The Siege of Harfleur
The Siege of Harfleur
France, in the year 1415, and the army of Henry V has surrounded the town of Harfleur. The garrison, commanded by the Sieur d'Estouteville and the Sieur de Gaucourt, refuse to surrender and so the English begin to bombard the walls with cannon and other artillery. A swift conclusion to the siege is necessary, as the town has plenty of provisions and the main French Army is expected at any time.
Eventually, the already damaged walls are undermined by sappers and a breach appears. English footmen and men at arms pour into the town under Henry’s rallying cry:
"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean."
(Henry V Act III, Scene 1)
Main gallery: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=317702
Although the Shakespeare was the main inspiration for this moc, it's unlikely that such an assault occured in reality! A parley was requested after French reinforcements failed to arrive and the English force occupied the town after a month long siege.
Eventually, the already damaged walls are undermined by sappers and a breach appears. English footmen and men at arms pour into the town under Henry’s rallying cry:
"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean."
(Henry V Act III, Scene 1)
Main gallery: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=317702
Although the Shakespeare was the main inspiration for this moc, it's unlikely that such an assault occured in reality! A parley was requested after French reinforcements failed to arrive and the English force occupied the town after a month long siege.
Last edited by Reejoc on Fri May 09, 2008 8:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Voran_the_Scholar
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Wow...I saw this on the Brothers Brick and was hoping it had been posted here. I love the way you did this. The burnt-out building, the pockmarked walls, the siegeworks and trenches. Excellent job, I must say.
And the armies are the perfect motley array of warriors you could expect from the Middle Ages. I love the inside of the town and all the little details you added. The cannon is cool too. Is that a to-scale model for the time period?
And the armies are the perfect motley array of warriors you could expect from the Middle Ages. I love the inside of the town and all the little details you added. The cannon is cool too. Is that a to-scale model for the time period?
- Heir of Black Falcon
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Voran hit the ones that really caught my eye. The holes in the walls are excellent. I have never seen that done before but they really do look bombarded. The action of all the men is really good as well, everyone is doing something, either readying to fight, flee, watching etc. The buildings, especially those burned out are great as well. If you ever are looking for some good info on the life of Henry V there is a great account by his chaplain.
Thanks for posting. Excellent job!
R
Thanks for posting. Excellent job!
R
- Aragornn45
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I have to concur with everyone else, the pockmarked walls are really cool looking. I also like the way the buildings look, especially the burnt out one. Being a fan of this play I really like how you have represented the seige. My one complaint is that the English and French soldiers need some uniforms to differentiate between the two, other than one is in the city
It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.
-Proverbs 20:3
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Wowzers! I'm not sure if I've seen any of your castle MOCs before, but this ones rules!
You capture the almost completely un-organized proceedings of a siege very well. The chaos is very realistic, and caught my eyes at once. The only thing I didn't like was that it is very hard to distinguish one army from the other. I don't mind diverse armies, but I do think that they need something to be uniform throughout each opposing force.
The siege stations outside are amazing; I love the custom-built cannon! The trench is very realistic, though, for some reason, I have only seen one in a very few siege MOCs. The wood shield/barricade things that the archers are hiding behind are also very realistic.
The buildings inside the castle also caught my eyes at once. The white Tudor house with the leaning wall is sheer genius! I have to ask if I may borrow that at some point down the road. I've never seen it done before, though it is quite simple, and adds variety to the scene. The burnt buildings are very finely constructed as well. The slightly damaged walls under the burnt portion are very nice.
Well, that just about sums up my thoughts. Once again, a very nice job. I would like to see some more MOCs from you sometime soon.
In Christ,
You capture the almost completely un-organized proceedings of a siege very well. The chaos is very realistic, and caught my eyes at once. The only thing I didn't like was that it is very hard to distinguish one army from the other. I don't mind diverse armies, but I do think that they need something to be uniform throughout each opposing force.
The siege stations outside are amazing; I love the custom-built cannon! The trench is very realistic, though, for some reason, I have only seen one in a very few siege MOCs. The wood shield/barricade things that the archers are hiding behind are also very realistic.
The buildings inside the castle also caught my eyes at once. The white Tudor house with the leaning wall is sheer genius! I have to ask if I may borrow that at some point down the road. I've never seen it done before, though it is quite simple, and adds variety to the scene. The burnt buildings are very finely constructed as well. The slightly damaged walls under the burnt portion are very nice.
