#367 Medieval Russian Armies 1250-1500 (2002)

8/9/2019 #367 Medieval Russian Armies 1250-1500 (2002)

1/47

Medieval Russian

Armies 125 15


2/47

published In G ,al Bnlam In 2002 b\I Osprey

s

Court. Chapel Way, 8011ey. Oxford 0X 2 9lP.1Jnl:.a1 v X

002 OsPl lY Publishing lid.

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the

p(Iorwr. en perm


3/47

MED V L

USSI

RM ES

125 15

THE MONGOL ONQUEST

OF

RUSSI

1237

0 GO I

Amen I h Ru ian principality f Ryazan.

hr

e a

la l

r th n rth-\ l

rn

a n d .

outhern parts

of I h

untr

lay in r uin. th im < der mad th ir a r

va ;

tiS w

aldl

Ru ia n

p ;ncipalities

dley over am Ii rtifi

d lOwn

and

ffici

n t

armi

,RlI ian

armi Ii

und th

m

Iv. gr a utnumb r d n

d1

field

of

baLtl , and I h r wa no unit of pllrpO m ng d1 Ru sian

prin

,I n th e

past

th

y

h ad f ou gh l Wal f i

u d a l ;

bul.

no w

for

th e fi r

l

ti m ,d 1 M n

01 horde introduc d

a ne\

kind of

warfare

bas d

upon th

lOW

d

truClion

of an

n

m

nati n

and

its culLUr .

In

fa

I

it wa virtuall imp ibl

fo r

an

13th

ntu

Eur

p

an

t

grasp

I h cal

o f th at tr ph ,

and

O lmd r st an d h ow

hi nativ Ollntl

and its l

wn h d lIap d.

M

hil Ru

i a

. c upi d b th

Mongol.

r d t

pa mbul., and

in

many ar

. d populal.

d, aft

r

which Lh

Mong ,. iwarm d n

t

ravag

asl

m

EUfOP .

The

scop of

rhis rlisaster

is

confirmed b archa 01 gi

a] rese

rch,

and il is

g neraJ1 ag r d

that

th e

Mongol in io n

h ld

back the

d

v lopm nL o f

Ru . ia

Ii \ up 1 0 twO

enlu,; , h invasion

aJs

had

an

impa t

up

n

th

military

ar

in m dieval Ru ia,

alLh

ugh r lati el

lil.u i

kn wn ab

ut

th e

military hi t

ry

o fR u ia fr m

I he

13th

I

tl

1 Lh

c ntury. whi

h i

r

pr

. n d

as

om thing fa

dark

ag

3

hur

h

Mongol

fVladimi a

\

\ .

rand

P ;nc

.

J327

HRONOLOGY

25 6 Rul of rin

rand P ;n

1276-1303

Rul of

Plin

L 0

1 2 41


4/47

Russian states, c.1270.

Note that

Polotsk

15

and

Turov-Pinsk 22

were th e only

Russian

principal i ties which did

not

recognise

the

overlordship

of

the Mongo l Golden Horde:

1 Beloozero

2 Berestie

3

Chemigov

4 Dmltrov

5

Galich

6 Isyaslavl

7

Kiev

8 Kostroma

9

Kremenets

10) Murom

11 Muscovy

12 Novgorod

13 Novgorod Seversk

14 Pereyaslavl

15 Polotsk

16 Rostov

17 Ryazan

18

Smolensk

19 Starodub

20) Suzdal Nlzhegorod

21 Svlzhden

22 Turov-Plnsk

23 Tver

24 Ugllch

25 Velikl Us1yug

26 Vladimir

27 Yarosl8vl,

28 Yurlev

FronfierofGolden Horde

1-

vassal

states.,..


5/47

olanr -

ithuania

. . . .

, I

I

ABOVE The

massive medieval

earth

rampartfl of

Chemihlv,

known as the

ytynets

as they

appeared at

the s tart of the

20th centu , .

Today these rampartfl.

along with the

12

cast

Iron 17th-18th C cannon along their summit, form

the

M.Kotsyubynsky Central

Park of

Culture and

Recreation.

ChemihiY

State

Historical Museum

photograph)

BELOW

Russian

states, 1466.

1) Muscovy, 2) Novgorod, 3 ) P sk ov , 4) Ro st ov ,

5) R ya za n, 6) small principalities, 7) Tver.

f

rn

rand

Prin

of

r

P

land

rea

e rn

nd King

-,n of Unm-i L n.k Tam dan )

burns to

n

o f RIeLS: conCr mauon of

Rus. ian

armi

and

th

l

of

Timur-i

ok

th Ri ka: TimLU 1 a e

Ru ia.

0 Rul

1

Prin vt as Prin

r a t Lit hu an ia in luding w

Ru ianprin

ip


6/47

Mongol Plince Mazovsha burns Moscow

but

fails 10 lake the

Kremlin.

Rule

of

Ivan III VasiHevich

as Grand

Prince.

Defeat

of

Novgorod by Moscow at the BailIe

of

River Shelin.

Marriage

of

Grand Prince Ivan

III

with BYlallline Plincess

Sofia Palaeologos.

Novgorod

annexed

by

Moscow.

Death of Khan Ahmad

of

thc Mongol Colden Horde: Russia

wins independence from the Golden Horde.

485 Tver

annexed

by Moscow.

85-1516 New Kremlin walls built in Moscow.

FiT'St conquest of

the Mongol city

of

7.


7/47

fTom tw o miniature. In

S f ~ v h l u d o v P u l t e r

from

around 127

One

11Iu.tnlte. King

. . .r with

hI.

gu.rd.;

that

he I. apparently

waarlng malt

chau

other right, s o KIng

with two of

hI .

soldiers;

note

th e poInted helmet.

ll aventaUa, n klte-.haped

plannt.-d - lhough such plans could also change

as

eventS unfolded.

Armies still covered

up

to 80km in

one

day,

or 60km if accompanied by siege

equipment.

The

missile-throwing siege wcapons known

before me Mongol inv,tSion becamc even more

widesprcad in the mid-13th cenwl ) , and the

carpcmcrs to build sllch devices at the

sil e

of a

siege

accompanied

an arlllY

all

the march.

This

in

turn

influenced military architecturc with tall

SLOne LOwers gradually replacing th e o ld wooden

ones, initially in

the

south-west and then in

nonhe m

Russia.

Prince Daniil

of

Galich also illlroduced new

elements of Mongol a rm our a nd weaponry for his

cavalry, including chamfrons an d

horse-annour

like that described by

Plano C lrpini. Similarly the heavy

armour

worn

by

the men improved,

the ol d tenn bronj for anllOllr being replaced by dospekh

By

lh e

16th centlll } the latter had come 10 mean a completely new fonn of

mail-and-plale protcction,

The th c en tu ry :

res is tance to

th e ru sade rs and ongols

Methods of combat were similarly changing in northern Russia. T hu s a t

th e battle of the River Neva a Russian mixed force of cavalry an d infantl)


8/47

Russian transport - leaving the first force to be

encircled. After four hours' righting neilher side

ha d won a clear a d \ ~ l I l a g e an d it

was

only

as

evening fell thaI the greater endurance of the

Russians brought them \ictory. Prince Dovrnont

of

Pskov emerged as the hero of this battle,

as

recognised even in the German hyme Chro7 ide

His unit pursued the retreating Teutonic Knights

and eventually reached the B.11lic coast before

returning

with considerable booty.

