Dariusz caballeros

Alans in Flavius Josephus, Jewish Wars, ch.VII (4)

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:51:02 PST

Ushta os,
today a quick visit to some of the most warlike horsemen in the ancient western Eurasia: the Sarmatians.

Alans were most likely the eastern division of the Sarmatian 'nation' or as Iranica defines them a tribal grouping of the Northeren Iranians - 'an ancient Iranian tribe of the northern (Scythian, Saka, Sarmatian, Massagete) group, known to classical writers from the first centuries A.D. (see, e.g., Seneca, Thyestes 630; Annaeus Lucan, Pharsalia 8.223, 10.454; Lucian, Toxaris 51, 54, 55, 60; Ptolemy, Geographia 6.14.3, 9, 11; and other sources below). Their name appears in Greek as Alanoi, in Latin as Alani or Halani. The same tribes, or affiliated ones, are mentioned as the Asaioi (Ptolemy 5.9.16), Rhoxolanoi, Aorsoi, Sirakoi, and Iazyges (Strabo 2.5.7, 7.2.4; 11.2.1, 11.5.8; 7.2.4). In early times the main mass of the Alans was settled north of the Caspian and Black seas. Later they also occupied the Crimea and considerable territory in the northern Caucasus'

Below the Alan/Sarmatian incursion into Western Asia of 72 A.D. as described by the famous ancient Roman historian Titus Flavius Josephus who is describing the Alans using a lasso to take down and capture enemy warriors - here a king of ancient Armenia.

I. Traill translation, crica 1850

''The nation of the Alans — whom, I think, we have elsewhere stated to be Scythians inhabiting the banks of the river Tanais [Don River], and the lake Maeotis [Sea of Azov] —designing at this juncture to penetrate into Media and the parts beyond it, for plunder, addressed themselves to the king of the Hyrcanians, who was master of the pass which king Alexander [the Great] had closed with iron gates.

Being granted ingress by him, they fell in great numbers upon the Medes, who entertained no suspicions, and pillaged a populous country, abounding in flocks and herds, no one venturing to oppose them. For Pacorus [Pacrus of Media Atropatene, later Great King of Parthia], later Pacorus II of Parthia], the sovereign of that country, fled in terror to his fastnesses; and, having abandoned all besides, with difficulty recovered from them his wife and concubines, who had fallen into their hands, by a ransom of a hundred talents.

[coin of Pacorus when the king of Parthia from above given webpage]
Prosecuting, therefore, the work of rapine unresisted and quite at their leisure, they proceeded as far as the confines of Armenia, laying every thing waste. Tiridates [Tiridates I of Armenia], who reigned there, meeting them, and giving them battle, was on the point of being made prisoner in the engagement; a noose having been thrown over him by one at a distance, who would have dragged him away, had he not instantly cut the cord with his sword and effected his escape. The invaders, only rendered the more fierce by this opposition, desolated the country; and, carrying off' a vast multitude of men, with much booty besides, from both kingdoms, returned once more to their own homes.''*
Interesting article on the waves of the Sarmatian migration by Jurij Vinogradov
At the top a sketch-in-progress of a warrior throwing a lasso

----

*
original spelling

Some Sketches

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:02:57 PST

Salve,
just some sketches I have been working on in my 'digital studio':

...

...

Maurice de Saxe & ... mechanical hackamore

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:03:25 PST

Salve,
I have been interested in the life and works of the spirited German prince Maurice de Saxe, son of our awful Polish king Augustus II der Starke and beautiful Aurora von Königsmarck.
Prince Maurycy Saski, as we call him in Polish, was a very brave and talented soldier who won many important victories, mostly against the enemies of the French Crown, amongst others he defeated Duke of Cumberland at Fontenoy. He dictated his ideas about military, in the fashion of other famous military commanders, and these were published as ''Mes Reveries'' in 1757, almost 10 years after his untimely death. Had he lived perhaps the world would not have been celebrating that Prussian king Frederic the Great, soldier, philosopher, and thief. Why Frederic of Prussia was a thief? well, that is a story for another time, but perhaps for now it suffices to say he had the counterfeit Polish money minted in Prussia, but with much reduced amount of gold and silver in each respective coin, and then introduced that fake and injurious currency into the Polish market thus taking millions in gold and silver from Poland and then in 1772 he took our lands and people, building his military state.
Ad rem, in volume I article III of''Mes Reveries'' prince Maurycy goes in detail about cavalry, its types and their equipment. Amongst the detailed description of the horse trappings we have a description of the bridle without a bit, looking like a curb-bit thus I naturally call it a 'mechanical hackamore'.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, there is prince Maurycy Saski's ''bride sans mors,''after the one invented by warrior-king of Sweden Charles XII while the Americans call mechanical hackamore, awfully inaccurate name for this device I daresay, for it has little if nothing to do with the vaquero's hackamore aka jaquima. One set or reins and plenty of control needed in one-handed military riding.

'Je ne veux point de bride avec ùn mors. II faut qu'il ait une têtière avec deux branches droites, comme il y en a à nos brides, avec des bossèttes. De la place où est le mors ordinairement , il passe un cuir sur le nez du cheval; la gourmette venant à serrer, lorsque l'on tire les rênes, ramène parfaitement bien le cheval, & mieux qu'aucune bride : il n'y a point de cheval que l'on n'arrête avec cela, & que l'on ne manie bien; l'on ne sçauroit leur gâter la bouche, hi leur échauffer les barres.

II en résulte un autre avantage qui est trèsgrand; c'est que les chevaux peuvent tepaître sans que l'on soit obligé de débrider : dès que l'on lâche les rênes, ils peuvent ouvrir la bouche toute grande; & lorsqu'on les tient dans la main, ils ne sçauroient l'ouvrir, tirer la langue, & s'accoutumer à quantité de mauvaises habitudes qu'ils prennent avec la bride. D'ailleurs cela les relève plus, & fait fort bien. Cette invention est de Charles XII roi de Suède.'

'' I do not see a point in having a curb-bit (bride avec un mors): instead of which, it should have a head-stall (une tetiere) having two straight shanks like those of our curb-bits, with small round ornaments (avec des bossettes); and from the spot where the bit is usually placed, a leather [strap] passes over the horse's nose, [while] a curb bit chain (la gourmette) comes to draw close [this bridle], in proportion as the rider tightens his reins, will govern a horse effectively, and better than any curb-bit: one may stop and manage the most headstrong horse at pleasure, without spoiling his mouth, or inflaming (echauffer) his jaws.

There is another advantage [to this bridle] that is very important, in that horses will be able to feed with it on, without obligation to take it off (debrider): for, by only slackening the reins, he is able to to open his mouth all the way, and again by gathering them in hand ('one hand' riding), he is not able to open his mount and will prevent lolling out his tongue, and put a stop to number of bad habits, that take hold with [use] of a bit. By the way, it will moreover make him raise and carry well [his head] ( elevating the front and lowering the hindquarters - better collection). This invention belongs to Charles XII, King of Sweden.''

I will bring more of prince Maurycy writings and inventions regarding cavalry, the next of his writing brought here should be the saddle prince Maurycy invented. By the way, when we get to the cavalry , he may shock some of you, enthusiasts of XVIII century warfare,, for he advocated using an armoured cavalryman with a 15 feet long lance a la Polish winged hussaria.

