Mid 16th Century Reiters

Today's post shows an addition to my mid 16th century collection, a dozen reiters from the Assault Group. These are fantastic figures armed with pistols and boar spears. All of the horsemen wear the large mail collar known by contemporaries as a "bishops mantle" because of its resemblance to the vestments worn by a bishop. For their head gear they wear a mixture of morions and fashionable hats. The figures are clearly based on the image below which appears in a few 16th century works but Ian Heath in his "Armies of the Sixteenth Century" states it is from Jost Amman's "Kunst und Lehrbüchlein" of 1578. Interestingly in the image the rider does not have pistol holsters but has stuck his additional firearm into his belt.

Whilst 1578 is a few decades later than my mid 16th century collection it is clear from the sources that by the 1540s a form of cavalry was starting to develop that carried pistols as their primary weapon. Known simply as the German word for rider, reiter, they were also known as schwarz reiters, often corrupted to ritters or rutters by the English, meaning black riders. This was due to the unpolished armour they wore, although from the 1578 image below it is clear that they were not always heavily armoured. By the mid 16th century these cavalrymen began to appear in Imperialist armies and those of the German Princes. As mercenaries they would be employed in large numbers in the Dutch Revolt and in the French Wars of Religion.

The Tudor government was also quick to employ these "German" horsemen. The army of Henry VIII that invaded France in 1544 was met by a Hamburg captain named Thomas Lightmaker who commanded a troop of reiters. Gilbert John Millar in his "Tudor Mercenaries and Auxiliaries" says of Lightmaker "Though he came late, he brought with him a sturdy band of 500 "swart reiters", lancers and arquebusiers, among them Dutchmen,Westphalians, and Danes". Miller argues that it is likely these reiters, along with other mercenary units of German heavy cavalry, formed a bodyguard corps for Henry VIII whilst he was in France. The English merchant and royal agent Stephen Vaughan had written to both Henry and William Paget on 30 July 1544 describing Lightmaker's men as "500 swarte rutters" and "500 swart ruters". Five years later it is possible that reiters saw action in England with the government forces of John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, being joined by a cavalry force commanded by William Grey, himself a veteran of the heavy cavalry charge at Pinkie, at the end of July 1549. Amongst Grey's cavalry was a captain named Jacques Jermigny who commanded 259 Burgundian, German and Italian heavy cavalry and 59 horse gunners. In his excellent book "The Commotion Time" E.T. Fox believes these were either mounted arquebusiers or armoured reiters. They would prove useful in the series if battles that led to the defeat of the west country rebels.

Image of reiter from Jost Amman's "Kunst und Lehrbüchlein", 1578

I have made only a couple of changes to these figures. The pistols have been removed from some of the holsters on the horses with a hole drilled into these holsters to make it look as if the pistols have been drawn. The metal spears that came with the figures have also been replaced. Instead I have used wire spears glued into the metal boar spear heads. This was not easy to do but I feel the result was worth it. Below are a few pictures of the finished unit and I couldn't resist setting my whole mid 16th century Imperial army up to see how the new reiters fitted in. The final photos show the 1540s army comprised of Spanish infantry, landsknecht, heavy cavalry, mounted arquebusiers, artillery and the reiters. I already have a few games in mind where these "swarte rutters" will see action!

A unit of 28mm Reiters by the Assault Group.

28mm Reiters.

The reiters are armed with pistols and boar spears.

A view of the reiters from the back.

The reiters advance in front of the landsknecht pike.

A mid 16th century Imperialist army.

28mm Mid 16th Century Imperialist army.

An Imperialist army c.1540 comprising reiters, Spanish infantry, landsknecht, heavy cavalry, mounted arquebusiers and artillery.