Veterans Wolf Skin and Hussar Wings

This was my entry into the Aquaterra All-Champions competition. This paper really focuses on one of my biggest interests, and something that, in the end, I would like to be known for; the Hussar Wings. Though I did not win this championship, I'm proud of my work, and the information that I have gathered so far.

Starszyzna Futro Wilka i Husarskie Skrzydła

(Veterans Wolf Skin and Hussar Wings)

"Hetman's Guard" by Wacław Pawliszak

Aquaterra All Champions 2014

Entry by HL Jadwiga Radomyskowa

Overview:

For most people the middle ages is the purview of Western Europe, those whose gaze go beyond familiarity might think of the Middle East or Russia. It is rare that one's historical eye goes to Central Europe, but when it does, one figure stands out above all the rest. The Polish winged hussar. The image is unmistakeable, an armored knight on horseback, leopard fur thrown across his shoulders, lance at the ready, and two huge wings arcing over his head.

For those of in the Society of Creative Anachronism it should come to no surprise that the image commonly held by paintings and media doesn’t quite square up with the reality. I am here today to present my entry for the Aquaterra A&S Championship which covers two of the most iconic images of the Hussar; the wings and the fur over the shoulder.

The Classic Image of the Hussar

The Hussars.

The first recordings of the Hussars being used in Poland is in 1503 when three units of Hungarian Hussars were brought in by the Polish sejem (parliament), they were a transitional cavalry force, while much of the rest of the world was moving away from armored knights, in Poland things were, as usual, a little different. The Hussar originally was a lightly armored fighter, with a huge variety of weapons available to him, the most common being the lance, saber, ax, box and pistols. To say that these warriors were ready for just about any occasion was an understatement!

By the 16^th Century, the Hussars were pretty much Poland’s only military force. Infantry was pulled from allies, or mercenaries. By the late sixteenth century they had become the heavy cavalry that is so often depicted modernly. By the time Stefan Batory became king of Poland in 1576 he had codified the Hussars into a royal guard and for the first time, had requirements for what armor and weapons a hussar must have.

Where there are gaps in our knowledge, it is common for historians to fill in the details, sometimes even deliberately making false claims to further the glory of this unique Polish military unit. We cannot just trust period drawings, and paintings as hussars were so culturally impressive they they were often shown adorned with wings regardless of occasion, time of year, or time in history!

Polish Husaria by Józef Brandt

The Persona

My entry focus on the persona of Mikołaj Radomyski. At this time it is 1569 near the Polish town of Radom. Mikołaj runs a small village to the east, where he oversees farmers, a few merchants and craftsmen. His father, Andrzej is part of King Sigismund II Augustus' foreign delegation, where he helps visiting ambassadors and other dignitaries. He is married to Jadwiga of Krakow, (Jadwiga Radomyskowa), a daughter to lesser nobles who work on the bloodlines of the Kings horses.

As with most men of fighting age, Mikołaj is part of his Majesties army, and has spent time battling against the Ottoman empire, the Rus and helping quell troubles in Pomerania. Currently he is in Lublin taking part in what will be known as the union of Lubin, which will combine Poland and Lithuania into one of the greatest areas at the time. This momentous occasion is why Mikołaj has arrived in all of his finery.

Submission the First: Starszyzna Futro Wilka (Veteran's Wolf Skin)

The Poles were known for their outrageous looks. It was often said that whatever Western Europe was doing you could bet that Poland was doing the opposite. During the 16^th century there arose the Sarmation movement, wherein it was “discovered” that the Polish people were descended from the great Sarmation warriors of history. Now there is little to no evidence to suggest that there is an unbroken line of warriors from ancient Sarmatia to medieval Poland, but that little detail did not stop the Polish people from making it their cultural identity

To that end, there are many stylistic resemblances to middle eastern, and oriental dress and armor. The chief of which at this time was the wearing of predators skins around one's shoulder. It is interesting to note, that while most contemporary paintings of Hussars show them wearing leopard and tiger skins, it was only those of lesser rank who wore them. Veterans, officers and those of rank would wear the skins of wolves, bears and lynx, never leopard or tiger.