Winter time - kulig/sleigh time

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:48:13 PST

Salve,
It is winter time in the Northern Hemisphere and in the olden days our ancestors in Europe (and to some extend in North America) used sleigh as transport vehicle, and in the Old Poland lands this was time for for going hunting and''kulig'' or a sleight party :)

Kulig described
In a short time the court was filled with sledges, and the saloon with guests. The ladies were all dressed in the costume of their villagers, and accompanied with their husbands, cousins, or admirers, all likewise dressed as the peasants of the neighbourhood. Madam Wabinska received them with a gladness and welcome that could only come from the heart, and had a compliment ready for every lady or gentleman, sometimes upon their dress, at other times on something else, but all delivered with that grace, which we can admire and appreciate, without being able to imitate, and which belongs exclusively to the ladies. The table was already covered, and the guests, when assembled, had nothing more to do than to sit down to their light repast, before proceeding farther, as they well knew that Kurowo was not the end of their journey. The house of Madam Wabinska was only the rendezvous; the horses had ten good English miles to travel further before they reached their goal.
[...]
The judge mounted the same sledge with a young widow, to the great mortification of a young gentleman, who had already, in anticipation, occupied the seat. The musicians were all placed in the first sledge, and although not one of them knew how to play a rondino, or a rondolletto, yet they knew how to please the travellers, and played la polonaise of Kosciuszko.
The principal sledge, and that which followed immediately after the musicians, was covered with Turkish tapestry, and built in the form of a stag reposing in the midst of a forest after a tiresome chase. The head, formed of wood, and turned towards the horses, was adorned with real antlers, the numerous tines upon which gave them the appearance of two trees stripped of their leaves by the wind. The pedestal, upon which the stag reposed, and which represented the green sward, was supported by four little pillars fixed in the skates, about four feet distant from each other, at the end furthest from the horses, describing a half circle, and narrowing by little and little until they approached the front of the sledge, where they were united, and terminated in a gilded ball, elevated a little in front of the stag's head. These skates serve in place of the wheels of a carriage, and enable the sledges to slide along upon the frozen snow. The back of the stag was hollowed out in such a manner as to allow two persons to sit in it; and behind, upon the extremities of the skates, stood a servant, who guided the horses, crackling his whip, at the end of which was fixed a red ribbon, making a noise in the wind blowing keenly from the north.
Felicjan Andon Wolski – A sledge party in Poland 1830 (Glasgow, 1835)

A JOURNEY BY SLEIGH

FRED BURNABY

"BRING out another sleigh," said my friend. "How the wind cuts! does it not?" he continued, as the breeze, whistling against our bodies, made itself felt in spite of all the precautions we had taken. The vehicle now brought was broader and more commodious than the previous one, which, somewhat in the shape of a coffin, seemed especially designed so as to torture the occupants, particularly if, like my companion and self, they should happen to be endowed by nature with that curse during a sleigh journey — however desirable appendages they may be when in a crowd — long legs. Three horses abreast, their coats white with pendent icicles and hoar-frost, were harnessed to the sleigh; the centre animal was in the shafts and had his head fastened to a huge wooden head-collar, bright with various colors. From the summit of the headcollar was suspended a bell, while the two outside horses were harnessed by cord traces to splinter-bars attached to the sides of the sleigh. The object of all this is to make the animal in the middle trot at a brisk pace, while his two companions gallop, their necks arched round in a direction opposite to the horse in the centre, this poor beast's head being tightly reined up to the head-collar.

A well-turned-out troika with three really good horses, which get over the ground at the rate of twelve miles an hour, is a pretty sight to witness, particularly if the team has been properly trained, and the outside animals never attempt to break into a trot, while the one in the shafts steps forward with high action; but the constrained position in which the horses are kept must be highly uncomfortable to them, and one not calculated to enable a driver to get as much pace out of his animals as they could give him if harnessed in another manner.

Off we went at a brisk pace, the bell dangling from our horse's head-collar, and jingling merrily at every stride of the team.

(1904)

Sights of Saint Petersburg:

If we stand in any frequented part of St. Petersburg, and watch the passing crowd of shaven and unshaven Russians, the latter predominating according as it is a more or less fashionable quarter, we observe as great a variety in the appearance of the vehicles which whirl them by, as in those who ride within, or constitute the stream of foot-passengers. In the winter season, when St. Petersburg is in its glory, let us take the corner of the Nevsky prospect.

...

The old body of a chariot placed upon a sleigh without its wheels, is rapidly whisked past by four rough-looking little horses, wiry and uncouth as the rudest of Welsh ponies, with long ragged tails and manes. Two footmen, in furred greatcoats, with enormous cocked-hats, stand behind the carriage; a coachman, bearded, caftaned, and wearing the quadrangular velvet cap which distinguishes his profession, sits on the box, the reins in both hands, without a whip. One of the leaders is mounted by a boy dressed like the coachman, sitting on a high Tartar saddle, the skirts of his ample caftan being tucked round his legs. This may be a minister, a counsellor of state, or some man high in office, driving to the palace. His dingy equipage shows the negligence to externals of the man in power. His four horses are not worth forty pounds; but these are the hacks which save his fat, sleek, showy nags, of which he has many sets. These horses are harnessed according to the fashion which the Russians have derived from their former Tartar conquerors. The collar is very light, so are the breeching and traces, and all of black oiled leather, which, in dry weather, wears eternally. In the mouth, the horse has nothing but a snaffle.

[...]

Then dashes by us, at an astounding pace, the bearded coachman shouting as he drives along, a light
sledge, of polished walnut or maple wood, scarcely heavier than an arm-chair. The horses are bright bay or jet-black, glossy in coat, and so sleek and fat, that the near horse, as he canters or gallops along, covers the trace with foam ; for the near horse gallops always the same shoulder foremost, his neck being rounded, from his head being strapped down, so that his long mane almost trails in the snow. The off horse in reality draws the vehicle. He is harnessed between shafts, and these shafts are held forcibly apart, so as to yield him some support, by a bow about the thickness of a man’s wrist, which rises high over his head, above the collar, and to which he is bound by a bearing-rein. This horse trots, whilst
the one beside him canters, and the effect is very graceful, when the galloping horse, or pristastcluz, is
showy; but it is painful to behold, when the curb of the neck, instead of appearing natural in a fiery animal, is evidently torturing some worn-out brute, which flounders wearily along, as is so often the case. In this sledge sits an ofiicer in the guards — a Russian nobleman — enveloped in the light bluish-grey cloak of the Russian army, with a collar of the beautiful fur of the sea-otter muffling up his face, and a white cock-tail feather streaming from his preposterously large cocked-hat. He is a man of family and fortune ; his conversation will amuse you for an hour; he appears high-bred and gentleman-like ; but converse with him for a thousand hours, and the theme is always the same — champagne, cards, and French actresses.

...

Next […] vehicle is also driven by a Russian bearded coachman ; but it heavy and gaudy old harness, in the English fashion, fastens the horses to the pole. The horses themselves have a touch of the heavy Mecklenburg breed about them. They are nicked, and retain the smallest imaginable stump of a tail. If there are four horses, a heavy postilion, parodying the costume of an English postboy, sits in his saddle like an Austrian dragoon.

...

he next is the equipage of a Russian magnate in all its glory […] The horses, light-limbed, arch-necked, and sleekcoated, show all the useless points of breeding, and the skillful grooming of their dark, glossy coats, shows off the light and elegant harness, which is relieved by silver ornaments and studs, like the cowrie-shells on the Morisco bridles. But perhaps one of those gorgeous footmen standing behind the carriage shows the toe of his foot coming through his boot, one of those showy horses wants a shoe, and some part of the brilliant harness is fastened with a piece of rope.

