Armor for horse racing. Vienna Armory
Knights and armor. People are so arranged that the old, even the good, bothers them periodically, and they require novelty for themselves. All of this was also the case at jousting tournaments. That is how, by the beginning of the 15th century, a new kind of horse duel on spears was born in Germany, which over time became very popular. It is called rennen, that is - “horse racing”. It seems to have been invented by the Margrave Albercht of Brandenburg, who was a great lover of all kinds of military games. The goal of the fight seemed to be the same - to “break the spear” against the enemy’s tarch or to knock it out of the saddle, but now the art of controlling the horse has become an important thing, so a one-time fight has now turned into a series of duels, which were held at full gallop. At the same time, the spears spent on “refraction” should be replaced “on the move”.
According to the Gestech’s rules, after each collision, the knights besieged their horses and returned to the place from which they started the attack, that is, they were leaving. Here they rested for some time, and the squire at this time could correct their ammunition and give a new spear. All this took time, and the audience began to frankly get bored. Now there was simply no time left for boredom in the tournament! The essence of rennen was that the knights dispersed the horses, collided with each other, "broke the spears", then turned the horses and that spirit had galloped to their end of the lists, where "on the move" they took new spears and again rushed to attack their opponent. There could be three or more such arrivals. From these numerous “races” this kind of tournament was called “horse racing”!
Moreover, under the new rules, a new armor was created. And if the former sttechzoyg was descended from armor with topfhelm helmets, then the new rennzeug was first created on the basis of classic Germanic Gothic armor of the 15th century, and secondly, the salad (sallet) became its helmet. Helmet without a visor, but having a viewing gap. It was then necessary to provide the fighter with a better flow of air and give him a greater view. After all, such a helmet could easily be pushed to the back of the head, and so walk in it without taking off, and only if necessary lower it onto the face.
At the same time, the frontal part of the tournament was strengthened, and fastenings were provided on it for the simplest decoration - a feather sultan, which replaced the old complex painted figures made of wood, plaster and papier-mâché. The front of the breastplate, like that of the Shteichtseig, had a lance hook, and the back had a bracket with a spear stop. But since the salad did not protect the lower part of the face, a metal chin was attached to the cuirass. To the belt of the cuirass was attached a “skirt” of movable stripes, which passed into the same plate-like movable leg gaiters. The back of the cuirass had such large cutouts that its shape resembled a cross. The “skirt” rested on the saddle with its lower end, as in the stojceig.
A special tarch or renntarch was also invented for rennzoig. They made it of wood and covered it with black bull skin with iron rims on the edges. He was firmly attached to the body, repeating the shape of the rider’s chest and left shoulder, and only at the very bottom was slightly bent forward. Its size depended on the type of competition. In the "exact" rennen and the Bundrennen, it was the size from neck to waist, and in the "hard" rennen, from the viewing slit on the helmet to the middle of the thigh. It was customary to fit him in cloth with the heraldic emblems of the owner or in a pattern similar to the patterns on the horse’s blanket.
The spear, which they began to use in rennes, also became new. It was lighter than the old one, which used to knock horses out of place, and was made from soft wood. Its length was 380 cm, diameter 7 cm, and weight approximately 14 kg. Moreover, the tip began to be made sharp, not blunt. The protective shield, which used to be just a funnel-shaped disk, now has become even larger, has acquired elaborate outlines, and now, being worn on the spear shaft, covered already the entire right hand of the fighter, starting from the wrist and up to the shoulder. The knight controlled it with the help of a hook on its inner side, thus pointing the spear at the target.
In the XV and XVI centuries, an improved form of the field tournament appeared, which imitated, as before, the battle of two opposing knightly squads. As before, equestrian knights on the lists were built in a linear manner and attacked each other on command. The main difference now was armor, which underwent a strong change over time. Prior to this, the knights used ordinary combat armor with the only difference being that they were additionally screwed with chins reaching the viewing gap on the helmet, and also, if desired, a guard-bra - an additional strengthening of the left shoulder pad. The tournament armor differed from the combat arm only in that the upper edge of its bib had no thickening, and the cuirass had 2 — 3 holes for the screws with which the chin was fastened. The tournament spear was like a combat spear, only a little shorter, thicker, and with an elongated tip.
