Take a Deep Breath...

http://www.st-max.org/ae-backslash.htm

This article got me thinking when I read it awhile back. Now, I am not refuting what appears to be the overall premise of the work (that slashing on the back of a landsknecht Wams/doublet appears to less common than a lack of slashing), but a friend of mine did find these examples – S.M., you know who you are! *grin*

I am webbing the images, along with some of his notes, because I recently stumbled across the letter containing them again while cleaning out my e-mail inbox and I want to keep it handy for future reference.

Besides, I always like the possibility that further discussion may come of this post!

BTW – My friend knows the difference between a Wams and a Ledergollar, and is citing these as specific examples of the WAMS being slashed. After all, it was common for the Ledergollar (the leather-vest-like outer layer) to have slashing on the back. I have inserted the images in the text below in the same order he originally cited them as attachments.

From S.M.:

I stuck to images of soldiers in context and there is a mixture. The tendency seems to be men wearing un-slashed wams and slashed ledergoller, but there are some slashed wams and some
un-slashed ledergoller. I think the reasoning behind the choice would need much deeper exploration.

( Cut for your sanity, and for BIG images... )

Additional images in these sources:

From _The Renaissance at War_ by Thomas Arnold
pp. 151

From _GSLW, 1500-1550_
Niklas Stoer
pp. 1316, 1323, 1343

From the Dover version of The Triumph
pp. 92, 99, 103, 126


Oh and as an aside, I came across this as I was looking for the plural of "goller" (never found that):

The following is from a 1488 inventory of the weapons held by peasants in a south German territory:

Der alt Cunrat Zick ain arbrust
ain bantzer ain brust ain goler
ij hensthüch ain hellen parte_
und but ain hoff hant ain sun

Proposed translation:
Old man Conrad Zick has a crossbow, an armor breast plate, ain brust?, ain goler?, two gloves, and one halberd. He works a farm and has a son.

Pretty well armed peasants..... I am not sure where the rest of this inventory is to be found.

From: Textile Conservation and Research. A Documentation of the Textile Department on the 20th Anniversary of the Abegg Foundation.
Bern, Schriften der Abbeg-stiftung, 1988

As mentioned in my entry on men's knitted hats from this same book, this entry deals with a set of clothing from the Berne Historical Museum. The clothing was originally attributed to Andreas Wild von Wynigen, who fought in at least one battle in 1499 (Dornach). However, the clothing has since been reexamined and it has been determined that this is more likely a reproduction by other members of the von Wyningen family - specifically a grandson who was a tailor and who may have made the set as a 'historical costume' for himself.

There were so many photos to take of the Wams (doublet) and Hosen (pants) that I split it into two entries in an attempt to not overload the usefulness of the photos and to make future use of these sources easier.

This post is image HEAVY...consider yourself forewarned.

( Onward, to the Wams! )

Back to the Hosen...