16^th century engraving of a Polish Hussar

This may seem odd, considering that the feline skins are far more exotic and rare. Why would you put them on your lower ranked soldier? The answer is two fold. First, leopard and tiger skins would rarely be bought for this purpose, rather they would have been looted from Tarter soldiers defeated in battle. In many ways, these skin, though rare, would be seen as a lesser quality than the others, as they are war bounty from a defeated foe. Secondly, wolves, bear and lynx are known creatures to the Poles whereas tigers and leopards are only ever seen dead and skinned. The soldiers knew of the true ferocity of these animals, and had likely hunted them as well, whereas they only had rumors of how ferocious these “gaudy painted cats” were. Moreover, to wear the skin of a native animal marked a soldier as one with the Motherland. He displayed his might by carrying the ferocious creatures of his own forests.

There is a third, and amusing reason for this strange reversals of rank and skin-wearing. Often the Poles at this time found themselves fighting against the Turks who were well known for capturing important opponents alive and ransoming them back. In more than one occasion it is said that the Turks would go after the leopard clad soldiers unknowingly ignoring their high ranking superiors Thus capturing a man of less importance, and leaving a commander alive.

To make these skins, the animal would be hunted or trapped by men who's sole job was to take down predators for their fur. This was done with bow or spear, accompanied by hounds bred to harry and stand up to these creatures. Upon slaying the animal, it would be tanned by scraping the flesh and fat from the skin, and then the leather would be cured and softened by applying dog and bird dung or by treating it with a solution of barley, rye and stale beer. Once the hide was cured, it was backed and lined with felt or silk, which was glued on, and then stitched at the edges. Finally it would have attachments placed on it, either brass clasps, or ropes to tie it over the shoulders.

The Stockholm Roll – Most famous painting of the Hussars

Submission the Second: Husarskie Skrzydła (Hussar Wings)

It could be easily argued that the most iconic item of a Hussar was his wings. And while they are well known, there is a lot of contradicting information about them. I present to you the results of my research and my conclusions based on that information.

Hussar's originally painted the image of a white eagles wing on their curved shields. This is in reference to the white eagle that Poland uses as her symbol Over time, the wings became actual bird wings nailed to the shields, and then wings attached to the soldiers shoulders, and finally on the back of the soldier as we see today.

The wings I am presenting today are the last of these, and what would have likely been seen in the 16^th century. These wings were made by cutting out a length of wood that was bent and shaped to the simple curve at the end. It would be painted, and adorned with red felt or silk, much brass-work, even gems at times. From there, holes were drilled on it's outer edge, and feathers were attached with resin. Holes and gapes were filled in with down, smaller feathers or plant fibers.

That the wings existed there is no question. There use however, is hotly debated.

There are three main ideas concerning the use of hussar wings:

1. To protect the Hussar from lassos swing by the Tartars
2. When charging, the wind whistling through the feathers would make a hissing noise to scare the enemy
3. To prevent the enemy from guessing the true size of a hussar charge.
4. A symbolic decoration likening the hussars to Angels or as parade gear.

Ironically, in my research and based on period writings only one of these bears out to reality.

1. Lasso prevention: While the Tartars did use lassos, they did not use them against heavy armored fighters. Even assuming the Hussar didn't have the wing, you still have a heavily armored fighter, in a saddle specifically designed to keep him in place during battle. It would be foolish to even try.
2. Noise: This ideas is probably the most popular that I've heard over the years and the one that is least likely to bear any truth. The construction of the wings, even when attached to the hussars back does not make much noise. Moreover, when speaking to a knight, Earl Edward Ian Anderson he mentioned that while big and terrifying, they are quite quiet. Moreover in the midst of a battle, where men and horses are dying, pistols and cannons are being fired and two armies are clashing, you are not going to hear the quiet sounds made by feathers over that cacophony
3. Size of the army: This is another unusual theory However existing records for many army’s all say pretty much the same thing, only shoot when you actually have a target. It was too expensive to waste bullets. However the wings did have a psychological effect They were strange, and unless you had fought the hussars before and lived to tell about it, you would never had seen anything like this before.
4. This is the only use that actually has good amounts of reliable evidence supporting it. There are many period writings of gear that a hussar needs for battle and for parade, and only in parade are the wings and feathers required. Also, during this time, the hussars were all but undefeated on the battlefield, and both their allies and foes liken them to angels.
   
