Here is the knight's law:
Listening to words, he owns himself, But, as best he can, Sifters them, creating his words, Graceful, for good reason;
He is held in high esteem by the wise, Rewarded for sweet lightness, And he is indifferent
To the ignorant and the ignorant and pride
For no reason
Do not give in, but happen to him
Determination to show - it will show, And everyone will glorify him.
(Canzones. Dante Alighieri)
Amazing things happen, people write on "VO", no "Comedy Club" can compare. Well, for example, there was recently a pseudo-historical article written on the principle "I heard a ringing, and that's enough." And then a "harmful echo" appeared in the appendage to it in the form of the same comments. A certain "exploit (just exploit)", for example, wrote this: "The knights had a complete paragraph in general. These are our foolish women who dream of a prynets on a white horse, but in fact the prynts went in armor and relieved them in need, so they had a hole in their armor so that urine would drain, and from … and they were right in the armor, and nothing more in the evening, perhaps, they somehow cleaned themselves, although they definitely did not wash, maybe they wiped themselves somehow. But they definitely didn't wash. And imagine a prynza horse, …, …, and the horses washed only when they crossed the river."
Knightly battle. Such was her in the era … Julius Caesar was represented by an Italian artist from Naples. It is from there that the manuscript "The Ancient History of Julius Caesar", dated 1325-1350, comes from. And this tome, containing many similar miniatures, is in the British Library in London. The miniatures are skillfully made, which is why this source can be considered not inferior in importance to the famous "Bible of Matsievsky".
And I was especially touched by the "hole in the leg in the armor" (is it necessary, what kind of imagination does a person have ?!) so that the urine would drain? To find at least one such armor with a "hole", by God, this man would have gone down in history.
But not a single piece of armor "with a hole on the leg" has been found among the samples that have come down to us. Such connoisseurs represent some idiots of people of the past, by God. He would have sat astride a horse, eased himself into his pants and … would have ridden on it … Just galloped! And I would have looked at him, how great it would have turned out. And even more so in armor … Is that said? "If you don't know for sure - shut up!" But no, for some reason I want to expose myself to ridicule in front of the whole world. It's just not clear why …
Of course, this miniature goes beyond the chronological framework of the theme, but it is significant in the sense that it depicts Italian soldiers in 985-987. and as you can see, they practically do not differ from the Franks, or from the Saxons, or from the same Vikings. Found in the Vatican Apostolic Library manuscript.
Meanwhile, as people at all times, and even to know and even more so, strived to live with convenience and comfort. Europeans adopted a lot in the East during the crusades, so for all, let's say, the originality of medieval culture, to represent it so primitive means only to demonstrate their complete ignorance. Or a social order: "They are all bad now and were the same in the past."
But this topic is for a separate article and not one, with the involvement of a solid source base. Here, it should only be emphasized that culture in the Middle Ages developed especially quickly where its centers remained from the times of Roman rule, that is, in Byzantium, which remained after 457 like an island of civilization in the middle of a raging sea of barbarian tribes, and … in Rome itself. Yes, he fell, but … passed on to his destroyers both the Christian religion and Latin, and later the famous Roman law, which formed the basis of the legislation of almost all the barbarian kingdoms of Europe.
"The Sicilian Book in Honor of Augustus", 1194-1196 (Civic Library of the City of Bern). Very traditional, although not very high quality images of warriors in hauberkas and domed helmets.
It just so happened that it was Italy that ended up at the junction of trade routes that went in the Middle Ages from Asia to Europe along the Mediterranean Sea, and its natural conditions contributed to the development of wine and butter making, which were very important in the Middle Ages.
Surprisingly, many miniatures of Italian manuscripts are illustrated with miniatures of very poor quality. We can say that in some ways they even resemble modern children's drawings. For example, here are two illustrations from the Rusticus of Pisa manuscript, which depict knights fighting. It was written in Genoa around 1225-1275, and is in France, in the National Library in Paris. Pretty funny drawings, aren't they? What is the first, what is the second …
You might think (if you look at this whole book in its entirety) that the illustrator no longer had any other colors except red and green! But the details of the armor are drawn very clearly!
