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    Published: 2017-11-28
    Vol. 30 (2017)

    The Hussites or the Tartars? The Secret of the Depictions of Helmets in the Battle Scenes of St Hedwig’s Altarpiece in the Bernardine Church in Wrocław

    Olgierd Ławrynowicz , Wojciech Wasiak
    Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae
    Section: Articles
    DOI https://doi.org/10.23858/FAH30.2017.009

    Abstract

    St Hedwig’s Altarpiece, or the so-called: „Bernardine Panels”, was created c. 1430-1440. The panels depict the Mongol (Tartar) invasion and the Battle of Legnica in 1241. All warriors are armed in accordance with Western standards of the time when this work of art came into existence. The Tartars can be recognised by their coat of arms and the stylization of helmets and offensive weapons. The heraldic charge of their army is a pointed hat or kettle hat with a long spike. Not only this Tartar sign but also kettle hats used by the Tartars were recognised as „typical Hussite hats”, despite their different form and curved spikes. A supposed aim was to make the viewers associate the Tartar invasion with the Hussite threat. In fact, we do not know any specific hat or iron hat that can be considered as „typical of the Hussites”. Much earlier scenes of the Battle of Legnica from the manuscript Vita beatae Hedwigis from 1353 show the same way of stylization of the Tartar helmets. There is no reason to assume that spiked iron hats from the Bernardine Panels are somehow connected with the Hussites. The spiked hat pictured on the banner is similar to late medieval Jewish hat. It can be recognized as a symbol of religious dissenters or peoples of the East. According to the analysis, none of the forms of kettle hats or hats shown on the Bernardine Panels can be reasonably considered „typically Hussite”, either with regard to arms or history of clothing and textiles.

    Keywords:

    battle of Legnica, St Hedwig’s Altarpiece, Tartars, hussites, Silesia, iron hat, kettle hat, spiked iron hat, spiked hat, Jewish hat

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    Ławrynowicz, O., & Wasiak, W. (2017). The Hussites or the Tartars? The Secret of the Depictions of Helmets in the Battle Scenes of St Hedwig’s Altarpiece in the Bernardine Church in Wrocław. Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae, 30, 95–108. https://doi.org/10.23858/FAH30.2017.009

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