DBA Armies

III/21 ITALIAN LOMBARD 584 AD - 1076 AD

In 568 AD, the Lombards invaded Byzantine Italy, founding a kingdom in the north and two independent duchies in the south at Benevento and Spoleto. Astolf’s 8th-century laws divided the Lombards into armoured gastaldi (minor nobles) and gasindi (retainers of kings and dukes) cavalry, followers serving as a second line of unarmoured cavalry and peasant foot archers with shields. In 774 the Lombard kingdom was conquered by the Franks and from then until 888, north Italy was ruled by the Carolingian kings as the “Kingdom of Italy” with a blend of Lombard and Frankish military institutions and personnel. After 888 it was part of the German empire. The 2 southern duchies remained independent until conquered by the Normans, and the list ends with the Norman capture of Salerno. 7th century cavalry are depicted using a long lance in 2 hands and sometimes also with a small round shield, but shields found in graves are 600-800mm in diameter. After 774 they adopted Frankish styles and from then on followers are assumed to form the rear ranks of armoured knight elements. Lombard foot at Oliventi in 1041 were thought useless because they lacked shields and left in reserve with “a few knights to keep up their courage”. Reference: Armies of the Dark Ages 1. Heath, L’Esercito Longobardo 568-774 M. Balbi.

III/21a — Lombard Army 584 AD - 774 AD

List: 1 x General (3Kn), 3 x gastaldi and gasindi (3Kn), 4 x followers (3Kn), 3 x archers (3Bw or Ps), 1 x archers (Ps) or Italian town militia (Sp)
Terrain: Arable
Aggression: 1
Enemies:
Allies: I/1c or III/13b

III/21b — Lombard Army 775 AD - 1076 AD

List: 1 x General (3Kn), 4 x knights (3Kn), 4 x Italian town and rural militia (Sp), 1 x archers (3Bw or Ps), 2 x archers (Ps) or peasant levies (7Hd)
Terrain: Arable
Aggression: 1
Enemies:
Allies: III/29 or III/33 or III/34b or III/52 or III/53 or III/65