By Richard Hildreth (1843)

Of the sleigh horses:

The fast trotters are a breed in common use for hackney carriages and winter sleighs: their movement consists in trotting with the fore-legs and cantering with the hinder, proceeding at this rate fifteen or sixteen miles an hour. There are some of them higher bred that will go the pace of twenty miles, but how long they can keep it up is not quite satisfactorily ascertained. These animals are rather long for their height, very well shaped, with a square head, and mane so exuberantly long*, that their masters knot them up to keep them from trailing on the ground.

*This long-maned race is extensively spread towards the south into Poland, the Ukraine, and Podolia, there being, in the Dresden Museum, a stuffed specimen; it had belonged to the last Saxon king of Poland (Augustus III of Saxony), and had a mane which measured twenty-four English feet in length, and the tail thirty feet.

Charles hamilton Smith et al (1841)

Paintings attached are by pan Juliusz Kossak, one of the most amazingly talented and prolific horse painters of XIX century

Jana Krasinskiego opis Polski et wjazd Walezego do Krajowa

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:57:20 PST

Salve,
today's entry will be mostly in Polish, I hope I will translate the passages in not too many days, so please bear with me :)
Dear Samuel pointed to me this work - Jana Krasińkiego Polska written in Latin by a Polish scholar, clergyman and nobleman Jan Andrzej Krasiński (a fellow Mazur aka mazowszanin like me) under a Latin name: ''Joannis Crassinii Polonia. Ad Sereniss. et Potentiss. Henricum I. Valesium, Deigratia utriusque Poloniae regem. Bononiae apud Peregrinum Bonardum, venia ab superioribus concessa.'' (published 1574). It was translated by XIX century Polish scholar Stanisław Budziński and published in Warsaw (under Russian occupation) in 1852.

...
Polska Jazda w tym dziele:

''Liczne są w Polsce wybornego żołnierza chorągwie; dzielą się one na chorągwie pieszych i jezdnych. Jezdni bogato uzbrojeni (pancerni) mają zdatne do upartej walki konie, których przednią część zbroją żelazną pokrywają. W boju używają włóczni, a następnie dwóch ''mieczy'': jednego długiego ku spadku czworograniasto kończatego (koncerz), drugiego zakrzywionego i krótkiego do zadania cięcia [szabla]; walczą także gdy tego potrzeba krótkiemi rusznicami, podobnie jak Niemcy, lub żelaznemi buławami, jak to u Węgrów jest zwyczajem; do zasłonienia się tarczy używają (1). Inny rodzaj jazdy stanowią lekko zbrojni, t.j. tak nazwani w Polsce i Węgrzech usarze. Ci prawie wszyscy zbroje i przyłbice noszą, używają lekkiej kopii, zakrzywionego miecza i tarcz podobnych do tureckich. Niektórzy zwyczajem Scytów strzały z łuków ciskają, inni z krótkich rusznic strzelają do nieprzyjaciela. Trzeci rodzaj jazdy stanowią kozacy,którzy bardzo są wytrzymali na zimno, głód i trudy wszelkiego rodzaju. Uzbrajają się oni bardzo lekko, podobnie jak Tatarzy. Konie mają bardzo rącze i do małych utarczek zdatne. Siodła na koniach tak urządzają, iż bez trudności na wszystkie strony mogą się obracać i z łuku strzelać. Do walki używają najczęściej łuku, rażąc gradem pocisków jeźdźców i konie nieprzyjacielskie. Używają także szabli na wzór wschodnich, i krótkich drzewców. W kraju nieprzyjacielskim bardzo szybko posuwają się, niszcząc wszystko ogniem i mieczem; a właśnie na szybkości i bezpieczeństwo żołnierza i zwycięztwo polega. Przebywając w obszernych stepach podolskich, gdzie ciągle z Tatarami krymskiemi wojnę prowadzą, wożą z sobą w jukach całą swą żywność, składającą się z chleba, wędzonki i soli z pieprzem zmieszanej. Każdy prócz tego opatrzony jest w hubkę i krzesiwo, aby gdy zwierzę jakie (którego pełno jest w tych bezludnych szlakach) ubić się zdarzy, mógł zaraz ogień rozniecić i upiec zdobycz, sola i pieprzem zaprawioną. Polacy zwykli także urządzać chorągwie piechoty, częścią w rusznice, częścią w oszczepy uzbrojonej, której używają do odległych wypraw, powierzając jej wszelkiego rodzaju machiny wojenne. Ona toruje drogę wojsku, buduje mosty, dobywa miast i twierdz; wielce zatem jest na wojnie przydatną. Jednak Polacy najwięcej na jazdę liczą, a pieszego żołnierza nie-tyle co Włochy i Hiszpanie cenią.''

(1) Dokładniej I bardziej malowniczo ten rodzaj jazdy opisuje Ogier (Iter polonicum, w zbiorze Miclera I, 720, 726.), zowiąc ją właściwiej usarzami, ponieważ tak nazywano w Polsce najcięższy rodzaj jazdy. Mieli oni zbroje z żelaza kute; przeciwnie pancerni (od niemieckiego Panzerheinde— kolczuga) okrywali się kolczugą t. j. koszulą z kotek stalowych złożoną. —Włócznie (rohatyny) husarzy były to kopie do 19 stóp długości. Mlecze do przebijania, na pice; stóp długie, przymocowane były do siodła pod lewem kolanem; spód u rękojeści miały płaski dla tem łatwiejszego przebicia leżącego już na ziemi nieprzyjaciela. Buławy były to młotki żelazne dla rozbijania żelaznych pętlic i spięcia zbroi. Zob. Niemcewicza: Panowanie Zygmunta III we wstępie, i Wójcickiego: Obrazy starodawne w tomie I o husarzach.[przypis mości Budzińskiego)

'WIADOMOŚĆ O PEZYBYCIU I KORONOWANIU HENRYKA WALEZYUSZA KRÓLA POLSKIEGO.

We czwartek dnia 15 lutego J. K. M. przybył na nocleg do Balic majętności wojewody krakowskiego, o półtorej mili od stolicy. Następnego dnia bardzo rano, gdy J. K. M. z Balic wyjeżdżał, przyciągnęli tam panowie polscy z licznemi hufcami. Liczby ich dokładnie nie wiem; ale naliczono do 32 pocztów, każdy we 300 około ludzi z francuzka, z niemiecka jak rajtary, lub z węgierska uzbrojonych. To ostatnie uzbrojenie składa się z hełmu, kolczugi, wielkiej tarczy, zasłaniającej aż po głowę, oraz z kopii długości małej dzidy, dosyć grubej, lecz wewnątrz wydrążonej. Konie pokrywają skórą niedźwiedzią lub lamparcią i po większej części przywiązują im dzwonki; a siebie i konie ubierają w takie mnóstwo wielkich piór oraz w skrzydła orle w pręgi zfote pomalowane, że zdają się być raczej widziadłami lub maszkarami, jak rycerzami; a jeśli dodać długie chorągiewki które mają przy kopiach, to zaiste wszystko to wyda się bardzo potwornem. Muzykę ich stanowią trąby, rogi, wydające gł os jak kobza wysoko wzięta, oraz dwa małe bębenki miedziane, które jeździec siedząc na koniu trzyma przed sobą i jeden o drugi uderza. Czwarty sposób uzbrojenia jest kozacki, którego używają Litwini i Rusini. Broń ich składa się z krótkiego drzewca .czyli spisy, kołczanu i strzał; konie mają szybkie jak wiatr. Uzbrojenie Kozaków i Tatarów jest jednakowe. Niektórzy dla lepszego przebrania się prowadzili niedźwiedzia na koniu, zupełnie uzbrojonego i trzymającego kopię.'

