Here we have Bishop Odo, brother of William the Bastard of Normandy. The figure is from the excellent Gripping Beast range with a fine banner from Flags of War. The shield designs are from Little Big Men Studios.
I was going to give Bishop Odo the Papal Banner, but it does seem that Eustace of Boulogne was given the honour of carrying it with him. I have given Odo a different very bright and expensive looking banner to reflect his high status.
There were weapon options in the pack and I decided to go for the wooden mace option as per the Bayeux Tapestry. I have read that it is thought that Bishop Odo may have commissioned the tapestry, in which case one would have thought that he might have wanted to have been represented fairly accurately in terms of armour and equipment.
Hopefully a 1066 Battle of Hastings can be recreated on my wargaming table soon. I started my little collection in the early 1990's but progress has been slow. I think a few more troops and it might soon be playable. Unusually I now have enough commanders to make it feasible.
...And finally a little joke which I thought of earlier. This is how it might look if the Kubrick movie 'The Shining' had been made in 1066...!
A battle to fight and refight...great post and wonderful vignette!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil :-) I look forward to setting up Senlac Hill soon!
DeleteLovely work, and the LBMS shields tops it off nicely.
ReplyDeleteHi Lawrence, I'm glad you like them. Yes, thank goodness for shield transfers - it saves us so much time! :-)
DeleteGreat looking Normans - I like the padded coat the bishop is wearing - quite a nice translation from the tapestry.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dean - Hopefully I will get them all on the table soon and I'll get to see how it all looks.
DeleteVery well done; if I recall, medieval clergy were not supposed top shed blood, hence the use of the mace - which broke bones and cracked skulls instead!
ReplyDeleteHi Peter, Yes indeed! That is true about the mace - though confusingly it is also a symbol of power going way back too - and I think William is depicted at one point with a wooden mace too. Those were the days of real blood and thunder Bishops! :-)
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