At Partizan Wargaming (near Newark) this Sunday, Newark Irregulars and BigRedBat will proudly present Maximus & Arthur – two battles from either end of the Arthurian era to bid farewell to Kelham Hall!
Around twenty years ago, we started gaming the Age of Arthur armed with Bernard Cornwell books, Foundry and Gripping Beast miniatures and boundless enthusiasm for an unpopular period. Games at Partizan always fired our imaginations so it is only appropriate that we finish off our tenancy of Kelham Hall with something Arthurian. Our table this Sunday 6th September will feature two battles, separated in time by perhaps 150 years, featuring models from the collections of Steve Jones, Martin Hogg, James Morris and myself.
Magnus Maximus against the Picts, c. 380 AD
Magnus Maximus, a Spaniard, was the first of a line of soldier-emperors to build upon a British power base. In 383, he took an army from Britain, crossed to Gaul, and defeated and killed the Emperor Gratian. Prior to his usurpation of the imperial throne, it is believed that he mounted a campaign against the Picts to subdue the area north of the wall, and it is this we imagine in this first game. The villa is perhaps geographically unlikely, but nothing says ‘Fall of the Empire' quite like a crumbling Roman estate…
Arthur against the Saxons: The Battle at Fort Guinnion, c. 530 AD
"The eighth battle was in Guinnion Fort, and in it Arthur carried the image of the holy Mary on his shield, and the heathen were put to flight on that day, and there was great slaughter upon them' – Nennius
This game is a more conjectural affair following a traditional (if unprovable) theme of Britons vs. Saxons! The warlord Arthur is giving battle to the invading Saxons of Cerdic somewhere in lowland Britain, near the Fort of Guinnion (forts and rivers being the most likely locations for battles in this period). The Britons are bold, chivalrous and Celtic, the Saxons numerous, ferocious and unwashed: who will win?
I will be running both games using my ‘To The Strongest!' rules. If you'd like to play (and haven't mailed me already) please drop me an email at simonmiller60 at gmail dot com and I will book you in. We will run each game twice, AM and PM, lasting around 90 minutes or so. No previous experience of the rules is required.
The beautiful Magnus Maximus command stand above was painted by David Imrie and is the new pride of my collection!
Best, Simon
