Light Cavalry - The Great Italian Wars

 

This is a big project for me. Lots of figures to paint and a set of rules in development.  The rules are written, first draft anyhow.  The figures are coming along nicely.  It will take some time to get to the Venetians but the journey will be pleasant.  

Writing this blog often clarifies my thinking and hopefully provides some interest and entertainment to you, the reader.  With that in mind I think it best to present this project in a series of themed articles.  These will show the toys as they roll off the line and introduce my thinking as it informed the creation of Gonzalo, the rules I will be using.

The theme of this post is the light cavalry of the Great Italian Wars.  You could find good light cavalry to points East and in Ireland or on the Anglo-Scots Border.  For the rest of Europe, they were a bit of an innovation. 

Different types of light cavalry were employed. Some like the Spanish Genitors and the Stratioti hired by the French and Venetians were comfortable skirmishing and in melee.  Others, armed with crossbow or arquebus were happiest fighting at a distance.  They could all, more or less, nip about at the same clip.

 Here are my Stratioti. They are from Venexia and Mirliton and I intend to have rather a lot of them. They could take on most other light cavalry with ease and might even give heavier armoured cavalry a bit of a shock.  

 

Early on they were paid by the head, not their own heads you will understand.

Spanish Genitors also liked to fight close up and were handy throwing javelins too.  They constituted the bulk of the Spanish cavalry. Tough and well- motivated they could give the Stratioti a run for their money.  I will have three units.

Both Genitors and Stratioti could be sudden death to skirmishing infantry.  Against pike block and Colunella not so much.  Missile cavalry on the other hand could shoot up heavy foot with relative impunity.

It was, literally, horses for courses.

There were also other light cavalry units armed respectively with crossbow and arquebus. All of the armies involved employed such units.  Mine aren't finished yet but will appear shortly.

Lastly, you will notice that all of these light cavalry are armoured to some degree.  I've gone for three grades of armour in Gonzalo.  The light cavalry being the lowest, then half armour and finally Gendarmes on barded horses..