Naffata in SAGA and history

While discussions of incendiary devices in pre-modern times usually begin and end with the Byzantines and Greek Fire, the use of fire dates to Biblical times. Bronze age armies of the middle east and eastern Mediterranean figured out how to take the pitch or oil from naturally occurring wells and turn it into a weapon capable of being thrown by hand or hurled by catapult. The Byzantines deserve credit for weaponizing available fuel sources into something more potent. In the mid-eighth century, the eastern Roman Empire looked as if it would soon go the way of the western half. It was beset on its frontiers, from the Arabs to the south and Bulgars to the north. Drawing on ancient Greek records and scientific tradition, Byzantine alchemists developed Greek Fire. Primarily a naval weapon, special fire ships were fitted with tanks of fuel and pumps that could spray Greek Fire at enemy ships. 

By all accounts, it was a fearsome device. Supposedly, it ignited on contact with water and could not be extinguished. In reality, some sort of primer or pilot light ignited the fuel, and it only appeared to ignite on contact with the sea, but it would certainly burn on water making it a devastating naval weapon. It could only be put out by smothering. Byzantine fire crews kept sand and vinegar on hand in case of accidental fire.

Its exact composition was a state secret. The liquid mixture was produced by very few (a single family by one account) and the troops who used it knew nothing of its preparation. A similar level of secrecy also applied to the working of the projection device. An infantry version of the pump/flame thrower device was also used with mixed results. It could be clumsy and slow. Once, the Bulgars managed to capture some of the Greek fire, but were unable to operate the equipment. 

Sometime in the mid-tenth century, the armies of the Caliphate also began using a similar pump/siphon device that was handheld, in the fashion of the Byzantine device. Whether this was a result of reverse engineering of the Byzantine invention or the outright acquisition is not known. Incendiaries were devastatingly effective against Crusader siege engines. Saladin's use of naffata troops is well documented. Saladin sent troops armed with Naphta grenades against houses and civilians during an uprising in Egypt led by African troops. The Christian defenders of Jerusalem noted his use of incendiaries in catapults used to attack the city walls. During the Third Crusade, Swimmers smuggled containers of the fuel into Acre during the Crusader's siege of that city. 

While the Greek Fire of the Byzantines was a closely guarded secrets, Arab alchemists were more ready to commit their recipe to paper. One of Saladin's chroniclers describers the burning substance as a mixture of tar, resin, sulphur, dolphin fat and goat fat.

I suspect, the cost, availability and unreliable nature made widespread usage of naffata troops less than common.

Overall, it is safe to say that outside of the navy, fire troops were not common, and very rare in the kind of fast moving skirmish combat that SAGA depicts. Because of its limited range and unpredictability, it was most often used against soft targets (civilians and civilian structures and in sieges).

Naffata in SAGA

Gripping Beast and Essex (far right) figures 

In SAGA, a unit of four Naffatun troops can be purchased for a single point. Up to two models can then be assigned to a unit of warriors, but not levies or hearthguard. Naffata shoot with a movement activation, similar to javelin throwers but only at short range.  Since their weapons are an area effect attack, they have +2 to hit on attack rolls. They can generate between one and three hit dice each, up to the controlling player. Why not choose all three? That brings us to the Naffata's disadvantages. If a Naffatun rolls a "1" an accident has occurred and a friendly model must be removed from the unit, controlling player's choice. Another disadvantage, a considerable one in my opinion, is that unlike other shooting attacks, a naffata attack puts a fatigue token on its own unit. However, the defending unit takes at least two fatigues if it suffered any casualties.   

I would like to play these in my next match, mostly as a test of their balance in the game. AS SAGA as advanced, some of the new units have moved to the extremes in terms of bonuses and drawbacks. Correctly deploying them is more tricky than the shield wall and charge combat of early SAGA.  I probably will put them into as large a unit as possible, not a 6 person squad shown above, given their propensity for friendly casualties. 

