Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke

Here is another figure from the FireForge Mounted MAA set - painted up as Aymer de Valence, the 2nd Earl of Pembroke. He served under both Edward I and Edward II in Flanders and Scotland. He defeated Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Methven in 1306.

He tried to keep the peace between Edward II and his opponents headed by Thomas of Lancaster. When Edward's hated favorite Piers Gaveston was exiled and later returned to England, it was Aymer de Valence who captured him. Lancaster had Gaveston removed from his charge and executed. This breach of protocol seriously damaged the relationship between De Valence and Lancaster.

The Earl was at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, where he led Edward II to safety after the English defeat. A few years later while on a papal embassy he was captured and released after paying a financially ruinous ransom. In 1324, he was in France on diplomatic mission when he collapsed and died, possibly of a heart attack. However, some say he may have been murdered as retribution for his role in the execution of Thomas of Lancaster in 1322 for treason.

Those red blotches about his arms are supposed to be little birdies - or martlets in heraldic terms. The mail is rather nicely sculpted too.

Although I had mentioned in the previous post that those mounted yeomen would be my last painting project for the year, I felt compelled to paint Aymer up as I really like his arms.

I painted up a 120mm Velinden knight in the same arms some years ago. The colors and pattern are simple yet striking.