Lancero galés 1340-1350

http://www.warriorsfortheworkingday.com/welshspearman.htm

The English Medieval armies of the early Hundred Years War were made up of several different elements. The heavily armed  nobles, knights and men at arms, bowmen to provide themissile element and infantry such as the man shown here.

Many Welsh spearmen provided an infantry force for the armies of Edward III and  the Black Prince, relatively lightly armed they served as support for the other arms. This man may be better armed than many of his fellows since he has obtained a padded body armour and a simpleiron skull to protect his head. His principal weapon is a spear and he has a hatchet tucked in his belt although many carried long knives, which brought an untimely end to many French knights fallen wounded at Crecy and Poitiers.

The man has removed one shoe as is shown in contemporary illustrations supposedly to get a better grip with his ‘leading’ leg on the potentially slippery ground of a battlefield.