In the past materials of our "knightly series" it was about the knights and chivalry of the Holy Roman Empire. And Italy was just a part of it at that time, although it always kept itself apart. As part of the empire, the Kingdom of Italy then included the entire Italian state north of Abruzzi, as well as part of the Campagna south of Rome. Its northern borders were roughly the same as those of modern Italy, with the exception of the northern parts of Trentino and Trieste. Venice also lay outside the empire and was not "Italy". By the middle of the 14th century, the papal state, consisting of Rome, Lazio, Umbria, Spoleto, Marshes and most of Emilia-Romagna, also seceded from the Holy Roman Empire.
It can be said that three main themes dominate the history of northern and central Italy from the 11th to the 14th century. First of all, this is the decline of imperial feudal power, the transformation of cities into centers of economic and political power, centers of "power and war" (for example, the wars of the Lombard League and the League of Verona), and the growing territorial power of the papacy, which eventually led to a political struggle between pope and emperor. It went through various phases, from the struggle for investiture (1075-1220) and the German invasions in the 12th and 13th centuries, to the rivalry between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines - the propapal and pro-imperial factions in Italy itself. And at the beginning of the XIV century, the papacy went into "Babylonian exile" in the city of Avignon on the border between France and the Imperial Kingdom of Arles, where it was located until 1377.
Another illustration in the same style from the novel in prose "The Novel of Tristan", 1275-1325. Genoa, Italy (British Library, London) Note the winged spearheads. That is, all this time they were still in use!
Although the 11th century Kingdom of Italy was theoretically composed of a relatively small number of duchies, marches and similar units, in reality the country was extremely fragmented and full of castles built at almost all levels of local government. Feudal military commitments to the distant German emperor were largely formal, while most of Italy's cities had already escaped from feudal control, and became either directly accountable to the emperor himself or to local church authorities. On the other hand, who only did not come to fight in the Italic limits, starting with the Byzantines and Arabs, and ending with the Vikings and Hungarians. As a result, military affairs in the Italic lands were rapidly developing, and in the cavalry tactics of its horsemen, the spear was already noticed from the 9th century.
Now let's turn to sculpture. Here, for example, is the effigy of Mastino II della Scala - the podesta of Verona, on his sarcophagus, 1351. He was buried in a Gothic mausoleum next to the church of Santa Maria Antica, in one of the famous tombs of the Scaligerians - the Arch of Mastino II.
The decline of feudal relations in the countryside continued during the 12th and 13th centuries, with the cities all this time extending their power to the territory adjacent to them. As a result, a kind of agglomeration arose in Italy, in which cities were sources of income, and the countryside was a source of food, and hired personnel. Under the conditions of the development of commodity-money relations, mercenaries became widespread. Horsemen and infantrymen were recruited for military service both in the cities and from the countryside, although the most well-armed infantry, apparently, was nevertheless urban. This was more common in Lombardy and Tuscany than in the rest of central Italy, where the old feudal relationship lasted somewhat longer. Mercenaries also appeared in the papal state very early.
Bas-relief depicting Gillelmo Berardi da Narbona, 1289 Basilica of St. Annusiata, Florence, Tuscany, Italy. What is it good for? Yes, because in the smallest details it conveys the features of equestrian weapons, which were widespread in Italy at the end of the 13th century. He is wearing a typical helmet-comforter (a servilera or bascinet of an early form), in his left hand there is an “iron shield” with a coat of arms. The surcoat is embroidered with images of lilies, but only on the chest. Apparently, it seemed too costly to embroider it all entirely. The legs are covered with patches made of "boiled leather" with embossed images. Interestingly, he has a dagger on his side. A fairly rare addition to the sword at this time, which became common only in the next century.
The discipline in the militias of northern Italian cities was so high that it became a completely new phenomenon in the medieval Western European war, as well as the level of interaction between cavalry and infantry. Only in the states of the crusaders in the East could you see something comparable, and, of course, many examples could be found in the military affairs of Byzantium or the Islamic states.
