This paper deals with the past, the present and the future of Polish studies of arms and armour. As one of students of Professor Andrzej Nadolski, I perfectly remember the birth of the research centre in Łódź in the 1960s. It specialised in studies of weaponry, armament and military costume and in this field it was the most interesting research centre in Poland at that time. In those days, our research mainly focused on the Middle Ages. At the same time, in our activities we referred to the term of “arms and uniforms,” which was used by historians of army and military affairs in the interwar period. Present-day Polish studies of arms and armour, done by historians, archaeologists and art historians, are a significant element of the totality of processes of learning about the peculiarity of our history. Studies of arms and armour are now carried out not only in main academic centres, but also in several museums and in local environments. This field of research requires considerable knowledge and firm specialisation; on the other hand, sometimes it goes into areas with poor cognitive perspectives. In this paper I discuss two such cases. In the first one, the failure resulted from a simple lack of knowledge and historical reflection. In the other one, the fiasco of research results was determined by a preponderance of an idée fixe over calm reflection and over a need for source criticism with its necessary skills. Today, the group of researchers who define themselves as students of arms and armour are aware that the origin of this field as academic study is related to Professor Andrzej Nadolski, who died twenty years ago. The knowledge of this, however, must be continuously maintained.
The article presents results of the analysis of the sculptures from the territory of the former Duchy of Pomerania with special attention to their usefulness in the study of weaponology. The author has attempted to examine how the armour was depicted on the objects from the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century. Pomeranian elite used several types of plate armour in the early modern period. It was presented differently, making it sometimes impossible to identify. In the analysed material, there are simplifications and antiquating, which reduce the level of authenticity of the source. On some Pomeranian sculptures from the beginning of the early modern period plate armour is depicted with great attention to detail. In the case of epitaph from c. 1550 of Bogislaw X of Pomerania, presented details allow for identifying the real armour.
PL
Tekst prezentuje wyniki analizy rzeźb z obszaru dawnego księstwa pomorskiego pod kątem przydatności w badaniach bronioznawczych. Autor podjął się oceny stopnia odwzorowania uzbrojenia ochronnego na obiektach z XVI i 1. połowy XVII wieku. W czasach nowożytnych pomorska elita używała kilku typów zbroi płytowych. Sposób ich odwzorowania był różny, nie zawsze pozwalający na ustalenie klasyfikacji. W analizowanym materiale źródłowym występują uproszczenia i antykizowanie, przez co spada poziom autentyczności przekazu. Wśród pomorskich rzeźb z początku czasów nowożytnych znajdują się takie, które przedstawiają zbroje płytowe z dużą dbałością o szczegóły. W przypadku epitafium Bogusława X z ok. 1550 roku detale zawarte na uzbrojeniu pozwalają na identyfikację autentycznej zbroi.
JavaScript jest wyłączony w Twojej przeglądarce internetowej. Włącz go, a następnie odśwież stronę, aby móc w pełni z niej korzystać.