Now, for the tournaments, the stehren and rennen began to use the same, and specially designed for them horse equipment. The shape of the saddles and the reins, which now consisted of ordinary hemp ropes, sheathed with ribbons of the same color as horse blankets, became other. True, it happened that such reins were torn, and then the rider chased his horse with the help of a spear.
Shaffron from the knightly headset of Otto Heinrich, future elector of the Palatinate. The shuffron trim always matched the trim of the armor itself and the rest of the horse armor. always matches the same armor. Since the headset was made in the style of "Maximilian", that is, corrugated armor, this head piece was also made corrugated. Shaffron was adorned with engraved foliage, flowers, images of mythical creatures and trophies, which were made by the engraver from Augsburg by Daniel Hopfer, and the figure of a bear on his forehead hinted at the prince's motto: “MDZ” (“Over time”), as well as the 1516 date of the year. On the flip side you can see the Latin numerals "XXIII", which can mean a date - 1523. Which is more accurate - is unknown. Exhibited in the hall №3. Owner: Otto Heinrich son of Ruprecht Pfalz (1502 - 1559). Manufacturer: Coleman Helmschmid (1471 - 1532, Augsburg). Engraver: Daniel Hopfer (1471 - 1536, Augsburg)
The horse was completely covered with leather blanket, over which they wore the same, but sewn from the canvas. Blankets covered the croup, neck and head of the horse to the very nostrils. The horse's face was protected by a steel forehead, often blind, that is, without openings for the eyes. It was a precaution against the unpredictable behavior of a horse after a clash between two riders. Interestingly, such shuffrons with no viewing holes appeared long before the rennen tournament. The earliest can be seen on the official seal of John I of Lorraine, dated approximately 1367 year.
By the way, the same gestech was still popular, but varieties of it appeared. There were three main types of gestech: the tournament of "high saddles", "general German" and "chained in armor".
To participate in the retehte of the "high saddles", the knight dressed in the shtehtsoig. At the same time, his legs were protected by armor, but were shod in low leather shoes made of thick leather with felt lining in socks and ankles. The rennen participants also used these shoes, since they did not need to protect their legs in this type of tournament. The main difference between this fight and all the others, as its name implies, was a saddle with high bows, similar to the one used at the mace tournament. The front bows of wood were trimmed around the edges with metal and were so high that they reached the rider's chest and in addition covered him with both legs. The saddle literally covered the rider's body so that he could not fall out of it under any circumstances. Moreover, some of these saddles had a handrail on his front bow, which could be grabbed if the rider lost his balance from a spear strike. The horse was clothed in blankets and a deaf steel forehead. The goal of the fight was to break his spear on the opponent’s shield.
The "General German" gestech was distinguished by the fact that the rider was dressed in a stekhtseig, but his legs were not protected by armor, only the withers were closed with a leather horse blanket, and the saddle did not have a back bow. Emperor Maximilian I, in order to better protect the animal, recommended putting on his chest a kind of bib - a pillow of a rough canvas stuffed with straw. The pillow was held by belts held under the front bow of the saddle. The cloak, that is, the same blanket, only from the fabric for the horse was mandatory. The goal of the duel is to throw the enemy off the horse with an exact blow of the spear on his tarch, which is why the rear bow was not saddle and was absent!
The Gestech “armored” from the two previous types of Gestech was distinguished by the fact that the knight also wore armor on his feet, protecting them from blows. That is, there was a little more metal on the fighting, that's all. Saddles are the same as in the “common German” gestech. The winner is the one who managed to break his spear on the enemy’s tarch, or to knock him out of the saddle.