Some readings used to research this post: 

A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder, by J.R. Partington
Medieval Siege Weapons (2), Byzantium, the Islamic World and India 476-1526 AD by David Nicolle

Book 4, Chapter 19, Section 3 of William of Newburgh's history of English monarchy

The Capture of Jerusalem by Saladin from De Expugantione Terrae Sanctae per Saladinum

MacBeth in film, drama and wargaming

MacBeth has been hovering at the edge of my awareness lately for several reasons.  Perhaps it is the upcoming movie with Fassbender, which seems to be as much influenced by Game of Thrones and TV's Vikings as by William Shakespeare.

MacBeth in History and Shakespeare 

MacBeth as history has taught us, was a Scottish lord, who received a prophecy from three witches that he would one day be King of Scotland. Slowly descending into madness, he murdered his king, and many others, friend and foe alike, at the urging of his power hungry wife. Shortly thereafter, he was killed by the rightful heir and an army of men wearing Dark Age ghillie suits.  

Right?...Not exactly, but it does speak to the power of Shakespeare in particular and literature in general to alter our perceptions of history.  In discussions I have had with Lit teachers, it is fair to say that a number of them take Shakespeare's plays for more or less accurate representations of events. Sure, Julius Caesar was really killed in a theater and not in the Senate, but the deed and perpetrators played out on stage as it did in reality. Similar discrepancies from history can be found in Antony and Cleopatra, the Henry cycle, but to suggest that MacBeth was a good king and hardly the murderous madman the Bard depicts goes against even their broadest interpretation of artistic license. 

MacBeth or Mac Bethad mac Findláich, was born in the early eleventh century. The monarch of Scotland through much of the period was Malcolm II, whose long reign was made possible by the strategic marriages of his several daughters to powerful families in Scotland and the Orkneys.  Some sources place Macbeth as being born from one of these marriages eventually elevating himself to be the lord of Moray. Thus, after Malcolm's death and the succession of his grandson Duncan to the throne, Macbeth found himself as a vassal to his cousin. For reasons not quite clear, Duncan invades Moray and was killed. Either because of his victory or his blood descent from Malcolm, MacBeth was elected High King in 1040. His reign was long and stable, enough that he was able to go on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1050. A few years late he was challenged by Duncan's son Malcolm, and the king met his death in battle in 1054. Malcolm did not become king immediately, for he had to kill MacBeth's stepson Lulach.  After accomplishing this task, Malcolm was installed as King Malcolm III.

Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Macbeth premiered around 1606, a few years after the coronation of the Scottish King James. Not coincidentally, England's new monarch affected Shakespeare's writing in some very specific ways.  Obviously, the Scottish setting was the most important, so much so that superstitious actors sometimes refer to MacBeth as "The Scottish Play."  Furthermore, one of James' ancestors and MacBeth's victims is flatteringly depicted. 

Double, Double Toil and Trouble

The Witches of MacBeth by RAFM. The CD-base diorama was  mostly sculpted from Miliput and flocked.

The most intriguing influence by King James on Shakespeare's MacBeth is inclusion of the three witches in the first scene. King James was fascinated by the study of witchcraft and he even wrote a text on identifying witches called Daemonologie. Shakespeare was certainly playing to the contemporary interest in witches when he made them a major part of his story. Highly recommended is the 2010 Patrick Stewart adaption of the play which modernizes the setting and show the three witches as hospital nurses. 

Macbeth - beyond Shakespeare

King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett - a book I try to re-read every couple of years.  It's massive in scope, and ambitiously proposes that MacBeth and Thorfinn of Orkney were not cousins, nor half-brothers, but the same person. It is not a literary gimmick, and the author genuinely believed it to be true based upon her interpretation of the various sources in her research. Thematically, the novel covers the end of the Viking Age, the decline of paganism and the incorporation of the northern European hinterlands into the realm of Christendom.

Macbeth the King, by Nigel Tranter - A straightforward historical account of Macbeth's rise and fall. Tranter is no great stylist or revisionist, but there is an efficiency in his prose and his prolific output is nothing to sneer at.

Macbeth in SAGA

The official mini for MacBeth is huge (over 32mm), as are most of the SAGA line's hero character. Below, a comparison shot with a Crusader mini (left) and a Reaper Barbarian.  The scale of most of Gripping Beast's Hero characters are more in line with current fantasy ranges. 

