Thegn Horsemen

During the era of Viking settlement in Britain, an integral part of the fyrds was a class of noblemen-warriors who owned land granted from lords or kings by right of a provided military service. They were known as thegns, who in the earliest times of Saxon migration were exclusively defined by that military service. The first Anglo-Saxon leaders kept ‘gesiths’ as they were formerly known in their retinues, who were better trained and more highly motivated due to a close relationship with their warmongering lords. By the later Saxon era, they had developed into a middle-ranking land-owning ‘officer class’ with major roles in organising and leading the fyrds. Danish rule over conquered English lands meant that some thegns fought for their conquerors in return for being able to keep their lands within the puppet kingdoms.

Thegns were much better equipped for war than most other troops. Their use of spears from horseback had been seen in a similar form around Britain before, with the Roman use of lance-bearing cavalry regiments. Advancements in horse training techniques and more significantly, the adoption of the stirrup into Western Europe, meant that horses were no longer primarily just a means to get to the battlefield. Mounted warriors previously ran a considerable risk of being unhorsed by the slightest impacts, nor could they carry out any significant blows without becoming unbalanced and vulnerable. Stirrups ensured stability, so that what had formerly been impossible on horseback in the cut and thrust of battle then became easy.

Unit Name Thegn Horsemen

Main Unit Key dan_thegn_horsemen

Land Unit Key dan_thegn_horsemen

Naval Unit Key vik_sae_wylfing

Soldiers 60

Category Cavalry

Class Melee Cavalry

Custom Battle Cost 700

Recruitment Cost 700

Upkeep Cost 250

Melee Skill 33

Melee Damage 32

├ Melee Weapon vik_spear_cav

├ Melee Base Damage 22

├ Armour-piercing Damage 10

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 15

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 23

Melee Defence 63

├ Base Defence 33

├ Shield vik_medium

└ Shield 30

Armour 22

├ Armour vik_mail

├ Armour Defence 22

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 150

├ Man Entity vik_inf_med

├ Man Health 100

├ Bonus Hit Points 0

├ Mount vik_horse_spear_med

├ Mount Entity vik_horse_medium

└ Mount Health 50

Morale 45

Abilities

• Wedge
  "Let's break their line!"

Attributes

• [[col:yellow]]Disciplined[[/col]]
  This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often.
• [[col:yellow]]Hide (forest)[[/col]]
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses

Faction Availability
Thrones of Britannia	Bedeborg Djurby East Engle Grantebru Heimiliborg Hellirborg Holdrness Hylrborg Ledeborg Northymbre East Engle Usurpers Northymbre Usurpers Steinnborg Veidrborg

Faction Pool

Pool
No.	Pool	Faction	Initial Unit Count	Chance To Replenish	Max Replenish Per Turn	Max Count
1	danelaw	Bedeborg Djurby Grantebru Heimiliborg Hellirborg Holdrness Hylrborg Ledeborg Steinnborg Veidrborg Westmoringas	1	0.1	1	1
2	east_anglia	East Engle East Engle Usurpers	1	0.1	1	1
3	northumbria	Northymbre Northymbre Usurpers	1	0.1	1	1