For the old-style Italian duel, the rider should have worn Italian armor or German shtehtsoig. Shaffron might not be deaf. In this case, the horse's eyes were protected by a strong steel mesh. However, the main difference between the Italian Rennen and all the rest was not in the equipment of the fighting, but in the fact that the riders were cut by a wooden barrier. The knights, participants of the tournament, collapsed, turning to the barrier with their left side, so the spear hit the tarch at an angle and its impact was not so strong, and most importantly - the horses of the fighters could not collide at all.
Around the 1550 of the year, the so-called “Hungarian tournament”, which, in addition to the fight, was also a costume masquerade, became very popular. At the Hungarian tournaments held in the same year by Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol in the Czech Republic and Elector Augustus I in Dresden, the only new thing was the use of Hungarian tarches instead of German and Hungarian sabers, which, however, served not for battle, but for decoration. Actually, no one has yet changed the rules at this time in these tournaments. But then, over the armor, they began to put on the most fantastic clothes. Well, Rennes himself at different times and in different places simply underwent a lot of all kinds of changes, so great was the thirst for chivalry for diversity. So, in such an authoritative document as the book Frendal (c. 1480), it was reported that there were such types of rennen tournaments as: "mechanical" rennen; "Exact" rennen; the Bund Rennes "Hard" rennen; "Mixed" rennen, which was also called "rennen with a crowned spear"; as well as the “field” rennen. But about all these tournament excesses the story will be continued next time.
P.S. The author and the administration of the site express their heartfelt gratitude to the curators of the Vienna Armory, Ilse Jung and Florian Kugler for the opportunity to use her photographs.
To be continued ...
Entrance to the Vienna building armory chambers of the palace of Hovburg.
According to the Gestech’s rules, after each collision, the knights besieged their horses and returned to the place from which they started the attack, that is, they were leaving. Here they rested for some time, and the squire at this time could correct their ammunition and give a new spear. All this took time, and the audience began to frankly get bored. Now there was simply no time left for boredom in the tournament! The essence of rennen was that the knights dispersed the horses, collided with each other, "broke the spears", then turned the horses and that spirit had galloped to their end of the lists, where "on the move" they took new spears and again rushed to attack their opponent. There could be three or more such arrivals. From these numerous “races” this kind of tournament was called “horse racing”!
Rennzoig armor for rennen. Belonged to Philip I, son of Maximilian I (1478 - 1506). Leg closes dilzhe.
Moreover, under the new rules, a new armor was created. And if the former sttechzoyg was descended from armor with topfhelm helmets, then the new rennzeug was first created on the basis of classic Germanic Gothic armor of the 15th century, and secondly, the salad (sallet) became its helmet. Helmet without a visor, but having a viewing gap. It was then necessary to provide the fighter with a better flow of air and give him a greater view. After all, such a helmet could easily be pushed to the back of the head, and so walk in it without taking off, and only if necessary lower it onto the face.
Helmet Salad. Nuremberg, end of the 15th century
At the same time, the frontal part of the tournament was strengthened, and fastenings were provided on it for the simplest decoration - a feather sultan, which replaced the old complex painted figures made of wood, plaster and papier-mâché. The front of the breastplate, like that of the Shteichtseig, had a lance hook, and the back had a bracket with a spear stop. But since the salad did not protect the lower part of the face, a metal chin was attached to the cuirass. To the belt of the cuirass was attached a “skirt” of movable stripes, which passed into the same plate-like movable leg gaiters. The back of the cuirass had such large cutouts that its shape resembled a cross. The “skirt” rested on the saddle with its lower end, as in the stojceig.
Armor of Elector Johann Son (1468 - 1532). Master: Mattes Deutsch, (1485 - 1495). Made in 1498. The tip of the tournament spear is at the bottom. In this photo you can clearly see the hook attached to the cuirass and used to hold the massive tournament spear. Please note that the helmet on this armor is salad. In addition, the armor is not understaffed. There is no protection for the left hand and chest tarch. The left leg closes further.