   Hussars at the Battle of Kircholm in 1605 painted in 1630. Note that the hussars do not wear wings.

Cardinal Enrico Gaetaniego on June 22 1596 wrote “[sic] over their backs, attached to the saddle protruded powerful wings of huge bird feathers done.” White this doesn’t tell us much about the construction of the wings, it clearly marks them as being attached to the saddle.

There are a few examples of hussar armor with wing attachments on the back, but these are few and far between, most being later century forgeries. It appears that the only time wings were attached to the back was for paintings, or when a Hussar needed to be in his finery and for some reason, not mounted.

Wings only really could be used for parade decoration. Two wings attached to the back or saddle would not allow for fighting correctly. The placement of the upright poles does not allow a soldier to swing a sword. Only strike with a lance, and shoot his pistol. As the Hussars were so elite it is unlikely they would willingly handicap themselves during battle. Also, there are no written records of the wings being used in battle, only paintings showing this.

16^th Century woodcut of a hussar

Creation

Wolf fur drape

When it came to make this piece of finery I settled on the wolf, rather than the lynx, the bear or a leopard. I did not use a lynx because Mikołaj isn't a small guy and the hide of the feline would look too small on him. He would be able to wear a bear quite nicely, however bear hides do not come cheap and it was not feasible to acquire one at the time. While a leopard might have better represented Mikołaj as a squire, I wanted something that would look good for years, and the faux fur on the market did not cut it for me. So the wolf it was.

I squired the wolf, and carefully cut him so that he would drape correctly on Mikołaj 's shoulders. Then I treated the skin with rabbit skin glue and applied the deep red felt to it, which I then cut with piking shears to create a nice edge. I then added the ties to the wolves muzzle and paw. This is still a work in progress, and I will eventually be adding a second tier of felt that will be hand stitched to the hide.

Hussar Wings

I was gifted the base for Mikołaj 's wings by Earl Edward Ian Anderson who cut them out of pine and painted them. From there, I gathered the other items I would need. As Mikołaj does not have a back-plate, or a horse, I created a plate for him so that he could wear the wings. I covered the back plate with felt, and added brass accents to it, including his device.

I then found modern attachments that best mimicked the medieval fittings. These were peg and post made of brass that are locked in place by a pin.

17-19^th century reproductions of hussar wing attachments.

Then came the tedium, I marked and drilled out all the holes for the feathers, and then arranged the feathers by size so they would look wonderful, and curve correctly. I chose to use turkey feathers because their banded appearance would mimic young eagle wings, and they were legal to acquire I then did the brass-work for the wings, and set in many brass tacks to add a little nicer decoration to the slats. After that, I glued the feathers in place with hot glue. I used this method, in case a feather broke, so that I could heat the area, melt the glue, and pull out the broken feather returning an unbroken one in it's place. Finally I added two red ties to the wings, so that they would be stabilized on Mikołaj 's back.

The Finished Result

Sources

Brzezinski, Richard, and Velimir Vuksic. Polish Winged Hussar, 1576-1775. Oxford: Osprey, 2006. Print.

Radzilowski, John. A Traveler’s History of Poland, second edition. Interlink Books, 2013. Print

Zamoyski, Adam. Poland: A History. New York: Hippocrene, 2012. Print.

Lemnis, Maria, and Henryk Vitry. Old Polish Traditions. Interpress Publishers, 2000. Web. 19 June 2014.

Zamoyski, Adam. The Polish Way: A Thousand-year History of the Poles and Their Culture. New York: Hippocrene, 1994. Print.

Brzezinski, Richard, and Angus McBride. Polish Armies 1569-1696 (2). London: Osprey, 1988. Print.

Brzezinski, Richard, and Angus McBride. Polish Armies 1569-1696. Oxford: Osprey, 2004. Print.

Jadaszewski, Eryk Stefan. Polish Re-enactors Handbook: A Guide to 17th Century Living History in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Lexington, KY: S.n., 2008. Print.

Jadaszewski, Eryk Stefan. Polish Re-enactors Handbook: A Guide to 17th Century Living History in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Lexington, KY: S.n., 2008. Print.

Głębowicz, Witold. "Legenda Skrzydlatych Husarzy - Historia, Fakty I Mity - Inne Oblicza Historii." Inne Oblicza Historii News. Other Faces of History, 2011. Web.