Horsemen in museums. A little about each
The cavalry rushes, the sword sparkles, and the spears glisten; there are many killed and piles of corpses: there is no end to corpses; they stumble over their corpses.
Book of the Prophet Nahum 3: 3
Book of the Prophet Nahum 3: 3
Military museums of Europe. In Europe, and in the USA too, there are many museums, the subject of which allows them to be attributed to the military. However, today we are only interested in those in which knightly armor is exhibited. And not just armor, but mannequins of riders and horses, which they could ride in their lifetime. Because the task of the museum is not only to preserve various valuable "junk", but also with its help to educate people of our time. The armor itself is interesting, but you need to strain your mind to imagine how they sat on the human body. Put them on a mannequin - great! But the knight was a horseman, he had a saddle, stirrups ... How did he use all this, how, sitting on a horse, towering above the crowd? That is, if we put a knight fully armed on a horse’s figure, the educational effect of this will be incomparably higher.
Knight's Cavalcade of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. On the rightmost figure is the armor for the horseman and horse of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg Johann Ernst (1521 – 1553), the work of the Nuremberg master Kunz Lochner (1510 – 1567). Production time approx. 1548 g. Rider armor weight: 25.4 kg. Horse armor weight with 41,73 saddle kg.
Of course, there are many “buts.” Firstly, just like that, knightly armor worn on a mannequin cannot be put on a horse dummy. You need a headset, that is, a saddle and stirrups, as well as horse armor, suitable specifically for the armor of the rider sitting on it. But there are fewer such headsets than the armor itself. Why? Yes, simply because when chivalry was outdated, horse armor lost all meaning earlier than knight armor. They could be put in their castle for the sake of beauty, and for the exposition of horse armor it was required ... a stuffed horse. Making a good stuffed animal cost a lot of money, and then it was necessary to look after it, protect it from moths, clean it from dust, and all this was an extra headache, which did not add significance to the owner of the armor. For example, in the Czech castle Gluboka nad Vltavou, cuirassier armor hangs in large numbers on its walls inside a huge hall solely for the sake of beauty, but the dummy of the horse on which the knight sits in “Maximilian armor” is just one. And such horses occupy a lot of places, but they are of little use. Moreover, they can smell, and how could this or that noble mistress put up with this? Yes, she did not put up! The armor, if they so warm her husband’s soul, is in the arsenal, and we will hand over the horse armor to the junk man, as long as the husband is away. In this or something like this way, a lot of horse armor of the late period was lost, and even earlier ones - those made of fabric, leather and chain mail can be forgotten altogether - not one of them has been preserved! Although chainmail horse armor is mentioned already in the French documents of 1302 of the year.
Horse armor from Italy, approx. 1580-1590 The armor shown in this photo is covered with an engraved ornament in which there are leaves, mythological creatures, as well as heroes of the biblical and classical storiessuch as David, Goliath and Mark Curtius. The excellent quality of the engraving and the preference for the general decor indicate the origin from Brescia - the second most important production center weapons in northern Italy after Milan. Brescia was the main supplier of weapons to the Republic of Venice. We were in the arsenal of Counts Collalto in the castle of San Salvatore, near Treviso. This is one of the few full horse armor that has survived since the end of the 16th century, since cavalry in heavy armor at that time played an increasingly smaller role in the war. These armor were probably made for Count Antonio IV Collalto (1548 – 1620), possibly in the 1589 year, when he was appointed commander of the Venetian army. Armor weight is 42,2 kg (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Horse armor engraving from Italy, approx. 1580-1590 years, close-up
The Army Museum in Paris exhibited a stuffed horse of Napoleon and, I must admit, it has a very "pale appearance". It can be seen that both time and insects worked a lot on it. That is why, in fact, the riders in this museum are riding on horseback hairless, but beautifully made and well painted. And the same horse models are used today in museums in Europe and the USA, everywhere. Here you can name the world famous Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which displays in the 371 hall a whole cavalcade of four horsemen in the armor of the French gendarmes of the era of King Charles VII. And they look very realistic and, which is also very important, are not behind the glass. Therefore, they can be photographed from any point and in detail.