...

Konie:

O koniach ukrainnych czyli Rusi Czerwonej, Podola i Wolynia:

Konie ruskie pod względem szybkości i piękności ledwie że nie dadzą się z hiszpańskiemi i tureckiemi porównać, a daleko są od nich silniejsze.

O rzedach polskich, w tym o malowaniu koni

'Jeżdżą [Polacy] na koniach kosztownym rzędem strojnych; szyje ich i piersi srebrnemi lub złotemi blachami oraz futrem ze szlachetnych zwierząt pokrywają; siodła zaś, czoła koni ponad oczami i ogony drogiemi kamieniami ozdabiają. Wielu różnemi kolorami konie farbuje.'

o okrywaniu koni wyszczególniam tutaj: 'Konie pokrywają skórą niedźwiedzią lub lamparcią i po większej części przywiązują im dzwonki; a siebie i konie ubierają w takie mnóstwo wielkich piór oraz w skrzydła orle w pręgi złote pomalowane, że zdają się być raczej widziadłami lub maszkarami, jak rycerzami'

O Litwie i jej jezdzie:

'Liczną mają jazdę [Litwa], która stanowi znaczną dla króla polskiego pomoc; gdyż (jak o tem słyszeliśmy od tamtejszych mieszkańców dobrze rzeczy świadomych) są oni w stanie do 40,000 jeźdźców zgromadzić. [I]Konie ich sa piękne, silne i raczę[/I]. Prowadząc z Moskwa prawie ustawiczną wojnę o granice, niekiedy tylko cieszą się pokojem'

...

I na koniec, dodatkowo, opis mieszkańcow tego krolestwa nad Dnieprem, Niemnem i Wisłą:

..Zwykłym zaś napojem jest piwo z wody, pszenicy lub jęczmienia i chmielu przyrządzane. Piją także wyborny miód. który się robi z miodu pszczół i chmielu. Szlachta i możniejsi używają wina, które morzem z Hiszpani i Francyi, a lądem z sąsiednich Węgier i Niemiec sprowadzają. Ubiór mieszkańców po większej części długi, niewiele od węgierskiego i dalmackiego różniący się. Kolor twarzy, jak u wszystkich północnych mieszkańców biały. Ludzie obojej płci są po większej części wysokiego wzrostu, silni i pięknej urody. Mężczyźni w ogóle siłą obdarzeni i na wszelkie niebezpieczeństwo odważyć się gotowi. Shańbionym przez wyrok sądowy tak jak trucizną się brzydzą. W ogóle naród ten lubi strojność w ubraniu. Szlachta i znakomitsi bardzo kosztownie odziewają się: noszą bowiem suknie ze złotogłowu t. j. z jedwabiu przerabianego złotem, obszywane perłami, futrem sobolim lub kunim podbite, a wyłogi ich srebrem i złotem aż do dołu przerabiane; pierścienie złote lub srebrne pozłacane, perłami zdobne, na palce kładą. Bardzo kosztowne zakrzywione miecze, szablami perskiemi zwane, w srebrnych lub złotych pochwach do boku przypasują; pochwy i rękojeście drogiemi kamieniami zdobią.

...

ps
I would like to welcome all new followers of my blog - Witajcie!

Polish horse - first post in 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:58:44 PST

Salve,
we made it into the new year of 2012 (2011 was a rough year by far), so here I am blogging anew. And my first post is obviously on the most favorite subject of mine: Polish horses in historical sources. I must admit upon finishing all the novels by John Maddox Roberts 'SPQR' I will be inclined to write more about ancient Roman and later Italian horses, sometime during this year.

Ad rem, in December I wrote about Polish embassy to England, and included two images from a Swedish carousel of 1672, and now I am attaching a better version of that hussar horses. In my version this splendid mount is shown dyed with Brazilwood dye (most likely) or our native Polish kermes dye, a custom that we had gotten from the Turks and the steppe in general.

Now the historical text - this is the very description from a printed work by John L. Cadwalader (1735) titled ''The sportsman's dictionary: or, The country gentleman's companion, in all ...” vol. II (repeated by Thomas Wallis in 1767, ''Farrier and horseman's dictionary '').

The Polish Horses. These are much like the Danish horses, and are generally about the size of the Spanish Genet [jennet], are of a middle stature, but their limbs are much better knit together, and are of a much stronger make, than the Spanish ones. This horse is in many respects, like our natural English horse, except that their heads are somewhat slenderer, like the Irish hobby; but their necks and crests are raised upright, and very strong; their ears are very short and small, and their backs capable of bearing any weight ; their chines are broad, and their hooves are judged to be as good as those of any horse in the world. They are very good for a journey, and will endure long ones, with more ease than any other hores.

....

*original spelling

Hungarian horses

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:03:59 PST

Salve,

the horses of the Hungarian Plain through some of its history will be the last subject of this year's end blogging...

Let me start with Roman writer Vegetius who wrote about horses in his ''Artis veterinariæ sive mulomedicinæ..''

Vegetius on Hun horses ( translation from William Ridgeway, The origin and influence of the thoroughbred horse, 1905).

"The Hun hath a great and hooked head, and his eyes stand almost without his head, his nostrils are narrow, and his jaws broad, his neck is long and rough, with a mane hanging down nearly to his knees, he hath a large bulk, a right back, a long bush tail, his legs be strong, his pasterns small, and his hoofs full and broad, his guts are hollow, and all his body is full of empty corners, his buttocks are not filled with fat, neither do the brawns of his muscles appear, of stature he is more in length than height, and therewith somewhat side-bellied, his bones are also great, he is rather lean than fat, which leanness is so answerable to the other parts of his body, as the due proportion observed in his deformity, maketh the same to be a beauty. And as touching his inward disposition, he is, as Vegetius saith, both temperate and wise, and able to abide great labour, cold and hunger, and very meet for the war." "Camerarius also saith that ''they be very swift, and if they be provoked by some injury, they will both bite and strike, otherwise not. Their pace is a trot."

''The Hungarian horses have been continually improved by the introduction of Libyan blood, derived largely in later centuries through Turkish channels. Accordingly it is not surprising that the Hungarian horse, drawn by Stradanus [below], in the " Stable of Don John of Austria," shows little resemblance to the animals described by Vegetius except as regards the copiousness of the mane and tail, which were probably inherited from the ancient horses of the Danubian region. The old Hungarian horse was usually of a bay colour and without any white on the legs, but grey, dun, and chestnut were likewise often found. Since the early part of the last century this type has been entirely changed owing to the constant importation of English thoroughbreds, when the Government began to breed for military purposes and encouraged the farmers to do likewise. "In almost all cases the Government stallions were half-bred English, and these were placed at breeding depots all over the country." As is well known, Hungary at the present time supplies some of the best cavalry horses in the world.'' (Ridgeway).

