POLISH KNIGHT, 1229

An extract from Armies of Feudal Europe 1066-1300
by Ian Heath

113.      POLISH KNIGHT, 1229

Taken from his seal, this is Prince Henry I the Bearded of Silesia, senior Piast prince of the kingdom of Poland 1234-38. Although his armour is old-fashioned by Western European standards it is nevertheless considerably more up-to-date than that of the last figure. Mail had come into more widespread use amongst Polish knights by c. 1200 (though remaining uncommon amongst foot-soldiers) so that longer, long-sleeved hauberks of the type worn here began to replace the old scale corselets that had previously predominated. Similarly, in the course of the 12th century nasal helmets (called ‘pot’ helmets in Poland) replaced the tall, plumed type worn by 112. Nevertheless, the older styles of equipment remained in use for the rest of this era with the knights‘ mounted retainers (equivalent to Western sergeants), others of whom wore armour such as that described for the infantry (see below). In the course of the 13th century such retainers also began to adopt the crossbow.