Arthurian TW Preview 7th May: The Seaxe/Saxons
Seaxe
This new preview of Arthurian: Total War features one of the major factions: the Seaxe, or Saxons, the scourge of Britain!
Preface for all germanic factions
Since the middle of the 4th century the northern and western Germanic tribes had been raiding the wealthy Roman colony of Britain. Their effectiveness lay in the fact that they were excellent seamen with fast, sturdy and maneovrable vessels that could carry 70 elite warriors from the Baltic to the shores of eastern Britain in days. The Romans were very disturbed by the Germanic threat and the name ‘the saxon shore’ was soon given to the unstable eastern coast.
In typical Germanic fashion, a need for men with swords lured the glory-hungry elite of Germanic society far from their homes, to seek mercenary service in Roman colonies. For the tribesmen of the Baltic it was probably a much preferrable prospect of being posted in an area within sailing distance of one’s homelands than taking service deep in the troubled continent of mainland Europe where the Goths, Huns and failing Roman factions were vying for power.
Tribes like the Frisians, long on the border with Rome were among the first Northerners to be placed in federal garrisons in Britain. Many were stationed along Hadrians’ Wall and the Antonine wall and so they would have known from early on the manner of Roman, British and Pictish warfare. They became well-versed in the landscape, infrastrcuture and even the other federal militaries such as the Sarmatians who had such an effect on British warfare after official Roman rule dissapated.
In 343 several forts deep in Roman territory such as those in the Tyne valley were assaulted and burnt to the ground, probably due to successful Pictish raids, thus Angles and Saxons were almost certainly recruited en masse. From this period we find Germanic inscriptions at the Wall in Romanised style naming the nordic swordgod Tiw, as well as goddesses who gave victory such as the Valkyries.
Within a hundred years, many western nordic tribes had become accustomed to Roman service in Britain, it was only natural then that as the organisation of Rome began to diminish and the chaos of rebellion, factionalism and invasion began to tear away at Britain the Northerners also began to feel that they held a claim to live and settle in the west. They had after all shed their blood on British soil for over a century.
In 369 the efficacy of Germanic naval and amphibious power was overrunning the already weakened northern borderlands. Roman military instinct reacted with a set of beacon fires and watchtowers along the Yorkshire coast.
Germanic seapower was second to none. After a series of successful large scale raids of allied Germanic, Pictish and Irish forces the Romans actually managed to regain control, a brief respite occured and Hadrian’s wall was rebuilt after extensive destruction this however was undermined as Maximus Magnus the Roman governor of Britain claimed himself Emperor and lead his armies over the sea to Gaul. The borders of Roman Britain were suddenly weak and in 388 Hadrians Wall is overrun, the following year Rome recalls its garrisons completely.
A new era begins for Britain...
It was not until a young Atheling of particular nobility had become embroiled in a blood feud involving Angles, Jutes, Half-Danes and Frisians and was exiled that the Nordic tribes coordinated and seriously undertook an invasion of Britain. But this in itself is a story equal to the tales of Arthur. Until Hengest could clear his name in order to return to the nordic courts and claim his right as an Earl of the Jutes he saught, like so many others, military service in Britain. He took all the men that were still loyal to him, some 200 or so elite Atheling warriors and recieved employment from the Romano-British leader called Vortigern (Overlord or High King.) From a base in south eastern Britain Hengest and his coalition force were able to defend the east from Germanic raids as well as strike deep into Britain through the waterways, such as the Thames and even defend much of the north from the eastern shorelines. A second island base in the south, now called Hengistbury Head may have functioned as a base for western assaults using the Solent river. Vortigern’s sphere of control covered much of southern England, from Kent to at least as far north as London, to as far west as the cities that bordered Gwent and the lands south that would in a short time become Dumnonia’s heartlands. This domain was key to the early English invasion, as it was the lands that Hengest as first English High King saught to control, it would later became the claim of all Bretwaldas and the foundation for the idea of England as we now know it.