A special tarch or renntarch was also invented for rennzoig. They made it of wood and covered it with black bull skin with iron rims on the edges. He was firmly attached to the body, repeating the shape of the rider’s chest and left shoulder, and only at the very bottom was slightly bent forward. Its size depended on the type of competition. In the "exact" rennen and the Bundrennen, it was the size from neck to waist, and in the "hard" rennen, from the viewing slit on the helmet to the middle of the thigh. It was customary to fit him in cloth with the heraldic emblems of the owner or in a pattern similar to the patterns on the horse’s blanket.
Full tournament equipment of a knight, a member of the Rennes. On the horse’s head is a “blind shuffron”.
The spear, which they began to use in rennes, also became new. It was lighter than the old one, which used to knock horses out of place, and was made from soft wood. Its length was 380 cm, diameter 7 cm, and weight approximately 14 kg. Moreover, the tip began to be made sharp, not blunt. The protective shield, which used to be just a funnel-shaped disk, now has become even larger, has acquired elaborate outlines, and now, being worn on the spear shaft, covered already the entire right hand of the fighter, starting from the wrist and up to the shoulder. The knight controlled it with the help of a hook on its inner side, thus pointing the spear at the target.
The comforter was the same as that of the shtehtsoig, and was held on the head with straps. To protect the wrists of both hands, leather or metal bracers could be used, from the length of the hand to the elbow. In this case, we are faced with the comforter of Emperor Maximilian I.
Plate gloves of Emperor Maximilian I. Naturally, he wore them with combat rather than tournament armor, where he did not need them at all. Here they are shown as an example of the skill of the then gunsmiths.
In the XV and XVI centuries, an improved form of the field tournament appeared, which imitated, as before, the battle of two opposing knightly squads. As before, equestrian knights on the lists were built in a linear manner and attacked each other on command. The main difference now was armor, which underwent a strong change over time. Prior to this, the knights used ordinary combat armor with the only difference being that they were additionally screwed with chins reaching the viewing gap on the helmet, and also, if desired, a guard-bra - an additional strengthening of the left shoulder pad. The tournament armor differed from the combat arm only in that the upper edge of its bib had no thickening, and the cuirass had 2 — 3 holes for the screws with which the chin was fastened. The tournament spear was like a combat spear, only a little shorter, thicker, and with an elongated tip.
Now, for the tournaments, the stehren and rennen began to use the same, and specially designed for them horse equipment. The shape of the saddles and the reins, which now consisted of ordinary hemp ropes, sheathed with ribbons of the same color as horse blankets, became other. True, it happened that such reins were torn, and then the rider chased his horse with the help of a spear.
Shaffron from the knightly headset of Otto Heinrich, future elector of the Palatinate. The shuffron trim always matched the trim of the armor itself and the rest of the horse armor. always matches the same armor. Since the headset was made in the style of "Maximilian", that is, corrugated armor, this head piece was also made corrugated. Shaffron was adorned with engraved foliage, flowers, images of mythical creatures and trophies, which were made by the engraver from Augsburg by Daniel Hopfer, and the figure of a bear on his forehead hinted at the prince's motto: “MDZ” (“Over time”), as well as the 1516 date of the year. On the flip side you can see the Latin numerals "XXIII", which can mean a date - 1523. Which is more accurate - is unknown. Exhibited in the hall №3. Owner: Otto Heinrich son of Ruprecht Pfalz (1502 - 1559). Manufacturer: Coleman Helmschmid (1471 - 1532, Augsburg). Engraver: Daniel Hopfer (1471 - 1536, Augsburg)
Saddle from Otto Heinrich's headset. On one of the plates the Latin numerals "XXIII" are also stamped. Manufacturer: Coleman Helmschmid (1471 - 1532, Augsburg).
The horse was completely covered with leather blanket, over which they wore the same, but sewn from the canvas. Blankets covered the croup, neck and head of the horse to the very nostrils. The horse's face was protected by a steel forehead, often blind, that is, without openings for the eyes. It was a precaution against the unpredictable behavior of a horse after a clash between two riders. Interestingly, such shuffrons with no viewing holes appeared long before the rennen tournament. The earliest can be seen on the official seal of John I of Lorraine, dated approximately 1367 year.