50011

after th e battle of Rakovor, about a

thousand

German

soldiers occupied scveral

framie ' settlements in th e principality of Psko\'.

Prince

Do\'mo11l

immediately

took a small

number of

men

in

five

boats and att.acked the

enemy on the Rivcr Miropovna, the suddenncss

and speed of the Russian coullleraUack

enabling

Dunnom to defeat a numerically superior foe on

Sl.Ceorgc's

Day,

23 April.

In

1269 th e Masler of tlle T eu to nic O rd er

OIlO VOll Rodenstein. gathered all his aV


9/47

vgorodians with the help o f stone-throwing

A contemporary observer also

the Russians approaching L llldscrona

abundant light arm our and sparkling

1

suppose

he wrote, that they set OLlt

th e

march

in th e

Russian way; which probably

that they

moved with their

armour

played to the cnem) - This

ha d

a u cmendOlls

imp:1Cl.

Meanwhile resist..1.nce

to

the Mongols

had

back in 1252 I\ hen Prince Andrt;j

oslavich led his troops ag-dinsl

the

Tal3rs

ncar

but

it was

not

until 285 that

Drnitrii Alexandrovich

dro\ e

r.lidingTatars

No\ gorodian tcnitory inflicting the

first

defeat

upon th e Mongol occupiers.

e

th

century :

deve lopment

o f

and

army

organ isa t ion

comp lring

th e

twO

regions o f Russian which

complete

defeal b the anny o f Khan

we call

see

similarities in the StnlClurc of

armies

in th e

role

o f infanu1 and

ers, in l3clics, armour lhe lise

of

catapults

siege machines as well

as

a switch 1.0 stone

In fact the evidence indicates a

IIp of military

development

in northern

somhern

Russia following th e Mongol invasion. Clearly a great deal

borTowed from Russia s neighbours.

and

after 277Russian u oops

panicipated in Mongol puniti\c

expeditions

to

the

Caucasus,

and Poland. From 1269 Russian princes themselves began

troops from

rh e G ol de n H ord e but

this does nOI

neceSS


10/47

w bU nl

i d Lh

nn m

nl

ur

p n

po m

an OVE

Dismounted warrlo

salnt

slaying a

dragon f rom whose

belly a

previous victim

then

emerges.

Detail from

a

Russian

carved

wooden cross

made

In

1359. Kremlin Museum,

Novgorod


11/47

llls from an

k::on of

Sillnu:

an d Oletl pn>hllbly painted

14th

century.

Top,

In

boat;

abova

a

with hi s

armed

following.

s hi el ds M il l

a ll l a n

shown as

kite shape.

akov Oallery, Moscow)

SITE Icon

01 Sillnts Bo ; .

Ote/), 1 4t h C probably from

(Tretyakov Gallery,

ZtulO1Uhilw, wriuen Sofonij Rya7.aneLS, meillions

Lithuanian swords, Gcrman

rolits

or short spears,

shiclcls from Moscow, helmeLS of Cherkassk an d

Tatar origin.

and

assorted foons

of

annour. This

ZadQl shill l includes more rcferences to European

wcapomy

Lllall

did .he famous

Ellie

of

Pri u

Igor

wrilLcn much earlicr. The tcrm bail mUl which was

of Arabic origin and refen cd

O

a mail shirt of

large

flauened

rings, was only mentioned

once and it rcmained one of relatively fcw

Turca..Arabian borrowings in

Lhe

Russian milit.uy

vocabulary of lhe post-Mongol period.

The baule

of

Kulikovo Field

is bcliL \'cd

to have

lasted four hours ilnd involvcd numerous

cOlllrolled and disciplined d alry comba S. By tlte

end of the tllird hour lhe lo.longols beg to w,wcr,

yet it was only an att. lck by the Russian Glvaky

reserve which clinched tlle Russian victory - tlley

had been held back

by

Plince Dmilrii lvanovich

for

JUSt such

a

moment.

Surprised by these

unexpecLCd reinforccmems, the Mongols Oed.

Nevcrtllelcss tlle

COSl of

tlle \ictol)

was

very high:

onlyone-telllh of the Russian

anny is

said to have

returned home. Twelve plinces an d 483 noble

boyars, lhe pick

of

tlle army, had been killed - rei>

reseillillg 60

pe r

cent of the Russian COllunanders.

Nobody knows

th e

los..es

among t he c om mo n

soldiers

bUL

doubtless lhe manpower resources of

Russia were badly afTcCled by this battle. Medieval

sources lhat claimed

that

hundreds

of

thousands

of Russian warriors look

pan

are doublless

exaggeraled, as were tlle supposedly

huge numbers of

r-.


12/47

little

drawing

was made In

slK:ond half of the 14th C

shares several

features

with

prev ious Icon painting: a

army

Is

led

by a prince or

wearing the

charac

brimmed hat of the

nobility;

the

hOniemen

ave the

tall, Oriental-style

ted helmets

which

became

universal In later

Russia; and one carries

kite

shield.

anuscript

Archive

of

Historical

fund

N3B1

.no.53, Moscow

of

St.Demetrius

of

from Pskov late

or early

15th C;

the

saint

s archery equipment.

Russian

Museum,


13/47

The

e

tem

side,

wlth

Its

entranceway and

one gale

tower,

o t the

tortreas

ot Koporya, whIch

was

constructed In th e mld15lh

century. IPhotograqph

V.V.Kostochklnal

''\

..

.

.

- .

.;.

-

.

~

r ~

.

-

e 5th c en tu ry :

Or ien ta l I nf luences

ongol dec l ine and the spread

f i rearms

spite such disastcrs as the Vorskl River, Russia

steadily gelling stronger while thc Mongol

Horde

was

in decline. Russian milital)'

uipmelll became c\'cr more Oriental in slyle.

es rcplaced swords, round shields replaced

traditional kile-shape,

and

various Iypes

of

anns

and

armour were adopled. A bailIe

l l s c \ ~ t e s and

Novgorodians in 1455

the last nlltior

combat

in which spear-armed

lry pla)'cd the leading rote; after this lhe

re became the primary cavalry weapon.

equipment

similarly changed with

lhe

of

lighter, higher Asiatic saddles, whips

spurs,

ann

shorter

stirrup leathers

a ricler not only to lUi ll

more

easil}' in

saddle but also

to

use a bow.

Some

of

these features had already

seen in the 12th and 13ul centuries bUI

came

to dominate in the

and

15th. Even in 1500, however, descriptions

of

combat

sound

y traditional: 'Clash

of

spears, crashing

of

shields, helmets drop

and sabres break. arms are clanging, arnors fall

dead

:tnd

he Oower

of

Rl.Issian-Lilhml.llian c:hivall)' who

helped

Vitovl to establish Great Lithuania

\\'ho had also fought under U1C banners

of

Donskoj at Kulikovo Field died in Ihis

defeat. Idcgej then pursued Vitovl as far

Kiev

from which

the emir

extracted a ransom

ile his army pillaged

somhem

Russia.

c. 1l1sing

much devasulliol1 as

the

original Mongol

sion had

done.

