I just got to thinking (don't ask me why - I couldn't answer you), what armies are out there that suit the fairer sex?
Here's my thoughts so far:
Ancient British with Boudica
Palmyran with Zenobia
Medieval French with Jean d'Arc
I'm sure there's hundreds more.
Personally, I think it has to be something more than a female monarch or similar, it has to be a warrior woman. Someone who would have been seen on the battlefield and involved in the actual conflict (so I'm not sure if Zenobia counts!)
Sarmatians. Female warriors rode with the men.
Thracian. Women were known to cheer their men on from the camp.
Medieval French ca 1429-30 led by Jean D'Arc - (Divinely) Inspired CinC!!!
Not sure whythe 'fairer sex' would be drawn to an army led, or containing, female warriors any more than any other army, but if they are you could add:
My Assyrian Baggage includes a 40mm*40mm stone plinth with stairs cut into it and a large pool at the top overlookign the army. The stairs are filled with an long procession of topless nubile egyptian slave women bearing urns of hot water.
Does that count?
DaiSho wrote:Hi All,
I just got to thinking (don't ask me why - I couldn't answer you), what armies are out there that suit the fairer sex?
Here's my thoughts so far:
Ancient British with Boudica
Palmyran with Zenobia
Medieval French with Jean d'Arc
I'm sure there's hundreds more.
Personally, I think it has to be something more than a female monarch or similar, it has to be a warrior woman. Someone who would have been seen on the battlefield and involved in the actual conflict (so I'm not sure if Zenobia counts!)
Irmin wrote:Not sure whythe 'fairer sex' would be drawn to an army led, or containing, female warriors any more than any other army, but if they are you could add:
Classical indian with maiden guard
Well, my thoughts were of the 'general leading the army'.
At least when I'm playing I like to think of myself as 'Alexander the Great' or 'Takeda' or 'Agathokles'. So I'd imagine that a member of the 'fairer sex' would be more interested in thinking of themselves as 'Jean D'Arc' than 'Ragnar Hairy Breeches'.
DaiSho wrote:At least when I'm playing I like to think of myself as 'Alexander the Great' or 'Takeda' or 'Agathokles'. So I'd imagine that a member of the 'fairer sex' would be more interested in thinking of themselves as 'Jean D'Arc' than 'Ragnar Hairy Breeches'.
Well in the Games Expo comp tomorrow Lynda will be using Vikings and Sylvie will be using Medieval Danish so perhaps there is an attraction in Scandanavian armies for the fairer sex?
DaiSho wrote:At least when I'm playing I like to think of myself as 'Alexander the Great' or 'Takeda' or 'Agathokles'. So I'd imagine that a member of the 'fairer sex' would be more interested in thinking of themselves as 'Jean D'Arc' than 'Ragnar Hairy Breeches'.
Well in the Games Expo comp tomorrow Lynda will be using Vikings and Sylvie will be using Medieval Danish so perhaps there is an attraction in Scandanavian armies for the fairer sex?
The Viking Sagas and Saxo Grammaticus' "History of the Danes" mention many warrior women. Hetha, Visna and Vebiorg led companies of the Danish army. Sela and Alvid were pirates. Stikla ran away from home to become a warrior. Rusilla fought against her brother for the throne. Gurith took part in a battle to help her son. Freydis Eiriksdottir, Auðr and Þórdis all used weapons against their enemies.
perhaps that's where Lynda gains her inspiration from.
1200s BC: Lady Fu Hao consort of Wu Ding, king of China, leads 3,000 men into battle.
c1200-1000 BC: The Rigveda (RV 1 and RV 10) mentions a female warrior named Vishpala, who lost a leg in battle, had an iron prosthesis made, and returned to warfare.
1000s BC: According the legendary history of Britain, Queen Gwendolen fights her husband Locrinus in battle for the throne of Britain. She defeats him and becomes queen.
700s BC: According the legendary history of Britain, Queen Cordelia (on whom the character in Shakespeare's King Lear is based), battles her nephews for control of her kingdom, personally fighting in battle.
9th century BC-8th century BC: Reign of Shammuramat of Assyria. She may have been the inspiration for the legendary warrior queen Semiramis.
740 BC: Approximate time of the reign of Zabibe, an Arabian queen who led armies.
720 BC: Approximate time of the reign of Samsi, an Arabian queen who was possibly the successor of Zabibe.
530 BC: According to Herodotus, queen Tomyris of the Massagetae fights and defeats Cyrus the Great.
510 BC: Greek poet Telesilla defends the city of Argos by rallying women with war songs.
480 BC: Artemisia I of Caria, Queen of Halicarnassus, participates in the Battle of Salamis.
4th century BC: Amage, a Sarmatian queen, attacks a Scythian prince who was making incursions onto her protecterates. She rides to Scythia with 120 warriors, and kills his guards, his friends, his family, and ultimately kills the prince himself in a duel.
