From JohnB: Sir John Oldcastle a Lollard: 1/72 (Heresy) (55 points)

This years challenge is proving to be a challenge. I scooted round last years library and seemed to easily tie in the theme with my various project figures and new buys. This year it has been a mental slog. Quite simply I had left all my medieval stuff behind at the end of AHPC14 and there it has stayed - It missed AHPC14 too :).

All this mental wrestling has had me pestering my minion on ABYSS interpretations. Sorry Martijn. Hopefully I am now a bit sorted and usefully I have dug into that medieval primed heap that is my abandoned/shelved Shrewsbury 1403 project.

Having no easy solution to Sarah's Succubus, I was stumped by heresy although I did run a train of thought past Martijn (sorry it's an in joke). And then I simply looked in my display cabinet and saw some 100 years war figures staring at me.

So I punched the computer with heresy and voila - Sir John Oldcastle pops up. What a story - super side kick to Henry V - he also happened to be into Lollarding and decided his values were more important than power and prestige. He was put to death at the flaming stake.

John Wycliffe was a Catholic Theologian dismissed from Oxford University in England in 1381 for heresy. By 1395 his teachings had been incorporated into the 12 conclusions of the Lollards. In essence they were............... 1 - the church had toó much temporal power 2 - too much ritual without scriptural basis 3 - clerical celibacy had simply encouraged sodomy 4 - transubstantiation - e.g. communion bread promotes idolatry 5 - exorcisms and hallowings carried out by priests are a practice of necromancy/shamanism 6 - clerics in secular office - far too much pride on show - excuse clerics from these roles 7 - prayers for specific dead people is selfish and paid prayers is a form of bribery - it has become an industry and is simony and idleness. 8 - pilgrimages, images, crucifixes and veneration of relics approach idolatry and offerings for these instead should simply be given directly to the poor/needy 9 - confession - is a blasphemous act as only god can forgive us our sins 10 - war, battle, crusade - christians should refrain from battle except for certin reasons. Crusades are blasphemous; likewise slaying heathens for glory. Lords who purchase indulgences for their armies actions are actually stealing from funds for the poor. 11 - female vows - nuns should be allowed to marry instead of needing abortions if they become pregnant to conceal breaking their vows 12 - arts and crafts - the multitude of crafts used by the church cause waste - only those crafts for simple living are necessary.

Being essentially a form of regime change - it was associated with uprisings and assassinations of government offcials. It was brutally suppressed. Between 1409 and 1413 in the reign of Henry IV, Sir John Oldcastle was summoned to Parliament as a Lollard leader but evaded prosecution - being a friend of Henry V. Sir John was eventually convicted but escaped from prison in the tower of london in 1413 and then led a rebellion against the King - now Henry V. Eventually he was captured in 1417. The records are not clear if he was hung drawn and quartered first - for high treason and only then burnt as a heretic. Plenty of wikipedia information is available - it was my source.

I have painted one gaming base using my chosen medieval gaming element - Basic Impetus switched me from DBA and given my 1/72 scale preference as per the guidance in the 1st Edition rulebook I opted for 80mm frontage (for 15mm) and reduced the figure count. It just so happens a previous dabbling with Shreswbury 1403 had already seen me abandon the traditional figure counts which crammed figures onto bases.

My standard medieval set up is 80x60mm bases with 8 foot figures per base - sometimes I do 10 or 6. Here the "Accurate Models" 1/72 sculpting slenderness mean you can see the individual figures and given poses are very variable its more "Diorama" and less "serried ranks" - all thanks to Impetus. I am experimenting with contrasts and ordinary paints - here my only failure was the vallejo contrast mystic blue bleeding out when I varnished the figures - I had allowed 24 hours drying time before varnishing. The shield design is based on what I could find online - plenty of pics of Sir John burning - not so many of his Oldcastle brand! I opted to hand apply the castle and used some permanent black drawing pens. Not sure I would do it again. They crazed but ironically some created minute white lines that look like the stone mortar joints in the online images! Others make it look a bit messy. ho hum.

My bases are done with a 3 colour - burnt sienna/ochre/white yellow dry brush of budgie grit then finished here with gamers grass light green 6mm tufts. Points tally 1/72 figures being nearer 20mm = 8x4 = 32 points. And also 20pts for the heresy level in the Abyss. Grand Total = 52pts

Yes, I was expecting you to steam along happily. However, I must say that you came up with quite a heretical story in the end, well done indeed! I do have Basic Impetus (of course), but I have never played it (of course). But if this base is anything to go by, it will provide a nice spectacle! I do hope it will inspire you to get on with your abandoned Shrewsbury project. Great work, John, they came out very nice and I love the shields. I'll throw you some points for those, to round it off to 55 points.

Martijn