Winter Reading: Halsall's Genesis of the Frankish Aristrocracy

While I don't have much to add directly to my thoughts on the Roman/Frankish armies operating within the Loire region of Gaul in the mid-5th Century, I do recommend that you take some time to read Guy Halsall's s four-part series on "The Genesis of the Frankish Aristocracy" over at Historian on the Edge (link takes you to Part One).
If I recall correctly, Halsall has advised he will not keep the series up indefinitely, so don't wait.

What does this socio-economic-military piece have to with wargaming the period? Well, lots if you are trying to put the Roman and 'Barbarian' factions into a proper context of the Fourth and Fifth Centuries AD. It certainly made me wonder how much the Franks serving as bodies of imperial military forces might have considered themselves as Roman as the state they fought for. Could one really tell the difference between one Roman army composed of Franks and another that was not, especially if both purchased clothing and equipment from the same kinds of imperial sources (whether government-issued or otherwise)?

How do you interpret that for the tabletop? I would imagine it means predominantly using late imperial figures, mixing in more 'Frankish' elements the further away from 460 you get. If nothing else, I'm not convinced the stereotypical Frankish warrior images - top-knots, throwing axe, round shield - are necessarily applicable to what was going on inside mid-Fifth Century Gaul.

Check It Out: Halsall's Battle in the Early Medieval West

I haven't made much time for the blog in recent weeks, but I thought I would share something with you that I recently read on Guy Halsall's blog, Historian on the Edge.

I took my time and enjoyed reading Guy's post of Battle in the Early Medieval West. He describes the piece as an unpublished entry submitted for an "Encyclopaedia of Classical Battle or some such." If you have not read Halsall's Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West c.450-900, then this is a great place to start. This piece really re-energized my love for the period after spending quite a bit of time researching, playing, and writing about other military subjects.

I think I am just starting to grasp how differently this period was from Roman Imperial Europe and the Late Medieval West. I mean, I thought that Dark Age warfare was different, but only in a rather superficial way for the most part - ie. not like Late Medieval warfare. As one might expect from Halsall, he challenges the idea that the military trip(s) from Point A (Late Antiquity) to Point B (Late Medieval) are smooth or that they can be interpolated simply by looking at data from better recorded periods.

How does this apply to wargaming? Well, right now I think I'm going to let that swim about in the back of my mind for a bit. I can kind of see pieces of how one could adapt rules to capture at least some aspects of Dark Age warfare, at least in regards to army list stats/abilities of certain types of armies. Try this - take a good look at how Halsall describes 6th Century weaponry and combat, and see if you can build a tabletop unit that moves and fights in the way described. Of course, this is just part of Dark Age warfare - there's also the matter of command and control and tactics. I'm looking forward to revisiting this subject later.

Coming Up: "Rethinking 'Saxon' Wargaming"

Wargames Illustrated published a refreshing article to challenge the perception and tabletop interpretation of  Saxon armies in Issue 282. I'm hardly the expert to tell you what's right and what's wrong with how game rules treat the Saxons - or any of their Dark Age allies and enemies - but I love to read this kind of thing.

The author, Ryan Lavelle, made quite a few references to a favorite author around here - Guy Halsall. Specifically, he mentions Halsall's Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West c.450-900 - which I found to be an enlightening book that I ought to go back and read again (I can't believe it's been four years). I highly recommend it - it made for some interesting changes in thought I had on the period - and I don't think I grasped all that it offered.

In a later post I'll actually make some comments on the "Rethinking 'Saxon' Wargaming" article itself.

A Closer Look at WI 280 (the Sudan issue)

Picking up where I left off on Wargame Illustrated's Gordan in the Sudan issue in this post.

WI 280 cover

The Sudan theme is every bit as good as I expected it to be after the previously noted skimming. Neil Smith really puts the whole series of episodes in political and military context, including the changes within the British Army in regards to organization and equipment. Having never really studied the period, I've always come away with some basics on the Sudan in the late 19th Century - ie. it was tough fight between the British Empire and the Mahdists and Gordon came to a bad end (and maybe not unexpectedly given his drive). The articles really go a ways towards explaining the how's and why's; you get way more than some interesting battle scenarios. 