Hengest and his brother Horsa were legendary even in their lifetime, they were born for leadership. Their equine names hid a religious importance and refers to their recent descent from the Allfather Woden himself. The twin brothers cult occurs in nearly every great Germanic tribe’s origins, Alf and Yngwe amongst the Swedes, Haethcyn and Herebeald amongst the Geats, Dan and Angul amongst the Danes and Angels, Raos and Raptos amongst the Vandals, Aior and Ebor amongst the Langobards. These reflect the sons of Woden, the gods of light and darkness Balder and Hother. Early Roman records document these gods where they resemble the Graeco-Roman Diouskouri, but are called by the generic name Alcis or Elks and states that they were horsemen and patrons of horsemen. Hengest (stallion) and Horsa (horse) were born to be legends, it is possible that much of the concepts attributed to Arthur were in fact originally part of the Hengest saga, such as the Germanic ‘sword in the stone’ and the ‘once and future king’ which is echoed in nordic tales of kings sleeping in barrows and guarding the land even in death. The fact that the English took Arthur, their ethnic enemy as their own national hero is not due to stupidity but to the propaganda of PostNormanism that laid claim to Britain and parts of France and saw the RomanoBritish legend of a ‘king Arthur’ as their means of legitimising rulership over several nations. The original English concept of Bretwalda or High King was ‘broad ruler’ or ‘widely voted for.’ The horseman Hengest does occur in early Germanic sagas as well as some later and dubious references to his later life. His symbol, the White Horse or unicorn of British heraldry has however outlasted the entirety of his tale.
After Hengest’s landing with three ships around 445 and certainly after the death of St.Germanus when plague and civil war troubled Britain, the successes of Hengest allowed him to call for reinforcements, some 18 keels or 1200 men under his cousins’ leadership, Ochtha and Ebissa. These occupied the north along the wall against the Picts, and allowed Vortigern to relocate the Goddodin to Powys. Hengest had military control in the north and south then, but the manner by which he came to be High King of a new world in the west was due to the failure of the relationship with his lord Vortigern, whom all sources admit was not an honourable character. Hengest’s problems are preluded to in the Germanic lays where his dilemma of duty to two opposing factions leads to his breaking of oaths to the Frisian king in order to fulfill other oaths to his Jutish lords. The ensuing bloodbath destroys the Frisian royal line and leads to his exile in Britain, as well as his eventual reclamation of honour as a living hero in the north. This part of the tale is echoed agasin later in life in his deeds in Britian. Where Vortigern was concerned however the trouble seems to have occurred over Hengest’s young daughter Rowena whom Vortigern had taken in marriage. There seems to have been a good deal of quarrelling over payment for military service which probably made Rowena’s vulnerable position aggravated. In any event, Hengest and Horsa finally turned on Vortigern around 455, the success of Hengest’s campaign leads to his acquisition of the kingdom of Kent and a move of operations to the valuable city of Canterbury. Horsa, his brother, is however slain in the critical battle, his monument the White Horse Stone remains at Aylesford to this day.
A truce follows whereby the English are invited to talks at Stonehenge deep in British territory at an important cultural site, aided no doubt by language difficulties, an argument sparks off and the English whom naturally carry their seax longknives with them manage to kill 300 British rulers.
Hengest continued to rule Kent and wage war until his death around 490 where he was probably 70 years old, he never did settle his score with Vortigern who fled from Stonehenge and was finally assassinated by his own people. After Hengest the HighKingship then passed to Aelle who had come to Britain in 477, a Saxon noble leading a great wave of forces into the west, claiming Sussex and facing the kingdoms of Gwent and Dumnonia head-on.
In his lifetime Hengest had acheived more than many other men in history- he had singlehandedly created a new country and a new people, the English, whom under his leadership were not only Englisc Angles but Jutes, Frisians, Swaef, Saxons and Geats. These became the new English of a new England. Kent, which was once Britain’s gateway to Europe, providing invaluable trade and communications with the known world now lay in English hands. This became the heart that fed the English conquest of Britain. In time, England would control more than just Britain, indeed an empire which would consume 2/3rds of the world, this is Hengest’s legacy.
Seaxe/The Saxons
The geographer Ptolemy wrote of the Saxons in the 2nd century, placing them much to the north west of modern Saxony, in fact between the lands of the Frisians and Angles, just north of the Elbe. The Saxons were probably part of the great Swaef confederacy or the Allemani of ‘All men.’ Even the English scholar Bede writing in the 8th century states that the Saxons of continental Europe had no king only Ealdormen and voted for a war leader when in time of need. By the time England was made up of setlled Saxon kingdoms in the south, the old Saxons in Europe had spread as far south as the Rhine. Growing in population and power until the 8th centruy where they met the ambitions of the Christian Frankish king Carl the Great who presecuted them for their heathen religion in an attempt to purge his own kingdom. They were still staunchly heathen even around the year 700 when the two English missionaries, Ewald the Black and Ewald the Fair attempted to convert the Old Saxons.