334 BC: Ada of Caria allies with Alexander the Great and personally handles a siege to reclaim her throne.
332 BC[44]: According to Pseudo-Callisthenes [ Nubian queen Candace intimidates Alexander the Great with her armies, causing him to withdraw from Old Ethiopia, instead heading to Egypt. However, Pseudo-Callisthenes is not considered a reliable source by scholars, and it is possible that the entire event is fiction. More reliable historical accounts indicate that Alexander never attacked Nubia, and never attempted to move further south than the oasis of Siwa in Egypt.
320s BC[50]Cleophis surrenders to Alexander the Great when he sieges her city.
318 BC: Eurydice III of Macedon fights Polyperchon and Olympias.
315 BC-308 BC: Cratespolis commands an army of mercenaries and forces cities to submit to her.
Late 4th century BC-Early 3rd century BC: Amastris, wife of Dionysius of Heraclea, conquers four settlements and unites them into a new city-state, named for herself.
Early 3rd Century BC:[56] Huang Guigu acts as a military official under Qin Shi Huang. She leads military campaigns against the people of northern China.
3rd Century BC: Berenice I of Egypt fights in battle alongside Ptolemy I.[58]
3rd Century BC: Spartan princess Arachidamia acts as captain of a group of female soldiers who fought Pyrrhus during his siege of Lacedaemon.
3rd Century BC: Queen Berenice II participates in battle and kills several of her enemies.
3rd Century BC: Laodice I fights Ptolemy III Euergetes.
3rd century BC: Queen Teuta of Illyria begins piracy against Rome. She eventually fights against Rome when they try to stop the piracy.
296 BC: Leontium, an Epicurean philosopher, obtains beans for her fellow Epicureans during a siege of Athens by Demetrius the City-Taker in which many Athenians starved to death.
280 BC: Chelidonis, a Spartan princess, captains female Spartans on the wall of Sparta during a siege. She fought with a rope tied around her neck so that she would not be taken alive.
217 BC: Arsinoe III of Egypt accompanies Ptolemy IV at the Battle of Raphia. When the battle goes poorly, she appears before the troops and exhorts them to fight to defend their families. She also promises each two minas of gold if they won the battle. Ptolemy's forces win.
2nd century BC: Queen Stratonice tricks Docimus into leaving his stronghold, causing him to be captured by her forces.
170 BC: Meroitic queen Candace Shenakdahkete rules Ethiopia. A wall painting on a chapel in Meroe depicts her wearing a helmet and spearing her enemies.
2nd century BC: Hypsicratea, concubine of Mithridates VI of Pontus, fights in battles beside him.
2nd century BC: Queen Rhodogune of Parthia is informed of a rebellion while preparing for her bath. She vowed not to brush her hair until the rebellion was ended, and directed a long war and won it without breaking her vow.
1st century BC: Nubian queen Amanishabheto reigns. A depiction of her from a pylon tower in a chapel shows her striking the shoulders of prisoners with her lance.
48 BC: Arsinoe IV of Egypt fights Cleopatra VII.
42 BC: Fulvia, wife of Mark Antony, organized an uprising against Augustus.
31 BC: Cleopatra VII of Egypt combines her naval forces with that of Mark Antony to fight Octavian. She is defeated.
1st century Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes, allies with the Roman Empire and battles other Britons.
1st century: Agrippina the Younger, wife of Emperor Claudius, commands Roman legions in Britain. The defeated Celtic captives bowed before her throne and ignored that of the emperor.
9: Thusnelda elopes with Arminius, triggering Arminius to begin an insurrection against her father when he accuses him of carrying her off.
14-18: Chinese woman Lu Mu leads a rebellion against Wang Mang.
40-43: The Trung Sisters and Phung Thi Chinh fight against the Chinese in Vietnam.
60-61: Boudica, a Celtic chieftain in Britain, leads an uprising against the occupying Roman forces. The Romans attempted to raise the morale of their troops by informing them that her army contained more women than men. [93]
69-70: Seeress Veleda of the Bructeri tribe wields a great deal of influence in the Batavian rebellion.
2nd century: Polyaenus describes Queen Tania of Dardania, who took the throne after her husband's death and personally went into battle, riding on a chariot.
3rd century: Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra, leads a revolt in the East against the Roman Empire.
248: Trieu Thi Trinh fights the Chinese in Vietnam. Her army contained several thousand men and women.
4th century: Li Xiu takes her father's place as military commander for the Emperor of China and defeats a rebellion.
375: Queen Mavia battles the Romans.
378: Roman Empress Albia Dominica organizes her people in defense against the invading Goths after her husband had died in battle.
624: Quraish Arab priestess Hind al-Hunnud leads her people against Muhammad in the Battle of Badr. Her father, uncle, and brother are killed.
656: Aisha, widow of Muhammad, leads troops at the Battle of the Camel. She is defeated.
7th century: Princess Pingyang of China helps overthrow the Sui Dynasty by organizing a "women's army".
7th century: Khaula, along with several other women, takes command of the Rashidun army at the Battle of the Yermonks against the Roman Byzantine Empire. She was nearly beaten by a Byzantine Greek when one of her female companions, Wafeira, beheaded her opponent with one blow. This act rallied the Arabs and they defeated the Greeks.