Tombstone of Gerarduchio Gerardini, 1331). Church of Pieve di Sant'Appiano, Barberino Val d'Elsa, Tuscany, Italy. As you can see, the image on the board is perfectly preserved. All the details are visible, starting from the nosepiece - the bretash, the chains going to the handles of the sword and the basilard dagger, which is not inferior in size to any other sword!
Nevertheless, throughout the 13th century, it was the cavalry that remained the main offensive element in a field battle, while the infantry, even in open combat, still played a supporting role and performed the function of its reinforcement. New was the very widespread distribution of crossbows and mounted crossbowmen, who rode on horseback with the knightly cavalry, but dismounted for battle. The spread of the crossbow in the infantry made this type of troops very popular outside and outside Italy. At the beginning of the XIV century, one of the very important events of this time was the emergence of not only individual mercenaries, but also entire hired "gangs" or "companies". These were just the famous condottieri who fought both in Italy and abroad. Moreover, such "companies" included both cavalry and infantry.
The well-established trade of Italian cities with the eastern Mediterranean also contributed to the faster development and implementation of such "modern" combat mechanisms as various gravity-driven throwing machines (frondibola), and, of course, the first samples of firearms.
And here is this effigy of an unknown knight who belonged to the German Anhald family, and dates from about 1350 (Detroit Institute of the Arts, Michigan, USA). Why is she so interesting? But what is the wonderful performance of the details of his armor and, above all, the leather patch plates superimposed on his chain mail chausses and hauberk.
Greaves.
The handle of the sword with characteristic cross-piece shields that protected the scabbard from water ingress into them, and a cross on the disc-shaped pommel.
At the end of the 13th and 14th centuries, the growing prosperity of cities led, on the one hand, to the intensification of serf building, and on the other, to a change in the tactics of military operations. Now the main forms of war have become city sieges and devastation of enemy territory, with relatively few full-scale battles. In these conditions, the professionalism of the chivalry (and the "bandits", members of hired gangs) was continuously increasing, which means that the value of each individual knight also grew, and their armor also improved. And unsurprisingly, they became more and more sophisticated, ergonomic, and provided superior protection while maintaining freedom of movement.
On the elbows and shoulders there are discs with ties, but the shoulder is covered with “boiled leather” with embossed patterns in the form of leaves and flowers.
Interestingly, the exact same pattern is reproduced on the pillow …
At the same time, in order to somehow emphasize their wealth and not overload themselves with "iron", the Italian knights introduced a fashion for wearing overlaid parts made of "boiled leather" with an embossed pattern, and also gilded, over their chain mail armor! British historians point out that the "boiled leather" armor may indicate the presence of Byzantine or Islamic military influence, exercised primarily through southern Italy.
The infantry in Italy acquired particular importance at the beginning of the 14th century, but then its role declined again, since now its glory passed to the Swiss.
Effigia Thomas Buldanus (1335) from the Church of San Dominico Maggiore in Naples. That is, such equipment in Italy at that time was quite widespread. Here is its graphical drawing, which allows you to see all its details well.
Well, the early use of firearms was an indicator of the rapid technical development, as well as the social development of Italy. The earliest, but far from clear, mention of him came from Florence in 1326, then from Friuli in 1331 and, finally, more accurate, from Lucca in 1341. Although there is information about its use in Forli in 1284, just what it was is not entirely clear from it. Bombards and field guns were common even in such an isolated mountainous region as Savoy, and in many other backward regions of the country, such as, for example, the papal states.
References:
1. Nicolle, D. Italian Medieval Armies 1000-1300. Oxford: Osprey (Men-at-Arms # 376), 2002.
2. Nicolle, D. Arms and Armor of the Crusading Era, 1050-1350. UK. L.: Greenhill Books. Vol. 1.
3. Oakeshott, E. The Archeology of Weapons. Arms and Armor from Prehistory to the Age of Chivalry. L.: The Boydell Press, 1999.
4. Edge, D., Paddock, J. M. Arms and armor of the medieval knight. An illustrated history of Weaponry in middle ages. Avenel, New Jersey, 1996.
5. Held, Robert. Arms and Armor Annual. Volume 1. Northfield, USA. Illinois, 1973.
