Grabarczyk, Tadeusz. About the armament of the Polish knights once again

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For citation: Grabarczyk, Tadeusz. About the armament of the Polish knights once again, in Studia Slavica et Balcanica Petropolitana. 2021. № 2. Pp. 164-169. DOI https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu19.2021.211

Title of the article About the armament of the Polish knights once again
Authors

Grabarczyk, Tadeusz — Dr. Sc., professor, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland, OrcID 0000-0002-6197-9457; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In the section  Recensiones / Reviews
Year 2021 Issue 2 Pages 164-169
Type of article RAR Index UDK; BBK UDK 94(4), 355/4; BBK 63.3(4)5+68.35 Index DOI https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu19.2021.211
Abstract In the years 2016–2018, a three-volume work «Knight in war, travel and the accomodation» was published in Poland. The author of this trilogy is Jan Szymczak, Professor Emeritus at the University of Lodz (Poland). In the first two volumes, he discussed the armament and equipment of knights in medieval Poland from the 10th to the 16th century. In the first volume, the author deals with defensive weapons, in the second ― offensive. The author paid much attention to the issue of terminology related to weapons. He tries to explain the nomenclature that appears in the sources, to explain the origin of the names of weapons that appeared in Polish. In the discussed books, a lot of space is devoted to issues related to the production and prices of weapons. In the third volume, the author also deals with horses and riding gear. However, on the pages of the book we find not only information about the knight’s equipment, but also a lot of space is devoted to weapons used by citizens, peasants and mercenary soldiers. The reader will also find in this study a lot of information not only about Polish army, but also about armies of other countries of medieval Europe.
On the pages of J. Szymczak’s works, we find not only the parameters of weapons and examples of their use in battles, but he also shows them as an important element of court and religious ceremonies. Although the work is dedicated to the Polish knighthood, in it there are references to ancient cultures or medieval European literature. The work contains a very rich bibliography, including handwritten and printed sources, as well as a very large selection of literature.
Keywords Poland, Middle Ages, knights, armour, weapon, armor, historiography, military history
Full text version of the article. Article language  English
Bibliography

Biborski, Marcin; Stępiński, Janusz; Żabiński, Grzegorz. Szczerbiec (The Jagged Sword) — The Coronation Sword of the Kings of Poland, in Gladius. Estudios sobre armas antiguas, armamento, arte militar y vida cultural en Oriente y Occidente. 2011. Vol. XXXI. Pp. 93–147.

Pyhrr, Stuart W.; LaRocca, Donald J.; Breiding, Dirk H. The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480–1620. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. 80 p.

Szymczak, Jan. Początki broni palnej w Polsce (1383–1533) [Beginnings of firearms in Poland (1383–1533)]. Lodz: University of Lodz Press, 2004. 424 p. (in Polish).

Szymczak, Jan. Produkcja i koszty uzbrojenia rycerskiego w Polsce XIII–XV w. [Production and costs of knightly armaments in Poland in the 13th–15th centuries]. Lodz: University of Lodz Press, 1989. 337 p. (in Polish).

Szymczak, Jan. Rycerz i jego konie [The Knight and his Horse]. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo DiG Publ.; Bellerive-sur-Allier: Edition La Rama Publ., 2018. 313 p. (in Polish).

Szymczak, Jan. Rycerz w hełmie i zbroi i z tarczą [Knight wearing a helmet, armor and with shield]. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo DiG Publ.; Bellerive-sur-Allier: Edition La Rama Publ., 2016. 224 p. (in Polish).

Szymczak, Jan. Rycerz z bronią zaczepną [Knight with offensive weapon]. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo DiG Publ.; Bellerive-sur-Allier: Edition La Rama Publ., 2017. 328 p. (in Polish).

 

Tags: historiography, Poland, 16th century, medieval studies, military history, RECENSIONES / REVIEWS, cultural studies, 10th century, 15th century , 14th century, 13th century, 12th century, 11th century, armament, GRABARCZYK T., armor, knights, Jan Szymczak

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