13th-15th C. Horse Harness Tournament Pendants

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by fernando

... Ah, most certainly Jim ... in their own (period) manner This riddle must surely be a matter for discussion among historians and archeologists. In my poorest perspective a couple of reasons must be in the origin of such mistery. First and, as suggested, spots where battles took place are both imprecise and rather disperse, covering vast areas, thus not enabling for concentration of battle remnants. I guess that where conflicts took place in more concentrated or inequivocal areas, like sieging or assaulting fortifications, probabilities of finding abandoned stuff are higher. I am thinking, for one, of the number of crossbow bolts i can see (and acquire) in Lisbon arms shops, found in the outskirts of the local Moorish/Christian castle, origin of various historical conflicts. Surely objects of higher value are also found there, but not exposed by the dozen in public shops . I suspect another reason for not finding things in battle fields out in the open is because they are actually found by anonimous locals, on grounds of picking souvenirs, for the various reasons, right after events take place, leaving no left overs for 'official finders'.

Well explained Nando, and the things you suggest make perfect sense. I know that often in archaeological situations it has often been difficult to locate precise locations as rivers have changed course or ceased altogether and terrain has changed. Narrative accounts often describe landmarks or topography which no longer exist.
It seems some time ago there was a periodical (maybe still is) named "After the Battle" where historical battle sites were sought and shown as they stand today. It seems that after a battle the weaponry and valuables were taken away by both victors and subsequent scavengers, but what became of the debris and horse carcasses etc.?

I recall years ago archaeologists excavating crusades locations found the remains of a knight, still mounted on his horse, both riddled with the arrows that killed them and in still where they fell .

[Matchlock]

Hi Jim and 'Nando,

Actually many of these items are excavated year after year at former tournament sites, along age-old routes and in other places.
Unfortunately, natural erosion, the plows of generations of farmers, the hands of digging moles, mice etc. have destroyed the original find contexts to such an extent that many things are now scattered way too widely to identify their original coherences.

Best,
Michael/Michl

[cornelistromp]

statements in relation to the findingplace and carrier of pendants.

Nick Griffiths claims in his article Harness pendants and associated fitting;.
it is noticable that the pendants are frequently of poor quality and may well have been used by retainers, rather than the Knights and nobles who displayed their arms on cloth horse covers( trappers) and on their own surcoats, banners, etc. Even their saddles might be painted with their coat of arms.

Although both pendants and mounts were made of copper alloy, the pin which held the two together was usually of iron; with the movement of the harness, the loop of the pendant frequently wore through, with the consequent loss of the object. It is therefor no surprise that most pendants occur as isolated finds, often from rural areas, few are found on urban, castle or manorial sites.

The pendants may not have been worn by knights during a tournament but are thus a basic part of the horse harness of the helpers, the squire.


the pendantmounts were attached with rivets on the breast band (peytrel), 6 or more on each side, at the rear strap together with bells, 3 on each site, and occasionally a single larger pendant hung from the brow-band.

best,
jasper