As a named hero, MacBeth is fairly typical in abilities, with little chance of game-breaking especially if paired off against another hero. 

Hero of the Viking Age. MacBeth generates three SAGA dice.  This is mandatory if I play a hero character. If I spend a point on a hero, I need the extra dice. I admit that I am not a skilled enough player to make use of special heroes who generate less dice, but have other abilities to compensate.

Norman Exiles. One unit of eight hearthguard can be mounted Norman knights. A number of these served in MacBeth when the Godwin's began to exert more control over the Norman favoring English king Edward. This is perhaps the earliest example of the Scottish-French alliance against their English rivals.

Great Ruler. As long as MacBeth is on the table, you always roll six SAGA dice. A great power, but doesn't it make his three SAGA dice ability irrelevant? Another minor ability in place of Hero would be better.

A six point Scot warband led by MacBeth:

1066 Part 3: Harald Hardrada, the Last Viking

There are quite a few contenders for the title of "The Last Viking,". Certainly one of the most renowned of the later Vikings was Harald, son Sigur, known to history as Harald  Hardarda, meaning Hard Ruler.

Early Years

Harald was born in 1015, and the time of the Vikings was already passing. Worshipers of the old gods were dwindling in number, with fewer men taking to the long ships to raid, preferring instead to settle, farm and trade. Moreover, a century and a half of Viking raids had brought wealth to the northern lands. This wealth became increasingly consolidated into fewer and fewer hands. These Scandinavian rulers like Harold Bluetooth extended their authority across vast areas, and promoted centralization of power through the monotheistic and hierarchical religion of Christianity.

Harald's half brother of Olaf II (St. Olaf) of Norway was another such centralizer.  He was ousted from rule by Cnut, who was constructing a northern empire from Denmark to England.  Olaf's return to rule was contested by nobles not anxious to see the return of the heavy handed Christian.  He died in the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. The young Harald, all of 15, survived and left Norway to seek his fortune in the east.

For a while he lived among the Rus but the road to glory and fortune led to Constantinople and the famed Varangian Guard.  Harald's tenure in the Empire's service as entered the realm of quasi-myth. He fought in Sicily and Syria and broke open an Arab castle by unleashing upon it a flock of flaming birds. He also gained entry into another enemy fortress through a variation on the old Trojan horse trick. While these stories are mostly fanciful, they do tell us that Harald was more than just a strong man with an axe. Where possible, he used trickery and his wiles to win battles and preserve his men's lives.

After running foul of the jealousy of the man-hungry Empress Zoe (another tall tale no doubt), he returned to Norway around 1045. The kingdom was ruled by his nephew Magnus, illegitimate son of Olaf.  His demand to share power as co-ruler was granted but Magnus conveniently took ill and passed away a short while later leaving Harald the sole ruler.  As king, his main policy seemed to be to conquer other kingdoms, and pay for it with high taxes on his own people.

Six Feet of English Earth 

When Northumbria revolted in 1065, Harold Godwinson of Wessex appeased the rebels and removed his brother Tostig as earl. Tostig sought allies in Flanders among his wife's people, but he eventually ended up in an alliance with King Harald.  After Edward's death, King Harald saw England as a prize ripe to be picked. His preparations were extensive; he landed in England with well over 200 longships.

Harald and Tostig met the earls Morcar of Northumbria and Edwin of Mercia at Fulford, routed their forces and occupied the town of York. Harold quickly mobilized and met Harald and Tostig with their warriors surprised and unprepared. In a most likely invented story of the pre-battle exchange, Harold offers to restore Tostig's lands if he abandons the invasion. When asked what he will give Harald, Harold says "Six feet of English earth, maybe more since he is bigger than the average man."

