"Every squire dreams of becoming a knight, and every knight dreams of having a better squire..."
- —Description of Bretonnia's elite footsoldiers in Total War: Warhammer.[1]
A Bretonnian Foot Squire as depicted in Total War: Warhammer.
Foot Squires are the flower of Bretonnian infantry, fighting to prove their worth and skill to their lord in the hope that they might somehow earn promotion through their deeds to knighthood.
Role[]
"At the centre of the Bretonnian army is a core of soldiers, drilled since birth to be warriors par excellence."
- —Description of Bretonnia's elite footsoldiers in Total War: Warhammer[1a]
Portrait of a Bretonnian Foot Squire as depicted in Total War: Warhammer.
Within Bretonnia's military, not all troops are levied from among the common folk. Some men -- nobler men, though still originally of peasant stock -- are raised to be warriors, and do so because it is not only their duty, but also their honour. They live and train in their own barracks, furnished with the best weapons and armour that their coin and relative privilege can buy.[1a][3]
A Foot Squire's main task is to look after a knight's armour, warhorse and supervise his feudal domains, pursuing brigands and keeping watch for intruders. Squires are also effectively errand boys for their lord, fulfilling menial or unsavoury tasks that their masters would prefer to delegate.[1][2]
Yet in battle they fight with every ounce of skill and ferocity that their training has given them, using their two-handed blades to cleave through all foes in the name of the Lady of the Lake, Bretonnia and their lord's glory. For a squire, every battle is an opportunity to perform some great deed or service for his master; each kill accumulated gives him a chance -- albeit a minuscule one -- to be elevated to knighthood.[1][2]
Notable Squires[]
- Beastslayers of Bastonne - The name given to the unit of personal squires of Duke Bohemond of Bastonne.
- Tomas the Shieldless - A squire who became one of the few peasants to ever gain knighthood.
- Gaude - A former knight of Bretonnia who fled from battle, resulting in him being stripped of his titles and forced to serve as a squire.
Sources[]
- 1: Total War: Warhammer (PC Game)
- 1a: Unit Description
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Bretonnia (5th Edition)
- 3: Gilead's Blood (Novel) by Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent