idea of the time as possible. However like this force some lee-way in terms of accuracy is given for aesthetic considerations. If I do not like the figures, the time and effort to paint and finish them will never be found.

Expansion of the force will include a slight increase in the number of Armoured and Heavy Cavalry as well as the purchase of some Lighter Cavalry (once again in the Roman Style). For a more accurate army one might look to various Germanic mercenaries/allies as was the case in both Britain and the Western Roman Empire. I have an early/mid Saxon army from which suitable figures may be drawn so as such do not require more of the same type. However, I enjoy keeping the armies 'pure' for mostly aesthetic and cohesive reasons. The other reason is that the figures are partly designed with the game Dux Britannarium in mind (as well as the original Warhammer Ancient Battles of which I am/was a fan). Said game, at least at the beginning, does not use any mercenaries.

While this has been the briefest of discussions I may attempt to post a more in depth examination in the near future (time permitting).