The Winged Hussars are the last cavalry in European history to fight in a chivalrous manner. The Polish hussaria have a long, rich and glorious history. The image of the Polish hussar, adorned with wings, which has taken root in the public consciousness, in fact, refers only to the last two stages of its existence. But the most important thing is that an incredible number of myths have been created around the trademark element of the Polish hussars' equipment - the wings. Why were they really needed?
In order to answer this question, you will have to learn a little more about the Polish hussars that they are "elite" and very beautiful. However, it's worth starting with popular myths. The first is that the wings performed a protective function against saber strikes or throwing a lasso. The second was that the wings made a characteristic noise and frightened the enemy's horses. So, with regard to the lasso. Here, the wings not only will not protect against pulling out of the saddle, but vice versa, will contribute to it.
Now let's touch on the myth of protection against sabers: Polish hussars wore metal shells and chain mail until the 17th century, which already perfectly protected from a saber strike. Moreover, lances, arrows, firearms and cavalry spears were the main means of defeat for the hussars.
As for the second popular myth, feathers do make a specific sound at high speed. However, there is one big and fat "but": the sound of horses' hooves at a gallop will most likely drown out the whistle of feathers. To this should be added the whistle of air around the rider and horse breathing. However, something similar is mentioned by contemporaries of the use of winged hussars, however, not from among the cavalrymen, but from among the travelers who only saw Polish noble soldiers from the side.
So why were wings needed? In fact, the fashion of decorating oneself with feathers was widespread among cavalrymen in the Middle Ages and early modern times. For example, many wealthy Frenchmen decorated their shields and helmets with ostrich feathers. But in Turkey, the Balkan region and Hungary, riders very often placed on their shields either several feathers, or a whole wing of a bird of prey. It was believed to be beautiful.
And here we are most interested in the Hungarian cavalry, which, in addition to long spears, was armed with shields-tarches of a very specific trapezoidal shape. The Hungarians were very fond of attaching the cut off wings of eagles and falcons on their tarches, positioning them in such a way that from the side it seemed as if the rider was hiding behind a wing. In the 15th century, many of these horsemen were hired in Poland. It was from them that the Polish nobility adopted the fashion for decorating uniforms with feathers.
At first, the Poles, like the Hungarians, decorated only their shields with bird wings. However, in 1577 year Polish king Stefan Bathory carried out a reform of cavalry equipment, as a result of which there was a final abandonment of the old knight's shields as unnecessary: from bullets were not protected by the shields, and the cavalry, professing the battle of "knightly knuckles", at that time in the region almost did not remain, except for the Polish hussar.
The Poles were able to abandon the shields, but not the feather decoration, which, apparently, was very popular with the local nobility. There were also ideological reasons for this. The fact is that in the XIV-XV centuries, feathers were mainly decorated with "wild horsemen" recruited from among not too civilized peoples (according to Europeans). For example, this was Turkish Delhi. At the end of the 15th century, a myth was actively formed in Poland that the Polish nobility traced their ancestry from the ancient Sarmatian horsemen. Of course, the Poles of that era had no idea what exactly the ancient "wild" and violent Sarmatians looked like. But they saw no less "wild" and furious by the standards of the Poles Turks and Hungarians in feathers. That is why (most likely) such decorations seemed to them very “Sarmatian”.
>>>>Ideas for life | NOVATE.RU<<<<
Thus, almost immediately after the reform of 1577, the very wings appear on the armor or saddles of hussars. At first, they relied only on the most noble warriors. However, already in the 17th century, absolutely the entire Polish hussaria, including the servants (combat servants on horseback fighting next to the master), adorned themselves with wings. In fact, the wings of the Polish hussars are nothing more than an ornament that has become the hallmark of the last knightly cavalry in Europe.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about who or what made the knights climb the wall first during the assaultif death awaited ahead.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/250621/59518/
IT IS INTERESTING:
1. A country where there are no unemployed and poor, and gasoline is cheaper than water
2. Why do American men wear a T-shirt under their shirt?
3. How many liters of gasoline remain in the tank when the light comes on (video)