Vienna Armory. Tournament Armor
Pride is peculiar to one,
Envy is characteristic of others
The anger shown in battle
Laziness, when pleasure replaces prayer.
Opponent's greed
And his lat
Gluttony at a feast
And the subsequent debauchery.
Robert Manning. The Manual of Sins (1303)
Envy is characteristic of others
The anger shown in battle
Laziness, when pleasure replaces prayer.
Opponent's greed
And his lat
Gluttony at a feast
And the subsequent debauchery.
Robert Manning. The Manual of Sins (1303)
Knights and armor. I always wanted to visit the imperial Vienna armory ward, and finally this dream came true. That is, only one visit there was worth going to Austria. And why I was so drawn to it, that’s understandable. After all, the Vienna Armory of the Habsburgs today is the largest and most complete collection of ancient weapons in Europe. Emperor Frederick III began to collect it in 1450. Well, today it contains at least a thousand unique samples of weapons and armor - from spandex helmets to the weapons of the time of Emperor Franz Joseph. The exposition of the Armory is located in twelve large halls in the building of the New Hofburg Castle, and in comparison with it the Knight's Hall of our Hermitage is nothing more than the most ordinary exhibition. However, a story (and not one) on VO will still follow about the chamber and its exhibits. Moreover, I received permission from the chamber’s administration to use her photos, which are still much better than my own, as well as information. Nevertheless, the mix of those and others, as it seems to me, will allow us to give a very complete impression of the subject - armor and weapons of knightly times. Well, I would like to start with the armor for tournaments, since they are not collected in such a large quantity in any other museum in the world!
Here, at VO, my articles about tournament weapons, written on the materials of the Dresden Armory, have already been published. Today we are starting a series of tournaments based on materials from the Habsburg Armory Chamber from Vienna.
Image of a knightly tournament on the lid of an ivory box of the 13th century. (The State Museum of the Middle Ages - the terms and mansion of Cluny, or simply the Cluny Museum, a unique Parisian museum in the 5 city district, in the center of the Latin Quarter) It is located in the so-called “Hotel Cluny” - a preserved medieval mansion of the 15th century. It contains one of the most significant collections of household items and art of the French Middle Ages in the world, and we will definitely tell you about it somehow.
A tournament is a whirl
The word "tournament" (French turney) came to us from the French language. And this is nothing more than an imitation of a real battle, although limited by the rules that do not allow bringing the matter to death. The tournament was a kind of practice before real fights in the war, and a way to “show oneself”, to win the goodwill of the ladies and the king, and, importantly, as a means of earning, since the rules of the war also applied to the rules of the tournament, and the loser paid a ransom to the winner if not for himself, then for his horse and weapons are necessary.
Duel of the Duke of Jean de Bourbon with the Duke of Brittany Arthur III. Figure from the "Book of Tournaments" by Rene Anjou. 1460 year. (National Library, Paris) Typically, tournaments in textbooks are depicted like this, but one must understand that they didn’t become that way right away, and that the knights never put on anything like this in battle!
It is known that similar military games in Europe were held back in 844 at the court of Louis of Germany, although by what rules and how then they fought it is not known. It is believed that Gottfried of Preya, who died in the year of the Battle of Hastings, that is, in 1066, was the first compiler of special rules for tournament games, which were first called “Buhurt”. Then in the XII century the word "tournament" began to be used in France, and then it turned into other languages. The terms of chivalry included French terms used in the tournament, as well as Italian and then German, since in the XV-XVI centuries. it was the Germans who began to set the tone and most seriously improve the tournament rules. However, the classic form of the tournament was always considered a duel on the spears of two riders.
A very beautiful exhibition with equestrian figures of the tournament participants was created in the Arsenal at the Dresden Art Gallery. Moreover, it is constantly updated. These two figures, for example, are now replaced by completely different ones. Although not the figures themselves, but what they are wearing. That is, there they sew new blankets and cashmere clothes, and only the weapons in the hands of the fighters do not change!
Tournament "era of chain mail"
Since the knighthood of the “era of chain mail”, that is, that existed before the 1250 year, was “quite poor”, it must be understood that no special armor for the tournament existed. The knights fought in everything in which they went to war, although, of course, the sharp tips of the spears were replaced by blunt ones. Most likely, the spears themselves were replaced by lighter, drilled inside, to reduce the danger to the combatants. Of course, no one forged specially stupid swords either, but did not stupid combat swords, this would be nonsense. Therefore, it can be assumed that the sword fights, if any, were also done with the help of military weapons, but under the strict supervision of the tournament organizers and “before the first blood”, and the ban on many attacks. Or the blades were wrapped in leather, which is also quite possible. However, I want to emphasize that these are nothing more than assumptions, although they are quite substantiated.