In the period of XVI-XVIII centuries Hungarian horses were considered to have been 'fiery' although they were small but then 'light and fleet,' and it was reported in 1780s that: ''Hungary is remarkable for a fine breed of horses, generally mouse-coloured, and highly esteemed by military officers, so that great numbers of them are exported;''

one author from XVIII century stated about peculiar custom amongst their owners:
''..the Hustars and Hungarians flit their [horses] nostrils, with a view, it is said, to mend their wind, and, at the same time, to prevent their neighing in the field; it being affirmed that horses, whose nostrils have been flit, cannot neigh. It has not indeed been in my power to examine this particular v but it seems natural to think, that the operation can only weaken their neighing. The Hungarian, Croatian, and Polish horses are noted for having what iscalled the mark in all their fore teeth, which continues to old age.''

From 1767 Thomas Wallis' work:
''The Hungarian Horses. These horses are generally hook-nosed, and have thick heads, large eyes, broad jaws, but narrow nostrils; their manes are rough and thick, commonly reaching near the ground, their tails, in like manner, are bushy and long; for the most part, of lean and thin bodies, but weak pasterns: but although some parts of them are not to be liked, yet the deformities are generally so well put together, that, taken all together, the horses are agreeable enough. They are of a tolerable good courage, and will endure labour and fatigue, and for that reason are serviceable in war.

From - ''Travels in Hungary: with a short account of Vienna in the year 1793 '' by Robert Townson: ''...This is a pufz-ta[pushta -Hungarian Plain] which belongs to the misanthropic bishop I have said so much of. Here is his stud, and the groom was, our host, as his house was the only one here. He has seven stallions, and a proportionable number of brood mares under his care: the stallions were of the largest breed, and very fine; one was from England, and the rest out of the best horse countries of Germany, but not a single Hungarian. I think, when writers have spoken in high terms of (he Hungarian horses, it has arisen by confounding them with the Hungarian horse or cavalry. The Hungarian breed of horses is very small; and in all the studs I have seen, the stallions, and often the brood mares, are brought from other countries; and the horses used by the more opulent Hungarians are either from foreign countries or of foreign extraction. All the walls or fences of the folds and inclosures were made by piling up the useless dung. The groom was a German, and the stud was conducted after the German manner; the stallions were kept in their stalls, and the foals at fix months were separated from their mothers.''

From ''The Scots magazine; or, General repository of literature, history ..., Volume 59'' reports the writer's observations on the horse markets in Hungary:

''The Pest fair […] but the chief articles were the natural productions of Hungary, and the principal of these are horses. These are driven to market in flocks like horned cattle, from the great Puszetes or commons: they are quite wild, and have never had a halter about their heads. When they come to market, they are driven into folds. In this manner they are shown and sold. When a purchaser has bought one, it is not an easy matter to catch it, and take it away; for they do not suffer the near approach of their keepers, who are therefore obliged to catch them in this manner: a noose at the end of a long rope is put in a slit at the end of a long pole; this noose, by means of the pole, is endeavoured to be thrown over the horse's head; but this is often impracticable: if so, then the noose is thrown on the ground, and they endeavour to catch it by the fame means by the leg. From the great number of horses that are together, a good deal of time is often consumed in this first step. As soon as one is caught the greatest confusion takes place; and the spectators who are unaccustomed to this business cannot divest themselves of fear, in behalf of the keepers, from the great danger which they appear to be in, who now endeavour to haul it a little aside to put a halter about its head, which it resists; then three or four stout fellows fly upon it and seize it by the ears, head, and neck: they can often then put on the halter; but the stronger and more spirited are obliged to be thrown down first. The leading it away gives often no less trouble: for this purpose the buyer has at hand a strong steady horse, and these two are fastened together by the head, with a very short rope: he is even then very troublesome. The whole business is dangerous both to the keeper and to the horses. The smaller kind of horses, such as are in use among the peasants, fold for about four or five pounds; those for the army, from seven to twelve pounds.''

*original spelling preserved

!Happy New Year - Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku, Feliz Año Nuevo!

Polish rider from a map of the siege of Toruń AD 1658

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:51:59 PST

Salve,
this year is ending and yesterday was the anniversary of the capitulation of the Swedish garrison of Polish city of Toruń (during the war known in our history as the Deluge aka Potop - AD1655-60) to the allied Polish-Hapsburg armies (siege lasted almost 6 months).

Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski, one of the Polish commanders of the siege, ordered a map printed commemorating this important victory.

From this map comes the partially hidden image of a Polish horseman on a splendid mount, with a Tatar-Turkish style ''buńczuk'' (horse hair tug) suspended from its bridle (with a curb-bit). Interestingly the sword held by the rider is a typical Polish saber of the period, and the manner of holding is quite faithful here, except that is seems to be missing the ''paluch''(thumb-ring) so peculiar to XVII century Polish cavalry sabers (but also present in earlier Swiss and Hungarian sabers); to his right we have a rare image of the Polish infantry of the period.

A detailed story of the siege by Tadeusz Nowak - in Polish - from Kujawsko-Pomorska Biblioteka (digitalized books), or from Kismeta in English.

Tempesta's horses

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 15:50:36 PST

Salve,
several days ago I presented here an image of a Polish horse in a print after Antonio Tempesta's drawing.
Let me show you some more images from the same album, but of more violent actions our dear friends equines are quite capable of
...

...

Happy Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:58:22 PST

Salve friends & visitors,
it's Christmas Eve - Wigilia - especially important family holiday in our Polish culture and at the same time Roman Catholic extremely important holy moment.
I wish all of you best health, peace and joy during this holiday season.
...and for your enjoyment a print of a fabulously outfitted Polish horse in winged hussar 'furniture'/harness (from Sweden's celebration of Charles XI enthronement in 1672 - I wrote about it here)
...Wesołych Świąt...

...Merry Christmass...

...Feliz Navidad...
enjoy

Muscovite Rusian army at Riga 1656

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:17:32 PST

Salve,
a very interesting and rather rare image of Russian army during the war with Sweden (1656-58), when Russian forces tried to capture Riga, the capital of Livonia, having singed a truce with Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after they had defeated the armies (at battle of Shepeleviche (Szepielewicze), Polotsk, Smolensk, Wilno, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Kowno, Grodno, Puławy, Kazimierz etc), captured half of our country and massacred countless nobles and townspeople in today's Lithuania, Belarus and eastern Poland between 1654-55.
The most notorious was the capture and consequent slaughter of Mscisław's (today's Mstsislaw ) defenders on July 22, 1654 where 15,000 men, women and children cared for and commanded by Jan Statkiewicz were put to sword by the victorious Russian army under prince Aleksey Nikitich Trubetskoy. It is know as the Trubeskoy's slaughter.
The Russians spared only 700 artisans who were needed by them. Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich Romanov was the commander-in-chief there (or at least he was present there to encourage his commanders) and yet they failed to capture this important town, and consequently would suffer many defeats and setback by 1661.

well, here are the horses, riders and some of the camps...

...

...

Polish horse - engraving by Antonio Tempesta, circa 1590

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:45:11 PST

Salve,
I am glad to share with you this image, as pictures of Polish horses (and ideas of what Polish horses were thought to have looked like) from early modern Europe are not very plentiful.