Which is exactly what Harald got that day, 25 September 1066.  After many hours of melee, he fell in battle, along with most of his Norsemen. A fleet of about 20 ships was sufficient to carry the survivors back to Norway.  Harold's victory was significant, with his superior tactics defeating the fury of the Vikings.  However, a quicker and more decisive victory by Harold would have left him with more men

Modelling Harald

Two excellent miniatures are marketed for Harald, both depicting him at different points in his life. Crusader Miniatures produces a command pack for Varangians in their Byzantine line, with the leader easily able to represent Harald on the table.

For the older King Harald, Gripping Beast's Harald is visually impressive but almost a scale breaker. While the Norse were taller than the average, and Harald was taller than the average Norseman, this mini stands 36 mm from foot to top of his head.

I decided to accent his height even more by placing him on a built up 40mm base.  Here's a shot of him with some 28mm mixed Vikings:

Historical Fiction & other media

As the last Viking invader, there's no shortage of historical fiction about Harald or in which he appears. I have not read any of the half dozen or so books I have identified that center on Harald.  Here are two recommendations for books in which Harald is a suporting character.
 
Harald is a significant part of the the last book of Tim Severin's Viking trilogy. Without meaning to do disservice to the series, it is in some ways an eleventh century Forrest Gump. The main character is an illegitimate son of Leif Erikson, who manages to encounter every important historical figure from Vinland to Constantinople. Implausible, but great fun.

Harald appears as a slightly dim and oafish Varangian in Thomas Holt's Meadowland, a colorful novel in which two older Varangians recount their experiences travelling to Vinland.

Also, Giles Kristian, author of several books of historical fiction produced a short tribute to Harald for youtube.  Not a bad six minutes of your time: Harald's Saga

Harold Godwinson: The Fighting Man

In reading about Harold Godwinson, one of the more fascinating and frustrating details about Harold the warrior was his banner.  Fascinating, because of its reported design and beauty; frustrating, because no depiction or illustration of it exists.

According to the scant descriptions, it was an image of warrior embroidered on a cloth (red?...blue?) with gold and jewel ornamentation.  The Bayeux Tapestry does not depict it, showing only Harold's red dragon of Wessex.  The fate of the fighting man banner after Hastings is unknown.  Most likely, it fell with Harold on the hill and was taken by the Normans.  Some say that it was sent as a gift to the Pope Alexander II as thanks for lending William a papal banner for the invasion.  It could just as well have been squirreled away by survivors and lost to the ages.

The coloring was lifted from some reenactors because I thought the white on red was very striking for a scale reproduction. I made the banner by rolling out a piece of green stuff like a tiny pizza crust.  After it hardened, I trimmed it square, and sanded it with very fine (400 to 800) sandpaper.  I hand painted the fighting man with acrylics.

I finished the one on the right first, but was a bit unhappy with the lack of dynamics in the pose.  I then did the one on the left with the raised axe.  I still probably prefer the first figure, but I learned on the second one how to drape the green stuff before it hardened to simulate a billowing banner.  

A book on Anglo-Saxon art provided me with some figure inspiration, such as this piece of stonework from Shaftsbury.  

Next time, a look at the third contender for the English throne, Harald Hardrada.  

 

1066 Part 2: Harold Godwinson

The death of the childless Edward the Confessor in January of 1066 presented England with a crisis of succession.  Lacking any heir, the three rulers - Harald of Norway, the newly enthroned Harold of England and Duke William of Normandy - pursued their claims on the battlefield, with William emerging final victor... at least according to the oft told history.  In actuality, there was a perfectly legitimate blood heir to the throne, Edward's young grand-nephew Edgar. The reason why Edward did not become king and Harold did is largely a matter of his young age and the power of the Godwin family.

Harold's father Godwin was Sussex thegn of some, but not great importance in the time Ethelred the Unready, Godwin readily adapted to the conquest of the Dane King Cnut in 1016. By the time of Cnut's death in 1035, Godwin had become the powerful Earl of Wessex.  After brief reigns by two of Cnut's sons, the earls of England invited Ethelred's son Edward back from exile in Normandy to reign as king in 1042.  Edward chafed under Godwin's attempts to control him, and a dispute in 1051 led to the entire family's banishment from the kingdom.