In this little sketch

01

a cavalry

battl.

two h.o m.n on th e

v\(;torioua side are hown

wleldln.g a stl1llght sword and a

curved aabre with both hands.

One h.o man In the retreatln.g

army protecU

hlmHII

with

what

appe

. . . .

to

be

so-called

'LIthuanIan p.vl,. , with a

vertical

keel

down

th e tronl.

RlKJz/lonkaya Chronicle, In a

15th-C copy of a 13thC

original.


14/47


15/47

uncovered such leaf-shapcd dart heads dating

from Iht. 131h 10 161h centluies. DIlling the 14lh

the boar-spear was mentioned as a

lighting weapon. ha\1ng been used for

hunting

for celllllrics; hO\\'('\'cr, the largest foml

of

Russian

lighting spt.. 3r did

nOI

change,

and

COlllinued

to ha\e a laurel leaf-shaped blade well inlO t.he

17t.h

celllun.

a t t l e a e

axe and a boar-spear seem t.o have been con

dered the es.o;entiaJ amlS of a foot soldier in lat.e

edieval Russia: one

chronicler id

of t.he

lIsco\it('s who set out. against the Tat.lrs in 1144

It 1 t.he foot.-men were equipped v.ilh clubs. axes

d

boar-spcars'. In fact

1\\ 0

difTercllI tndit.ions

to ha\'e merged in t.ht hislO )' of Ihe batt.le

\ \1ICI1

ol\


16/47

ut and lhn

t

blad

and

mlan

long

2a

5

2

I red d m

Lhru ting. In

til

bltd

Alles

found In

the Ipatevskl

In Moscow

In

1989.

2a Alles from

Novgorod

C

Axe

from

Vladimir

C

Axe

from Novgorod

C

Axe meces 14th 15th C.


17/47

7

8

4 5

o

0

1

f ro m th e Kuban

area,

e State

Historical

Museum,

cow)

from Rldomlla, VOlhynla

14th

or

early 15th C

Hennitage Museum,

from Vodlchki,

l tskaya region,

e

Historical Museum,

from Kiev, 14th-15th

e

tlon

unknown)

from Sebel, 15th

e

Hennitage Museum,

attributed to

Prince

of Pskov, mid-13th

e

orical

Museum,

Pskov)

attributed

to

Vselvolod

Historical

Museum.

of

scabbard

nd om i fm

with

nLinu

d to

h o per

r

14th

h ig h ly d ec orat ed s w ord

of

Ms1lslavlch was

almost

made In

central

Europe

Russian

prince,

p e rh a ps I n

t e t4th

e.

B

Th e tw o faces of th e

0) Th e tw o sIdes of th e

F Th e

outer

faces of th e

scabbard

mounts

e

chapa.


18/47

of

the best pre enled

ieval sabre blades to

be

In Russia was

vated by archaeologists near

it probably dates

f rom the

or 13th century.

The

Arabic decoration

and

on

the Nezin sabre

that

It

was

Import

d

the

Islamic world. State

orical Museum, Chemlhlv)

some

stUI

with

their

oden handles, and decorated

sheaths;

Novgorod,

12th

15th Kremlin Museum.

in P k v

u

b

lhi

imeth

ip

than fun

l i

nal

weap n


19/47

m ie

rdin

h f

W I quil

h

viel

th n

worn

pp

I

m

Mon I p ri d PI

nd

b

winged mac es from

Sakhnovka, Khmelnla

Zvenlgorod: 1-3, 3a)

13th C;

14th

C.

figures In the typ ic al

01 wealthy late

Russian men,

with

a

n o n

t he f ar r ig ht . It

wa s

In Novgorod In 1467.

Museum, Novgorod)


20/47

arrowheads and

bolt

heads

lou nd In

Kremlin Museum

prefi r mili

t ry

indi

ting rn

p

ndclo

r

or red

FORTRESSES

N

SIEGE W RF RE


21/47

lhe

mid-14th century. Ciladels made entirely

of stone came

lalel;

Daniil Romanovich had a ncw stone-built capilal at Kholm as

1259.

Russian wars of

the

13th

to

16th century increasingly focused on

the

and annexation

of l,en;tol1'; consequcnliy, fortified celllres

larly increased in

importance.

A

third of

the

460 l'ecorded campaigns

en 1228

and

1462 involved attacks

upon, and the defence

of, towns.

ring the period of

..he

Mongol

Yoke' various ways

of protecting

itory evolved, depending on local circumstances; lhese similarly

cted lile funclioll

of

fortificalions. Following

the

Mongol invasion

Khan Batu, Tamr midcrs avoided using cumbersome heavy

and

siege

equipment, and

seldom risked assaulling lOwns. If

)' were few

ill number

lhey

contcnted

lhemseh'es with ravaging

lhe

outskirts, bUl if they were slltndc11l1y numerous they might u }

to

a forues.s by

deceplion or

by

defeating

its garrison in

open

bailie.

Conditions

were

different

on lilC north-western and western frontiers,

ere lile

Teutonic

Knights

and

Lilhuanians

often

relied on siege

to take lawns. Hence

there W dS

a large-sc.'lle prOb TIlIllmC of

and

of

assembling

numerous

slone-throwing

machines

from

late 13lh

cemul

onwards. After fortil) 'ing

lheir

capital cities in

the people of Psko\' and Novgorod erecled

mall

foruesses.

along lheir borders.

As wooden and

eanhen

defences became

lete, lllany were replaced by slronger stone stmcUlres. New fortified

were

created in stratcgically

vulncrable rcgions,

including

or)'c, Korela, Oresheck, Izoorsk, Yama and Porkho\'.

Between 1382

and

1426 fireanns began

lO

be used in auack as well as

defcllce

of

Russian fortificalions, alongside existing siege weapons.

walls anc towers were them.reh'es

designed to

allo\\' their

defenders

emplo)'

arquebus

fire,

archery and

crossbows,

but l

was

not

llnlilthe

quarter

of

the

15lh cenlury

that

fircarms really changed

the

of

military

architecture.

The earliesl evidence within Russia

to be

the thickening

oflhe walls of Porkhov in 1430, followed by

rebuilding

of Yam go

rod

in 1448.

During the

second

half

of lhe

15th centUry.

coinciding

with

lhe

of

lhe

Muscovite Slale, cannon became powerful enough

to

stone

walls.

The

first case in Russian history

was

in 1481. during

siege of lilC

Teutonic

Knights' fortress al Fellina. Another new stage

reached

with

the

construction

of

the

strictly

quadrangular

CiL ldel

of

gorod in 1492,

the

first

such

Slruclure in Russia. But as Russian

teclS \,'cl'e genemlly imitating Western

European

tonitications, even

seemed old

fashioned for its date,

and

lacked flanking towers.

\\'eakness

became

vel } apparent when a Swedish force easily

tllred lile llew fortress

only

four

),eal's after i t

had been

buill.

was

thereafter modernised and

slrengulened lO

cope

with

ge warfare based entirely

upon

cannon.

The following years saw remarkably rapid

improvements

in Russian

lilary architcClure. especially in tile sollth,

and

resul ted in Russia

one

of

the

most

advanced countries

in

Europe

in lhis field

of

Nor

is

il a

coincidence

lilal

these changes

took place as Russia

a unified Slate.

