Winged Hussars

The charge of the Polish Winged Hussars at the 1683 Battle of Vienna. 3000 of them took part of the biggest cavalry charge in history, which finally stopped the Turkish expansion into Europe...

This is the story about their origin...

And about a very interesting and unusual Serbian phrase: "Kititi se tuđim perjem" which means "To take credit for something great someone else has done", but literally it means "To adorn oneself with someone else's feathers"...

So where do we start? With Nicolas de Nicolay, a French nobleman, who In 1567 publish a book entitled "Quatre premiers livres des navigations" which recorded his observations about the Ottoman court and peoples from his 1551 mission to Istanbul on behalf of the French government.

The book served as the first comprehensive survey of customs and costumes in the Ottoman world, and is hailed as one of the earliest and most accurate depictions of the Islamic world to appear in Europe.

Nicolas traveled to Istambul via Serbia and in the chapter entitled "Des avanturiers, appelles Del", he talks about the Ottoman shock troop light cavalry unit called "Delier" which means "brave, crazy, reckless, madmen"...These guys...

The main role of these units during war time was to create chaos and confusion among enemy troops by using guerrilla tactics. During peace time they acted as personal guard of high level Ottoman officials in the Rumelia (Balkan part of the Otoman Empire).

The first Delier were created in Turkish occupied Bosnia and Serbia in the late 15th century, but these military units were soon formed in other districts of Rumelia too.

There is a lot of confusion about who these "Crazy Balkan Horsemen" were...The Deli wiki page about Delie says that "Most of the Delie were usually of Ottoman Turkish origins". Which is kind of misleading. You'll see soon why...

I think that, at least at the beginning, the majority of these Crazy Balkan Horsemen were Serbs from today's territories of Serbia and Bosnia. 

But don't take my word it. Here is what Nicolas de Nicolay had to say about Delier:

"Delijer are adventurers, who seek adventures in the most dangerous places, where they are given the opportunity to prove their courage and heroism with their warrior feats".

"They are located in the areas of Bosnia and Serbia. Today they are called Serbs and Croats, but these are the real Illyrians, those whom Herodian describes as people very brave, large, well-built, strong, lion colored faces, more than barbarians by their customs"

Note: Interesting. I know, most people will now say: Serbs and Croats are Slavs, not Illyrians...This French diplomat had no reason to invent the link between Serbs and Croats and Illyrians...Because this was the prevailing historiographic opinion until very recently.

Note: Interestingly, Slavic legends, and not just South Slavic legends, talk about Illyricum as the birth place of the Serbs in particular, from where they were Expelled by the Romans after a great war...I wrote about it in my post "St Paul among Slavs"...

Anyway, back to what Nicolas de Nicolay had to say about Delier. 

"The Turks call them Delier, which means crazy and brave. However, they call themselves "zataznics", which in their language means: those who challenge people, challengers".

"Each one of them has to challenge and defeat 10 enemies in order to to acquire the name and insignia of a deli or a zataznic". 

Note: Nicolas de Nicolay doesn't say what is that insignia, but I would guess it has something to do with feathers...

Nicolas de Nicolay then describes the Deli he met (this guy): 

"He wore wide trousers made of the skin of a young bear with fur on the outside. Under his trousers he wore shoes or short yellow boots, pointed at the front and very high at the back, with long, wide spurs"

"He had a hat on his head...which fell towards one shoulder, made of spotted leopard skin. Deli attached a wide eagle wing. The other two wings were attached to large gilded nails on his shield".

Note: Nicolas de Nicolay concludes that this was done "to make Deli look as scary as possible". But was the reason for eagle feathers to make Deli scary, or were they "the insignia", the mark of their mad bravery which made them a Deli? I certainly believe the later.

"His weapons were scimitar, lance, spear, and a war-mace"...Note: Most pictorial representations from the 16th century show the Deli armed with scimitars, lances, spears, and war-maces.

