III/2 EARLY LOMBARD 489 AD - 584 AD

This list starts with the Lombard settlement in Pannonia and presumed adoption of cavalry warfare. In 568 AD they invaded Italy and the list ends with the definitive settlement of Lombards on land that is attributed to Authari in 584 AD. “Langobard” should mean “long beards” and may refer to facial hair or to their axes, but this is not confirmed either by their grave-goods or by depictions of Lombards in contemporary art. Later laws, which may reflect this period, divided the Lombards into armoured noble cavalry, unarmoured cavalry (who probably formed a reserve line) and shielded archers. In the Pannonian period, the unarmoured troops may have fought on foot, armed with spear or sax and shield. Archers were drawn from the lowest class, including freed serfs. Maurice lists the Lombards among the “fair-haired peoples” who he says charge fiercely whether mounted or on foot, are disobedient to their leaders and are easy to ambush. References: Armies of the Dark Ages lan Heath, Maurice’s Strategikon G.T. Dennis (trans).

III/2 — Early Lombard Army 489 AD - 584 AD

List: 1 x General (3Kn), 4 x nobles (3Kn), 4 x followers (3Kn/4Wb), 3 x archers (3Bw)
Terrain: Arable
Aggression: 2
Enemies:
Allies: II/72c (Suevi) or II/73 (Old Saxons) or (III/5a and/or III/13b) or III/14a