Scottish Man at Arms-Bannockburn

[ghamilt1]

Just finished (and I mean that literally, the paint isn't even dry yet) this limited edition figure I received from Tommi of a medieval man at arms, which I chose to represent as a Scottish soldier at Bannockburn. It's a lovely 120mm figure which was a real pleasure to paint, especially on my aging eyes. Any questions or comments would be welcomed.

 

[Jeff T]

Superb work!

Cheer's,
Jeff.

 

[Graham]

I did the bust version then got the full figure to as a possible Scot. It really is a fine figure and you have done a cracking job of it. Great choice of scheme too.

 

[DEL]

An absolute cracker Glenn. All surfaces and materials spot on.
Good choice of heraldry, a Man at Arms from Edward Bruce (Roberts wee brother) the Earl of Carricks retinue.
Heraldry gives a nice pop of colour
Cheers
Derek

 

[ghamilt1]

An absolute cracker Glenn. All surfaces and materials spot on.
Good choice of heraldry, a Man at Arms from Edward Bruce (Roberts wee brother) the Earl of Carricks retinue.
Heraldry gives a nice pop of colour
Cheers
Derek

Thanks Derek, I found a few references of Scottish noble arms that were present at Bannockburn, and The Earl of Carrick's looked just right. I was just grateful I didn't need to do any tartan.

 

[MoboSchreuder]

Excellent work and painting

Mobo

 

[franceso sbarile]

Excellent work and painting

Mobo

Yes, agreed. Shileds look to be in the "Bruce" colors, the white cross ?
Warm congrats
Francesco

 

[megroot]

Looks good, but with the dark pictures very difficult to tell something.

Marc

 

[DEL]

Yes, agreed. Shileds look to be in the "Bruce" colors, the white cross ?
Warm congrats
Francesco

The white cross, saltire or St Andrews Cross is of course the national flag of Scotland.
It`s highly unlikely that it would have been worn as a badge and perhaps not even flown as a flag in battle until the XVc.
It did however appear in Scottish seals going back to the XIIc.
Like the Carrick heraldry which probably wouldn't have been borne so prominently by the Man at Arms in ether surcoat or shield it's inclusion by Glenn works really well.
What is achieved in a single figure is national identity and allegiance to a particular family.
Using the Bannockburn reference we have a date and consequently a name for the then Earl of Carrick.
Edward Bruce, an interesting but often ignored member of the family.
Basically by picking up on a few visual references a whole story emerges. Is it historically accurate?..... in my view absolutely yes. Glenn's taken contemporary and relevant references and used them in a visually informative way to great effect

 

[franceso sbarile]

The white cross, saltire or St Andrews Cross is of course the national flag of Scotland.
It`s highly unlikely that it would have been worn as a badge and perhaps not even flown as a flag in battle until the XVc.
It did however appear in Scottish seals going back to the XIIc.
Like the Carrick heraldry which probably wouldn't have been borne so prominently by the Man at Arms in ether surcoat or shield it's inclusion by Glenn works really well.
What is achieved in a single figure is national identity and allegiance to a particular family.
Using the Bannockburn reference we have a date and consequently a name for the then Earl of Carrick.
Edward Bruce, an interesting but often ignored member of the family.
Basically by picking up on a few visual references a whole story emerges. Is it historically accurate?..... in my view absolutely yss. Glenn's taken contemporary and relevant references and used them in a visually informative way to great effect

Thanks DEL , I was not putting in doubt the historical accurancy of the work. I was so curious since for a long time cross weared on surcoats assumed different meanings and basically was used to a quick recognize on a battle field. Also I'm so much interested in Scotland middle age history so I wish to thank you again for the clear explanation.
Cheers
Francesco

 

[Aveleira]

Very, very nice work! Love the face, such expression!

 

[Mike Stevens]

Nicely done Glen.

 

[John Bowery]

Excellent rendition and colours.
Cheers
John

 

[ghamilt1]

Thanks everyone. What I really wanted to achieve in terms of accuracy was to dispel the popular misconception of medieval Scottish warriors running around in plaid bedsheets ala Mel Gibson. Scottish knights and soldiers were equipped and dressed much the same as their contemporary opponents wherever they may have been found (but most conveniently, just across the border). Edward Bruce, Robert I's brother and the Earl of Carrick, was present at Bannockburn and I did take the liberty of putting his arms on the surcoat and shield as was the custom. But the only sure thing I could find consistently in the sources was the inclusion of the small St. Andrew's cross sewn on the left chest. The colour scheme was chosen based on my understanding of dyes that would have been available during that period, and what would look good in terms of colour theory and composition. It's a great conversation, and part of the fun of doing historic miniatures.

 

[phil_h]

Fantastic work
Phil

 

[arj]

Excellent bit of painting.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[franceso sbarile]

What I really wanted to achieve in terms of accuracy was to dispel the popular misconception of medieval Scottish warriors running around in plaid bedsheets ala Mel Gibson.

Completely agreed !! Movies on middleage often return a very wrong idea of this time, if you look to the real figure of William Wallace is so far from the Braveheart of Mel Gibson that looks no to be the same man and the same story.
Congrats again for your work.
Francesco