To coincide with the release by Warhammer Historical of Vlad the Impaler and the Ottoman Wars in Europe, we bring you our new 28mm Almughavars – rugged mercenary warriors, originally from the mountains of Spain, who in the 14th Century formed the core of the great mercenary band The Grand Company of Catalans.
Having fought in the War of the Sicilian Vespers, the Catalans took themselves off to the eastern Mediterranean and offered their services to the Byzantine Emperor, where they proved to be equally adept at defeating the Turks as they were at picking fights with other mercenary groups and treating their Byzantine paymasters with contempt! The Byzantines eventually contrived to assassinate their leader – an action that prompted the Almughavars to loot and slaughter their way across Thrace and Thessaly in an orgy of revenge. The Company of Catalans later found themselves in the pay of Walter, Duke of Athens in 1310. He too quickly benefited from their fighting prowess, but came to a sticky end when he made the mistake of dispensing with their services without the proper remuneration the Almughavars thought was due to them.
Sculpted by Mike Broadbent, our figures depict 'typical' Almughavars that formed the core of the Grand Company of Catalans. Known for their wild appearance, they wear rough sheepskin jackets, leggings, soft caps, and they kept their hair and beards long and unkempt. A wide variety of weapons were carried including javelins, broad bladed spears (often deliberately truncated for close quarter fighting) and a short sword called a coutel. Shields and armour were apparently uncommon, but being a mercenary band there was undoubtedly a fusion of adopted styles as the Almughavars pursued their adventures across the Mediterranean and the Aegean, so gamers can have fun mixing our figures with a few lightly armoured foot soldiers from other medieval ranges for an authentic-looking 14th Century mercenary band.
More details of the Almughavars can be found in the in the new sourcebook Vlad the Impaler and the Ottoman Wars in Europe for Warhammer Ancient Battles.
Here are the catalogue details for the new miniatures:
28mm 14th CENTURY ALMUGHAVARS
Designed & sculpted by Mike Broadbent
Variants are supplied randomly.
100ALM01 Almughavar infantry (5)
100ALM02 Almughavar officer (1)
100ALM03 Almughavar hornist (1)
100ALM04 Almughavar standard bearer (1)
NEW RELEASE SPECIAL OFFER – THE "WHERE'S OUR BACK-PAY?" DEAL
For a strictly limited time (until our next new release), customers can keep their rebellious mercenary bands happy by ordering a complete unit of 28mm Almughavars at a special discount price.
Our new 28mm Almughavars can also be ordered in the U.K. from Fighting 15s and in North America from Eureka Miniatures U.S.A.