The oldest regiment in the New Byzantine army, and now one of the Guard regiments,they were originally personal troops belonging to the old Basileos in the early, frantic days of the country's formation, and was largely made up of men demobbed from the War of the Austrian Succession, They were experienced troops, drawn from most of the combatant countries, even previous foes. In order to get over the issue of which country was favoured, they were dressed in a brown coat, a colour that no country had as a main uniform.
In Olde Byzantium,a General's personal troops were called "Bukelarii" or "Biscuit Eaters".Whether it was for this reason,or that some wags said that their brown coats and red vests and trousers made them look like jam filled pastries , they acquired the nickname "Les Biscotins" - which they have kept ever after.
(A Biscotin is a soft pastry with a sweet filling, my gratitude to Armand on The Miniatures Page for the idea of the unit's nickname)
An excellent justification for the 'nickname' of this new Household unit.
ReplyDeleteNow, what minis do you intend to use?
I already built them yonks ago - mine are Old Glory - you may recognise teh uniform as the French Royal Italien regiment :-)
ReplyDeleteJust have to reflag and photograph.....