Bretonnians

The Grand Duchy of Jeune-Quennelles 

Centuries ago a brief but violent rebellion occurred in the province of Quenelles in the east of Bretonnia.  Twin sons were born to Duke Tancred I of Quenelles, of the line of Rademund the Pure, first Duke of Quennelles and Companion to Gilles the Uniter.

Upon the death of their father, Tancred I, the twin brothers fought for the right to rule. Since there was no proof as to who was the older both believed the dukedom was theirs. The Battles fought between the brothers' armies brought near ruin to their realm. The climax of the conflict occurred at the Battle of Plains of Mont Deloir. Here the two brothers came to blows for the first and last time. As the lances of their armies crashed together the two brothers clashed swords, the duel was long and honourable, but ultimately could have only one winner. Sir Ricard emerged the victor having driven his sword through his brothers breast. With the adrenalin leaving his body he was crushed by a sudden anguish and despair. He cast aside his bloodied sword replacing it with his brother's and departed the field.

Sir Ricard was named duke of Quenelles but he, and the realm, was a poorer shade of what it had been. With guilt gnawing at his soul Ricard forsook his title upon the third anniversary of the Battle of the Plains of Mont Deloir, taking up the Questing vow he rode forth with an Errantry army. 

Rather than follow the route of the recent crusades into Araby, Ricard's army boarded a ship in Brionne and sailed across the seas. He made landfall on the island of Hideria. Settling on the southern coast amidst the fertile valley of the Grisneil delta, Ricard founded the city of Jeune-Quenelles. While the distance to his homeland somewhat quietened his guilt, it was still a heavy burden to bear. Once his son had come of age Ricard left to continue his quest to find the Lady and sup from her grail.

The line of Ricard was strong, and Jeune-Quenelles flourished. The sword of Ricard's brother Abelard was passed on to each ruler of Juene-Quenelles. The current steward of the Sword of Abelard is Duke Lothair the young. Lothair was never meant to hold the sword of Abelard, it was entrusted to his father Basile the Pious. However Basile's mind was never one for rulership, his mind was forever fixed on the will of the Lady. Upon his eldest son, Jasperre's coming of age, Basile renounced his title and took up the Quest. Jasperre was a great and just ruler, however his reign was cut short at just over 5 years when the blade of Warboss Drog Facemangler the Savagely Vengeful took his head. Leaving no heirs, and with Basile's second son, Clovis already having cast aside his lance to follow in his father's footsteps, the Dukedom of Jeune-Quenelles fell to Lothair, third son of Basile the pious.

Sir Clovis (Lord)

The very night he gained his spurs as a Knight of the Realm, Clovis cast aside his lance and took up the Quest. Initially his quest took him far from home, roaming the wilds of Hideria, however he came upon a realisation that the Lady's blessing can only come from protecting his family. Thus he returned to Jeune-Quenelles and has fought for his dukedom ever since.

Sir Basile the Pious (Paladin)

Sir Basile the Pious, father of Lothair and Clovis, took up the quest upon his eldest son Jasperre's coming of age. 

Basile always felt that the living world was unimportant and only in finding the Lady and drinking from her grail could he comprehend this world and save it from itself. In his youth he was a mighty warrior, always calm and duty bound. He never spoke about the trials of his quest. Just that the grail awakened something inside of him. This awakening brought forth a surge of shame as he came to realise that in leaving upon the quest he left his wife and three young sons alone to govern a city. In realising this he returned to Jeune-Quenelles, to bear the colours of his family, provide wisdom and guidance to his sons and ride amongst the young knights of his city.

Sir Remi the Modest (Paladin)

As one of Sir Basile's boyhood sparring partners, Remi is the oldest living knight of Jeune-Quenelles. He has always stood up for the common folk, a trait that has seen him ridiculed often. However his age and wisdom earns him more respect than scorn and he still wields his sword with great skill. Remi has taught all of Basile's sons the art of swordcraft and though he is rarely seen in the courts of the city he is often found stalking the training grounds offering pointers to knights both young and old.