Well, that just about sums up my thoughts. Once again, a very nice job. I would like to see some more MOCs from you sometime soon.
In Christ,
Thomas Wunz <><
"A nameless, shapeless beast from the dark underside of Chat." - Josh Wedin
[url=http://flickr.com/photos/11381994@N00/]Flickr[/url]
"A nameless, shapeless beast from the dark underside of Chat." - Josh Wedin
[url=http://flickr.com/photos/11381994@N00/]Flickr[/url]
Thanks for the comments.
As for the soldiers, I used mainly Black Falcon type troops for the French, with some archers in grey. The English, as would have been the case, are not consistently uniformed and are an attempt to try and better represent a real 15th century army.
I'm not sure as to the accuracy of the cannon. I was unable to find many reference images and it seems that medieval cannons varied from being quite stubby to long and thin, like this one.The cannon is cool too. Is that a to-scale model for the time period?
As for the soldiers, I used mainly Black Falcon type troops for the French, with some archers in grey. The English, as would have been the case, are not consistently uniformed and are an attempt to try and better represent a real 15th century army.
[url=http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/215051]Peligrad Castle[/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/reejoc/sets/72 ... 42/detail/]Queen of Hearts Castle[/url]
[url=http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/56759]Siege of Harfleur[/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/reejoc/sets/72 ... 42/detail/]Queen of Hearts Castle[/url]
[url=http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/56759]Siege of Harfleur[/url]
- Heir of Black Falcon
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Lets get a real picture of a medieval cannon up...
http://www.edinburgh-scotland.net/image ... sMeg05.jpg
a bit later than 1415 but by the 1410s cannon are getting bigger and bigger to increase their power which before this time was limited. Its not till the 1430s or 1440s when they really give trebuchets a run for their money.
R
http://www.edinburgh-scotland.net/image ... sMeg05.jpg
a bit later than 1415 but by the 1410s cannon are getting bigger and bigger to increase their power which before this time was limited. Its not till the 1430s or 1440s when they really give trebuchets a run for their money.
R
- bikicsmilan
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- Sir Kohran
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Wow, best diorama I've seen in quite a while. The chaos, energy and grittiness are very well portrayed, and the buildings are also well-constructed. And Shakespeare gives it both historical and dramatic grounding.
I'm a little perplexed as to why people are saying the soldiers need uniforms. Most infantry at the time were just common folk with whatever armour and weaponry they had available. Movies like Braveheart show them with uniforms just because it's easy for audiences to understand, regardless of whether it's accurate (since when did accuracy in movies count for anything anyway ).
My only criticism would be that the constant smiling faces on the minifigs do take away from the atmosphere of the scene a bit. If a big attack is taking place then people aren't going to be happily grinning.
But overall, good work.
- Matt
I'm a little perplexed as to why people are saying the soldiers need uniforms. Most infantry at the time were just common folk with whatever armour and weaponry they had available. Movies like Braveheart show them with uniforms just because it's easy for audiences to understand, regardless of whether it's accurate (since when did accuracy in movies count for anything anyway ).
My only criticism would be that the constant smiling faces on the minifigs do take away from the atmosphere of the scene a bit. If a big attack is taking place then people aren't going to be happily grinning.
But overall, good work.
- Matt
- Voran_the_Scholar
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Thanks for the pic, Heir of Black Falcon! Did you take that yourself?
God bless.
Tom
People wouldn't, but minifigs love violence! They live for violence! Especially at the command of their masters!Sir Kohran wrote:
My only criticism would be that the constant smiling faces on the minifigs do take away from the atmosphere of the scene a bit. If a big attack is taking place then people aren't going to be happily grinning.
But overall, good work.
- Matt
God bless.
Tom
- Jansen
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All I can really say is wow! There's no point in explaining what I like, cause I would just be echoing everyone else! Good job man!
"An apple a day keeps people deathly-allergic to apples away."
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Re: The Siege of Harfleur
Wow what a great tear in the wall there. Well done on the texturizing.
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- Shadowviking
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Re: The Siege of Harfleur
This is great! What really caught my eye was the angled half timber house here- classy stuff that! The other half timbered house and the "dents" in the wall are also quite nice.
...and that's how Equestria was made!
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