"Burgundian Flags of Charles the Bold" Topic

Greetings all

I was wondering whether anyone knew how the flags of the Burgundian army of Charles the Bold were carried? ie Were they mainly carried by men on horse or on foot?

There were heraldic banners of various knights and nobles, the large company standards, guidons and the oblong cornets. Who carried each type? I am assuming that because most men at arms fought on horseback then their banners would be carried by a horseman (?) Would the large standards be carried in the centre of the pike block, or also on horse?

Any help would be most appreciated.

Keith

Not sure if this helps, but here is a contemporary depiction of the battle of Grandson.

picture

Does anybody know of website resources for Burgundian flags?

I found these on Warflag but would be interested in others.
link
Regards
Mick

Hi Mick

Here is an alternative to Warflag.

Krigsspil.dk
link

Scroll down to "Burgundian and French flags, ca. 1445-1500". Item 9 -32 are Burgundian banners.

Dear Rune 3

Thank-you. I knew there was a Danish website with excellent flags but could not remember the name.

They look perfect. I am doing a box of Perry WOTR in white / blue livery and 18,23 or 25 will work perfectly.

Mick

The Lance and the Longbow society also sell 'Freezywater' flags and have an extensive Burgundian catalog. Also have an informative booklet on Charles the Bold. Check out the Lance and Longbow society website. Above sites also very useful.
And to answer your question: I have seen many different depictions – not sure either which ones are correct. Thought the coronets (long thin ones) were for the mounted companies though could be wrong, and the more square, larger flags were more HQ and infantry. Not sure where the flags were in the pike units -if the Swiss were any help, would be in the middle. I use flags as 'opportunity' markers for Impetus so don't have them in units but on individual figures' bases I put next to units so solves my problems!

I've been searching the internet all day looking for contemporary depictions of Burgundian banners and have come up with a couple of answers.

If you type in "Burgunderkrieg" or "Schlacht bei Murten/Nancy" or "Diebold Schilling der Ältere" in the German section of Wikipedia you will be presented with some images by Schilling.

They depict the large double-tailed standards as being carried by the cavalry, and the thin guidons by the infantry. The latter is also depicted on the link posted by Dan Diggler above.

Could be getting somewhere……

The Lance and the Longbow society also sell 'Freezywater' flags and have an extensive Burgundian catalog. Also have an informative booklet on Charles the Bold.

The book contains quite a large section about the flags, also. I picked a copy of it back in spring from Vexillia.

The book is very useful, but unfortunately it does not shed any light on how the flags were used in battle and by whom.

Here as a link to the panorama painting of Murten 1476.
The Panorama of the Battle of Murten measures approximately 10 x 100 metres.
link
If you use the hotspots feature, a text will show you who is who.
Mick

Yes, is useful for identifying leaders and their heraldry, but must be cautious about using a 19th century painting when trying to do research. Nevertheless, interesting painting.

The Lance and the Longbow society also sell 'Freezywater' flags and have an extensive Burgundian catalog. Also have an informative booklet on Charles the Bold.

The book contains quite a large section about the flags, also. I picked a copy of it back in spring from Vexillia.

Available online at vexillia.ltd.uk in case you need a link.

--
Martin Stephenson
Vexillia: Wargames Miniatures & Accessories
vexillia.ltd.uk
vexilliagallery.blogspot.com
pikeandplunder.blogspot.com