"Then I saw him on a horse, covered with the whole skin of a large lion, which was attached to the horse's chest with its front paws while the other two hung behind. His mace hung on the back of the saddle. In his right hand he held a sharp spear, with a long hollow shaft"...

Nicolas de Nicolay actually talked to the Deli he met. This is what he says about this conversation: 

"I was also curious to ask him through Dragoman (translator), to which people he belongs and what religion he professes".

"He let me know that he was a Serb by nationality...As for his faith, he said, he only pretends when he lives with the Turks according to their law, because he is a Christian by birth, heart and will".

And here is a very very very interesting bit. Although Deli told Nicolas de Nicolay that he was a Serbs, he also told him that "his ancestors were Parthians, people who in ancient times enjoyed a great respect as the most warlike people in the entire East"...

Eeeeee what? The Crazy Balkan Serbian Horseman believed that he was descended from Parthians, the people who were renown for their cavalry...

Is this an embellishment added by Nicolas de Nicolay? Why would he do it? Or did the Serbian Deli actually say this? And if so, did he just invent all this, in order to make himself look even cooler than he already looked to Nicolas de Nicolay?

I don't know if too many people in 16th c. Europe would have been impressed by the mention of Parthians...

So maybe this crazy story was actually a remnant of a real ancestral legend, now forgotten, of (this particular) Serb and his kinsmen? Serbs are a very mixed population, so I think that anything is possible...But as I said, I don't know...

Now we are going to leave the Balkans and Delier and we will go north of Serbia, into Hungary (Today's Hungary, Romania) where we find Hungarian Hussars...

Hussars were a light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry regiments in European armies in the late 17th and early 18th centuries...

The hussars reportedly originated in bands of mostly Serb (whom Hungarians called Rác) warriors, crossing into southern Hungary after the Ottoman conquest of Serbia in the late 14th century. Interesting...

Speaking of the Hungarian name for Serbs "Rác", do you remember my article about "Racka" (Serbian) sheep breed? 

Anyway, the word hussar stems from the Hungarian "huszár", which in turn originates from the medieval Serbian "husar", "gusar", meaning brigand (because early hussars' shock troops tactics used against the Ottoman army resembled that of brigands)...

And finally we come back to the beginning...Polish Winged Hussars, who were one of the main types of Polish cavalry in Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between the 16th and 18th centuries...I love this picture...

Original Winged Hussars were units of exiled mercenary warriors of Serb origin, also called Racowie (Polish name for Serbs). They were based on the Hungarian Hussars of the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus, who were also originally exiled Serbian mercenary warriors...

The oldest mention of hussars in Polish documents date to 1500, although they were probably in service earlier...

Following the military reforms of the Polish king Stephen Báthory, the Polish Hussar unit was transformed into famous heavily-armoured shock cavalry...

The husaria banners and units participated in the largest cavalry-charge in history at the Battle of Vienna in 1683 and ranked as the elite of Polish cavalry until their disbandment in the 1770s...

So full circle...

But there is more...

Here is another proof that both Hussars and Delie had the same common origin...In this article, entitled "Deli and Hussar: confusion, ambiguity, and hybrid identities" we can read both Delie and Hussars used the same very unusual "wing shaped" shield...

Shield whose origin, according to the author, is "uncertain"...Well, kind of...Someone left a very interesting comment at the end of the article:

Start of comment: 

"While Kovacs might argue for an "uncomplicated Hungarian origin" his colleague Szabo (in A honfoglalóktól a huszárokig,2010) presents substantial evidence that the more convex variety of the shield has its origin in Western Balkans".

"(Funnily enough both also refer to the study by Kužič - a scholar who studied the shield forms found on period balkan gravestones-stećci)".

"Regardless of "the true origins" these shields indeed seem to be like an evolutionary step from the targe commonly used by central european cavalrymen (e.g. Knights in kepes kronika, hrvoje missal etc)".

"15th century depictions from Balkan stećci in fact suggest the existence of both varieties at roughly the same period and I get the impression that with time the shields actually grew larger and more convex". 

End of comment.