Naturally, the theme of tournaments, in the Middle Ages is extremely significant, was reflected among the many miniatures decorating strange manuscripts ... Here we have the duel of the French knights. Thumbnail from the Chronicles of Froissart. 1470 years (British Library, London)
Again, all sources report that until the fourteenth century, tournament participants used the same armor and weapons that they wore in battle. A description of one such armor of the era of mixed chain-plate armor is available in the Song of the Nibelungs. It included a battle shirt of Libyan silk (most likely Spanish); armor made of iron plates sewn onto some, most likely, leather base; helmet with chin ties; shield, whose belt - tug - was decorated with gem stones. The shield itself was large, with a gold ornament on the edges and a thickness of three fingers directly under the umbon.
But this is the same miniature close-up.
By the way, the shield described above, although it was very bulky, was unstable, because it could not stand the blow. In the poem, references to pierced through shields or even shields with spear tips stuck in them are very frequent. The riders' saddles were decorated with precious stones and - for some reason - with golden bells. All these details indicate more likely the middle of the XII century, and not the beginning of the XIII century, when this poem was recorded and edited, because then the knights used lighter shields, but the spears themselves, on the contrary, became heavier and stronger. The fact is that "Songs of the Nibelungs" describe too thin spears of the early times, therefore, in the first parts of the poem, cases when a rider is knocked out of a saddle with a spear are not described. It is written that fragments of spear shafts and no more take off into the air. Only in the very last part, where the battle between Gelpfrat and Hagen takes place, the last one was nearly knocked out of the saddle with a spear, and the first one, although at first it restrained itself, could not cope with the horse, and then it threw it off. That is, all this time there was a process of both strengthening the armor and at the same time the specialization of the copies themselves, which over time became very different from the combat ones. Moreover, as in the case with any technical design, their creators - lance masters - needed to solve two mutually exclusive problems. The spear for the tournament had to be strong so that it could knock the opponent out of the saddle, and at the same time not too heavy for the rider to use it. Special spears also appeared, which were supposed to fly apart from a blow to chips. And to invent and make such a lot of ingenuity and skill were required.
The Armory Building of the New Hofburg Castle. It’s great that the tourist buses stop right in front of him, you just need to cross the square, the tram tracks, enter the gate, turn right and you ... are there!
And here is what Ulrich von Liechtenstein wrote about this ...
Let's turn to such an excellent source of information about tournaments as “Adoration of the Lady” written by Ulrich von Lichtenstein (1200 - 1276), although most likely not by himself, but by his dictation. He distinguishes between a duel between two participants and a tournament in the form of a competition between two teams. However, in both cases, their equipment and weapons only very slightly differed from the combat. For example, worn on top of armor and coat of arms decorated with emblems - surco, worn in a combat setting, but before the tournament they sewed it again, or at least washed it. Horse blankets were made of leather, and could be covered with colored velvet. But chain horse armor and solid forged were not used in tournaments. What for? After all, nobody would send a spear to a horse anyway. He is your potential prey, so why destroy him or mutilate? The shield during the time of Ulrich von Liechtenstein had a triangular shape, and, perhaps, it was slightly smaller than the battle one. The knight put on a heavy pot-like helmet on his head only at the very last moment before the battle with the enemy. The spear already had a small hard disk for the hand. In the book "Adoration of the Lady" such discs are called spear rings. It is curious that during the match in Tarvis, the knight Reinrecht von Murek, who fought with Ulrich von Lichtenstein, held a spear under his arm - the most traditional way, but Ulrich put it on his hip. That is, the methods of holding the spear in the XIII century could still differ in some variety, whereas at a later time caching of the spear, that is, holding it under the armpit, became the only acceptable in horse fights.