They

also reflected

the

fan that

wars were now

gely resolved through sieges w h r ~ in

earlier

times they

had

been

in

open

bauJe.

Th e fortified

tower

at t o t ~

bullt during th e

~

h al f o f

th e 13th o r

fl

.. .

t

hatl of

the 14th

century.

Apart

lrom a fe w

la 98tY

aymbollc st

8tes In major

citIes thIs type

of

Isolated

lower

Wlll

th e tl

.. .

t

form

of atone

fortlfleatlon to be constructed

In Russia

They

appeared

In the

weatemmOtit prinelpaUtlea

probably aa a ault of Central

European Influence and

would

no t be aeen further east fo r

many.yea


22/47

I

r

T i m b e r for t i f icat ions

A distinctive Russian style

o f

foru'css

began

to

appear

in th e 13th and

141.h

centuries, achieving

its highesl dc\ 'clopmcil l in

th e

16tJl

an d

171.h

cCnllllies. The shape of a Russian 10Wl1 was, of

course,

detenlllncd by

its

walls, lowers,

religiolls

buildings an d th e basic COtllOlll S

of

th e landscape.

Up

to

th e

13th

century

any

inhabilcd

site \\Iilh

an y

Conn

o f banier defence

was called a

lawn , but

other

more

specific

terms

gradually

emerged.

These including J meaning a paling or stockade.

and

gorodni farasy and ostrog 1 0

designate certain

types of \\


23/47

tower only came into use in the 16th

centlll Y.

These categories

the comer

to\\ er plus gate.

the round

tower.

the

lour-angled

the two-tiered tower, the closed to\\ cr in Ute centre of a wall, and

ious otbers, Such wooden towcrs dilTered in thcir shapes. purpose,

of storeys, and the ood from which the> were consuucted,

he

number

of towers and their

dimensions

naturally reflected

the

tress s sil.e and illlport l.nce. If the shape

of

the

lauer

followed UlC

of

thc

land, round towers were usually used. If

the

shape of

fortress

was

more geometrical, thcn four-sided towers

tended

to be

because they were not only easier

to

connect

to

the

walls in

manner,

bm

also provided a wider field of fire.

owers were also used for such purposes as storage barns, accommo

churches and chapels.

was, in fact, noml.al for larger fortresses

ve a balcony-like chapel suspcnded over the entrdnce gates: ulis not

helped defend the gate itself but also served as a religious focus

ch alTered the protection of the saims to ule most vulnerable point in

foniriCltion. The largest lOwers incorporated selllry boxes which had

on

all sides, as

well

as railed galleries providing a commanding

over

the surrounding

countl) side,

onress demils are usually divided illlo two groups. The rirsl includes

nsive systems direcuy forming

pan of

the main defensive strtlClUre,

h as

oblol ls

(see below), loopholcs and so on. The second includes

devices such as ditchcs, embankments. etc. which were llsually

around towns and plisons.

he oblam

was a second

fonn

of fr ;lme cOfiStrtlclion above

the

lower

of the wall or tower, although sometimes the upper part of the frame

i ~ e l f could

be called an oblo m In towers

it

was normally built O\ cr

the

upper

surface. whereas walls only had

oblo ms on ulcir

outside

ace. Loopholcs

lOok

the fonn

of

small \\indows

through

which

ule

could

shoot.

their

dimensions

depending on their

choice of

They were, howe\ er, usually

about

m-lOcm (3ins-4ins) wide,

Ule o l ~ i d e ule

lower and lateral edges were

sloped pro\ide

a better

e for shooting. When larger guns weft: inU oduccd the dimensions of

cmbrasures

naturally

eased. sometimes lip to

()

2ins-16ins)

uring the 8th to 10th

deep

moats with

sides had commonly

a vital feature

of

defences, bUL from

IOUl centul) onwards

ramparts

themselves

ame more impona.llt,

reaching 10m

(roughly 30ft-50ft) in

the end of ule 15ul

tury the

whole

northem

reaching

as far

the

Arctic

coaSL

was

e o n ~ r u t l o n of th e Kremlin

or

citadel

of

Moscow

u

It

probably

appeared In

th e

mid-14th

when the fortif ications were stili

made

entirely

0

t imber the only

stone stRIctures In this

scene

ar e

th e

churehes on

th e

skyline.


24/47

incorporated imo the

Russian staw. Dev.:lStating

raids by lhe neighbollling

people of POllloriya res

ulled in U construction of

fortresses even in this

remOLe

region. In addition

to large fortresses, many

monasteries, small ostrogs

and

pogosts

or adminis

trative outpOSts \ erc

erected,

all

of them com

bining to form a powerful

system of defence in depth

to SLOp invasions along the

northern rivers.

The ostrog at

Kola

was

first mentioncd as early as

the

13th century,

and

since

it fonned the vital north

ernmost outpost of Russia

its fonifications were

rebuilt several limes. Even

so, the \valls of such

fonresses continued 1 be made of t imber until the 18ul cenlllry.

normally using a

limber

framework construct ion where

gorodlli

alternated with larnses. Empty bays were again left in the walls of such

fonifications, being uscd to storc food and other supplies, juSt as would

be the case in

IllC

better known Siberian fortresses. Meanwhile most

towers in this nonhcrn rcgion were built

in

thc form of irregular

hexagons with doublcd outer walls.

UStyug was the

ncxt

most important of these fonified northern

outposts. It had first appeared

as

early as the mid-12tJl century,

and

b)'

the 17th centu )' it consisted of

two

pans known as Gorodishche

and

Great Ostrog. These had 24 towers and timber paling walls with interior

defensive galleries; meanwhile a wide moat,

3 5m

(11.5ft)

deep.

proteCled Ust)'ug from the north-casL.

Another

distinctive feature

of

defensive architeclllre in the

north

of

Russian W'.tS

that

many fortresses with stone inner walls also had timber

Ollier walls. One such fonress


25/47

C V LRY 1250 1300

1: Western Russian cavalryman fully

armoured

oyar nobleman from skov

3: South Eastern Russian cavalryman


26/47


27/47


28/47

INFANTRY

1325 14

Dismounted nobleman mid 14th century

2: Infantryman Suzdal mld14th century

3: Crossbowman late 14th century


29/47

ST RN

~ U S S I 375 425

a.v.lrrman. IlIte 4thcentu y

: Mounted

drummer

earty 5th c e n t u y

: Prince in

glided

1II11lOW . late

th

c e n t u y

3


30/47


31/47

MUSCOVITE FIELD ARMIES 1425 1500

:

Cavalryman earty 15th century

: e vy

cavalryman late 15th century

3:

Infantryman earty 15th century


32/47

MUSCOVITE GARRISONS c.14SQ 1S00

:

Dismounted horse archer end 15th C

Musketeer mid 15th C

:

Dismounted officer end 15th C


33/47

Two of the Novgorod

This particularly

par t o f the bri ck

was

built

In

the

C

and

Is

one

of the

towers. t Nicolle

first d

[

} r

n l

ral enl tlri .

o n ~ o s

u

d

mn n

[

rg

r

th

V ar

p

w

r intro u


34/47

massive

Russ an

fortress of

overlooks

th e River

In th e Baltic

coastal

Built

between 1496 an d

it directly

faces

th e

rival

l e o f Hermannsburg on th e

er bank

of

th e river th e

easterly fortress

of

th e

Knights

In Estonia,

Ivangorod mar\ ed th e

frontier.

m y ble

count

rb l n

e whi h

be me

very popuLar. everthl s

d spite

their incr asin

pow r n

ccur c tone lhro\

ing

m

hin

vcmuall prov d

Lmabl

L d a o ii nifi ti

n , nd w

r

up

reeded b

far

re el

t gunpowder w p

n .