Were these shields just an imitation of the shape of an eagle wing? Which Delie used as a decoration for their shields...This Turkish example suggests so...

One last thing about the origin of these Crazy Balkan Horsemen. The man credited with the formation of the Delier was Gazi Husrev-beg. His father, Ferhad-beg, was a Slavic nobleman who converted to Islam, originally from Hum (modern-day Herzegovina)...

So the father of the creator of the Delier cavalry, populated by Serbs and Croats, was of South Slav (most likely Serb) from a noble (most likely) knightly family...

And the oldest depictions of their feathered shield is found on monuments from the same area...

Interesting...

One other possible clue about the origin of the Crazy lancers who adorned themselves with eagle wings...Here is a detail of the "Betrayal of Judas" fresco from the Church of the Apostles, the oldest church in the Serbian Patriarchate of Pec...

The fresco is dated to 1300 AD. At least a century and a half before the first feathered Delier and Hussars appeared in Turkish and Hungarian armies...

Were these guys just adorning themselves with wings for a laugh, or...

I know this sounds like a cool story...But to me this is a tragic story. The Hungarian and Polish (but really Serbian) Hussar's main enemy were Turkish (but rally Serbian) Delier...Hussars were specifically used "to counter Ottoman Delier cavalry"...

Serbs killing Serbs...For king and sultan? For Christianity or Islam? Or just because they were "brave, crazy, reckless, madmen"?...I think that most Delier who were of Serbian origin, were "Poturice" (local Serbian name for Serbians who converted to Islam, became Turks).

Some of them could have been like the guy Nicolas de Nicolay interviewed, nominally Ottoman Turks and Muslims, but secretly still Serbs and Christians...But most of them were probably true converts, true believers, true Ottoman Turks of Serbian origin...

Which is why I said earlier that the statement that "Most of the Delier were usually of Ottoman Turkish origins" was misleading...

The "brave, crazy, reckless, madmen" who were also religious fanatics...And I am talking about both Christian Serbs from Hussars and Muslim Serbs from Delier...They both fought with god on their side, looking for glory in battle...No wonder they became legendary...

But I guess, both Hussars and Delier soon ran out of these "brave, crazy, reckless, madmen" Serbs...Those kind of people don't live very long, and very quickly depart into legends...

This is where I wanted to finish...And then, just as I was about to post this article, I came across this: the gold coin of Eucratides I who ruled Bactria 171–145 BC...Are these winged horsemen?

Apparently he was aligned to Parthians...

I will leave this here, as I have no idea what to do with it... 🙂

Verige

In this article I will continue my story about the cult of hearth among the Serbs which I started in my post "Fire goddess" and continued in my post "Bride and the hearth". Here I will talk about the cult of "verige" (hearth chain on which cauldron is hang over the hearth).

Herodotus says that:

"...whenever the king of the Scythians falls sick...this is because such and such a man...has forsworn himself by the king's hearth..."

Pic: Pontic Scythian coin from "The coins of the Scythian kings"

Herodotus then says that:

"...for when the Scythians will swear their mightiest oath, it is by the king's hearth that their custom is to swear most solemnly..."

Herodotus says:

"Scythians regard Hestia, goddess of the hearth, to be their Mother Goddess their Queen."

So oath made before the hearth was oath made before Hestia

In "The mirror of Herodotus" François Hartog asks how is it possible that nomadic Scythians worship Hestia, the goddess of the central, immovable, eternal hearth whose fire should never be extinguished?

Interestingly Ossetians, who are regarded as descendants of Scythians, "hold hearth to be the holiest place: the most solemn oath is sworn by the hearth, while holding onto the iron chain hanging above it which holds the cauldron".

This chain actually had its own deity: Safa (Сафа), God of the hearth chain. He was the most important domestic deity of Ossetians.

Interestingly, among Serbs, who also regard the hearth as the holiest place in the house, the hearth chain which holds the cauldron is also considered to be one of the holiest things...

