hussar wing attachments

zippy · Post by **zippy** » Tue Jul 23, 2002 2:33 am

i am having problems finding good pictures of
the hinges for hussar wings
i cannot find a list(at least not a documentable one) of what was used of what was used to construct the wings either
anyone who can point me in any direction?

Petranella · Post by **Petranella** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 2:41 pm

The osprey book Polish Armies (1) : 1569-1696 (Men-At-Arms Series, 184) has a good picture of how the wings are attached. It's also realtively cheap.

Petranella

zippy · Post by **zippy** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 5:56 pm

i am afraid that is the only documentation i can find
and i own it
sadly if you have any other books that would be wonderful
most of the books i find are in polish

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 11:08 pm

One way is with a U shaped bracket. The base of the U was attached to the backplate and the sides of the U had a hole each. A bolt would go through the bracket side, then the wing, then the other backet side.

Wasilkowska's book has a decent illustration or two. You might also follow some of the links on:

http://www.kismeta.com/diGrasse/PolishHorseArtillery.htm

Ron

muttman · Post by **muttman** » Thu Jul 25, 2002 9:33 am

The only documentation I have is from the Osprey book as well. Examples I have seen are as Ron describes tho.
That is a really spiff looking style of armor and I would love to see some of it on the field. It is a project a friend and I have rattleing around in our heads for some time in the future.
Good luck with it and post pics of your progress if you do it!
John

zippy · Post by **zippy** » Thu Jul 25, 2002 6:21 pm

the website you recommended is
amazing
i really appreciate it
i hope to have the wings and lance made by october i will post pictures when i finish them
but it will be a bit longer till i have the breastplate completed
thanks for the info
and please keep it coming

Alexi · Post by **Alexi** » Fri Jul 26, 2002 12:02 pm

there is a book called hussaria for sale thru poleart, I would sugest buying it. The wings are light wood bent into a j shape. Ealy on they were attached to the saddle then latter with attached with braces and pins. I'll look for pictures.

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Fri Jul 26, 2002 10:42 pm

Zippy,

Where in the world/country are you? The site I pointed you to is based in DC/MD/VA but there is a reenactment event at Ft. Malden (Windsor, Ontario, Canada -- effectively a suburb of Detroit, Mich) where some of use will be next weekend. Probably not a hussar, but a couple of pancerni and dragoons. There is a third contingent in the NYC/CT area.

There are two decent books available on hussars, one by Zygulski and the other by Wasilkowska. Z's is about $45 and has about 200 pictures, but is mostly in Polish. W's is about $30 and has about 100 pics , but is half in English. Both available through www.polartcenter.com.

Also possibly of interest is the Sienkiewicz Trilogy consisting of "With Fire and Sword", "The Deluge", and "Fire in the Steppe" available as VHS videos or books (the author won the Nobel Prize in Literature). Available from the source above.

Ron
XVIIc Polish pancerni

FrauHirsch · Post by **FrauHirsch** » Sat Jul 27, 2002 12:24 am

http://www.angelfire.com/mn3/pnaf/WingedHussars.html

I got a bit curious about the wings attached to the armor. The above link shows how.

While looking on the various sites, I noticed that the wings attached to armor was all late 17th c. The primary sources for 16th c showed the wings attached to the saddle. I wonder when it changed over. I had been told a long time ago by a 16th c military historian that the wings started as being attached to the saddle because they used ropes and lassos occasionally when the Poles fought each other. The wings made it impossible to pull the rider down off the horse without pulling the horse down. I have no idea when the wings started being in use.

It was an interesting comment and I have no idea about where he got the info or if it is correct, but the guy is an amazing 16th c military historian and I've never found him incorrect with any other fact for that era. It might be something to look into depending on if you are doing 16th vs late 17th c armor. There may possibly be a difference.

Juliana

Alexi · Post by **Alexi** » Sat Jul 27, 2002 7:23 am

the change coincide with the general adoption of the breast plate, late 16th century and early 17th century the Hussaria were wearing mostly maile. The poles were not the ones using the laso, but there friendly neighbors the Tatars. I have heared that they actualy picked up the practice of wearing wings from the turks, but have never seen a picture. Oh yeah the 2 wings was a fairly late improvement. When attatched to saddles they were always single wings, and during the begining of the segmented breast they were single wings.