The following text comes from a British publication titled: The Penny cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: v. 1-27, Volume 24, page 178

ANTONIO TEMPESTA was a celebrated Italian battle and animal painter and engraver, was born at Florence in 1555. He became the scholar of John Strada or Stradanus, a Fleming, who was settled at Florence in the employ of the grand-duke, and who assisted him in the battles which he painted in the old ducal palace. Tempesta, after painting some years with Strada, whom he surpassed in many respects, visited Rome, and was employed by Gregory XIII., in the Vatican, where he painted, in small figures in fresco, the Translation of the Body of St. Gregory'of Nazianzus, and some other subjects, which acquired him a great reputation among the artists and virtuosi of Rome, and procured him constant occupation from the Roman nobility. He executed several good works for the Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, at his villa at Caprarola, and some at Bassano for the Marquess Giustiniani. Tempesta resided chiefly at Rome, and died there in 1630, aged seventy five.
His reputation rests now almost entirely upon his etchings, although in his time he had a great name also as a painter. Lanzi terms him the first Italian who ever attained distinction in landscape and animal painting, and considers him at this period to have been unrivalled in his own style in Italy ; he was however surpassed afterwards by Cerquozzi and Borgognone. Horses were his favourite subjects, and he excelled in battles, processions, cavalcades, hunts, and various field-sports. His designs, particularly his etchings, are remarkable for their spirit and boldness of conception, but they are at the same time coarse and heavy, and careless in their execution. He painted generally small figures ; in large ones he was not successful, and he seldom attempted them; he however occasionally prepared large cartoons for tapestries, in the style of his master Strada.

From "History of Painting in Italy." by Il Abbate Luigi Lanzi. Roscoe's translation :

"… in battles and hunting-pieces none in these times equalled Antonio Tempesta. He was followed, though at a considerable interval, by Francesco Allegrini."

"Antonio Tempesta was among the first to acquire a celebrated name in Italy for landscapes and for battles. He practised engraving, prepared cartoons for tapestry, and gave scope to his genius in the most fanciful inventions in grotesque and ornamental work. He surpassed his master in spirit, and was inferior to none, not even to the Venetians. In a letter on painting by the Marquis Giustiniani he is adduced as an example of great spirit in design, a gift conferred by nature, and not to be acquired by art. He attempted few things on a large scale, and was not so successful as in small pictures. The Marquis Niccolini, the Order of the Nunziata, and several Florentine families, possess some of his battles painted on alabaster, in which he appears the precursor of Borgognone (Cortese), who studied him attentively. He most frequently painted in fresco, as at the Villa Caprarola, in the Este villa at Tivoli, and in parts of Rome, from the time of Gregory XIII. Most of the historical pictures in the Vatican Gallery are his work; the figureS, a palm and a half high, display astonishing variety and spirit, accompanied by beautiful architecture and landscapes, with every species of decoration. He is not, however, very correct, and his tints are sometimes inclined too much to a brownish hue; but all such faults are pardonable in him, as being occasioned by that pictoric fury which inspired him, that fancy which hurried him from earth, and conducted him through novel and sublime regions unattempted by the vulgar herd."
"Battles, hunting-pieces, marches, and cavalry-fights are the subjects which he treats by preference. Although his horses are too fleshy, they have the merit of variety in their attitudes and movements. The heads of these animals are treated nobly.
"All the prints of Antonio Tempesta are deeply bitten in with aquafortis: this gives them an appearance of crudeness little likely to please the eye of the amateur; but the knowledge of drawing and the freedom of hand make up for what they want in delicacy.
"Although the general finish of the prints of Tempesta is little remarkable, engravers may obtain useful lessons in laying the first plans of their works when they have horses to introduce.
"There are besides many engravings of Tempesta which, even disregarding their spirited freedom of touch, deserve to be collected by amateurs in their portfolios.
"Tempesta is indebted chiefly for his wide reputation to his engravings. His work of this kind is very extensive.''
Small gallery of Tempesta work's at wikipedia commons.
...

This image comes from Tempesta's Horses of Different Lands of 1590

*original XIX century grammar preserved

David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl - painter of Swedish royality and horses

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:35:10 PST

Salve,
yesterday I brought 2 images showing Polish horses and their 'furniture' from the publication titled ''Certamen Equestre'' (actually the title is quite longer) - a set of almost 70 engravings showing the Swedish royal horse show given in celebration of the enthronement of the new Swedish monarch Charles XII, last warrior king of Sweden..

David Klocker Enhrenstrahl was this new monarch's painter (official court painter from 1674), first being the painter for the famous Swedish general Wrangel. It seems that he was the author of the drawings that Georg Christoph Eimmart the younger engraved creating the plates of the certamen equestre, finally published by messer David in 1782.The engravings of the Certamen most certainly have the similarities of messer David other equestrian images, especially the smaller heads on bent necks, movement, flowing tails and lively disposition.

I would like to show here some of the paintings and engravings based on messer David work or his atelier (being rich and famous he most certainly had a school and disciples who did most of the work)
... Charles X

... note that the engraver changed messer David's horse a bit, making him 'heavier', with shorter neck and slightly larger head etc.

... Charles XI

...

... this is famous Wrangel, riding rather smaller horse, perhaps a Spanish jennet.

... fabulous appaloosa or 'tarant' (in Polish), a bit similar to a painting by Italian painter in Poland Dolabella, so perhaps this is a Polish horse (Sweden had many of those, having pilaged Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during 1655-60 Deluge)

... a paint ('srokacz' im Polish) with a small head and graceful neck, perhaps of Polish breeding too

... another appaloosa, perhaps a horse of Spanish-Danish breeding, but mind you that Polish cavalry division (many thousands of Polish-bred horses, stallions to a large extend) under regimentarz Stefan Czarniecki came to aid the Danish in 1658/9, and perhaps these Polish horses, often very multicolored, infused Danish breeding with their genes etc.

...
this painting is perhaps from messer David's atellier or perhaps his own, I am not sure, but it shows young king Charles XI

...
Well, there is a decent body of splendid equestrian art, perhaps there are many more in Sweden. One thing seems to be certain that contrary to later practices excluding spotted horses, XVII century riders were still interested in using these multicolored mounts, not finding them inferior due to their coats.

Pan Zawadzki with king Charles I of England, Scotland etc

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:06:14 PST

Salve,
sometime during 1633 our king Władysław IV sent his envoy, starosta of Swiecie pan Jan Zawadzki, to the various royal courts of Europe, including the Stuart court in London.
In June 1633 Polish embassy reached England.
There is a description of the gifts from our king to the King of England, and here as always, our good king regaled his English counterpart several riding horses, dressed and with then typical horse tack used in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth:
''Rzędom też oprawnym bardzo się dziwują, że w Anglji takich niewidali, także też i koniom, jakoż Cavalcator Królewski powiedział ża żadnego takiego u Króla niemasz.''
-Our adorned, [precious stones etc], horse furniture (back in XVII-XVIII century ''rząd koński'' included both all the harness and the saddle with stirrups) they are wondering about since they have not seen those in England, also they have not seen the horses [of our embassy], thus the Royal Master of Horse has stated that there is no horse similar [to ours] in the Royal stables.
...
Po prywatnej audyencyi oddał Jegomośś te konie Królowi Jegomości ubrane w rzędy z pałaszami z buławami. Dzianeta po usarsku z rzędem turkusami osadzonym, lamparth na niem, na gniadego, drugi rząd po Arabsku łuk, sajdak, rząd barzo piękny, w nim turek cisawy których obu rączości i gotowości wysławić nie mogą.
-After a private audience [of our envoy with the King] the envoy gave these horses to His Royal Highness tacked with horse furniture, with palashes (pałasz) and maces (buława). Bay jennet in winged hussar fashion tack, his harness adorned with turquoises, with a leopard pelt [under the saddle]; second horse furniture was in in an Arabian fashion, with a bow and bowcase, his tack very beautiful, carried by a chestnut Turkish hors; they, [the English], cannot praise enough the swiftness and [level] of dressage of both [our] horses..

...