There is a Serbian legend that says that once "verige" (Serbian name for hearth chain) hang from the sky, and that people made oaths holding onto this holy chain...

There is a Serbian legend that says that once "verige" (Serbian name for hearth chain) hang from the sky, and that people made oaths holding onto this holy chain...

This legend also says that if the person holding onto holy verige  (hearth chain) swore a false oath, it would pull the perpetrator towards the sky and expose him and his lie...

One other "coincidence" is that while Ossetians have Safa (Сафа), God of the hearth chain, in Serbian tradition verige (hearth chain) is directly linked to St Sava, Patron saint of Serbia...

St Sava inherited most of the prerogatives of the old Serbian supreme (Sky) god Dabog. Hearth chain which symbolically connects the house hearth, the centre of the house, the centre of the family's world, with the sky, could then be personification of Dabog...

That verige (hearth chain) was by Serbs originally seen as the personification of the sky god, can be seen from the fact that verige was taken out into the fields to magically protect them from hailstorms...

Hearth chain has its own "red letter" day, Časne verige (Holy chains), which is in some parts of Serbia the main holy day. If you wear clothes made on that day "you will be killed by lightning" (because you disrespect the Sky god on his holy day by working)...

One other thing shows that verige (hearth chain) was seen as an object directly linked to Sky God. In Serbian folklore, Thunder God Perun was the one who punished "perjurers (people who swear false oaths), as well as all people who were evil..."

So were Scythians, who were as Herodotus says, swearing oaths before "tas basileias histias" (Royal hearths), swearing oaths before Hestia or Zeus? Judging by Osetian and Serbian tradition most likely Zeus...

One other proof that Serbs linked verige (hearth chain) with sky god is the fact that in spring they decorated verige with nettles to protect house from being struck by lightning. Nettles was believed to ward off lightning...

But this is not the end of the story about holy verige (hearth chains)

In Serbia, when shepherds lost their sheep in the mountain, they ritually tied "verige" (chain on which cauldron is hang over the hearth). 

This was done to "close wolf's jaws" and protect the sheep...

Another ritual that was performed "to close wolf's jaws" and protect the flocks involved tying red yarn around "verige" (chain on which cauldron is hang over the hearth) at Christmas...

The day of St Mrata, 24th of November, marks the end of 9 days known in Serbia as "Mratinci", Mrata's days of "wolf days". St Mrata was by Serbs considered to be "protector of wolves".

Serbs believed that on his day, St Mrata decides which sinners should be punished by sending wolves to attack their flocks during the winter.

On his day in Serbia people performed a very interesting ritual involving "verige" (hearth chain) which was according to people performed "so that wolves wouldn't kill sheep"...

A black cockerel was slaughtered on the house doorstep. After the cockerel is slaughtered, a hair from every animal in the household is placed in its beak. The beak is then tied with a red thread and is hanged over the door or is buried under the doorstep to protect the house and its animals from the evil spirits. The wings are hanged on the chain hanging from the ceiling and on which the cauldron hangs. Or the head with the hairs was hang on the chain. Both the door and particularly the doorstep and the fire place are in Serbian tradition closely linked with the cult of the dead and are places believed to be inhabited by the spirits of the dead ancestors.

This is clearly a panspermia (mixed sacrifice), a type of sacrifice which was in Serbia offered to family ancestors and to the ancestor of all Serbs, Giving God, Dabog

Serbians saw Dabog as "lame wolf shepherd", the protector of wolves and the ruler of the underworld. But they also saw him as the Sun god...I wrote about this in my post "Day Star".

Serbs also believed that wolf was their totem animal, into which the spirits of their dead ancestors reincarnated...Serbs organised the same sacrificial feasts for wolves and the dead. 

In some parts of Serbia, on Christmas Eve people used to take a table laid with food on the doorstep of the house and would then ask wolves to come to the feast. In other parts of Serbia they would invite the dead to the feast in the same way.

I wrote about this in my post "Wolf feast".