Over time, fights began to be arranged not only between equestrians, but also between foot knights. Here, for example, is a foot duel between Thomas Woodstock, the Duke of Gloucester and Jean de Montfort, the Duke of Brittany. Thumbnail from the Chronicles of Froissart. XV century (National Library of France, Paris)
By the beginning of the XIII century, the very goal of the tournament was finally determined. Now the main goal of the game was to hit with his spear on the shield on the left shoulder of the enemy, and thus, so that the shaft of the spear would break - this was called "break the spear on the opponent’s shield" or completely throw him off the horse . If the riders, having broken their spears, remained in the saddles, this meant that they could withstand a moderate spear strike, that is, both ... in their military business deserve praise. In the second case, it was believed that a knight brought to the ground was disgraced and subject to punishment for his own clumsiness. And it was expressed in the fact that he lost his horse and armor, which were given to the winner. But in order to drive a rider out of the saddle, a strong spear was required. Therefore, already from the XII century, spears begin to make more and more durable. But their diameter was not more than 6,5 cm, so they still remained so light that they could be held under the arm without any emphasis. For example, each of the squires of Ulrich von Lichtenstein, accompanying him to the tournament, easily held three spears tied together in one hand at once.
Such an impressive figure of a horse and rider in a full tournament battle of the XVI century. meets you in one of the halls of the Vienna arsenal. The chest of the horse, as you can see, is protected by a huge “pillow”, because the horse for such a tournament cost almost as much as our today's tank. The frontal plate is a shaffron, also worn just in case, but the rider’s legs are not protected at all. What for? After all, the fight is held with a dividing barrier!
Tournaments as a means of communication and enrichment
In the 13th century, there were two types of tournaments: a field tournament and an appointment tournament. The Campaign Tournament was a meeting of two knights somewhere on the road (well, remember how it was described in Don Quixote by Cervantes?), Random or intentional, which ended with their duel on spears. The knight who called the enemy to battle was called the instigator, his opponent, who accepted the challenge, was the mantenador. The same Ulrich von Lichtenstein in his “Adoration of the Lady” tells how a certain knight Mathieu on the road behind Klemün put a tent in the way of Ulrich and challenged him to battle. Here he fought with another eleven knights, so that the whole earth was dotted with fragments of shields and spears. So many people gathered to watch the battle that Ulrich had to fence off the tournament site with spears stuck in the ground and shields hung on them. For that time, it was a novelty that made Knight Ulrich von Liechtenstein famous himself.
And here is a pair of riders in helmets such as tournament salad (sallet). The legs are protected only by the longer leg gaiters, because below them, again, covers the barrier. The spears at the back are held by a special lance hook.
Fashion for such a venue existed until the end of the fourteenth century, and in Germany lingered until the fifteenth century. In combat, military weapons were used, so the collisions were very dangerous.
Spandelhelm type helmets, or “segmented helmets” (center and right), of the Early Middle Ages. In such helmets the Frankish noble fought and maybe the legendary King Arthur himself. Tournament participants at the court of Louis the German could also wear something similar to them and simpler helmets on the left.
The “appointed tournament”, on the contrary, was held not somewhere at the request of a knight, but by decision of the king, duke or count — that is, the owners of certain cities or large castles where these tournaments were held. Guests were invited in advance and were given a reception appropriate to their position and fame. Therefore, such tournaments were very magnificent and attracted many spectators. Since many participants in such a tournament came from far away, an active exchange of information took place between them. The knights got acquainted with new items in the field of armor and weapons, and it was just like that at that time that they spread, not counting trophies captured on the battlefield. Moreover, by the 1350 year, tournament armor and weapons began to differ slightly from the combat ones. The reason was that no one wanted to die in games and get injured unless absolutely necessary. Hence the desire to ensure maximum security, even if to the detriment of their mobility, which is absolutely necessary in battle.
Whatever you say, photographing through glass is difficult and inconvenient. That is why the fact that most of the exhibits in Vienna are openly displayed and do not close with glass can only be welcomed. True, these comforters from the fabric involuntarily have to be kept under glass due to their antiquity, but ... fortunately, the museum has their separately made and very high-quality photographs, which can be seen in the following materials.
In the fourteenth century a group tournament became popular in southern France and Italy, wall to wall, during which the knights first struck each other with a spear and then chopped with blunt swords. But in this case, this innovation has not yet brought about any special changes in weapons. Serious changes began later, at the beginning of the 15th century.
PS The author and the site administration express their heartfelt gratitude to the curators of the chamber Ilse Jung and Florian Kugler for the opportunity to use the photographic materials of the Vienna Armory.
To be continued ...
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