Kapalin husarski - winged hussar war hat

 Salvete Omnes,

today is the 420 anniversary of the momentous battle of Kircholm (1605). I have written about Kircholm many times (please, be so kind and check labels). 

Today a word or two about the war hat found to have been used by the winged hussars(companions and retainers). Typically we associate the winged hussars lancers, especially the companions, with a helmet known as a szyszak (shishak, shishaq). Naturally during the period of late XVI and early XVII century the lancers wore a variety of helmets, and a kapalin war hat was one of them. 

Note that war hats or kettle hats were in use since the early Middle Ages, and even as late as 1630s Swedish modern army had kapalin war hats in their panoply, especially the cavalry, albeit their were often blackened.

winged hussar carrying a lance and a kapalin war hat

Polish museums, eg Krakow National Museum, have a collection of these helmets, also in Belarus too, perhaps in Lithuanian and Ukraine as well.

a 'kaapalin' from a Belarusian museum, placed on a chain mail shirt 

National Museum in Kielce has a very nice example of these kapalin war hats used by our hussars. 

Also, Museum Ziem Wschodnich-Lublin Castle   has  a well preserved example of Polish-Lithuanian cavalry kapalin war hat.

more photos of the helmet on the museum website.

So perhaps some of the boys who charged the Karl IX's Swedish army wore the kapalin war hats, a popular helmet with some companions and many retainers through 1650s.

enjoy

Valete

Krzysztof Dorohostajski, grand marshal of Grand Duchy of Lithuanian, in Krakow 1604

 Salvete Omnes,

yesterday or on the 4th of December but in 1604 AD, the rulers , many lords, magnates and common citizens of  Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth came to the capital of the realm - i.e.,  Krakow (Cracow), to greet and welcome Constance of Austria as the new wife  of our king, Sigismund III. Constance would wed and be crowned as queen-consort of the Polish-Lithuanian realm.

The Krakow entry was commemorated in the fabulous scroll painting known as the Stockholm Roll - this name is due to the fact that the Swedish king  had the painting taken from the Warsaw Royal Castle in 1655AD and it had been stored in Sweden until returned by prime minister Olof Palme in 1974. 

One of the officials depicted in this gouache painting is senator Krzysztof Dorohostajski vel Dorohostayski (Leliwa coat of arms),

 who was the grand marshal of GDoL during this time. 

Dorohostajski is dressed in a Spanish or Italian dark costume of the period, holding his staff of office

Pan Krzysztof, an authority on war, law and horses, is riding a bay or rather a  chestnut horse, presumably a stallion, himself being a famous writer of a horsemanship treatise, Hippika,  published in 1603, and formerly a winged hussar companion and at that time a captain of  his own winged hussar company. He would participate in the wars against Sweden and Muscovy until his passing in 1615.
Dorohostajski horse's tack appears to be very splendorous and exquisite, gold pieces on the black background, with gold or gilded stirrups.  
The court marshal of GDoL, Piotr Wiesiolowski (Ogonczyk coat of arms),

riding on a chestnut stallion next to Dorohostajski, is dressed in a prevailing then Hungarian style of  costume, his horse furniture more like of the winged hussars, and he has a sword under his thigh.  All gilded and ornamented with precious and semiprecious stones and perhaps pearls. 

                                                                                              ***

Nota bene our then king and groom, Sigismund III Vasa, is depicted as mounted on a dark chestnut stallion 

and his bride and queen to be, Constance of Austria with her royal entourage in the carraige: her mother archduchess  Maria Anna, her sister Maria Christierna and king's sister princes Anna. 

enjoy

Valete

Domany - 22 .02.1655 AD

 Salvete Omnes,

it was yesterday, but in 1655AD, with lots of snow and wind when during the Ruso-Polish war of 1654-67 AD the Grand Duchy cavalry division commanded by 

Aleksander Hilary Połubiński, Jastrzebiec coat of arms, engaged the Russo-Cossack division under

knyaz/kniaz or duke Yury Ivanovich  Romodanovsky,  and    the winged hussar company (according to their roll a 100 companions and retainers officially) under Jakub Teodor Kuncewicz (Labedz coat of arms)

of this Lithuanian division attacked with lances and  broke, in frontal charge, 3 companies (rota) out of  circa 900 strong Muscovite pike-musketeer  infantry regiment  at Domany (near Mohylew or Migilev in present day Belarus), an epic feat of arms.

Polish warriors killed and wounded many Muscovites, captured the artillery, wagon train and many soldiers, while some Muscovite  along with their commander prince Romodanovsky escaped to Mogilev, where there was Russian command.

from dr Sikora's Favebook page

[in Polish]
z wczorajszego wypisu na Fb mojego druha Radoslawa Sikory wzmianka o Domanach, z moja grafika - link do artykulu z Kresy.

ps

let's go Polish and other EU farmers in their protests. 

Valete

Recenzja Husarii potrzebna

 
Salvete Omnes,
[in Polish]
[zaznaczam a priori to nie reklama!]
Wydawnictwo Znak wydało właśnie imć Radkowi Sikorze książkę o naszej najsłynniejszej jeździe, owych strasznych wrogom kopijnikach epoki staropolskiej czyli o husarii.
O samym wydaniu książki pisałem na blogu parę dni temu.
                                                     *
Jak już pisałem zrobiłem do tej książki rekonstrukcję-grafikę z pocztem 3konnym plus wydawnictwo wzięło ode mnie pewną liczbę  już wykonanych starszych moich rysunków a grafik, co jest kroplą w morzu ikonografii tego dzieła, jako że praca jest bardzo bogato ilustrowana, choć głownie zdjęciami rekonstruktorów, obrazów, rycin i obiektów etc autorstwa Marka Kalisinskiego i Radoslawa Szleszynskiego. Tutaj z smutkiem dodam, że   książce nie ma spisu ilustracji[sic!].
                                                   *
Ciekawi mnie czy ktoś z badaczy et fascynatów wojskowości staropolskiej dokona czy planuje dokonać recenzji tej pracy?

 Dlaczego pytam?

Pytam o recenzje dlatego, że IMHO jest to książka, która w swym zamyśle i wykonaniu a sposobie prezentacji tematyki historii et splendorów husarii celuje w zajęcie czołowego miejsca wśród już wydanych publikacji typu 'całościowego'  lub 'przekrojowego' o naszej husarii, być może pozostawiając w tyle takie dzieła jak ospreyowy 'Husarz' imć Brzezińskiego, 'nieśmiertelna' ''Husaria'' mości panów Cichowskiego i Szulczyńskiego, czy śliczna 'Husaria polska' prof. Żygulskiego jr. etc.

ps
dodam ze smutkiem, ze nie znam zaprawdę dobrych recenzji poprzednich książek mości Radka, znacie waszmość państwo jakieś?

Valete & Khoda Hafez.

in the spirit of Kluszyn 2010 (Klushino)

salve,
 today's little drawing of a charging winged hussar (true,  I'll have to add the wings later on)  - I hope I am showing here  the process of lowering his lance  the  while his rumak (war steed) is in full gallop... seconds before hitting the target.