This heathen fire was strong in the eary English invasion. The devotion to the war god Tiw or Seaxneat was deeply entwined with their national weapon, the Seax, a longknife or single-edged sword, which in its longer version was a weapon of highly advanced technology. The widespread Germanic popularity of the longknife itself was due to the fact that in trained hands it enabled even the most armoured opponent to be made vulnerable. The longknife did not use length to create a distance between the user and his enemy, so it required speed and aggression to literally wrestle the enemy and aim the longknife at unarmoured areas of the body.
Saxons were feared for their especial abilities with the seax both in its short and long forms. The Saxons, in the matter of the English invasion were already well in place perhaps even before the time of Hengest. Extensive Saxon occupation in the north of East Anglia, and some areas traditionally thought of as Anglian, have shown that Saxons were in Britain living alongside Romano-Britons as early as 350. They were probably among the first Foederati with the Frisians to stand in the Litus Saxonicum.
After Hengest had initial success against Vortigern and had secured the kingdom of Kent it was not long before a second wave came from Europe. This was in the form of Saxons, not apparently under Hengest’s direct control as the earlier Anglian reinforcements were, and these men were led by an atheling called Aella, he and his sons Cymen, Wlencing and Cyssa came with three ships, about 200 men and landed west of Kent’s borders in 477. It was clearly a planned military move and coordinated with Hengest. Aella’s small band of elite warriors rallied along Kent’s western border up until Hengest’s death in 488 where Aella seems to have received the powers of Bretwalda. In 491, Aella and Cyssa took the fort-town of Anderida from the Britons of Rhegin and killed every last Briton inside, probably in revenge for the death of his sons Wlencing and Cymen. This marked the establishment of Sussex, the first new Saxon kingdom. Cyssa went on to take Noviomagus and this city is now Chichester still holding his name. Several large military advances were made far beyond the Weald and deep into British territory as far as London and the Chiltern Hills in fact, laying the foundations for the Middle and East Saxon kingdoms, Middlesex and Essex, as well as the sub-kingdom Suther-ge which would become Surrey. Within five years Aella and Aesc, king of Kent and son of Hengest had managed to push so far west that they reached the city of Bath. Here they were met by Arthur however and at the legendary battle of Mons Badonicus were deafeated and pushed back into their respective kingdoms. After this time the West Saxon kingdom was able to begin, as Arthur was probably fighting the Angles in the north east. Dumnonia was being undermined from within and a new Bretwalda was emerging, one who united both Briton and German, a Saxon with a British title, Cerdic.
Now we will show you a part of the saxon army.
INFANTRY
Hundradeflocc
(Hundred flock)
An ancient institution is recorded even in the time of Tacitus, who documents in his ‘Germania’ the levy system of the Hundred. Chiefs were required by feudal law to provide in times of need a levy militia of a hundred hand picked men from each delegated district under his control. Each family provided a man for service. These farmers had the simplest of weaponry and no sense of warfare other than the means to defend themselves in a street brawl. Banded together in shield-groups of a hundred they would support professional soldiers in major campaigns or in case of local troubles be led by a chief to keep the peace.
Ceorlwerod
(Churl warband)
Churls were the true middle class, landowners with a sizeable farm and connected family which supported slaves and lowerclasses working the fields around them, often lotted and hired out to thralls. The Churls were men of varying power and wealth yet all had good means to equip themselves for war, who could for example transport themselves to the levy gatherings by horse or even fight as light horsemen if required. They were dutybound to their local leaders, the Thegns, as well as bound by honour to protect their homes. They were no strangers to military service even if it was not their chosen way of life.
Geoguthas
’Youth’
To be born a Ceorl was not without its worries. Just because your family were tradesmen, horse breeders, blacksmiths or landowners did not mean that you would inherit the family business. When a Thegn called up the levy, folk would not send their best earner or breadwinner, they would send the youngest men of a large family. This was not without its oppurtunities however. A young ceorl man was well-fed, well-educated, with some military training, he had fair equipment and therefore some chance of survivng his first few engagements. Without any other career open to them Geoguth would fight hard and want to prove themselves to their lord who had honoured them with his favour by taking them from civilian life.
