Going Generic... An all Around Celtic Warband for multiple battleboards.

So, I kind of got tired of the whole Somerled look, as well as I wanted a more "generic" Celtic army that I could field as either Irish, Scots, or Welsh. Pretty much that means that I keep what I've got so far (mostly Viking style chainmail/axe wielding warriors and lots and lots of tartan clad unarmored ones armed with bow and sword.). The next few warriors I'm painting up to finish off my current 4 point warband are more like the Galloglass look I was originally going for. Green cloaks with yellow tunics and vice versa for variety. I also repainted the standard bearer and chief's shield with the Red Hand of Ulster, which, considering that most if not all West Highland Scots of Dalriada were descended from the Ui Neill kindred is more fitting after all.

I really like the Welsh battleboard for this game as the last couple of battles I fought at home involved me sitting in woods or across a river peppering Vikings and Anglo-Danes with lots and LOTS of javelins. Holy Ground and Children of the Land are used almost every turn as well as Ambush once the Northmen start chasing my Welsh lads into the sacred wood of St. David. I can't wait to get the Raven's Shadow expansion as I've heard alot about the Irish and Norse Gael battleboards being centered around champions and duels. I'm already working on some Celtic hearthguard that can double as Irish Champions. Basically I'm using a box of Ancient Celts for these guys. Ancient Celts will work really well for Irish warriors since the ones I am using from the box have tunics and chainmail, a handfull are shirtless, which was not unusual in a Celtic force of the Dark Ages whether Gael, Pict, or Cymric. Now some of my friends have noted that the torc rings on the arms and necks of the ones I'm building are innacurate as that is a pagan symbol and dropped out of use with the coming of Christianity, but surprisingly I looked it up at several online sources and discovered that while they did drop out of fashion after the so called Migration Period, they became popular again in places such as Ireland and Wales during the Viking Age. Perfect timing for me. It means that I can use Ancient Celts to represent Viking Age Irish for one thing.

Apparently, the Welsh still wore torcs well into the Middle Ages, mostly as symbols of nobility and royal status. One Welsh prince named Cynog ap Brychan wore one that was called St. Kynauc's Collar as part of his royal regalia. St. Kynauc lived in the 490's well after the Christisation of the Britons. This "collar" was seen by a Welsh chronicler traveling Britain in the 1180's. And it was still being used as a part of Welsh princely regalia! So obviously torcs on Viking Age Celts is perfectly appropriate and accurate. :P

My next warbands after I complete this one will be a generic Viking/Anglo Saxon/Dane one, and hopefully in the future a Norman/Breton/Frankish/Strathclyde band. But that's a ways off. For now I've got to finish the Welsh/Scots/Irish/Norse-Gael warband first. That means another points worth of 4 Hearthguard, and another group of warriors that can double as levies depending on my mood. I'm also looking into getting some warhounds to give the Irish more flavor when I get their battle board.

Slan! (Irish Gaelic for "see ya!")