The Anglo-Norman list covers the years 1072-1189 and spans the reigns of William I (Conqueror), William II (Rufus), Henry I, Stephen, and most of the reign of Henry II.
The years after Hastings were critical for the survival of the Conquest. Using not only his limited feudal resources but also the English fyrd and mercenaries, William I conducted a number of successful campaigns consolidating the Norman hold on the country. He faced rebellions of English earls, Scot raids, and incursions by the Dublin-based Vikings all with the same promptness and efficiency. Realizing very early on that he needed to put to the field every available man, he incorporated the old fyrd very quickly and allow Anglo Saxon fighting men into the lower ranks of the Norman nobility. With swiftness he replaced the lay and ecclesiastical Saxon aristocracy that had survived Hastings with his own trusted lieutenants, allocating huge tracts of land to them as a incentive to the realm's defense.
He was aided in his conquest by the lack of fortifications in Saxon England (a fact that was quickly changed by the erection of heaps of motte-and-bailey castles), the inexistence of a mounted wing in the Saxon army, and the elimination of a considerable portion of the ruling Anglo-Saxon elite at Hastings (including Harold Godwinson and his two brothers). Some Saxon nobility was incorporated into the Conqueror's family through marriage, and some collaborated with the new master willingly. Within one generation England had been transformed militarily, socially, and economically while her goverment resembled that of a new military elite ruling through what we would call military law.
By the Conqueror's death in 1087 the realm was secure with numerous new castles guarding every road, port, and accessway in the kingdom. This, in turn, changed the nature of warfare in England from that of open, pitched battles, to primarily siege warfare as the later years of continuous Norman baronial revolts were to prove, especially during the years of King Stephen.
The success of the Norman conquest was also partly due to the fact that every single one of the Norman kings was a capable general in the field. They retained their crowns through efficient use of the resources they had at their disposal, incessant activity, and utilization of the previous Saxon governing machine that enabled the Norman crown to collect taxes and actually have a budget for hiring of mercenaries, wages for castle guards, and other expenses. After the Conquest, knights' fiefs were very precisely parcelled out and every tenant was expected to come up with the quota prescribed to him. All the major tenants of the kingdom were Normans themselves and their fortunes were tied together with that of the Crown; it was in their own best interest to defend the realm against the numerous adversaries so they would maintain their newly acquired-and richly endowed-land ownerships. Later on, scutage, a form of money payment in lieu of military service that was inherited from the Saxons, was widely employed and that allowed the English monarchy, from very early, to be able to put to the field an army that was mostly professional and maintained by the Crown.
The official enemies are the Welsh (#92), Pre-Feudal Scots (#111), Norse Irish (#112), Anglo-Norman, Feudal French (#137), Scots Common (#140).
To this list I would add Viking (106a); a grand expendition was planned in 1069 by King Sweyn of Denmark that, after skirmishes on the Eastern coastline, managed to capture and hold York for a little while.
| 4 x 4Kn/Bd | These are the feudal troops that the Norman kings could count on. The Normans weren't dogmatic but very practical when it came to winning with whatever resourses were available. Their cavalry, in contrast with the nobility of France, would dismount to fight if need be. They also utilised every man that could bear arms and was willing to fight, allowing Saxon freemen (nichten, thegns, etc.) to enter the lower ranks of nobility as knights. Wide employment of mercenaries might also have swollen the ranks. |
| 4 x 4Sp | The Normans also made use of the old english fyrd, or the representation of every free community in the king's army, based upon the old hide system (the more cows you owned, the more men had to show up). The fyrd wasn't called out all the time, but it was definitely present in campaigns against the Scots or the Welsh; it also played an important part in siege warfare which, in a country dotted with castles, was an integral part of the civil wars that were to follow. |
| 3 x 2Ps | These represent freemen of lower financial status who could not arm to the standards of the fyrd; they fought with bows and javelins and no mail corselets. |
| 1 x 4Kn or 3Aux or 4Cb or 2Ps | Mercenary crossbows or Welsh Aux. If you use the Kn option these would probably be Flemings or other Continental mercenary knights. |
Historicaly, the Normans had the edge over their opponents because they utilized large numbers of heavy cavalry and combined cavalry/infantry/naval action. In DBA too this can be represented since almost all of the historical opponents lack any considerable mounted wing (except the French).
