Early Swiss some more

Double Headed Eagle. Silk. Spain 11th century?

Another double headed eagle. It's part of the treasury of St. Peter in Salzburg, Austria but was probably manufactured in islamic Spain 11th century (Reconstructed by the Abegg Stiftung Riggisberg, Switzerland)

Double-headed Eagle. Seldjuk 12th/13th c.

A relief on the west-facade of the Grand Mosque in Divrigi, a former Byzantine city in central Anatolia. Conquered by the turkes in 1071. This picture inspired me to paint the banner below.

I found the following article on the origin of double headed eagles as a heraldic charge . .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_(heraldry): "Twin Headed Eagle and the Turks The Seljuk Turks emigrating from Central Asia occupied Baghdad in 1055 and Tougrul captured Mosul, and upon returning to Baghdad in 1058 was given the title of the '’King of the East and West'’. The Seljuks were even more anxious to have their rule legitimized: seen as aliens they were unpopular with the townsfolk of Persia and Iraq, and Tougrul's investiture by the Caliph in 1058, in a magnificent ceremony during which two crowns were held over his head as symbols of his regal authority over East and West, confirmed that the he now was the Commander of the Faithful. At the time the double-headed eagle became his and the Seljuk state’s coat of arms and flag, one head symbolizing the east and the other one symbolizing the west. As the Seljuk Empire’s insignia, the twin-headed eagle appears in Turkish coins from 11th century and onwards as well as a number of architectural remains scattered in central and east Anatolia. These architechural remains also depict palm trees under bicephalous eagle as the tree of life, symbolizing peace and prosperity.[...]"

Concerning the twin-headed eagle as the emblem of the holy roman empire Wikipedia says:
"From the reign of Frederick Barbarossa in 1155 the eagle became a symbol of the Holy Roman Empire in its one-headed state. The eagle was clearly derived from the Roman eagle and continues to be important in the heraldry of those areas once within the Holy Roman Empire. Within Germany the placement of one’s arms in front of an eagle was indicative of princely rank under the Holy Roman Empire. The first mention of a double-headed eagle in the West dates from 1250 in a roll of arms of Matthew Paris for Emperor Frederick II."

And last but not least a comment on the byzantine bicephalous eagle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_(heraldry):
The double-headed Seljuk Eagle became the symbol of the Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. Palaiologos recaptured Constantinople from the Crusaders in 1261 and adopted the double-headed eagle as his symbol of the dynasty's interests in both Asia and Europe. It represented looking towards the East (Asia Minor, traditional power center of the Byzantine-government in exile after the IVth Crusade) and the West (newly reconquered land in Europe) centered on Constantinople. The Byzantine double-headed eagle has been seen in late 13th century, certainly pre-dating the development of the same in western heraldry. In Russia it was Ivan III of Russia who first assumed the two-headed eagle, when, in 1472, he married Sophia, daughter of Thomas Palæologus, and niece of Constantine XI, the last Emperor of Byzantium. The two heads symbolised the Eastern or Byzantine Empire and the Western or Roman Empire."

A coat from Sicily 12th/13th century

Metz, Cathedral. (catalog "Zeit der Staufer" Abb. 166.)

Old Paint

The banner is the first I ever painted, maybe 12 years ago. Explains it's fantasy character... Back then I was using a ruleset (I can't remember it's name) which made you spend 2hours to set up your armies, 3 evenings to finish a game and still only get six rounds through at best. Absolutely unplayable. I doubt it got very popular. I dumped it.

A French Horde...

A peasant horde for the feudal european armies. Seven fine figures from Foundry. The banner shows a shoe with loose laces, an emblem used by rebellious german peasants since the 13th century (german: "Bundschuh"). I use them for the medieval french army IV/4 a+b.

Fantastical, Historical and Fictious Banners

Hohenstaufen 1152-1268

Just finished painting and basing the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. As the Banners show this element can stand for any Hohenstaufen-General:

Frederic I Barbarossa 1152-1190
Henry VI 1190-1197
Philipp II of Swabia 1197-1208
Frederic II 1211-1250
Conrad IV 1250-1254
Manfred 1254-1266
Conradin 1266-1268

The gonfanon with the three black lions on gold is the coat-of-arms of the Hohenstaufen as dukes of Swabia. The single-headed eagle was introduced as an empirial device in the last years of the reign of Barbarossa. The tinctures black and gold became commonly used around the middle of the 13th century.

Henry VI besieging Napoli in 1191 (Petrus de Ebulo).

Actually Manfred and Conradin weren't Emperors. But I drilled a hole through the hand of the eagle-standard-bearer so I can easly pull the staff out and swap it with another banner for instance the coat of arms of Jerusalem. Frederic II held the Kingship of Jerusalem in the 1220ies but lost it in his quarrels with the Pope. Konradin usurped the title but nobody else believed him...damn!

Sicilian Berber Bows

These are the Berber Bows (8Cb) from my IV/5c army. 25mm (Artizan miniatures). Frederico II crushed muslim opposition in Sicily and deported them to the town of Lucera, mainland Italy. In the following decades the muslim contingents were the most loyal troops of the Hohenstaufen as Kings of Sicily. They even were entrusted with guarding the emperors treasury within the strong fortifications of Lucera. The muslim comunity lived there untill destroyed by the Anjou in 1300.

Below, the same but on a former, larger base 90x90mm.