By the way, the same gestech was still popular, but varieties of it appeared. There were three main types of gestech: the tournament of "high saddles", "general German" and "chained in armor".
To participate in the retehte of the "high saddles", the knight dressed in the shtehtsoig. At the same time, his legs were protected by armor, but were shod in low leather shoes made of thick leather with felt lining in socks and ankles. The rennen participants also used these shoes, since they did not need to protect their legs in this type of tournament. The main difference between this fight and all the others, as its name implies, was a saddle with high bows, similar to the one used at the mace tournament. The front bows of wood were trimmed around the edges with metal and were so high that they reached the rider's chest and in addition covered him with both legs. The saddle literally covered the rider's body so that he could not fall out of it under any circumstances. Moreover, some of these saddles had a handrail on his front bow, which could be grabbed if the rider lost his balance from a spear strike. The horse was clothed in blankets and a deaf steel forehead. The goal of the fight was to break his spear on the opponent’s shield.
Horseman and horse outfitted for the "German Gestech".
Another such horseman and horse outfitted for the Gestech.
The "General German" gestech was distinguished by the fact that the rider was dressed in a stekhtseig, but his legs were not protected by armor, only the withers were closed with a leather horse blanket, and the saddle did not have a back bow. Emperor Maximilian I, in order to better protect the animal, recommended putting on his chest a kind of bib - a pillow of a rough canvas stuffed with straw. The pillow was held by belts held under the front bow of the saddle. The cloak, that is, the same blanket, only from the fabric for the horse was mandatory. The goal of the duel is to throw the enemy off the horse with an exact blow of the spear on his tarch, which is why the rear bow was not saddle and was absent!
The Gestech “armored” from the two previous types of Gestech was distinguished by the fact that the knight also wore armor on his feet, protecting them from blows. That is, there was a little more metal on the fighting, that's all. Saddles are the same as in the “common German” gestech. The winner is the one who managed to break his spear on the enemy’s tarch, or to knock him out of the saddle.
For the old-style Italian duel, the rider should have worn Italian armor or German shtehtsoig. Shaffron might not be deaf. In this case, the horse's eyes were protected by a strong steel mesh. However, the main difference between the Italian Rennen and all the rest was not in the equipment of the fighting, but in the fact that the riders were cut by a wooden barrier. The knights, participants of the tournament, collapsed, turning to the barrier with their left side, so the spear hit the tarch at an angle and its impact was not so strong, and most importantly - the horses of the fighters could not collide at all.
Italian tournament with a barrier. From the Book of Tournaments of Emperor Maximilian I.
Hungarian tarch. Most likely belongs to one of the shields ordered by Emperor Maximilian I on the occasion of his reconciliation with King Bohemia and Hungary Vladislav in 1491. Exhibited in room number 3.
Around the 1550 of the year, the so-called “Hungarian tournament”, which, in addition to the fight, was also a costume masquerade, became very popular. At the Hungarian tournaments held in the same year by Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol in the Czech Republic and Elector Augustus I in Dresden, the only new thing was the use of Hungarian tarches instead of German and Hungarian sabers, which, however, served not for battle, but for decoration. Actually, no one has yet changed the rules at this time in these tournaments. But then, over the armor, they began to put on the most fantastic clothes. Well, Rennes himself at different times and in different places simply underwent a lot of all kinds of changes, so great was the thirst for chivalry for diversity. So, in such an authoritative document as the book Frendal (c. 1480), it was reported that there were such types of rennen tournaments as: "mechanical" rennen; "Exact" rennen; the Bund Rennes "Hard" rennen; "Mixed" rennen, which was also called "rennen with a crowned spear"; as well as the “field” rennen. But about all these tournament excesses the story will be continued next time.
P.S. The author and the administration of the site express their heartfelt gratitude to the curators of the Vienna Armory, Ilse Jung and Florian Kugler for the opportunity to use her photographs.
To be continued ...
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