Historical Articles

[RubiconDecision]

Irish Medieval Units:
http://fanaticus.org/DBA/armies/IV58.html

Usually the Irish are treated as an afterthought in the game or the mods. Of course we know that the opposite was true and that they didn't just get absorbed by England at all. For a diverse number of reasons, once Northern Ireland was invaded, English occupation took hold. But of course they met beautiful Irish women and grew attracted to the culture, much like the Poulains of France in the Holy Lands grew attached to Muslim culture and learning.

If you find any other historical articles add them here. Of course liberties have been taken with all the units as it is a computer game mod, for balance and diversity of units.

I think the article is great because it helps us realize that the kingdoms and the units that fought there were not seperate, but evolved as a result of the influx of culture from diverse places and clans going back to the Dark Ages and Viking Raiders or the indigenous peoples.

De Militari
http://www.deremilitari.org/
Many peer reviewed articles of diverse medieval units. Often they will release portions of books being published. An excellent site that includes primary sources, but of course the source may have been a monk or a noble that didn't actually fight the battle but was an eyewitness.

I didn't put a Celtic Christianity web link since this isn't a spiritual site, but it would be well worth your time to do some research in it. Early missionaries traveled to the area, but then were forgotten by many of the initial senders. When far later missionaries arrived, there were surprised at the depth of the religion had penetrated the society and with effects of the indigenous belief systems creating a melange of beliefs and their own unique ways. All of these had effects on the military and the kingdoms. This difference in evolved Christianity resulted in an us versus them in Western Europe. All that plays out in later conflicts over and over.

The ORB: an encyclopedia of medieval studies:
http://www.the-orb.net/encyclo.htmlMany diverse medieval studies from an academic perspective

[IrishHitman]

The Irish were an afterthought, but the mixed-culture of Ireland still made it into the game. You have Gaelic Irish troops, Viking troops (Ostmen), Anglo-Irish troops (Muire/retinue), and Scots mercenaries (Gallos). That said, the number of units available to the Irish in vanilla is lacking to say the least.

This mod goes far to change that.

[AJStoner]

The Irish were an afterthought, but the mixed-culture of Ireland still made it into the game. You have Gaelic Irish troops, Viking troops (Ostmen), Anglo-Irish troops (Muire/retinue), and Scots mercenaries (Gallos). That said, the number of units available to the Irish in vanilla is lacking to say the least.

This mod goes far to change that.

RB mainly started as a personal tweak mod for that very reason and mushroomed from there. Sadly I know nothing about modeling, and am only competent to do some basic texture recoloring, but I tried to expand the available units (especially the Irish and Welsh) as best I could.

The various clan units (which are, essentially, Irish versions of the Highlander units) greatly helped in my opinion since the uber-militia concept isn't exploited enough with just Scotland. The gae bolga had long fallen out of use and the Fianna had not been active for nearly a thousand years by the period of this game but since I was establishing a hardcore traditionalist/secret pagan in MacSidhe I thought he was exactly the sort of man that would have brought back these ideas.

The mounted archers for Wales I struggled with a bit more to justify but, in the end, just ran with the "they're damn cool and I like 'em" theory; same with the berserker units for Norway and the Danes. There are a number of mods that go for historical accuracy and do a fine job of it so I decided to take some liberties in the name of gameplay.

[y2day]

There are a number of mods that go for historical accuracy and do a fine job of it so I decided to take some liberties in the name of gameplay.

And we thank you for it everyday.

[RubiconDecision]

Here's a short wiki article about Jack Churchill for longbow lovers. Lieutenant Colonel John "Fighting Jack" Churchill was a WWII British officer who fought with longbow, arrows, and claymore...and of course the standard equipment of a British soldier. Hard to believe, but certainly interesting that he adored the medieval period so well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill
A second link with a bit more detail: http://www.wwiihistorymagazine.com/2...-profiles.html

[IrishHitman]

After fighting at Dunkirk, he volunteered for the Commandos, unsure of what Commando duty entailed, but interested because it sounded dangerous.

Sounds like a hilarious bloke to be around

[RubiconDecision]

Sounds like a hilarious bloke to be around

In a way, he reminds me of Col. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now. Not when entirely mad, but in the early days. Fighting Jack learned to be a paratrooper~ 40 years of age. That's ancient for those guys. He would go into battle with bagpipes. He actually took down enemies with arrow and sword, not truly a claymore, but a claybeg (a different hand covering to protect from sword strikes).