The well-known figure of a knight in Gothic armor from the Royal Arsenal in Leeds
Very spectacularly mounted riders on the Royal Arsenal in Leeds, UK. The horseback riders attack on foot shooters is reproduced here, and there are separate figures of a samurai, a Mongolian horseman, a knight in Gothic German armor. Interestingly, the shield for the Mongolian rider was made by our Russian historian V. Gorelik. As expected, he wove it from the rods, wrapped them with colored threads, choosing a pattern, in general, he did a tremendous job. Well, but the shield looks like a real one.
This horseman and this shield (Royal Arsenal, Leeds)
Tibetan horseman dressed in tooth-kang lamellar armor (1600-1699) (Royal Arsenal, Leeds)
But again, if you make a fake horse, although expensive, it is still possible where to get horse armor on it? Rebuild, how did Gorelik make a shield? But there is a big difference - one thing is a product made of twigs, leather, brushes and threads, and quite another is the mass of hammered iron, in which all details must be thought out. Today, thanks to laser scanning and 3D printing, it is quite possible to make a copy of any armor, including horse armor. And to arrange a completely modern museum of armor and knights on horseback on beautiful horses. That's just the price of such work will be off the scale. For example, an American Colt 1911A1 pistol manufactured in the usual way costs 200 dollars. And this same gun, printed on an 3D printer - more than 2000! So although the roads were real knightly armor in the Middle Ages, their copies made in metal using the most modern technologies, as it sounds paradoxical, will prove even more expensive! In any case, so far. How it will be in the future to predict is quite difficult.
Very good in Leeds and Japanese equestrian samurai
If there is a mannequin horse, then there must be a mannequin rider. Putting empty armor on a horse is stupid, since it is difficult to ensure a natural appearance. That is, it is necessary that there is also a man-mannequin and it is necessary to dress him in armor. Put on the pants, because they are visible, a shirt - which can often be seen on the bends of the elbows. But the hardest part is not this, but the horse harness. Yes, there is a saddle (they were often preserved), there is a shuffron, a mouthpiece with all the belongings, there is actually a bard - horse armor. But the cinch, the undercoat, and sometimes the bridle - all this leather and from time to time becomes unusable. Gnawing the mouthpiece, again, one must correctly give the “horse” in the teeth, fix leather ammunition on it, then metal armor ... And you still have to remember historicism all the time. For example, in 1507, Louis XII rode into Genoa on a horse, whose ears were cut off and his mane was completely shaved to give him a wild and awesome look. A similar “decoration” of a horse became fashionable even under Charles VIII, so that on some model all these features of the era could well be reproduced. But in order to do this, you need to know about it, that is, you need well-coordinated work of historians, horse breeders and horse equipment specialists, tanners and restorers. Already one - this listing shows that the cost of their services will be very expensive! Of course, you can entrust this business and ... "anyhow to whom." But then you need to be prepared in advance for the fact that in the age of the Internet your museum will receive not “likes”, but a lot of criticisms that ... will reduce its attractiveness both in the eyes of visitors and investors, and all this can end very badly.
The Battle of Pavia diorama (Royal Arsenal, Leeds)
Nevertheless, an increasing number of museums acquire equestrian figures in armor and where they are made “as they should” they always attract the attention of visitors and play an important educational role.
Well, now let's get acquainted with the horse armor itself, and then with the armor that is exhibited in various museums.
And again Leeds. The Reitar of the Thirty Years War. The horse is already without armor, on a holster on top of a valve from the rain. One thing is interesting: under the valve the pistol is stuck with a handle to the saddle or to the neck?
To begin with, there are no horse blankets on the famous Bayesian Embroidery of 1066. But it is known that horse blankets from metal plates were used in ancient Rome during the sunset of the empire, among the Parthians, then in Iran, since they are on the bas-reliefs of Iranian shahs of the 7th century, as well as in Byzantium. Byzantine cataphract riders had on their horses shells of bone and metal plates laced on a leather lining. Already in the era of the Crusades, cloth blankets, for the time being only for protection from the scorching sun, also appear in European knightly cavalry.