7th century: Kahina leads Berber resistance against Umayyad conquest of North Africa.
722: Queen Aethelburg of Wessex destroys the town of Taunton.
730: A Khazar noblewoman named Parsbit commands an army against Armenia.
Early 9th century: Cwenthryth fights Wulfred, Archbishop of Canterbury, for control of her abbey estates.
880: Ermengarda defends Vienne.
912-922: Reign of Ethelfleda, ruler of Mercia. She commanded armies, fortified towns, and defeated the Danes.
Mid 10th century: Queen Thyra of Denmark leads an army against the Germans.
Late 10th century: Judith rebels against the Axumite Dynasty in Ethiopia.
1046-1115: Lifetime of Matilda of Tuscany, who conducted wars to defend the papacy.
1047: Akkadevi, an Indian princess, sieges the fort of Gokage.
1072: Urraca of Zamora, Infanta of Castile, defends the city of Zamora against her brother, Sancho II of Castile.
1075: Emma de Guader, Countess of Norfolk defends Norwich castle while it is under siege.[30]
1121:Urraca of Castile fights her half-sister, Theresa, Countess of Portugal when she refuses to surrender the city of Tuy.
1130: Female Chinese general Liang Hongyu, wife of general Han Shizhong of the Song army, blocks the advance of the Jin army with her husband.
1131-1160: Melisende of Jerusalem ruler of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem is one of the rulers involved in the 2nd crusade.
1136: Welsh princess Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd leads an army against the Normans. She is defeated and killed.
1172: Alrude Countess of Bertinoro ends a siege of Aucona by leading an army into battle and crushing imperial troops.
1261-1289: Reign of Indian queen Rani Rudrama Devi. She leads her troops in battle, and may have been killed in battle in 1289.
14th century: Jane, Countess of Montfort leads troops into battle. [Countess Jeanne de Penthievre was among her antagonists.
1326: Isabella of France invades England with Roger de Mortimer, and overthrows Edward II, replacing him with her son Edward III, with her and de Mortimer acting as regents.
1334: Agnes Dunbar successfully defends her castle against a siege by England's earl of Salisbury.
1383: Eleanor of Arborea, ruler of Sardinia, conducts a defensive war against Aragon.
15th century: Maire o Ciaragain leads Irish clans in rebellion.
15th century: Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine, leads an army to rescue her husband from the Duke of Burgundy.
15th century: Mandukhai Khatun takes command of the Mongol army and defeats the Oirats.
1429: Joan of Arc leads the French army. Yolande of Aragon supports her
1461: Queen Margaret of Anjou defeats the Earl of Warwick in the Wars of the Roses.
1461: Lady Knyvet defends Buckingham Castle at Norfolk against Sir Gilbert of Debenhem.
1471: Queen Margaret of Anjou is defeated in battle at Tewksbury. She and her son escaped to Flanders. The Yorkists eventually captured her and ransomed her to Louis XI, after she had sworn an oath not to go to war anymore.
Scrumpy wrote:1200s BC: Lady Fu Hao consort of Wu Ding, king of China, leads 3,000 men into battle.
...and more stuff
.
...you've been thinking about this one haven't you?
PG; May contain swearing Russian roulette bloody violence terror medical and regular gore distress horror (including guinea pigs) fantasy horror with scenes where characters are endangered by food and hard to categorise situations involving penguins.
i cant wait untill a new army list book is published just giving armys suitable for the fairer sex.
untill then i will have to use the same as every one else.
i still reserve the right to use my pink dice! and my pink army when the chinese book is out.
(i am assuming that i am a member of the fairer sex refered to)
lynda
I was trying to do a 'Battle axes' dba tourney at our local shop in honour of one of the ladies who had worked there and was getting married. She was a former US marine, and the title seemed to fit. Sadly it never got off the gorund.
And yes Lynda, blonde hair makes you one of the 'fairer sex'.
DaiSho wrote:So I'd imagine that a member of the 'fairer sex' would be more interested in thinking of themselves as 'Jean D'Arc' than 'Ragnar Hairy Breeches'.
Ian
So talk us through you reasoning on that one then.
Steve P --> inserts bullet in chamber, hands over pistol and leaves the room.
How about Queen Dynamis of Cherson. She assassinated her husband Polemon (who was set in place as part of Agrippa's eastern settlement) and appears to have been quite effective against the Scythians (as a Bosporan Sarmation some of the previous posts are relevant).
Sichelgaita of Salerno (see John Julius Norwich 'Normans in Sicily' and 'Byzantium: Decline and Fall'). An imposing woman who rallied an entire wing of the Norman army at Dyrrachium.
Brynhild - Mythical but a Queen in her own right who led armies in battle before annoying daddy and turned into sleeping beauty. In some versions of the legend she is the Sister of Attila. So Hunnic, Scandinavian 5th Century Germanic (Herul or Sciri maybe) or if you go closer to the mythical element you could use Viking.
There was also Bradamante - one of the peers of Charlemagne in the poems - Adds Carolingian to the mix.
(don't ask me why - I couldn't answer you), what armies are out there that suit the fairer sex?