In some parts of Montenegro Serbs used to place verige (hearth chain) on the dead before burial. Originally verige could have been tied around the dead just like in Serbian wolf rituals...

So it seems that verige (hearth chain) was personification of Dabog the wolf shepherd and that this is why the sacrifices were made to the chain on the day of St Mrata, the saint protector of wolves

As I already said I believe that verige were personification of Perun. 

Rooster is Perun's bird and was in Serbia sacrificed on Perun's day. So is sacrificing cockerel to verige a sign that verige were symbol of Perun?

I wrote about this link between Perun and Cockerel in my posts "Alidjun" and "Cockerel and lion".

But, it is possible that verge have even more complex symbolic meaning. 

Dabog, Serbian supreme deity was also known as Triglav (Tree headed). His heads were: Perun (Thunder), Svetovid (Sun), Svarog (Fire). 

Verige (hearth chain) connects sun with fire. Sun creates Fire through Lightning. This is the meaning of Triglav, Dabog...

I talked about this in my posts "Triglav", "Thundering sun god" and "Sun thunder fire".

Verige (hearth chain) is the lightning (Perun) from the above picture, but with sun and fire that it connects, verige is also Dabog (Triglav). Which is why sacrifices to verige are both made to Dabog and Perun..

In the end, having one Saint protector of wolves, who tells wolves whom to attack is crazy. But Serbs actually have two such saints: St Mrata and St Sava🙂

St Sava, Celebrated on the 27th of January, is the Patron Saint of Serbia. He has in Serbian folklore "inherited" most of the prerogatives of old Serbian ancestral deity Dabog, including being the wolf shepherd 

And he also inherited verige (hearth chain), the symbol of Dabog. As I said in my original thread about verige, it has it's own red date called "Savine verige" (Sava's verige) or "časne verige" (holy verige) 

Interestingly St Mrata is celebrated just after the beginning of winter and St Sava is celebrated just before the end of winter. So the two "wolf shepherd" saints mark the beginning and the end of winter, the season of the wolf... 

The winter, the time of wolves and wolf shepherds, is also the time of darkness, when sun is in the underworld...When Sun God Dabog becomes Dabog, God of the Underworld... 

David Gorodok-Turov style

I love this picture. Traditional head dress from Belarus. 

This head dress, belongs to the so called "David Gorodok-Turov" style - a complex of traditional Belarusian folk costumes of the Polesye. 

The area where we find this style of traditional folk dress lies along the  Pripyat River, which flows east through Ukraine, then through Belarus parallel to Ukraine border, and then Ukraine again, draining into the Dnieper.

Along the river lie the Pinsk Marshes, a vast natural region of wetlands along the forested basin of the Pripyat River and its tributaries from Brest to the west to Mogilev to the northeast and Kiev to the southeast. It is one of the largest wetland areas of Europe.

Now here is something very very interesting indeed. My friend Sima Kosminski sent me a link to this article, which contains an interview with a couple from Lelikov near Kobrin in Polesye. 

They are Peter and Anastasia Shapetsyuki - known collectors of local folklore. 

Like other people in Polesye,  who wear this "David Gorodok-Turov" style of traditional folk costume, they apparently speak their own unique dialect which is different from the dialects of the neighboring population. And they have a very interesting legend that explains why their language is different:

"Serb tribes were great enemies of the Romans. Finally a Roman emperor got really angry and sent a great army to attack them. The Serbs were driven out of their homeland and came and settled down here, in the Pinsk Marshes, in Polesye..."

Now what Serbs and what Romans is this legend talking about? Balkan Serbs and Romans? Or Baltic Sorbs and Holy Roman Empire? Both groups of Serbian tribes were indeed great enemies of their "Romans" and waged centuries long wars against invading "Romans". So both are very good candidates to be "the Serbs" from the legend. 

What is interesting, judging by this map from Eupedia, it seems that genetically Polesyans are definitively linked to Balkan Serbs:

What do you think?

This is a very very interesting development, don't you think so?

Does anyone have any additional information about this legend or about Polesye culture and language?