FIR RMS

g


35/47

a

I I

r . nam d ak in 3 and

rriag

a

xi

l

d. h

lhe d

\

opm

nl

of

lei

A reconstnlC:tlon of the forti f ied

wooden

town

of Olgov

over

looking

the River Oka, as

i t

would

have appeared

in the

13th

century.

Q.V.Borlseivich)

Sections

through reconstructions

of

the

various

configurations

of

lyn or

timber

paling wall as used

from the 13th

to

16th C, from th

simplest

stockade

through the

more elaborate ostrog

sloping

types

to

the Incorporation

of

scaffolding-framed

inner

works.

O.V.l ymklna)


36/47

through th upper part

t imber wall fort i fication

with

overhanging gallery.

Note

the

cut through the

upper

floor,

e defenders

to

shoot

or

to drop missi les

attackers.

O.V.1 ymklna)

of

a

stretch

of

type timber fortification

two bays f ll led with

or aarth

fo r added

and

two

left empty fo r

by

defenders.

V.1 ymkina)

th ir first t

v rth l

iron

r

enO ,

unpowder


37/47

ReconstructIon 0111 .tretch 01

r1Orod

type timber fortification

with one t imber lower.

O.V.Tymkinll)

Runlan

hand 1lun,

1 3 7 ~ 1 4 5

The

,hon barTel

I. Ilrmly

Intened to II long wooden

~ o e k

by two metallic

bands.

(Stllte

Hl.toriclll Museum,

MotICow)

such fortifications, as in 1 108

the end

of

the l.5th century tyrtJj aki

no longer lIsed by field troops. but were

l used in defence

of

fortifications. The

/JlifJak

Russian plll ...

1 /) Ilfj llkl)

comcs

thc COllllUon Turco-Persian-Arab tenn

or JIl]mk, which originally meal1l a

-pipe uscd as a hunting weapon.

It

may t he n

e been uscd to project

Creek

fire ,

but

soon

c..l.me

to

mean the

earliest

orlighl

or hand-held

gun.

nu word s u n ~ v in the ~ i l e East and

ntually re fer red to a rille. For their par t the Russians even uscd the

fJllfj lIk

for

guns

that were specificall) statc.. ( to be ofGemlan origin,

the

use of an OJiental tenn did not neccss


38/47

e Vyshka and Ryahlnovka

of th e fortres at Old

erected In th e late

century. Photograph

ON LUS O

h abundant milita 0 d m 11-

ontinu d

cupalion.

I, b

ti

n

rmilital) ta li , p ciall p

c n

rnin

hand-t h nd

mbat

in p n

formati

n

during the cond hall' or

ule

4Ul

nllll

Armic

w r e tabli h d 1 d f

nd

h

emir

OILOlI

n t

and l I lh, to ther with a

. tern n f

rtr

s

m I l10tabl in Ih n

rth-

t r th I.Intry

aud

al

ng j

.outhern fronli

r

hr

ughoul th fiddle

g op

fi Id ba tIc,

r

main

d

Ih enlJlll

aUlr

f

cam aigt

and

g neralJ .

d

fi n

d

th ir

UlCom.

I

fonn

.

h n ~ d

wan:b

a prolonged

and La

tin.ll


39/47

r

mbaL

o il

w s

apabililie th tim Lh on

far

Miniature from

151hC

copy of

the lost 13th C RadzJlovs aya

hronicle showing mounted

force attacking the gate

of

town

or

castle


40/47

-

affairs: 'Russian

melhods

ofwJ.rfarc belong to an

intermediate le\ e1 x:l\\leen those

of

the SC),thians

meaning

the Turk.. and Tatars) and those

of

the

Europeans. Scythians only usc lighl wcapons while

the EUl'opeans

ahnosl

exclusi\'el)' uSC hea\')' ones,

We,

in ollr

turn,

usc both kinds quile effecuvely,

We may imitate lhe laclics

of

bOlh peoples.

lhough cannot ouldo lhem.

Compared

to the

Scythians

we

arc much stronger

when lIsing ollr

hea\)'

arms and

almost as skilful as they

arc

when

in llsing lighl arms.

It is

completely the opposite

with lhe Europeans, Thal is why \\ C should use

weapon

of

both kinds againsl our cnemies and

should lake adV


41/47

ngol- alar

r

FURTHER

RE ING

H en T.T. M

111 1 oll-Takin in

Rl

, 125-127 , Harvard

Uhmillirm .

tidies

V

/1

Mar h 19 1)

32-5

Belo\ in.

ki, . . ,

S Rus lIim \loinon hem elw With lhp Rus ian Warrior

aeros tlte Cenlune in Rli

ian

Mo

ow

1 92)

BillingLOl1 j., TIl

leon lLnd

lhe

Axe: n Interpretive Histo oJRu sial1 ulture,

(

cwY

rk 9 )

B

ri

, .

kie Polkovod

i

Xlll Leaders oj

} JI- 7 l 1lllri

J

in Rli

ian (

eh miavsk ,

M. KJl

n l Basil

us:

n p

ct

ian

p liti

al

h jOUrtw{ oj the H lOT)

oj

Id

as,

( l 59) 459--47

rutnm

,R,

The Formation oJA1u

tov)

1304-1613

L

nd

n 1

army of

Novgorod, aided

by

defeats th e Invading

of

Suzdal,

In th e con of the

of

the

Virgin Mary of the

14605

In th e

foreground

spear-armed heavy cavalry ;

also at upper centre

tw o

painted curved sabres.

of

the History

of Ar t

Architecture.

Novgorod)


42/47

n

with a characteristic

eyal Russian

hat

an d

a

substantial crescent

8lle

or

berdlsh,

between

a

of

priests

a nd a n a pp ar en t

of

cltl>lens. Histot )

of

Russian

manuscript,

C . K re ml in Mus eu m,

Dzis I., A,Sherbakov, NovgododlSi Vremen Kulikovskoy Bitvi 1380

Novgorod

Waniors of the

time

of

the Iklule

of

Kulikovo,

1380 ),

in

Russian,

ZeughallsXlI, :; 7.

Esper, T., Military Self-Sufliciency

and

Weapons

Technology

in

Muscovite Russia ,

Slav; : RroinlJ, x.,XV1II/2

June

1969) 18:;...208

Fcnnell,J.L.,

The Emergellce oj Moscow, 1304 1359 (London 1968)

Fennell,J,L.,

The Crisis QJlvlediClJal Russia,

/200 1304

(London 1983),

Fennell, J.L., The Tvcr Uprising

of 3 7:

A Study of the Sources ,

JahbiicherJiir Ceschichte Osteuropas, XV (1967) 161-179

Grekov, LB. F.F. Shachmagollov,

j\llir h/orie; RllS,lkie 7.emJi II Xlll XV IIV.