Duguthas
(‘Doers’)
If a Geoguth wasn’t killed or crippled before he gained some experience in the field he might find himself in the service of a chief or elder and rewarded with training and better equipment. He would be expected to live by the sword, functioning as civil-police, border-guards, tax-collectors, and even raiders. Hardened by years of violence, they were valuable men and intensely loyal to both leader and land.
LIGHT TROOPS
Liðeremenn
The liðere or sling was a simple, cheap and effective weapon that could even be used by youths otherwise normally too young to fight. A slingshot was a very common weapon even for hunting such as poorfolk might be forced to use in want of weapons or skills such as a longbow. A sling was useful because it could still break bones even if a man was wearing chainmail. The blunt force of the blow was enough to render a man invalid. Most liðeremenn were young geburas, they were therefore very sensitive to scares, but their morale is made-up for by their cheap recruitment and maintenance costs which are more than rewarding given the impact the weapon could make on enemy units, even the more armoured ones. It was usual to use liðere in order to keep a unit pinned behind their shields so that cavalry or other shock troops could close in on them.
Frameagemacan
(Framea band)
The framea was an ancient weapon, simple but effective. It’s commonplace role in Germanic warfare is evidence of this. Although a piece of standard equipment for most, the framea was still a weapon that could be made a specialty of. The framea, (‘to go forth, be sent forth’) was the weapon of light assault troops rather than defensive armoured soldiers. It was relatively short and robust as a javelin, so it lacked the range of most throwing spears, however it did make its mark within range due to its weight and thick shaft. It would not break on contact, so any of these lying around the battlefield could easily be picked up and reused. It also doubled up as a hand-to-hand weapon, which again due to its compact size meant that it lacked any real danger say, to a cavalry charge, although it could help a man hold his own against most infantry. For these reasons it was widespread amongst non-specialised basic infantry.
This man has simple clothes, he is from the working classes and unused to warfare, most likely a levy of the hundredmen. He is quick and not entirely without courage but most useful as support to large assaults.
CAVALRY
Ríderas
Most freemen could hunt reasonably well from the saddle with the framea. This was a fair basic qualification for Germanic light cavalry. Many Ceorls were wellstocked with horses and so when the fyrd or militia-levy was called together under the Ealdorman or Thegn, many men would take themselves, their arms and equipment on horseback. It was often the case that the men that came to camp on horseback would stay on horseback if the campaign required. Outriders, messengers, raiders and patrolmen were often riders of mixed background and equipment. There were often duguth men in the ranks too, so these units were not completely without experience nor military skill.
Now a selection of screenshots featuring Saxons fighting Dyfneint.
Sig for the Saxons fans:
The team is made of :
Agraes - project leader & historical research - skinner - mapper
Ian_of_Smeg - mapping & historical research - traits
Ranika - historical research - gaelic specialist
Thrashaholic - historical research - briton specialist
Vortigern - historical research - briton specialist
Spongly - historical research - saxon and pictish specialist
Blindfaithnogod (of the Byzantium TW team) - skinner/modeler
Hross - historical research - germanic specialist
Kscott - mapper/skinner
Alcibiades of Athens - skinner/modeler
Professor S - symbol maker, skinner
Favre - skinner
Zhuge_Liang - skinner/modeler
Sher Khan - concept artist
Shrimpy - 3D animator
Uranos - mapper
Pinarius - skinner/modeler
Bronwen Mall - 2D art
Kaweh K. - 2D art
Publius - 2D art
Hader102 - 2D art
Special thanks to :
- Atheist Peace who make us a space on the Imperium forums
- BDH who give us a great map_heights of Britain wink.gif
- Lusted and Atilla Reloaded for let us use their amazing Late Romans skin packs biggrin.gif
- Dust for his gallic saddle model
- Pinarius for allowing us to use his wonderful horses
- Webbird for giving us the right to use his awesome celtic skins
- Promotheus for his spear blade models
- The Stranger for his unit layout
- Arbaces for having helped us with models
- Madtao for his 'Savage' model
Reply With Quote
Re: Arthurian TW Preview 7th May: The Seaxe/Saxons
Bookmarks