However, we also had wonderful expositions of riders in armor, again on hooped horses. For example, this trinity is from the Museum of Artillery and Signal Corps in St. Petersburg. The armor is excellent! Well, just very impressive armor. I would even say better than in the Metro. "Guys" are sitting like glove. Well, the shaft of the spear of the first is tied with a fishing line, that is, he does not hold it with a hand in a plate gauntlet. But this is a trifle. But the fact that the horse mannequin was made in the workshop of Baron P.K. Klodt in 1840-1850 already turns it into one of the most valuable museum exhibits - an example of how "it" was done then!
In Europe, knights met horse armor when they met on the battlefields with the Mongols of the Batu Hon. A detailed description of them was left by Plano Carpini, but the Western European knights did not borrow their device. At the beginning of the 15th century, knights defended their horses with chain mail and quilted blankets. Sometimes they were reinforced with metal or heavy boiled skin. Then horses appeared in the battlefields, in iron breastplates, and in brigandine type blankets. That is, metal plates were riveted to such blankets from the inside, so only the outlines of the plates and rivet heads were visible from the outside. But already in the XIV century, these types of protection were replaced by large solid forged metal plates that covered primarily the chest, neck and croup of a horse. It was these parts of the animal’s business that were the most vulnerable ... for the arrows of archers and arbalester, who loudly declared their power on the battlefields of the Hundred Years War. Such armor entered the mass use of chivalry in the middle of the 15th century. It was at this time that the heavy knightly cavalry began to massively use plate armor to protect their horses, and this practice continued for about ... 150 years. An interesting feature of such horse armor was the pair of umbons on a chest metal plate. By the sixteenth century, such armor had reached its maximum perfection, and at the beginning of the century even corrugated "Maximilian" armor appeared, and also with umbons in front.
And this horse, covered in blanket (it’s clear that a remake, but a remake is good!) Is also from the same workshop. But ... as always, we have something missing. There is a bridle, but there is no mouthpiece. And the reins are attached to ... a bridle! Alas, the "coexistence" is indestructible here!
Typical European horse armor made of forged metal plates - the bard consisted of the following main parts:
- shaffron (muzzle),
- krineta (collar),
- peital (bib),
- krupper (nakrupnik),
- and two flank shards (side plates).
This is what a typical medieval mouthpiece of that era should look like. Well, they would ask some museum to sell it to them ... This is the mouthpiece of a knight's horse of the period of approx. 1550 years, and as you can see, it was very difficult to arrange. Not only is it richly decorated, apparently, in accordance with the general decor of armor, it is perfect as a mechanism. Inside it is the so-called jaw chain, which served ... "to entertain" the horse, which, playing with her tongue, caused itself to salivate and thus relaxed the jaw muscles.
It is believed that this mouthpiece is made to a luxurious ceremonial headset for man and horse, made in Italy in the 1550s for Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria (1529-1595), (stored in the Museum of the History and Art Museum in Vienna). It is known that Ferdinand ordered several sets of horse equipment. It is possible that this mouthpiece belonged to this headset, if only the workshop that made it did not put it “on stream”. In any case, this is a complex device, indicating a good knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the horse and the ability to apply to them for more flexible management. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
And some mouthpieces were also seated with spikes so that they could not be seized by the enemy (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Many VO readers are interested in the thickness of the metal that went into the manufacture of armor including horse armor. So, it was on horse armor that the thickness of the armor was of particular importance. The fact is that the iron armor with a thickness of only 1,5 mm, covering the horse's face, neck, chest and croup, in total weighed no less than 30 kilograms! To these should be added a metal-bound saddle, other ammunition, and then the weight of the rider himself, and the weight of his armor, which could also have a weight of 27 to 36 kilograms. That is, to make such armor even thicker meant to overload the horse, which was undesirable in all respects. But on the other hand, thin metal was convenient for minting, and besides, the large surfaces of horse armor made it possible to carry out large chased images on them.
Crinet, made approx. 1535 g. Master Valentin Siebenbürger (Nuremberg, approx. 1510 – 1564, master from 1531 g.) Length 95,2 cm); width 29,9 cm; weight 3070 g. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
To be continued ...
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