Knights in the open will definitely run down Ps, Ax, and Wb, while they stand a good chance against Sp. Most of the armies mentioned under Enemies are chalk full of the exact elements Kn love to kill; if you're playing against them, use your knights, always within the context of combined action between cavalry and infantry (i.e. try not to leave your Sp behind while you're charging with the Kn).
The historical versality of the Anglo Norman armies is represented in DBA by the dismounting option and the option for either an Ax, Cb, or Ps element. Dismounting your Kn as Bd should come handy against the Scots Common with their large number of Pk, and against the feared Welsh bows. Although you'll slow your army down by dismounting, your enemy is probably as slow as you; keep a reserve of couple of Kn elements who can charge and create or take advantage of a hole in the enemy line.
In my games, so far, the Normans hold a 3-0 lead on the Scots Commons. Single lines of Pk is still vulnerable vs. Kn while double lines leaves the flanks exposed to flanking by the Norman Ps (I usually pick the Wb option for the Scots that leaves them with no light troops). If the Norman king campaigned north, I'm sure Scotland would become a tributary within one campaign year. Against the welsh, the Normans have to have a very good day to win. With a good portion of the Welsh always out of reach in bad going, the Norman player has to decide whether to dismount or not and whether to use his Ps in bad going or with the rest of the army. I usually dismount and use the Ps in a screening role in front of the infantry (they are outnumbered in bad going anyway by the tougher Ax).
In the most recent engagement, the Welsh Bw destroyed the Norman Ps and proceeded to delay and actually disorganize the Norman foot long enough for a body of flanking Welsh Ax to take the Norman camp. I favor this tactic in a pitched battle, since the Welsh are a little faster than their opponent (however, the Normans had started with 8 elements due to loses iflicted by Welsh ambushes earlier in the campaign year). Next time I'll take my chances as the Norman player and charge my Kn against the Bw, the only Welsh elements to find on good going.
Anglo-Norman warfare, however, cannot realistically be portrayed within DBA context without amendments to simulate castle sieges. Besides feudalism, the Normans introduced castles into England. Historically, a good deal of Anglo-Norman fighting was done against each other, especially during the reign of Steven when civil war raged for something like 20 years between the king and the Count of Anjou and Empress Matilda. This was a period when pitched battles were few (too costly in resources) and the different opponents tried to outmanouever each other in a game of strategic sieges. Castles were invested with counter castles, which in turn were demolished or further strengthened according to the outcome of the struggle. One of the reasons that Steven managed to hold the throne for so long, was that he never lost control of the castles guarding the two main roads to the North, that way he maintained rapid access to all of his opponents' strongholds while at the same time he kept them isolated from each other.
A set of basing rules where sieges are resolved with 1d6 roll shouldn't be too hard to devise; up to 6 elements of the army can be allocated to different locations for garrison duties (1 or 2 elements per castle) in which case the stronghold will have to be attacked by at least 6 elements of the opponent's army (that way you can attack two castles per turn), and the combat is resolved according to the new BUA rules that are being discussed in the Forum. Castles without garrisons will be taken on just same kind of a die roll. Further work is to be done on this subject.
My Anglo-Norman figures were all Essex. They all befit the era very well. The knights resemble Normans with nose pieces and kite shields (thankfuly, because now I can morph a Norman army), while the infantry resemble Saxon levies with capes, kite shield, and spear, no armor (also very easy to morph into any Celtic/Germanic/Danish/Scot army of the era). Essex ships the Cb option, also nice early medieval figures with no armor than can be incorporated into any other armies of the time. I also had fun painting them. Overall, great stuff; I love this army.
Forthcoming.
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My thanks to Konstantine Trtiambelas, konstantinet@hotmail.com for contributing this page and for not complaining all the times I substituted a "C" for a "K". Comments, questions or suggested additions to this page can be sent to Chris Brantley, brant@erols.com.
Last Updated: March 8, 2000