Current State of and Needs for Research on the Late Medieval Arms and Armour from the Territory o... more Current State of and Needs for Research on the Late Medieval Arms and Armour from the Territory of Present-day Poland. Perspective of the New MillenniumThe research on the Polish art of war conducted since the 19th century, during the interwar period, gained considerable intensity as aresult of the profound, critical studies on weaponry, documents mentioning the production of the military equipment in the Middle Ages, and iconographic sources concerning medieval military items. The next stage of studies on armament, in the time of Polish People’s Republic, can be associated with the beginning of the so-called ‘Millennium Research’ and the establishment of aweapons’ research centre in Łódź, gathered around Professor Andrzej Nadolski. The rapid development of archaeological excavations (which has taken place since the beginning of the 1990s and was on alarge scale extended to mediaeval towns and castles) resulted in asignificant increase in numbers of finds of military artefacts. Seve...
The mediaeval castle Kolno situated near the village Stare Kolnie served as a custom house at the... more The mediaeval castle Kolno situated near the village Stare Kolnie served as a custom house at the confluence of two rivers, Budkowiczanka and Stobrawa. Numerous diaspores of plants were obtained from the archaeological excavations, from the layers of the 14th-15th centuries A.D. The excavations were located near the former access road, where increased human activity has affected the composition of the fossil macroremains of plants. Two species of cabbage cultivated in small fields near the castle were recognised. Diaspores of weeds and ruderal plants were deposited at the site. The most frequent were:Solanum nigrum, Setaria pumila, Chenopodium album, Rumex acetosella, Polygonum lapathifoliumandUrtica dioica. The botanical set of fossil diaspores was composed of plant species associated with anthropogenic habitats and showing the dispersion dynamics in various micro-niches within them.
Acta Militaria Mediaevalia IX Kraków – Rzeszów – Sanok 2013, s. 89-127 The paper deals with the o... more Acta Militaria Mediaevalia IX Kraków – Rzeszów – Sanok 2013, s. 89-127 The paper deals with the oldest murals depicting the tragic story of Sir Lancelot, known to date. They are preserved in the great hall of the ducal tower in Siedlęcin, Silesia. The most plausible theory states that the founder of the tower and the murals was originally duke Henry I of Jawor. Scholars suggested that the murals, painted most probably by a Swiss artist working for the duke, should be dated to 1338-1346. On the stylistic and costumological grounds their dating however, could be earlier than the proposed period of time. Investigation of the arms and armour detail represented in the murals suggests that they were painted in the 2nd or the 3rd decade of the 14th c. The whole program of the paintings had a moralizing character and their message is the approval of loyalty towards the sovereign. Key words: arms, armour, Siedlęcin, Lancelot, tower, murals
The generalised point of view on the evolution of swords in the 16th century was presented by E. ... more The generalised point of view on the evolution of swords in the 16th century was presented by E. Oakshott1. He distinguished four families of weapons, which originated from the medieval sword, namely: 1) the so called bastard swords, with characteristic two-handed grips and long, heavy blades; 2) estocs (or tucks) with narrow thrusting blades, which were meant to pierce mail; 3) swords with complex hilts consisting of quillons, a knuckle guard, several branches, side-guards and pas d’âne mounted on blades of a reasonable length, which were meant for thrusting and cutting, and therefore useful in battle; 4) and eventually the rapiers – duelling swords of equally complex hilts, with narrow thrusting blades of a considerable length used mainly as civilian weapons in mundane situations. The rapier most probably originated from the territory of the Iberian Peninsula. The etymology of its name is connected with the term espada ropera (literarily – the sword of the robe), which is known fr...
In the present work, numerous species of useful and wild plants were identified in the archaeobot... more In the present work, numerous species of useful and wild plants were identified in the archaeobotanical samples (moat deposit and two ceramic jugs) collected from the mediaeval locality of the Kolno Castle, near Brzeg, south-western Poland. At the confluence of two rivers, in the vicinity of the castle, it was possible to cultivate cereals on poor alluvial soil, in the ground with a layer of ferruginous concretions. The characteristic weeds of the classes Secalinetea and Chenopodietea indicated the cultivation of winter cereals and garden plants. Polymorphic populations of millet were cultivated. Apart from the annual plants, the following fruit trees were grown: plums, peaches and walnuts. Fruits of many wild species were also gathered for consumption. Correlation analysis of the characters of Prunus L. stones proved that the development of the organ is conservative. Morphometric analysis of the plum stones showed that in addition to the specimens belonging to the species Prunus sp...
