I've been working on this unit for a couple of weeks. With the unit being the first of my mounted "Justinian" era Heavy Cavalry units I just could not resist posting up a WIP picture of them in all their Eastern Roman glory. Anyone out there reading this who knows a little about Late Roman/Early Byzantine armies will probably be able to guess which particular unit is depicted in the image above. If the heavy armours on the men and the heavy bards on the large horses are not a giveaway then the banner ought to look very familiar to those who have studied the period.
I have been toying with the idea of adding pennants to the kontos which has raised a bit of a dilemma. The Byzantine Heavy Cavalry would not charge pell mell into the fray lances levelled but rather, cantor in with good discipline, the kontos being used as a duel weapon (pardon the pun) in that it could be used for thrusting and/or fencing. I just cannot imagine any of the cavalrymen being very amused about having a great big pennon on the end of their "lance" as it would certainly impede the use of the weapon in that regard. On the other hand, the artist in me tells me to hell with it and add the pennons as they will finish of the unit really nicely! Decisions, decisions......