Also the Polish envoy brought another 'horse gift ' for the English monarch, a carriage with 6 carriage horse, presumably all the same in color and size (their color has not been given in the depiction). as it was our Polish custom of the times. There were also priceless Siberian sables for the queen,
...

...
ps
the images are from a later part of XVII century, from Sweden, and show two manners of presenting Polish horses : winged hussar horse tack and 'Arabian' tack . The hussar horse furniture in the top image lacks the wild cat, leopard, tiger or lion pelt.

A few horse words in Old Polish describing a pacing horse

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:38:28 PST

Salve amici,
the year is drawing to an end so allow me to talk about some horse 'things' long neglected. i.e., my blogging.
in the XVI-XVIII century Polish writings these words - ''stupak,'' ''stępak,'' ''szłapak'' - often appear to describe for a certain kind of a riding horse.
Samuel Bogumił Linde in his monumental work ''Słownik jẹzyka polskiego'' (Dictionary of Polish Language , 1812 AD) vol. 5, page 415 explains 'stępak' as a pacing horse/caballo de paso (in XIX century Polish a 'jednochodnik,' now it is 'inochodziec'). In the older Medieval sources: Latin ''pro equo ambulatore/ambulato''these names were used as palefroi (French)/palfrey(English), podjezdek/stępak (Polish).
Perhaps it is worth mentioning that in 1392 King Władysław Jagiellon paid 21 grzywna for a ''stepak'' (ambulator in the sources) and gave this horse to the Masovian duke Siemovit's wife as a gift...

Well, let us look at some sources from XVI-XVIII centuries:

...in 1596 AD Vatican envoy segnor Vannozzi visitng chancellor Jan Zamoyski always had been given 'tarant'(an appaloosa) 'stępak' to ride to his estates, so when he finally left Poland the chancellor had given him the same horse with a saying:... equum graduarium, ut commodius possem redire in Italiam (a pacing horse, so I would return to Italy comfortably).

when the Polish embassy of Lew Sapieha came to Muscovy in 1600, his secretary Eiljasz Pielgrzymowski wrote a diary of that mission (delicate one as less than a decade later Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth would enter into war against the Muscovy Russia)- the embassy members gave Tsar Boris' son Fiodor, amongst many other horses and valuable gifts, two pacing horses: a ''koń cisawy drygant stupak'' - chestnut pacing stallion (''drygant'' in Polish besides being a stallion could signify a very spirited mount) and a ''koń Turecki stupak siwy'' - grey Turkish pacing horse.

Let us jump almost a century and a half, to 1744, when another Polish writer, Marcin Matuszewicz (author of Memoirs of 1714-1765), noted that ''podobał się królowi* koń brata mego, szłapak brudno szpakowaty, za którego dałem w Wysokiem dukatów szesnaście; kazał go sobie król przejeżdżać na dziedzińcu i kazał zapłacić za niego 5o dukatów. Był ten koń faworytem królewskim i już potem król oprócz tego konia na innym nie jeździł...''
(the King* liked my brother's horse, dirty dark-grey pacing horse, I had paind 16 dukats for it in Wysokie, the king ordered the horse ridden in the courtyard and ordered to pay 50 dukats for him. This horse was the king's favorite and after that the king would not ride any other horse than this one...)

*
the king in question is Augustus III of Poland
ps
the two images above show training of the stepping/pacing horse, the first image is from 1680s and the second is from the second half of XVI century. The last horse image is a fabulous grey Spanish stallion, painted in the early XVIII century.

Wacław Pawliszczak - painter of horses - 1866-1905

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:58:27 PST

Salve,
in January 1905 a rising star of Polish modern art Xawery Dunikowski shot and killed established painter and a very popular member of Warsaw elites Wacław Pawłiszczak. They say it was a crime of passion, as it took place in a popular upscale restaurant full of important and known patrons eating dinner. The killer was never punished for his actions as the 1905 Revolution broke out and perhaps Xavery was too popular with then art world movers and shakers...

He was a disciple of Wojciech Gerson and Jan Matejko, lover of the so called Orientalist art and historical genre, especially Polish history, great painter of horses and mythology (illustrated Austrian/German edition of One Thousand and One Nights), great horseman and athlete, a consumed traveler and bon vivant.

Monsieur or pan Pawliszczak's works were collected privately, he died 13 years before the Restitution of Poland, and during the Communist or Soviet Poland this type of art was scorned and attempts were made to remove it from the so called ''public eye.'' Therefore most of his paintings, almost 400 were presented at the exhibit following his funeral (he left a daughter and an ailing wife), are in the private hands in Poland and perhaps in the US too, as lots of well-to-do Jewish Poles/Polish Jews took with them their paintings when emigrating to the US.

Let me show you some of pan Wacław paintings and sketches:

Late XVII century horses and horsemen from Poland

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:52:51 PST

Salve,
I found these prints on the net - they appear to have been made after a painting by old king Jan III Sobieski's painter Altamonte around 1697-8 or so (the original hangs at the Sobieski Palace at Wilanow, Warsaw-Poland). The painting depicted election of the Saxon prince Augustus II der Starke by the nobles of Poland-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1697 (there were many issues with that election and history proved that this king was not appropriate monarch nor commander-in-chief nor statesman for the Commonwealth).

... a nice image of a winged hussar, with a wing not dissimilar to this winged hussar retainer's wing

... a noble rumak (fine riding stallion or gelding) with its tack, this horse appear to be a dapple grey one and some nobles with bows and quivers and warhammers

... horseman and more men with bows, behind them perhaps a hajduk ( musket and war-ax carrying infantryman of Hungarian style)

... noble horsemen

... two nobles - perhaps a winged hussar companion and a cavalry chorągiew (company) with musicians in a background

They were going to fight in the incoming Great Northern War (1700-21), the war that destroyed Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth economy, population and military power.

Images of 'winged' hussars from Hungary

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:05:37 PST

Salve,
fine images of 'winged' hussars from the former Kingdom of Hungary (actually conquered and divided mid-1540s between the Ottoman Turks and their vassals and the Hapsburg Empire).

1.
Hussaria lancers and other horsemen

2.
Turkish and Hungarian horsemen AD 1612

3.
Companions and retainers - horse's legs, mane and tail dyed with Brazil wood dye (or Polish kermes? dye) in the foreground

Polish Indepenence Day 1918-2011

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:05:33 PST

Salve,
on November 11 we, Polish people, celebrate the Independence Day as on November 11, 1918 Polish state became anew, absent from the map of Europe since 1795.
Well, I usually stay away from XIX and XX century subjects, but this day is a special day. I would like to celebrate this important day with photos of 1914-1930s cavalrymen, uhlans mostly, their horses, and links to songs and videos. My own great grandfather Jan took part in the Polish-Soviet War, that we won in 1921.
Also, today is Veterans Day in the US (commemorating the Novemenr 11, 1918 armistice ending War World I), and I also want to salute these men and women to their service for the Homeland.