Sir Alain the Reckless (Paladin)

As first born son of Basile's fallen brother Sir Alain II, Sir Alain III is cousin to Lothair. More often known as Sir Alain the Reckless, he is the champion of the Knights Errant. The young knights model themselves on Alain, and often whoop and cheer when they see him diving into the foe upon the back of his winged steed. Alain never outgrew his childishness and is still a raucous and wild Knight. He is reckless on the field and drunk as often as not. His views on the lower classes is well known and has often put him at odds with his old sword master, Sir Remi.

Sir Odo the Strong (Lord)

Sir Odo the Strong believes that only in slaying the mightiest of monsters will he be worthy of supping from the grail. He rides alone and with his mighty axe 'Beastslayer' he has felled many mighty foes. He is constantly riding the plains around Jeune-Quenelles, keeping his liege lord's realm free safe. 

Sir Falk the Silent (Paladin)

The mysterious Sir Falk is an enigma to Lothair. One of his most loyal allies, yet the most distant knight in the realm.

Sir Falk was not born in Jeune-Quenelles, but arrived from Bretonnia with a letter of alliance from Mallobaude of Mousillon. Since then he has remained in Jeune-Quenelles and has lent his aid to Lothair whenever it was requested. While he is never seen on the training fields, Falk has never been bested in the Joust of the Duke's Tourney. His skills are legendary, made even more so by the fact that no one has seen his face. Unbeknownst to those of Jeune-Quenelles however, Falk is a member of the living undead. A servant of the Red Duke, and spy for his master. The Wight King that goes by the name of Falk was once a mighty knight of Mousillon, he was resurrected upon Mallobaude's rise to power, and rides to war with the arms and armour he was buried with.  

Prophetess Adeline

The lady Adeline and her sister Delphine were born to Clovis and his wife. Despite being far from Bretonnia, they were both taken by the Fay Enchantress at a young age even though they had shown no outward signs of being blessed by the lady. Over a decade later they returned to Jeune-Quenelles though they are now quite distant beings. One sister, Adeline, has a gift for life and is able to heal and help things flourish, the younger sister, Delphine is more rash and unpredictable 

Delphine

Adeline's younger sister Delphine is the wilder of the two, those around her feel more agitated, like a caged beast trying to break free. She is more likely to accompany her countrymen to battle where she releases the full animal strength of those around her. Even though she is wilder than her sister, she is still sound of mind and careful of thought. Those around her receive the lady's blessing, regardless of station, and she is often seen amongst the commoners.

Boumadoir

Boumadoir is as much a myth as she is flesh and blood. Tales are told of her to scare young children into behaving. She has long been both a thorn and an ally to the family of Basile. Many knights call Duke Lothair to burn her for a witch, yet so far Lothair has stayed his hand.

Boumadoir often accompanies the knights to battle, at her call come the departed sons of Jeune-Quenelles.  

Hobby

Work in Progress

For my Knight's paint scheme I'm working around a few rough rules from various Bretonnia army books:

• Green is the colour of the Fey

• Purple is for Damsels

• Brown is for peasants

• the fancier the knight the more time I spend on their scheme

  • Errant only get block colours

  • Realm gets some vague patterns

  • Questing get the same pattern rules but more travel stains

  • Grail get the full works

I have a vague plan of once I'm through with the knights, I will develop a shield wall for each of them. Using small MDF shields painted in each knights colours, I will arrange them on a pinboard much like a Duke might to display the warriors pledged to him.

Trebuchets

I thoroughly enjoyed building my own trebuchets as part of my Bretonnian army. With some balsa wood, hobby boat nails and blister pack plastic I set to work.

While the goal was to build workable trebuchets, I had to settle for moveable instead. The friction throughout the moving parts was a tad much to work with. But using heavy lead fishing sinkers helped.