Reading Army Lists

[JonathanJ]

If the army list says:
"6-9 Light Foot or Heavy Foot"
are we restricted to only one of the two options or can we mix and match?

My immediate thought was that the choice represents differing interpretations of the same historical formation (and, therefore, I should only take one of the options), but I thought I should ask...

Also, is this described somewhere and I just missed it by being too anxious to jump into the lists?

[David Kuijt]

If the army list says:
"6-9 Light Foot or Heavy Foot"
are we restricted to only one of the two options or can we mix and match?

Some lists say "all X or all Y". There you may not mix and match.

If it says "6-9 X or Y" you may mix and match.

My immediate thought was that the choice represents differing interpretations of the same historical formation (and, therefore, I should only take one of the options),

What it represents is very list dependent. For example, Communal Italian Contadini and communal knights are "Knight or Bad Horse." Some of them sucked, and some of them were relatively good, so you can pick. That has to do with the training of the knights. In the same army list communal crossbowmen can be "Bow Levy or Pavise." That's a difference of formation. If they muster without any foot supporting and shielding them, they're bow levy. But you still can mix and match, because the whole group is NOT a single "unit" in modern military parlance -- every contrada (quarter, although not in the sense of 1/4) of the city would have its own muster and often heraldry, and might fight in a different way. Sienna, for example, had 17 contrada in the 15th century -- no idea how many in the 13th century.

[JonathanJ]

Thank you

[DRutt]

For the Anglo-Norman army list it says Max 1 Archer for 1120AD to 1181AD and it has a separate line for Max 1 Archer for 1151AD to 1181AD. If you are fielding the army in 1160AD that falls within both, does that mean the Max is 2 archers?

[David Kuijt]

For the Anglo-Norman army list it says Max 1 Archer for 1120AD to 1181AD and it has a separate line for Max 1 Archer for 1151AD to 1181AD. If you are fielding the army in 1160AD that falls within both, does that mean the Max is 2 archers?

Correct. But note that the 1120+ archer is Welsh bowmen, and the 1151+ Archer is Genoese or other mercenary crossbowmen

[DRutt]

Ok, thanks for the explanation. So there can be 2 archer units but there would perhaps be a distinction be in the types of miniatures used for each unit of archers.

[David Kuijt]

Ok, thanks for the explanation. So there can be 2 archer units but there would perhaps be a distinction be in the types of miniatures used for each unit of archers.

Exactly. And the archers are time-limited, so you are playing in a campaign/tournament that is at 1140 AD you could have the Welshry but not the Genoese.