Let me start with one of the principal architects of our Polish modern independence - Józef Piłsudzki and his famous chestnut mare Kasztanka

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Belina and his Beliniacy - from Pilsudzki Legiony

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And a song about uhlans Hej, hej ulani, malowane dzieci
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another song Hej panienki posluchajcie
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śluby Ułańskie - ''Uhlan Promises'' - Polish 1934 film about uhlans and their espirit de corps, amongst some others aspect of their colorful life...
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another song Przybyli ulani pod okienko ...
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... Uhlans who fought at battle of Komarów, the last big cavalry battle of Europe

... Number of songs in one video

... And I have got to add our special zurawiejki, short 'songlets' or couplets about each cavalry regiment - here all are sung by modern singers, some very humorous

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And another song - Wojenko, wojenko ...
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Enwer Bay - Polish bred Arabian stallion (1923) in 1938 photo

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Today's Independence Day march of historic reenactors in Warsaw, from various periods - from the Napoleonic period to War World II

Let us finish with a song O moj Rozmarynie rozwijaj sie ...

ps
during the Communist Soviet Poland - 1945-90 - these brave men and their achievements during 1914-21 were put down and disparaged, especially the cavalrymen were subject to ridicule eg the infamous film by Wajda titled 'Lotna,' showing idiotic charges against Nazi German tanks in 1939 - by the way my grandfather and 5 great uncles took part in the battle of Bzura and later in the defense of Warsaw '39.
Things change - tempus fugit - and this past year Polish director Hoffman made a feature movie about the battle of Warsaw 1920... where uhlans are shown as they were.

Ave, uhlans of Poland!

Mirza Ali Giray in a woodcut

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:48:56 PDT

Salve,
I found this image on a cover of ''Rocznik Tatarski'' vol 1, (1932), a yearly publication from then Polish city of Wilno (now Vilnius) devoted to the history and then present culture of the Polish Tatars - Hieronim Lubomirski from historycy.org, thank you for the link.

According to Richard Brzezinski (Polish Armies, vol II, Osprey), this is an image of Mirza Ali Giray, one of the sons of the Crimean Tatar Khan (there were a few khans of the Giray family who ruled the ) who was the commander of the Tatar auxilia during the Ottoman Turk second siege of Vienna of 1683.
Well, according to the sources and the study of the history of the Cirmean Khaganate by the Polish preeminent Tatar history scholar Leszek Podhorodecki, the commander of the Crimean Tatars was the khan himself, Murat Giray (who quite nicely facilitated , by being inactive and withdrawing from the field, the Polish-Allied victory over the Turks and their ). Nota bene there was one Tatar commander who stayed to the end of fighting and defended the famous standard of the Prophet, but his was just a ''kalga (galga) sultan'' Haji Giray (with 500-600 Tatars).

There are accounts of armored protection used by the Crimean Tatars and pieces of actual armor surviving from the Crimean Tatars' arsenals (in various European collections), therefore this protrayal is not far fetched, and perhaps represents the aristocratic warrior elite of the Crimean warriors. Please note that this portrayal with a bow goes back to the Ancient Iranian (Persian, Parthian and Skithian traditions).

What distinguishes this warrior here is the great portrayal of his armor and accouterments of the Tatar warrior: the helmet with a pair of wings on top, in an ancient Turkish warrior fashion, bow and arrow, bowcase, sword, and a wing in a style not dissimilar tot he wings carried by the Polish hussars, and also similar to the wing in this painting showing the battle of Warsaw 1656 and its Crimean Tatar participants fighting the Swedes.

According to Mr. Brzezinski this engraving was done by Jacob Sandrart in 1684.

Chocim 1673 - fragment of the Olesko painting

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:09:51 PDT

Salve,
some time ago I posted this sketch of mine digitally painting over the Olesko painting showing then grand Crown hetman Jan Sobieski defeating the Ottoman army at Khotyn (Chocim) fortress.
Well, surfing the net I found this fragment of the painting showing very nicely two heavily armoured winged hussars armed with long painted lances and pistols, the second hussar has wings on his back. They seem not to have wild animal skins on their backs, although the second one has what it appears an animal skin/pelt shabraque underneath his saddle:

I intend to fiddle with these guys a bit by doing some sketches and perhaps a watercolour or digital painting...
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enjoy

Sketches - ancient Iran

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:52:17 PDT

Salve,
some sketches in the subject of ancient Iran:
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Sassanian
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horse chest armour - Saka, Sarmatian, Parthian, Sassanian

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heavy cavalry

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enjoy...

Some sketches in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:55:51 PDT

Salve,
I would like to share with you some of my sketches:
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Plains Indian Warrior
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rearing horse
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heavy cavalry - Hun warrior
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Sarmatian
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Sarmatian saddle
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Saka after Gorelik
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Kimmerian warrior - X-VIII centuries BC
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Sarmatian bridle
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a Saka scene
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Eastern rider after Polish XVIII/XIX century painter Aleksander Orlowski
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Koban Culture warrior after a Koban Culture metal belt image
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GIMP, MyPaint, pen and ink etc...

Hope you will enjoy these sketches

Cirit - ancient Turkish game

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:01:42 PDT

Salve,
I 'facebook'a bit and via Facebook I met a Polish competitor and reenactor, Bartosz Ligocki, who participated in this event Al Faris in Jordan. Bartosz send me a link to a blog by another of his horsearchery club mates, Mateusz. Mateusz, accomplished horseman and horsearcher, is working in Turkey training stunt-men for a future historical, Ottoman Turkey, film productions.

In one of his posts, Mateusz writes about the Ottoman and present Turkey equestrian sport known as ''cirit'' and that prior to going to Turkey they, the Horse Archery Club, reconstructed the Ottoman 'cirit' javelins based on the examples found in Polish museum collections, and upon their trials concluded that these slender weapons had been only for parade and not for battle. However, upon seeing the Turkish stable boys performing cirit competitions, Mateusz now thinks that this was quite formidable weapon, capable of piercing 2mm steel plate from a distance of 15 meter, while from a distance of 30 meters Turkish horsemen were able to hit a ball of paper without a problem (Mateusz concludes that the effective range was 60 meters). Nota bene Matuesz writes that present day Turks ride stallions, some mix of Arabian or almost purebred Arabian horses, when playing cirit.

A XIX century description of a cirit game (using English term djerid) played observed being played by the Pasha of Jerusalem and his staff by English officer Lt. W. F. Lynch : "A single horseman would leave his ranks, cross the intervening space, and ride leisurely along in front of the opposite line, when, selecting his opponent, he quickly threw his djerid, or short, blunted, wooden spear, directly at him. The latter, generally dodging the weapon, immediately started in hot pursuit of his antagonist, who, now unarmed, spurred his horse towards his friends, and, to avoid the threatened blow, threw himself nearly from the stead, hanging by one leg .... If the assailed were struck with the first cast, one of his party pursued the assailant; and if successful in striking him, it became his turn to flee from an adversary."

Here you have a photo by Keon-Sik Heo ( World Martial Arts Union - Seoul, Korea - Yong In University) of Bartosz performing feats of horsearchery at Al Faris.

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At the head of this post I attached a work in progress of an Ottoman XVI perhaps early XVII century cavalryman with a 'cirit' javelin (GIMP and MyPaint only )
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Images of cirit players and horses from present Turkey via google images
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Anatolian Horsemanship Committee page has some info, including a page on Anatolian horse sports and an article and diagram of Turkish horse tack etc..
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enjoy - :)

Winged hussar horse - progress sketch

noreply@blogger.com (Dario T. W.) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 23:07:27 PDT

Salve,
days are getting shorter and there seems to be more time to spend engaging in digital painting, so I would like to share a progress sketch of a horse in a winged hussar horse tack (as used in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), including a wing attached to the cantle, koncerz ( 'piercing sword') under the saddle skirt and wild cat pelt/skin underneath the saddle instead of shabraque...
I have several version of this iamge, so hopefully will show them all here in due time.
I used Gimp and MyPaint to get this far :)