Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Interesting woodcut re Ottoman Turks at war


Salve,
again scouting the Net I came across this interesting later XVI century German woodcut showing 4 Ottoman horsemen escorting a very strange but triumphal procession. We have captured Hapsburg soldiers, identified by two headed black eagle on a first flag, showing to the observing, presumably, Turks their colors, weapons (one weapon looks like a long sword of the landsknechts) and finally comrades' severed  heads stuck on pikes and swords.
Head cutting is nothing new within the warrior cultures of the Eurasia, Africa, Oceania and Americas.
This particular processions resembles reported parades of cut heads and scalps on sticks and spears  within the American Indian warfare ceremonial and ritual during XVI-IX centuries.

1 comment:

  1. Nice catch !
    If I'm seeing right some of those severed heads sport a scalp-lock and a moustache... - perhaps these belong to slain hungarian hussars ?

    Cheers,
    Samuel

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