The theme also includes the article, "A Good Dusting," written by Sudan rules author David Bickley. He explains the premise of his design concepts for the period and it gives one the impression his game must be driven by scenario/setting concerns instead of just creating a comprehensive set of rules for the entire colonial period. I have not read or tried out Bickley's rules, but I can say that I like his mindset for creating games. If you like to write game scenarios or tweak rules for particular historical encounters/wars, then this article should inspire you. 


I also enjoyed Mike Haught's "Bunker Down" Flames of War material, part of the supporting articles for the recent D-Day/France 1944 releases from Battleground. Even if you have no interest in playing FOW, I recommend the piece to you unless you are already quite familiar with all the types of pillboxes, machine guns nests, and other fortifications used by the Germans. Furthermore, there's lots of practical and historical tactical advice on using them in your World War II games. 


The "Back to Bases" article was also very interesting, and might be worth taking into account if you decide to jump into the Sudan ranges - which, by the way, I think you will find plenty of book and figure references and advertisements to get you started if you have thought about playing the period. 


I have not yet read Howard Whitehouse's "The Tribes of Germania." Not sure what to expect these days on the subject, but I'm encouraged by the article's use of classic sources and modern archeology. This subject is probably far more complex and misunderstood than one might think - and I don't write this because I know so much on the tribal folks at the edge of the Roman Empire - it's simply because I've experienced a few revelations through historians like Guy Halsall and Michael Kulikowski. 


OK, that wraps up my review on the Sudan issue. I left some things out - still haven't finished the magazine yet - but I think the above ought to give you an idea what a good issue it is.

The Early Franks in Late Roman Gaul

Guy Halsall's Barbarian Migrations (mentioned in the last post) also suggests a very interesting theory on the earliest Frankish kingdom in late/post-imperial Gaul (modern France) that made a big difference in the way I perceived the period and its armies. Essentially, the idea is that the first Frankish kingdom was not formed by invading barbarians (you've all seen the big arrows crossing maps of the Roman Empire in history books), but by the last Roman armies already in Gaul when imperial authority collapsed in the last half of the 5th Century. The admittedly confusing accounts of the Roman and Frankish commanders operating in the Loire region - and apparently competing with each other over control of the same army (or armies) -  in the 460s could very well serve as evidence of an Roman army transitioning into a Frankish kingdom.


On the game table this already makes me think that the fur-vested Franks and other outright barbarian types might be more of a minority in a 5th Century Frankish Kingdom army. I would think it would still look more like a Roman army, or at least have some Roman equipment. As for how an Early Franks army should play, that's probably a topic for another post sometime.


Update (February 23)
Andy Hawes, one of my favorite (and award-winning) miniature painters, did a great job with a late 5th Century Romano-Gallic army, which he posted to his blog here.

Guy Halsall's Barbarian Migrations

Professor Guy Halsall's Barbarian Migrations is a game changer - at least if you spend time thinking about Roman and barbarian armies in the late and post-imperial period - and especially if you like to play games with those armies. 

This book is a great read for those interested in the hundred years on either side of the collapse of imperial rule in Western Europe in the late 5th Century. While it does not review the armies mentioned above exclusively, a lot of the political, cultural, and ideological engines that drove the period directly and indirectly impacted the militaristic dynamics of the times. From a gaming point of view, you might find the book challenges you to rethink what really constituted the last imperial Roman armies and their enemies. In some ways, it might be best to think of them in terms of factions instead of the black-and-white Roman v. Barbarian dichotomy. 

There's probably a number of aspects of the period's feel that have no real quantifiable impact on the gaming table. But even those are worth keeping in mind if you play historical games for the sheer enjoyment of playing a game that resonates with your love of actual history.