Title:

Marcher Castle on Fire. Aftermath of a 15th Century Siege

Subtitle:

Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae. Fasc. 30 (2017)

Creator:

Marek, Lech

Publisher:

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of Polish Academy of Sciences ; Polish Academy of Sciences. Łódź Branch

Place of publishing:

Łódź

Date issued/created:

2017

Description:

ill. ; 29 cm

Type of object:

Book/Chapter

Subject and Keywords:

arms ; armour ; medieval ; siege ; Bolesław III the Generous

Abstract:

Castle Kolno was set afire and put to ruin on the day of St. Margaret 1443 in the course of the so- called succession war in Silesia. The main purpose of this paper is to present the possible interpretation of selected pieces of archeological evidence for this dramatic event. Destruction layers documenting the siege contained mediaeval arms and armor – finds. The exchange of crossbow fire during the hostilities must have been tremendous as confirmed by the high number of bolt-finds. Moreover, there is evidence of the use of firearms in the conflict. On the basis of the most numerous militaria- finds recorded, such as projectiles, pieces of armor and riding gear, one can draw general conclusions on the character of 15th-century warfare. Much older objects related to the origins of the castle, its function as a border fortress guarding the ducal custom house, as well as those documenting the daily life of its inhabitants were also found in this context. The presented discussion aims to address the problem of chronological inconsistencies among the artifacts from the destruction layers. The objective of this paper is not a thorough analysis of particular artifacts, but a preliminary presentation of the most interesting militaria collected from the site and the discussion on their value as archeological evidence.

References:

Alm J. 1998. European Crossbows. Leeds.
Boccia L. G., Scalini M. 1982. Guerre e Assoldati in Toscana 1260-1364. Firenze.
Borek H. 1988. Górny Śląsk w świetle nazw miejscowych. Opole.
Jánská E. 1963. Archeologický výzkum hradu Sión. „Archeologické Rozhledy” 15 (2), 220-247.
Kiersnowski R. 1990. Niedźwiedzie i ludzie w dawnych i nowszych czasach. Fakty i mity. Warszawa.
Krenn M. 1985. Mittelalterliche Armbrustbolzen. „Mitteilungen der österreichischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichte” 35, 47-56.
Marek L. 2013. A short note on the crossbow bolt head from the siege of the castle of Kolno in Silesia. In: L. Marek (ed.), Weapons Bring Peace? Warfare in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Wratislavia Antiqua 18. Wrocław, 291-295.
Marek L. 2014. Europejski Styl. Militaria z Elbląga i okolic. Studia Archeologiczne 47, Wrocław.
Marek L., Konczewski P. 2010. Oblężenie i upadek zamku Karpień. Interpretacja źródeł archeologicznych. „Acta Militaria Mediaevalia” 6, 93-117.
Martin P. 1967. Waffen und Rüstungen von Karl dem Großen bis zu Ludwig XIV. Fribourg.
Matejko-Peterka I. 2016. Książęta, pieczęcie i władza. Studium ze sfragistyki Piastów legnicko-brzeskich. Warszawa.
Miazga B. 2010. Wyniki badań rentgenofluorescencyjnych fragmentu lufy z zamku Karpień. „Acta Militaria Mediaevalia” 6, 117-120.
Michael L. 1931. Aus der Geschichte des Dorfes Altköln. „Briegischen Heimatblätter” 76, 312.
Michael L. 1931. Aus der Geschichte des Dorfes Altköln. „Briegischen Heimatblätter” 77, 316.
Michael L. 1931. Aus der Geschichte des Dorfes Altköln. „Briegischen Heimatblätter” 78, 320.
Přihoda R. 1932. Zur Typologie und Chronologie mittelalterlicher Pfeilspitzen und Armbrustbolzeneisen. „Sudeta” 8, 43-67.
Schneider H. 1977. Der Schweizerdolch. Zürich.
Sommersberg F. W. 1729. Silesiacarum rerum scriptores aliquot adhuc inediti, accedunt Codicis Silesiae Diplomatici Specimen.... Breslau.
Strickland M., Hardy R. 2011. From Hastings to the Mary Rose. The Great Warbow. Sparkford.
Strzyż P. 2014. Broń palna w Europie Środkowej w XIV-XV w. Łódź.
Tittmann W. 1995. Die Eltzer Büchsenpfeile von 1331/3 (Teil 2). „Zeitschrift für Waffen- und Kostümkunde” 37, 53-64.
Vránová V., Vrána, J. 2008. Olověné projektily z hradu Tepence. „Castellologica Bohemica” 11, 457-460.
Wachowski K. 1982. Średniowieczna broń miotająca na Śląsku w świetle znalezisk z Ostrówka w Opolu. „Archeologia Polski” 27 (1), 167-202.
Witkowski J. 2010. Książę i dama na turnieju. Przejawy obyczajowości turniejowej w sztuce śląskiego średniowiecza. „Quart” 1 (15), 4-17.
Zijlstra-Zweens H. M. 1988. The sword of de Voorst: a baselard? In: H. M. Zijlstra-Zweens (ed.), Of His Array Telle I No Lenger Tale. Aspects of costume, arms and armour in Western Europe, 1200-1400. Amsterdam, 116-124.
Zimmermann B. 2000. Mittelalterliche Geschossspitzen. Kulturhistorische, archäologische und archäometallurgische Untersuchungen. Schweizer Beiträge zur Kulturgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters 26, Basel.

Relation:

Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae

Volume:

30

Start page:

73

End page:

81

Resource type:

Text

Detailed Resource Type:

Article

Format:

application/pdf

Resource Identifier:

doi:10.23858/FAH30.2017.007

Source:

IAiE PAN, call no. P III 348 ; IAiE PAN, call no. P III 349 ; IAiE PAN, call no. P III 368 ; click here to follow the link

Language:

eng

Language of abstract:

pol

Rights:

Rights Reserved - Free Access

Terms of use:

Copyright-protected material. May be used within the limits of statutory user freedoms

Digitizing institution:

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Original in:

Library of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Projects co-financed by:

Ministry of Science and Higher Education ; Activities popularizing science (DUN)

Access:

Open