Rhehel

"And Modred, as he was the boldest of men, and always the quickest at making an attack, immediately placed his troops in order, resolving either to conquer or to die, rather than continue his flight any longer."

— Geoffrey of Monmouth,
Gesta Regum Britanniae

Rhehel: Vital statistics
Unit type	Heavy infantry
Built/trained at	Barracks
Damage and weapon type	Strong
Armour	High
Production cost	Pop cost: 1 Resource cost: 40M, 60F Ramp cost: 1F, ?M
Range	Melee Low LOS
Unit move and creation speed	Unit movement speed: Slower outside home territory Creation speed: Slow
Unit HP	Rather high
Technological requirements	Library Military Level 3 (Heraldry and chivalry) Upgrades to Sciltron Infantry
Factions available	Wales

Born in the wild Welsh hills, Rhehel are the backbone of Welsh armies, and are extremely well-suited for taking on cavalry, but little else. These units, while being faster on home turf, have vasty weaker stats, but this belies their ability to run very fast, especially on home turf. With Welsh propensities for stealth, however, weaker attacks and constitution are not an issue since you would normally be on the offensive, as compared to the opponent who would be stuck trying to guess the location of your dreaded army. The added speed which Rhehel can move at all ensure that you can deploy these men as quickly as you need them.

Unlike most countries in Europe at the time, the style and method of medieval Welsh warfare was not overly influenced by feudalism — not least because the heavily armoured feudal horseman could not properly operate in the rough and hilly ground covering much of Wales. Warriors were dressed in a linen shirt (often red) and linen drawers; they covered these with a woolen cloak hanging to their knees, which was sometimes described as being "thin". This was followed by a series of weapons, but the most commonly used weapons were axes, javelins, spears and bows. Several manuscripts depict Welsh warriors as having only one shoe and their other foot bare — this probably allowed them to keep a balance on hilly or rough terrain. Hair was worn short, and was shaped around the eyes and ears; moustaches were popular, but beards were not.

Unit summary

• Heavy infantry unit which sacrifices tactical strength for added speed within your borders.

References

• Mersey D, Medieval Welsh Warriors and Warfare