Harold, the second son of Godwin was born in 1022, and already and earl in his own right at the time of his family's banishment in 1051. He went to Ireland, where he had friends and allies, which the Godwin's used to force their restoration the following year.

Following his father's death in 1053, Harold took on his role as the wielder of real power in England. As leader of the king's army, in 1062 and 1063 he decisively dealt with Welsh raiders by boldly marching into the Welsh lands.  Such was the pressure he placed on the Welsh, that Gruffud's own allies killed him and sent his head to Harold.  Less understood is the trip that he made to Normandy in either 1064 or 1065 (the sources are in dispute). Either by intention or accident a boat bearing Harold landed in Normandy and Harold became the unwilling guest of the Duke for a few months.  Harold's Normandy visit ended with a much debated incident in which the English earl swore fealty to William, supposedly upon some holy relics.

Immediately following Edward's death in 1065, the English witan - a council of Earls, met and conferred the crown on Harold.  It was done rather quickly, so much so that he was coronated even before Edward's burial.  Victorian era historians imagined the witan as a precursor to Parliament, with Anglo-Saxon England a proto-Constitutional monarchy, only to be corrupted by the autocratic despotism of the Normans. In reality, the exact function and role of the witan is rather confusing, and while rarely used it was mainly a tool of the richest and most powerful earls, in this case Harold.

However, Harold was probably the most capable ruler of all the claimants to the English throne.  He was literate and had progressive tendencies.  He put good governance ahead of family when the northern part of the realm rebelled against his brother Tostig's misrule.  He was well traveled and had diplomatic links as far as Rome and Russia.  As a commander, he defeated a variety of opponents including Norse, Welsh, and Bretons, sometimes in their own territory.  But a string of victories cannot make up for one staggering loss.  After holding together a larger, but tired and less disciplined army, against the Normans on the 12th of September 1066, Harold was felled in battle and his army routed.

Modelling Harold Godwinson

From the Bayeux Tapestry to later artistic representations, Harold is almost always represented as a physically impressive man, with brown hair and a mustache.  Gripping Beast and Crusader Miniatures both produce figures for Harold that adhere to this tradition. The two shots below are Crusader's Harold, based along with an axe bearing housecarl from Conquest Games.

Gripping Beast sells a pack of Harold with his brothers Gyrth and Leofwine, all three of whom were killed at Hastings.  This is the promo pic, which looks like a nice purchase.

Harold in Non-Fiction and Historical Fiction

The previously recommended Last English King by Julian Rathbone is excellent, especially if one is looking for something a little more post-modern than straightforward action-adventure historical fiction. Set in 1070, it concerns a Frisian monk named Quint and his wanderings across Asia Minor with a crippled survivor of Hastings named Walt.  Quint slowly pries the story of Harold from Walt, and my favorite exchange between the two is this account of the battle:

     'A fighting man should stand on his own two feet and exchange blows with his adversary until one or other drops.  Besides, good horses are valuable, and can get killed in battle.  I saw three die between William the Bastard's thighs on Senlac Hill.  I could scare afford one horse, let alone three.'
     'But...'
     'If you are going to say they won because they fought from horses, forget it.'
     His face was suddenly suffused with angry blood again and Quint wisely chose not to pursue the subject.

If one wants to get an impression of the high regard that Victorian English held for Harold, a good place to look is G.A. Henty.  A tremendously popular Victorian writer, he is not well known today. That is a shame because Wulf the Saxon is an example of the "boy's own" genre that holds up to this day.  Like the previous book, the main character is a young Saxon, Wulf in this case, who has a fly on the wall perspective on the events leading up to Hastings and the aftermath.  As an added bonus, a free audio version is available at the public domain repository Librivox.

Most of my research on Harold comes from Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King by Ian W. Walker. It is a rare modern biography of Harold, and generous to his legacy.  Walker nicely balances the difference between a scholarly work and a popular history.  

Spanish History and Historical Fiction for Wargamers

As I continue on with my Spanish projects, I thought I would share my reading material since January.

Non-Fiction:

Barton, Simon and Richard Fletcher. The World of El Cid: Chronicles of the Spanish Reconquista. Manchester University Press, 2001.