Current State of and Needs for Research on the Late Medieval Arms and Armour from the Territory o... more Current State of and Needs for Research on the Late Medieval Arms and Armour from the Territory of Present-day Poland. Perspective of the New MillenniumThe research on the Polish art of war conducted since the 19th century, during the interwar period, gained considerable intensity as aresult of the profound, critical studies on weaponry, documents mentioning the production of the military equipment in the Middle Ages, and iconographic sources concerning medieval military items. The next stage of studies on armament, in the time of Polish People’s Republic, can be associated with the beginning of the so-called ‘Millennium Research’ and the establishment of aweapons’ research centre in Łódź, gathered around Professor Andrzej Nadolski. The rapid development of archaeological excavations (which has taken place since the beginning of the 1990s and was on alarge scale extended to mediaeval towns and castles) resulted in asignificant increase in numbers of finds of military artefacts. Seve...
The mediaeval castle Kolno situated near the village Stare Kolnie served as a custom house at the... more The mediaeval castle Kolno situated near the village Stare Kolnie served as a custom house at the confluence of two rivers, Budkowiczanka and Stobrawa. Numerous diaspores of plants were obtained from the archaeological excavations, from the layers of the 14th-15th centuries A.D. The excavations were located near the former access road, where increased human activity has affected the composition of the fossil macroremains of plants. Two species of cabbage cultivated in small fields near the castle were recognised. Diaspores of weeds and ruderal plants were deposited at the site. The most frequent were:Solanum nigrum, Setaria pumila, Chenopodium album, Rumex acetosella, Polygonum lapathifoliumandUrtica dioica. The botanical set of fossil diaspores was composed of plant species associated with anthropogenic habitats and showing the dispersion dynamics in various micro-niches within them.
Acta Militaria Mediaevalia IX Kraków – Rzeszów – Sanok 2013, s. 89-127 The paper deals with the o... more Acta Militaria Mediaevalia IX Kraków – Rzeszów – Sanok 2013, s. 89-127 The paper deals with the oldest murals depicting the tragic story of Sir Lancelot, known to date. They are preserved in the great hall of the ducal tower in Siedlęcin, Silesia. The most plausible theory states that the founder of the tower and the murals was originally duke Henry I of Jawor. Scholars suggested that the murals, painted most probably by a Swiss artist working for the duke, should be dated to 1338-1346. On the stylistic and costumological grounds their dating however, could be earlier than the proposed period of time. Investigation of the arms and armour detail represented in the murals suggests that they were painted in the 2nd or the 3rd decade of the 14th c. The whole program of the paintings had a moralizing character and their message is the approval of loyalty towards the sovereign. Key words: arms, armour, Siedlęcin, Lancelot, tower, murals
The generalised point of view on the evolution of swords in the 16th century was presented by E. ... more The generalised point of view on the evolution of swords in the 16th century was presented by E. Oakshott1. He distinguished four families of weapons, which originated from the medieval sword, namely: 1) the so called bastard swords, with characteristic two-handed grips and long, heavy blades; 2) estocs (or tucks) with narrow thrusting blades, which were meant to pierce mail; 3) swords with complex hilts consisting of quillons, a knuckle guard, several branches, side-guards and pas d’âne mounted on blades of a reasonable length, which were meant for thrusting and cutting, and therefore useful in battle; 4) and eventually the rapiers – duelling swords of equally complex hilts, with narrow thrusting blades of a considerable length used mainly as civilian weapons in mundane situations. The rapier most probably originated from the territory of the Iberian Peninsula. The etymology of its name is connected with the term espada ropera (literarily – the sword of the robe), which is known fr...
In the present work, numerous species of useful and wild plants were identified in the archaeobot... more In the present work, numerous species of useful and wild plants were identified in the archaeobotanical samples (moat deposit and two ceramic jugs) collected from the mediaeval locality of the Kolno Castle, near Brzeg, south-western Poland. At the confluence of two rivers, in the vicinity of the castle, it was possible to cultivate cereals on poor alluvial soil, in the ground with a layer of ferruginous concretions. The characteristic weeds of the classes Secalinetea and Chenopodietea indicated the cultivation of winter cereals and garden plants. Polymorphic populations of millet were cultivated. Apart from the annual plants, the following fruit trees were grown: plums, peaches and walnuts. Fruits of many wild species were also gathered for consumption. Correlation analysis of the characters of Prunus L. stones proved that the development of the organ is conservative. Morphometric analysis of the plum stones showed that in addition to the specimens belonging to the species Prunus sp...
Uploads
Papers by Lech Marek