Zvezda's Livonian Knights

Zvezda Livonians (Box Front)

Zvezda Livonians (Box Back)

Zvezda Livonians (Sprue 1)

Zvezda Livonians (Sprue 2)

Nice detail

So what do you get?

• 8 Spearmen (2 poses)
• 4 Swordsmen (1 pose)
• 4 Axemen (1 pose)
• 4 Cross Bowmen (1 pose - in two pieces!)
• 3 Javelinmen (1 pose)
• 1 Hornblower
• 9 Mounted (5 poses)

Note the cross bowmen - the cross bow is now seperate for a more 3D miniature. Gone are the days of the 20mm flat crossbowman!

Comments from Mike Manning...

Hi Nick:

I would add that there was very little flash to trim off.

Also, normally, I'm not a big fan of sheild decorations in bas reilief but in this case it helped emensely. My hand isn't steady enough to do all thoses Maltese and Latin crosses without making a hash of the job.

I bought 3 packages, which yeilds enough figures to produce quite an effective looking crossbow & spear unit of 24 figures.

Regards,
Mike Manning

Ok, so who were they?

Well, in response to that very same question on the DBLHCM e-group, Mike Manning got these replies...

From 'The Britannica Concise':

"LIVONIA
Region, E coast of Baltic Sea, north of Lithuania. Originally inhabited by the Livs, a Finno-Ugric people, it eventually expanded to include nearly all of modern Latvia and Estonia. In the 13th cent. it was conquered and Christianized by the Order of the Brothers of the Sword and organized into the Livonian confederation. A Russian invasion set off the Livonian War (1558-82), in which Russia, Poland, and Sweden seized portions of it. Sweden eventually gained control of most of it but ceded the region to Russia in 1721. In 1918 the N portion became part of independent Estonia and the S portion joined independent Latvia."

So my guess is that these are another opponent for their Russian Knights set. I hope that's helpful.

Bill Bennett

Take it away Keith...

As Bill has already said they were the Order of the Brothers of the Sword, which was a German knightlty order based in Livonia/East Courland. Some of the very excellant Zvezda figures have shields with crossed swords motifs, which was the order's "badge" � along with figures with the Teutonic cross, imperial eagles and the Tau cross (crosses with the upper part of the vertical missing). Generally, they were subsumed as a junior part of the Teutonic knights fighting alongside them and so would go well with the Italeira set. They fought the same enemies, Russians, Prussians, Poles and maybe the Golden Horde.

I believe they were in existence before the Teutonic knights were forced to leave Acra in Palestine and decamped to East Prussia. Their fortunes were tied up with their big brothers and so by the later part of the 1400s were in decline, finally ending when the head of the Teutonic knights converted to Lutheranism somewhere in the 1500s. The WRG book on medieval armies in the east has some info on them.

Keith S

Which lead Mike to say...

This suggests they are potential allies of the Teutonic knights, or certainly one side of a triangular Baltic campaign.

If nothing else, their Black on White motif fits right in with the Teutonic Order.

I have a couple of Estonian friends who would probably get a kick out of putting the Russians in their place.

Regards,

Mike Manning

So what can you do with them?

Well, one army is glaringly obvious...

IV/30 Tueotnic Orders. 1201AD-1261AD.
	1x3Kn(Gen), 3x3Kn, 1x3Cv, 2x2LH, 2x4Cb, 1x4Sp, (1x3Ax + 1x2Ps) or 2x7Hd.

(Since the Livonians don't have a DBA list themselves...)

2 packs will get you all the foot you need (most notably the Cross Bow's), and even most of the mounted. Fill out the rest of the mounted from Italeri's Tuetonic Knights box (which contains only mounted figures), and you're in business. Finally, your DBA Mongol army has something to fight!

Other Armies?

Well, just to put in my five cents worth (our $NZ 0.01's and .02's went out a while ago...), I was wondering if some of these figures might not work in alongside some of my Revell Normans as Early Crusaders. Nasal helm, kite shield...just a thought. They could at least work in well with Italeri's Crusaders as Later Crusaders.

They should at the very least work as Generic Eastern European Medieval types. Perhaps some of them could even pass as Gondoran...well, maybe...

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