In the early Medieval period Croatia had grown into a powerful independent state, but in the late 11th century internal disputes ultimately led to the personal union of Croatia with the Kingdom of Hungary, after which the country was ruled by a Hungarian-appointed Bán or governor. Naturally Croatian warriors fought in the armies of Hungary, and Croatia was firmly in the western sphere of influence when it came to the military arts.

This figure is taken from an illustration of a Croatian light cavalryman of the early 13th century, a period which saw Hungarian leadership of the Fifth Crusade and the menacing approach of the Mongol hordes from the East. Although Western in appearance he is a little old-fashioned, and wears a mail hauberk reaching to the knees and with short sleeves, while on his head he has a kettle hat with nasal guard. He is armed with a straight sword and a spear, and his shield is of the transitionary type between kite and heater. This all seems perfectly reasonable for the period and region.

Valdemar describe the pose as 'waiting for orders', which is to say not doing very much, but he looks relaxed and in a natural posture. The standard of sculpting is excellent as always from Valdemar with good texture for the mail and good detail overall. Both spear and shield are separate and must be glued in place, and we found that the shield was a little too short to both rest on the ground and reach the warrior's hand. Also it must be said that at a scale 1.84 metres tall he is rather too tall for the average man of the time, even though as a cavalryman he is likely to be nobility. However there is no flash or unwanted plastic anywhere.

Another nice figure for an otherwise unrepresented subject.