(The

PiaU oj Hist JIJ; The RlIssia

umlts ill /II X\

umtltries ),

ill

Russian Mosco\\

1988)

Corclik, M.V. Kulikovsby.l

Bitva 1380.

Russki i Zolotoordinski Voini

( The

Battle of Kulikovskaya

1380.

Russian and Golden

Horde

Wan iars) , Zeug uills 1 1992),2-7

Gorc1ik.

M.V.

Mongolo-Talarskoe ZashiulOe Voory.lhenie Vtoroy

Polovini XIV-Nachala XV w. Mongol-Tatar Defensive Armamcnt of

the

ccond

Half

of tllC

XIVth

10

the Early XVth

Centuries ),

in

KlIlik()IIska) {/.

Bitval

Istorie

i

Kill/lire

Nashey

IUxlini

Tile

Bal/Ie

oj

Kulik{.1lJ(I

ill

the

l-lislOJ) alld Cltllure nJollr

Mothrr/aml j,

in Russian Moscow

1983),

238-269

Gorelik,

M V ,

Oruzhye Vorsklinskoy Bitvi Weapons

of

the Banlc

of

Vorskla ) in Russian,

Zeughaus III (1994),21-25

Gumilcv, L.N., Les Mongoles

de XII

Ie siecle

eL la Slo\ o

0 polku Igoreve ,

ulltiers il, //lom/e n/Sse

e/

smJihilJue,

VIII I Oanllary-March

1966) 3i 57

Halpcrin,

CJ.,

The Concept

of

th e

rushaia utl/Jia

and Medieval National

Consciousness

from the Temh 10 Lhe

Fifteenth Centuries ,

Na/iOlwlilie.s Papm, ll i

I Spring

1980)

75-86

Halpcrin,

Cj.,

Know

Thy

Encmy: Mcdicval Russian Familiarity witll thc

Mongols

of

tlle G olde n

Horde , JalWiicher Fir GescMchte OSlellropas,

XXX (1982) 161-173

Halperin,

CJ., Rltssill antllltl Gollkll I lOlrk

(London 1985)

Halperin, CJ., Russia and

the

Mongol Empire in Comparati\ c


43/47

Perspective',

HU'1mrd

}mtrl/lll

oj

A ~ i l l l i S f l l d i t . ~ .

XLIII/I tiline 1983)

2 ~ 9 2 6 1

CJ., 'The

RllSsian ..;lnd and

the

Russia Tsar: The

Emergence of t t1scovite

Ideology, 1380-1408',

Forsclllwgell

zu

osfelj

mpaisdum Cesrl ;rhfe.

XXIII (1976) 7-103

Cj., 'Tsan:v tllus:

Russia in

the

Golden

Horde'.

Cahins

du mOl/cIi

rlLfJl'

. ~ ( ) V j f l i q l l l .

XXlII/2

(April-june

1982)

2 5 7 2 6 ~

VV.

SVf'/jellil'

Motlb Ow.Ta/{mkogo

Iga

(The

Ovt rtlmJ/lJ

oj

lhe

MOl/b O/- 1ofar }ok,, ,

in

Russian (Moscow 1973)

lI g dlo\ , V.V.,

AN.SachaI'O\'. PolkmJot].fi

Ommiy

flusi ('Military Lt (Ulers

of

AI/cielll

Rus'), in Russian ( M o ~ c o \ \ 1985)

AN. l)/ nJllm/Sskor

Onall)' ' ('Anrim' Russia/ AmlS'), in

Russian (Leninf:,'l;ld 1971)

A.N

.. l'0I '1II0)'t' 10

/Ill

R r l . . ~ i v

XI/-),,'V llli.

('Hussia/l Military

AfJairl ill

Iht Xll-Xl Ct'ntur;es'), in Russian (Leningrad 1976)

A.N., A.F. l\lechcdev, l'oorllzJll'lIie. Dmmia)'(j HilS: Corod.

ltJlIl()k,

Sl / ('Armamnlt.

Alldnlt

RIH: TOWII, ulstk

l illllgp ),

in Russian

(l\loscow

1985)

N.S., KillSlllJl ami Poli/in' nit Origm (/lui I:'wfu/toll oj the

MII.srov;le Boyar I ~ [ i l l ill Ihl' Fifll l llth Vl/tUl)', (Disscrtation, Ilarvard

Univcrsity 1980)

N.P.,

RUSJkoe

lJem;jauTlQ('

Znddll'J/T o

('1l1lSSian H ~ / f 1 J

Dql''IIS;TII'

ArrlliterlUfl ),

in Russian (Moscow

1988)

L.N.. 'The Medicml

Russian Towll. in Ilamm (cd.), The City

ti l

Ilussilm

/-listol)'

(Lexington,

KClllllcky 1976) 11-33

L.K..

UucJl1IO) 1 Ogllestl' blQ('

Ol)'ul)'a

Russkoy

Anlll.l

KOlltsa

.'Ul'-).1TJlIvv.

('H(wdlifld

Firrarll/S

of

U,Wj;,m

A

nil)

from

lIll end

oj lilt

XIV

tI X\llll emiuriPs') in Russian (Moscow 1992)

A.F.,

K

Islorie Pu/.Stil/dmtogo

DosjJfcJw 1/(/ Rusi ne llislory oj

Platr Anllour

ill Uussia

)

in Rllssian,

SOfli1'1 II rr/wl'Ology

2 (Moscow (959)

Y.,

(ed.),

RI/Sjj{J1l

Anlls al/ll Arl/lOllr (Lcninb'l'ld 1982)

T.S., ~ l c d i e , 1 1 Russia, the Mongols and

the \Vcst:

No\'gorocl's

Reialionswillllhc Bailie,

1100--1350 , i\ 1't in}(l/Stlulies,

XXXVII

(1975)

3 > 339

.. RUSJill (//ul KflUUI.

C.o/lf/llesl lI/lf1

ImlH'rialldPOlogJ 1438-1560

(The Haguc 1973)

B..

Oil' CoIIIPlII' Hordl'.

/)j '

MOllgotnJ

ill

Rruslrmd

1223-1502

(Wiesbaden 1965)

A.,

OIUusi

k Rossii: /\irodw) ll Rllsi ('From

HrlSi

R,/Ssia: Kinlll1/

RIIS'), in Russian (Moscow 2000)

rnadsky, G.. n e 1\lollgol.s

oj

Russia

(New llaven 1953)

The

Water-Raising Tower

at

one

comer

of

th e

most tamOl.ls of ell

Russia kremlin or eltadel._

that

of Moscow. DesIgned by lin

ltalllln

arehlteet, Pietro

AntonIo,

It

wa. buill around 1..90.

ID.Hieolie photograph)


44/47

PL T S

CAVALRY 125 13

Western

Russian

cavalryman fully armoured

horseman s arms and armour il lustrate the mixture of

tary Influences seen

n

western Russia dunng this periOd.

helmet is a type also seem as far away as the Byzantine

pire and the Balkans while his grooved or keeled shield

the so-called small Lithuanian pavise type. He s armed

a spear and javelins rather than spear and bow

icating that Lithuanian light cavalry innuence was stronger

n that of the otherwise dominant Mongol-Tatars. The

rd was probably imported from central Europe.

