Monday 4 May 2020

16thC Distraction - Moray's Pike

I continued with my distraction over the weekend. From now on mornings will be job, CV, and "constructive" time whilst afternoons will be spent on "Against Spain".

James Stewart, Earl of Moray led the Marian Force or Queens men at Corrichie in 1562. At the battle he led his pikemen and halted the attack of the Earl of Huntly's men, leading to their defeat. 

Moray's army comprised of 2000 men including cavalry, pike and arquebus. A significant number of these must have been lowland Scots, rather than Highlanders given the equipment described. So I wanted to depict some men from Moray's own household as a unit rather than just a collected body of called out men from the local area. I used more grey in their clothing, with brown colours for jacks and white for shirts and hose, rather than the browns and beiges of the previous pike unit. 

The unit is led by Moray himself, with a standard bearer, his drummer and a captain of some experience. Moray wears black, following a portrait of himself as a young man, decorated with gold. The drummer is clothed in white and off white , probably the son of someone connected to Moray's house. The captain wears a burgeonet, breast and back armour with a buff coat under it and carries a wheel lock pistol. He represents either Wishart of Pitarro or the Tutor of Pictur who are credited with leading the pike forward through the retreating advance guard, halting the Gordon charge and ending the battle.


The figures are Foundry Swashbuckler pike, led by Castingroom Command an an Elizabethan Foundry Drummer. Flags and bases will be done once everything is finished. 

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