For the student of Spanish history who wants to read primary sources in English, this is the best work.  While not modestly priced, it is not as expensive as learning Latin, Arabic or medieval Spanish. Works best after reading a more general history such as Fletcher's The Quest for El Cid.

Fletcher, Richard. The Quest for El Cid. Oxford University Press: 1991.

Not so much a biography of El Cid as it is a survey or what we know and do not know about the legendary Castilian warrior.  Fletcher spends almost the first half of the book on an overview of Spain from Visgothic times until the eleventh century, but it is time well spent. When he arrives at the Cid's story, the reader understands the political and social forces that turned the tide on Islamic Spain in the eleventh century.  

Lowney, Chris. A Vanished World: Medieval Spain's Golden Age Christians, Muslims and Jews

As a general rule, I tend to be suspicious of popular histories that announce their thesis in the title (i.e. how so and so changed the world), and this does not prove to be an exception to that rule. Written looking backwards with 9/11 and the Madrid bombings as a starting point, wistfully (or is that wishfully?) recalls a golden age of cooperation and coexistance in medieval Iberia. On the positive side, the chapters are thematically organized around a series of unique individuals or events that are barely covered in the more general chronological histories of the Reconquista. 

Nicolle, David. El Cid and the Reconquista 1050 - 1492. Osprey: 1988.
Nicolle, David. The Moors: The Islamic West 7th - 15th Centuries AD. Osprey: 2001.

Both of Osprey's two entries on the subject of Medieval Spain were written by David Nicolle and illustrated by the superb Angus McBride. Unfortunately, both books cover such a vast expanse of time that the amount of material, literary and artistic, devoted to the El Cid era is less than I hoped for.  Essential for the wargamer, nonetheless. 

Reilly, Bernard. The Kingdom of Leon-Castilla Under King Alfonso VI 1065-1109. University of Pennsylvania Press: 1988.  Available online at http://libro.uca.edu/alfonso6/alfonso.htm

Essential reading for the important transitional rule of Alfonso VI.  After King Ferdinand I engineered the unification of most of the Christian lands of the north, he left them divided among his sons at his death.  The middle son, Alfonso, reunified the lands at the cost of his own brother's lives.  While deeply appreciative of Andalusian culture, Alfonso VI was also closely associated with deeply pious and Cluniac clergy.  The Kingdom of Leon-Castilla Under King Alfonso VI 1065-1109 details how Alfonso built upon his father's political and military institutions and decisively turned the tide of the Spanish Reconquista in favor of the Christians.  This is academic reading, but accessible, both in terms of writing and price - it is freely available online as a pdf. 

The Poem of the Cid: Dual Language Edition. Penguin Classics: 1985.

Anyone familiar with the Viking sagas will recognize the epic qualities of The Poem of the Cid, or the Lay of the Cid as it is also known.  There is history here, to be sure, but also a healthy dose of myth making...not that there is anything wrong with that.  

Fiction:

Kay, Guy Gavriel. The Lions of al-Rassan. Harper: 1995.

Beautiful, tragic and evocative of a beautiful time and place that might have been.  Read all of Kay's books. Now. 

Reilly, Bernard. Journey to Compostela: A Novel of Medieval Pilgrimage and Peril. Combined Publishing: 2001.

Set in an unspecified year during the reign of Alfonso VI, a contest of wills develops between the two protagonists, one a peasant and the other a noble.  While very brief and quickly read, it is a good description of the class divide in the early feudal era.  For wargamers, it has a few action set pieces that could easily be turned into skirmishing scenarios.    

A Timeline of Norman Warfare

960 - Theobald of Blois, or Theobald the Trickster invades Normandy.  Duke Richard I of Normandy's army burns Chartres in response.

996 - Death of Duke Richard I of Normandy, succeeded by his son Richard II, or Richard the Good.

1001 - Anglo-Saxons, on orders from King Ethelred, raid Normandy in retaliation for Duke Richard's harboring of Viking raiders and were quickly repelled by Norman cavalry.