: Boyar nob leman f rom Pskov

high-ranking soldier seen here

n

the process

of

putting

his armour as yet wears only mail chausses of basically

opean form. While his massive and decorated sword is

in probably

of

German origin his helmet - with a metallic

n on the front. and an eye-piece plus nasal somewhat

embling a pair of spectacles a s well as a long face

nng mall aventail - Is clearly Within a long-established

or even Near Asian tradition.

:

South Eastern Russian cavalryman

fully armoured horse-archer from that part of Russia

st exposed to Turco-Mongol military Influence from

steppes has the abundant military equipment long

ciated with the military elites of these regions. He does

however. wear lamellar or any form of armour other than

mple short-sleeved mail hauberk. His archery equipment

curved sabre are similar

to

e seen across south-eastern

pe. much

of

the Middle East

as far away as Central Asia

mall hardened leather wrist

cting bracer was often worn

the lower left arm.

INFANTRY

Russian crossbowman

ing this period the arms and

of infantry. perhaps even

re than cavalry. renected the

of

military-technological

nces seen in later 13th- and

-century Russia. His cross

and associated equipment.

well as his short but quite

d sword

are

typically Middle

opean though rather old

ioned. The same is true of his

ll hauberk and the quitted

ment beneath it. But his tall

nted. narrow-brimmed helmet

istinctly Russian as

are

the

ts which might indicate that

would normally expect to be

ng a horse as a mounted

:

Urban milit iaman

ce again we see high boots of

t and in this case slightly

decorated leather. Such footwear was of course necessary

in

the fierce Russian winters and

in

the typically muddy

seasons of early spring and late autumn. Whereas the

substantial sword broad-bladed infantry spear and large

shield eamed by this militiaman - and indeed his full

armour-

are comparable to those seen among the best-equipped

urban troops across Europe the actual structure o f the

armour

s

distinctive. The helmet of directly riveted Iron

segments is within a long-established Russian tradition and

has been given a thickly quilted Mongol-style aventaillnstead

of the mail aventail normally seen elsewhere

n

Europe. His

massive scale-lined fabric-covered cuirass with its large

ann-flaps is also unlike anything normally seen

n

other parts

of Europe and again probably reflects Mongol Influence.

B3: Light

infantry

archer

Unlike his companions this foot soldier represents

an

entirely Russian tradition which owed little to outside

Influences. His hat and footwear mark him out as

an

ordinary man if not necessarily a peasant. His thickly quilted

coat With its very tall collar protects him from the weather as

well as offering some protection against blows. His large

infantry bow of semi-composite construction was not. of

course confined to Russia. being

of

a type seen across the

northernmost parts o f Europe and Asia as well

as

in the

pre-Turkish Middle East. His axe may reflect a shared military

heritage with Scandinavia; and only the decorated quiver on

his right hip might betray some Turco-Mongol influence

though even Ihis was probably within a tradition which

Russia shared with the rest

of

northern Asia.

C: CAVALRY.

13 75

C1: Western Russian

li t

cavalryman

c.1350

During the 14th century the

difference

in

arms armour and

overall military styles increased

between the western and eastern

regions of Russia. and several

western principalities began

to fall under Uthuanian. and

subsequently combined Polish

Uthuanian control. Nevertheless


45/47

cavalryman

IS

stili dlsllnguished by his use

a lamellar

ass in addition to ordinary central European mail armour,

sword is a curved sabre, which was not used much further

while his shield with its vertlcaJ 'keel' is a development

Lithuanian pavise.

:

Western Russian heavy cavalryman,

c,1375

member of the western Russian military elite has adopted

plated iron arm and

leg

protections which were charac

of

the knightly cavalryman in the rest

of

Europe. Only

helmet, which would have

been

considEll'ed oId-fashlonecl

or

France, and his scale cuirass,

whICh

betrays

influence.

set

him

apart

from

th e

heavily armoured

alrymen seen further west. His horse is, however,

tected by a plated chamfron

and

lameliar horse-armour

h came straight from the Turco-Mongol steppe tradition.

: Novgorod urban caval ryman, c.1350

doxically this armoured horse-archer from the north

tern Russian state

1

Novgorod is equipped In a

Turco-Mongol

or

even Islamic style. Nothing

t his arms, armour and horse harness shows European

ce: even

the decoration of the flaps of lamellar armour

ch protect his upper arms, and the scale-lined body

ur which

he

wears beneath a sleeveless tunic. are

ally identical to the armour seen within the Mongol

den Horde and In Islamic Transoxania. Such styles

t certainly stemmed from these eastern territories. The

dog which tries to defend its endangered master

s, however. seem to have

been

a typically Russian or

o-Mongol phenomenon.

INFANTRY,

1 3 2 5 1 4 0 0

Dismou nte d n ob le man ,

mid-14th

century

ng the 14th century a distinctively Russian style

of

arms

armour

re-emerged. It combined several tradit ions,

of course

Mongol influence remained strong, During

14th and 15th centuries Russian arms, armour,

horse

and general militS/)' costume diverged sharply from

of

the rest

of

Europe, remaining highly distinctive until the

of

Peter the Great.

Here,

for example, a noble warrior

both

mail

and lamellar armour. plus a helmet which would

have been oot of place in the Middle East. But his swon:l

is

'Nest8l n European. as

Is

his shield, though the lalter would

IlOW

be considered old-fashioned further west.

2: Infantryman

from

Suzdal,

mid-14th century

Separated from the western

or

European frontiers of Russia

by huge distances and several rival states, most

of

which

were under the

same

Mongol overJordship which had

been

imposed on

SuzdaJ,

it is

I10t

surprising that this Infantryman's

eqUipment looks rather archaic.

On

the other hand it also

reflects virtually no Turco-Mor'lQol Influence. As such it is

probably a continuation

of

an old

bUt

now isolated military

tradition.

03: CrO lsbowman, late 14th

century

In contrast to the preceding figure, this crossbowman

combines

distinctiVely Russian clothing and armour, ifICluding

a

thickly quilted coat beneath

a CUirass of

embossed scales,

with a Weslern European

SWOrd

and typical European

crossbow equipment. Meanwhile his helmet seems to

represent a continuation of a specifically Russian military

tradition.

E: EASTERN RUSSIA,

1 3 7 5 1 4 2 5

E1:

Cavalryman, la te

14th

century

During the later 14th and 15th centuries

a

new power arose

within the array

of

Russian principalities. This was Moscow. or

Musco' )'. and Its increasingly effective armies W8f 8 largely

based

upon a Russian version

of

Mongol military traditions,

including arms and armour as well as organisation and

tactics.

As

in Mongol armies,

there

was a large and formidable

elite

of

heavily armoured cavalrymen.

As

illustrated

here

they

largely relied upon Turco-Mongol forms

of

lamellar and

other annours, but also made use of varioos pieces of

Western European-type equipment such as this man's knee

protections: whether the lattEll W8f 8 made locally or were

imported from elsewhere

in

Europe is,

howevEll ,

unknown.

