Dzieje jednego obrazka - od US Marines do Husarii

Salve
[in Polish]
Magazyn Do Rzeczy Historia 'udostępnił' na necie swoje numery z 2014 roku, gdzie w numerze 3-im zamieszczono artykuł mości Piotra Zychowicza o Polakach na Kremlu.
Pan Zychowicz mocny w Sarmackiej historii nie jest, ergo artykuł mocno kontrowersyjny i bałamutny - zwłaszcza otwierająca artykuł wizja bitwy pod Kłuszynem -  tedy jak to artykuł należało skomentować, i 'znany rajtar' a bloger zaprzyjaźniony  Michał 'Kadrinazi' polemizuje 'rapirem' ( choć może nieco spóźniony ale pewnie lepiej później niż wcale można by tu odrzec) , z opowieściami mości Zychowicza  na swoim blogu.
Jednakże w kwestii  użycia potężnej dawki wizualnych emocji i trafienia w dziesiątkę to okładka tego numeru jest po prostu świetna. [caveat! nie komentuję tutaj aspektów  historycznej rekonstrukcji ilustracji, bo ta jest równie bajkowa a bałamutna jak treść artykułu]

Autor grafiki użył za model słynnego historycznego już zdjęcia, powyżej) a może i samego pomnika wyobrażającego grupę żołnierzy amerykańskiej piechoty morskiej (US Marines) podnosząca flagę zwycięstwa na zdobywanej wtedy na Japończykach wyspie Iwo Jimie.

Te inne z epoki już wcale  słabsze są, eg Jan Sobieski, Husaria.
howgh

Ancient Hatra liberatred!

Salve,
the end of April - and some good news - the special forces of Hashed Shaabi (mostly a Shia political conglomerate  in  Iraq, but also including Iraqi Christians etc) liberated the ancient city of Hatra - reports from the battleground Polish reporter Witold Repetowicz, probably the first Western reporter/journalist  to report from the actual site after the liberation from the hands of the barbarians.  You can see a small gallery in the link above.
In spite the reports claiming the destruction of the site Witold reports that Hatra has not been demolished - and the ancient marvel was taken by the Shia fighters without any shot being fired, thus saving the already damaged city.
Jan has a very interesting article about the Hatrean imagery, Parthians and Kushans..

Project Mosul - reconstructing the damaged art
The articles - eg the tombs of Hatra. but there are many on the academia platform.
Exploring Hatra in.. 1840s
Pictorial Graffiti from Hatra by Roberta Venco Ricciardi

enjoy as I am rejoicing this victory!
Thank you Wiktor for reporting

sketches...

Salve,
some of my olden sketches - reworking them - of the winged hussar theme

A hussar lance - or poczet - of a companion, two retainers and a pacholek with a 'powodny' horse

a winged hussar companion - a screen shot of a sketch in development

A hussar companion with a lance and Nalecz coat of arms

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth coat of arms AD 1593

and another take on my Parthian from Tang-e-Sarvak  - exploring the armor

inside my sketches a drawing by Patryk Skupniewicz

howgh

Mounted combat training - video

Salve,
Arne Koets, knightly mounted combat practitioner and chivalry reenactor, shared a video of his mounted training with lances and swords - very interesting snippet into his and his companion training routine and skill honing. The levels of horse training are praiseworthy and just simply great. Arne's workshop videos .

It clearly brings to mind the teachings of Hans Talhoffer and other fechtbuch masters.

Wurttemberg

Konigsegg

Talhoffr - Personal

enjoy
ps
all images are from the wiktenauer.com (HEMA Alliance) project on Hans Talhoffer.

The feast day of Saint George

Salve,
the feast day of Saint George is today - 23rd of April.
the martyrdom of Saint George - by Martorell

 Medieval miniature - some of the imagery, it is a lovely collection, isn't it?

Raphael's Saint George (again showing them, but I like these two paintings)

Albrecht Durer - a great woodcut by the great master

enjoy

List Eliasza Arciszewskiego - Konie Polskie

Salve,

królewski koń powodny z Rolki Sztokholmskiej

[in Polish]
Eliasz Arciszewski, brat słynnego Krzysztofa, i mąż wojenny ( choć heretyk i banita - :) ) pozostawił był po sobie taki arcyciekawy list  w którym to prosi księcia Radziwiłła 

o konie polskie, najlepiej o konia (ogiera) Podolaka[sci!], dla króla duńskiego, :

Mam ja od dawna skromną teorię, że polskie konie brały udział w tworzeniu się  ras duńskich nowożytnych, owych tarantów etc.. a tu mamy źródło potwierdzające eksport naszych koni do Królestwa Danii. Choć tutaj największą rolę musiał odegrać tamże pobyt dywizji, na którą składały się tysiące koni polskich żołnierzy i ich pocztów,  regimentarza Czarnieckiego w czasie Potopu.

List nie jest datowany, i pochodzi z okresu służby imć Eliasza w wojsku duńskim, czyli gdzieś przed 1632tym, pewnikiem lata 1620te. Temat winien być przedmiotem dalszych badań

pozdrawiam

Gaited, ambling & pacing horses

Salve,
I just received a book by Lee Ziegler titled Easy-Gaited Horses. It is not a new edition, but the 2005 one. I have not read it yet,  but I am looking for any pertinent info on different experiences with horse training as I may do some horse groundwork later on in May. Naturally, I am watching my videos with Parelli and other natural horsemanship trainers that I can get from libraries etc.
Having said that, I admit freely I am very  interested in the easy-gaited horses. I have ridden some pacing horses like the Peruvian Paso, Standardbred, Paso Fino etc.
Loved the experience ...
So today I decided to add some information form M. Horace Hayes' treatise Points of Horse: on the ambling horses from the 1893 edition

Here finally a little note Captain Hayes made about the Peruvian Paso, but I would like to point that obviously he did not know much about the Spanish Caribbean horses, nor about the ambling horses of Mexico (this is before the nightmare of the Mexican Revolution) and Central America, nor Colombia and Venezuela, where pacing horsese were in vougue, still cherished, used and bred.

enjoy

Wielkanoc Easter Christus resurrectus est

Salve,
Christus resurrectus est

Passion and Resurrection by Hans Memling

our 'pagan' Pisanki and the basket of the priest blessed 'goodies' - all our own home painted/made Pisanki (including one by my youngest )- nota bene the 'white sausage' breakfast today (with horseradish and other condiments ).

enjoy

Passion of Christ

Salve,
it is the Good Friday before Easter
MET, my most favorite museum in the US, has this blog article about Passion, analyzing a bit the amazing illuminations by the Limbourg brothers painted for Jean, duke de Berry, devoted to the hours of Passion.
 .

.

.

.

Nota benem the Limbourgs painted this beautiful illumination showing Saint George slaying the dragon, curiously he is using a falchion? langes messer? as his sidearm.

The mount is not white/gray, but a light chestnut or light roan, but as it was typical for the dextrarius opertus it is ridden with the aid of a long-shanked curb-bit. The lance is already broken, and it seems there is no Saint George cross on the pennon, but then we find it painted on the buckler carried on the left arm of the Saint.
The horse's caparison is a curious one, perhaps it is meant to be an animal pelt with scissored adornments. 

Upright red tassel, attached to the covered crouper, it is to be popular  during the early modern equestrian history.
...
ps
do watch Mel Gibson's Passion - IMHO the best movie on this most important part of the Gospels  (here Mel's interview with Ms Sawyer) - I hope the sequel will be made eventually - pertinent interview with Mel.