1002 - Ethelred marries Duke Richard's sister Emma

1018 - Normans arrive in Italy in 1017, becoming mercenaries to Lombards seeking to oust Byzantine rule. At the Battle of Cannae a year later, Byzantines with a strong contingent of Varangians defeat the Lombards and the Norman ruler was killed.

1026 - Death of Duke Richard II.  He was succeeded by his eldest son Richard III, who died shortly and suspiciously after an insurrection by his younger brother, Robert.

1027 - Robert named Duke of Normandy

1034-1037 - Approximate arrival date in southern Italy of William and Drogo, sons of the minor Norman noble Tancred de Hauteville.

1035  - Duke Robert of Normandy died in Asia Minor, returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and leaving an illegitimate minor, William, as his heir.

1047  - Norman barons with the support of King Henry of  France rebel against the tenuous rule of the twenty year old Duke William. William defeats the rebels and French King at Val-des-Dunes.

1052 - King Edward of England, the son of Ethelred and Emma, exiles a number of Normans from his kingdom to appease English nobles bothered by their growing influence at court.  A number of these exiles take up service with MacBeth, King of the Scots.

1053 Battle of Civitate.  Normans defeat a papal army of Italians and Swabians, even capturing Pope Leo IX and extract a peace treaty confirming the right to their Italian holdings. (23 June)

1055 - Earl Ralph of Hereford, Edward's Norman nephew, leads an unsuccessful invasion of Wales, and is repulsed by Welsh King Gruffyd ap Llewellyn

1057 - Robert de Hauteville succeeds his brother Humphrey as Duke of Apulia, preeminent ruler of the Italo-Normans.  For his inventive, and often devious strategies, he earns the nickname Guiscard (the weasel).

1061 - Messina, Sicily captured by Roger de Hauteville.  Italo-Normans spend the next three decades dislodging Saracens from the rest of the island.

1064  - Duke William campaigns against the Bretons, led by Conan II.  Accompanying him is the visiting (?) Harold Godwinsson of England.  Before leaving Normandy, Harold supposedly swears to uphold William's succession to his relative Edward's throne.

1066 - Claiming to be the rightful successor of the English King Edward through his aunt Emma, mother of Edward, William defeats an English army led by the Anglo-Dane King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastins (13 October)

1068 - Rebellion in York against Norman rule. Saxon resistance continued for two more years.

1069 - King William invades Scotland, for harboring English fugitives.  King Malcolm Canmore comes to terms before the Norman army reaches Perth.

1071- Normans led by William FitzOsbern extend their holdings into Wales.

Italian Normans capture the city of Bari

Battle of Manzikert - Byzantine forces are defeated in Asia Minor and the Emperor Romanus Diogenes was captured. The Norman mercenary Roussel de Bailleul avoids the battle and claims his own territory in Ankara. (26 August)

1073 - War between Norman lords in Italy, Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and his brother in law, Richard, Prince of Aversa.

1077 - Roussel de Baileul is defeated by Turks and handed over to the Byzantines, and presumably executed.

1081 - Battle of Dyrrachium (Durazzo), Normans led by Guiscard and his son Bohemund defeat a Byzantine Army with a strong contingent of Anglo-Saxon Varangians.

1083 - Byzantines under Alexius Comnenus defeat Bohemund at Larissa and retake lost possessions on the Adriatic.

1085 - Death of Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia.

1087 - Death of William, Duke of Normandy and King of Enlgand.

All together, from 950-1087, the Normans fought Bretons, Franks, Vikings, Saxons, Scots, Welsh, Lombards, Sicilian Arabs, Byzantines and each other.  Strangely enough, they also fought as allies or mercenaries with almost that entire list as well.

For the historical wargamer, a Norman army can be plausibly used in most any historical matchup set in the tenth and eleventh centuries.  With their pioneering use of disciplined cavalry charges, they were highly sought after as mercenaries across Western Europe and the Near East.  Unfortunately for their employers, Normans had a tendency to not remain contented with their role as hired swords and instead seek land and autonomy.  By the end of the eleventh century, Norman kingdoms spanned the breadth of Europe and the Mediterranean, from England to Antioch.