E

Mounted

drummer, e a r l y

5th

century

The

Importance

of

drums. often carried on horseback,

In

the

control and motivation of Muscovite armies was another

obvious example

of

MongOl military Influence. In fact the role

of

mounted drummers placed late medieval Musco' )' within a

military tradition that extended

across

a vast

area from

the

borders of China to the Islamic world ancl Granada in

Late medlev.I Russian

uted helmet

of

14th-15th Cs

lonal Historical MUf8um,

lth-C northem Russian

of

a

type which could be

right

acro

Russi. and

In Iran. (Kremlin MUf8um,

Russian armour.

shortsleeved mall hauberk

at th e .ite of th e

battle

of

Field, 1380.

mall-and-plate beldllerets of

lat.

15th

or

16th

C.

lngs by

A.S.

Shepsl


46/47

LEFT Late

medieval

Ruaalan

ma n h au b erk

found al

th e

alte of

t h e b a tt le

of Kullkovo

Field,

t38

IBattlefield Site

Museum, Kullkovo)

RIGHT Fragment of

searle armour

from

a

Runlan

cu i ,

perhaps

fTom

th e

t4th C.

Kremlin

Museum,

Novgorod)

hern Spain. This man s armour is so typical of western

that it coold well have been manufactured in Iran or the

asus. His helmet. consisting

of

a mail hood reinforced

iron plates, simllarty recalls the distinctive zirih kul h

of

the Caucasus.

Prince

In gilded

armour,

late 14th ce n tu ry

ogh this figure seems to combine the military traditions

st and wesl, his armour is nevertheless very similar to

seen across the Golden

Horde

and even Into

soxanla and Iran. This includes his plated arm defences,

-eovmeet gauntlets and metallic greaves. Meanwhile his

ndidly glided armour incorporates a simple helmet

an anthropomorphic visor wtllch might hark back to

Turkish peoples of the westSfn steppes.

cally. pefhaps, the armour of his horse is entJrely within

rco-Mongol westSfn Asiatic tradition, since this was a

In wI1lch Europe had little to offer.

W ESTERN

RUSSIA

G R EAT L I T H U A N I A ,

CENTURY

Heavy

c a va l ry m a n, e a rl y

15th

c entur y

the 15th century the western half

or more

of what had

medieval Russia disappeared

as

a separate

entJty

to

be

rporated Into what was for a short time the biggest

rial state

in

Europe -the combined Kingdom and

Grand

of

Poland-Uthuania. The Russian-speaking territories

hin the Lithuanian part

of

this remarkable state: and as

anians W I 9 themselves few In number, the state and

armies became to a substantial extent Russian.

ertheless the arms and armour used by its heavily

ured cavalry elite were clearly Within the Western

pean military-technological tradition. Only the horse

and

the man s shield - which was a

type

also

across th e Balkans, in Hungary and Poland

him from an early 15th-century Italian

ional cavalryman.

Novgorod

noble

cavalryman, mid- 15th

of the figures reconstructed in this

book

combine the

nobleman. His helmet, mall aV8fltail,

and

the light but

effaetlve mail-and-plafe cuirass which

he

wears over his mall

haUberk are very Russian. The same could be said of his

heavy fur-lined cloak;

but

the full plate armour defences for

his arms and legs must surely have

been

imported from

Germany

or

even Italy. Unlike thaI

of

most Russian cavalry,

his horse harness is more European than Turco-Mongol.

F3: I nf an tr ym a n, l at e 1 5th c en tu ry

The main feature to note about this fully armoured

infantryman is that, outside Russia, his mail

and

quilted

body armour would have seemed more typical of the 14th

or

even 13th centuries than of the 15th. The most modElfn item

Is his helmet. of Italian origin

and

perhaps imported via the

Italian trading outposts on the Black se a coast. On fhe

other hand his mace, axe, and substantial pavise shield are

very up-to-


47/47

nated further east, but it became the hallmark of

ovite troops not only in their own art

but

in European

of

Russian horsemen. Th e rest

of

this

ured horse-archer s equipment is similar to that of his

Golden Horde Turco-Mongol overlords and foes.

Heavy

cavalryman I late 15th century

e late 15th century Muscovy had become the dominant

er in relation to the fragmenting khanates of what had

the vast Mongol Golden Horde. Muscovite armies were

posing a problem for Poland-Lithuania

to

the west; n

Muscovy had become the powerhouse from which a

and revived Russia soon emerged. This man s helmet,

of an angular form with an interesting multiple mail

tail, still has the preferred high-pointed summit. His

s of mail and mail-and-plate construction, while hiS

Is

entirely plated with iron segments.

Infantryman

early

15th

century

the Mongol armies which

it

gradually replaced, the most

ortant part of the Muscovite army was cavalry: but

ry did playa significant role. even in open field battles.

y seem to have included quite heavily armoured

rmen and axemen such as the man shown here. Once

n, his equipment mixes the traditions of East and West,

sia, Europe and the Mongol world. His axe and shield

d, however. not normally have been seen In the armies

e remaining Mongol khanates.

MUSCOVITE GARRISONS c 1450 150 0

Dismounted horse archer

end

of the 15th

expanding Muscovy never inclUded as many castles and

esses as neighbouring European states to the west.

rtheless. many krem lns or urban citadels were gradually

rowel spurs.

m Priozersk.

11rst

halt

Staraya Ladoga

Prloz.ersk, first half

Novgorod

14th

Vladimir regIon

m Priozersk. first

half

5t

Petersburg

14th 15th

m Serensk second

ot 14thl f ir st

halt

of

provided with stone defences to replace their old wooden

ones, and several stone or brick fortresses were constructed

in the north-west, west and south-west of the country. These

needed to

be

garrisoned, and so the Importance of infantry

gradually Increased. Although the man shown here S a

dismounted cavalryman. the size of his bow suggests that

it

was designed for use on foot. His helmet is again of a

distinctivemail-and-plateconstruction, as Is the upper part of

his body armour. The decoratively engraved vambraces on his

lower arms are, however, of a type Characteristic of the Islamic

worid and Russia rather than of Western Europe.

H2: MUSketeer

mid15th

century

The Russians adopted firearms enthus1astically and there Is

plenty of evidence to show that guns were soon being

manufactured In Muscovy. This man has a heavy hand-held

gun of a type which could by w be seen throughout Europe.

His costume, including a thickly quilted coat and heavy boots,

plus his tall pointed helmet with its ear-flaps and mail aventail,

are distinctively Russian.

H3:

Dismounted

officer

end of

the 15th century

It is interesting

note that a type of helmet normally

associated with the Ottoman Turks in the Balkans and the

Middle East was also seen

in

Russia, despite the fact that

many years would pass before Muscovy nd the Ottomans

actually clashed

on

the bat1lefield. This was the

shish k

with

its sliding nasal, substantial ear-pieces and, at a slightly later

date, an extended neck protection. The rest of this officer s

armour, as well as his weaponry and his metallic shield, also

find close parallels amongst the Ottoman Turks. Perhaps this

indicates that the best equipped Muscovite military elite

shared some military traditions with those Muslim Turks who

had succeeded the Greek Orthodox ChristIan Byzantines

on

the Bosphorus.

#367 Medieval Russian Armies 1250-1500 (2002)

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Transcript of #367 Medieval Russian Armies 1250-1500 (2002)