There was a very entertaining presentation about the charged of the Polish hussars at Siege of Vienna by an English re-enactor...
... followed by a display of remarkable horsemanship by a Polish group.
Apart from the skill of the riders at controlling their (locally supplied) horses, I was struck by the way they were able to aim so precisely with the three-metre long lances. At pretty much a full gallop, with laces crouched and leaning forward in the saddle they were able to keep the lance rock steady and with its point aimed exactly and human-head-sized targets from twenty or thirty yards out. Brilliant stuff and well worth the entry fee!
Did they talk about the function of the 'wings'? We were discussing it at our club the other week, and it was mentioned that they were supposed to have a psychological effect, producing a noise as the cavalry charged en masse. But we weren't sure about it. I notice that the re-enactors have smaller wings than some miniatures or illustrations tend to show.
ReplyDeleteThey mentioned the idea of the wings producing an intimidating noise en masse. There was also a passing mention that the taller wings were a later, 18th century style.
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