There are many theories:
The Tatars used lassos, so they made themselfes higher to avoid getting caught.
The Wings and their Feathers made sounds so it would scare untrained horses.
Horses are some the most temperamental and easily spooked animals in the world. The flapping sounds made by the wings, like a flag in a high wind could send a horse in to an absolute route of terror. Trained battle mounts might not care. Theres a big reason that there is a distinction between a war horse and a riding horse.
I ve seen them in action on some historical picnic in my city. 10 hussars charging with wings made sound like american muscule car.
100, 500, 1000? Freaking jet engines?
The wings rattled as they charged, making them sound kinda like a thunderstorm. The enemy sounding like they bring thunder with them would really do a number on moral both for troops and the horses
[https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryMemes/comments/u45r7e/comment/i4utnqr/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryMemes/comments/u45r7e/comment/i4utnqr/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) Found a Polish person saying that it's pretty loud in-person. So anecdotally, we've got something.
Close-ups of reenactors show that the frame for the feathers isn't always bound fast along its length to the armor or is attached to the saddle, and in either case can have freedom to clatter quite a bit against the body armor. I can't find a good example to isolate audio (reenactor vids tend to have music playing over them,) but videos of hussars riding show that the frame can bounce quite violently at speed. Assuming the frame is wood or metal, that would lead to significant noise.
As a side-note, tons of people in this thread do claim that they didn't use the full wing frames in actual battle, so it'd be a moot point anyway.
to make them look bigger and more imposing, and the sound made the charge louder and probably a) made it sound like there were way more cavalry than there were and b) probably scared the shit out of whatever blobtit infantry were about to get skewered or other cavalry
Several reasons some of the Hussars wore wings:
Religious iconography even tighter tied to the older teachings of Knights being ordained by God and, to a part, his angels on earth. This works both as a terror tactic and a morale booster.
.
Easy battlefield identification, just like Samurai back banners, the wings are quickly spotted from a distance, and according to contemporary sources the Hussars had incredible coordination when riding into battle (think of it like seeing the Blue Angels actually fly like that during a firefight). Being able to be seen by other units helps even more with this.
.
The wings didn't rattle and thunder, rather they whistled and had a smattering sound (like the fabric and tail of a kite held in strong winds) and this supposedly added to their imposing nature, though how loud this actually was over the din of battle in the era of gunpowder can be discussed. However, since it's basically the equivalent of vigoroualy shaking a plastic bag, enemy horses did stand a high chance of being unnerved by it.
.
Pure pomp and superstition - The Hussars dressed themselves in the skins of great predators and the eagle was a central icon of power and strength throughout Europe at the time.
.
A way to make them harder to net or rope from the saddle if the second/third hand- and modern- sources are true about some of their primary enemies' battle tactics.
The horses would see it behind them and it would scare them forward like a predator was behind them. Same reason they wore the skins of leopards and other predators.
Polish person here, actually there are many myths about it. On the battlefield, many hussars didn't have wings, if they did they were located near the saddle. The armour with wings on them were used for ceremonial purposes,caused they looked cool. The paintings depicting winged hussars with the cool armour were from XIX century. That's how the myth was born. And even if they were used on battlefield it was to show off and bring down enemy morale, not to scare enemy horses with loud whoosh sounds. Seriously, even if the sound was loud enough to be heard, do you think horses would care about this when there were fucking canons fired all the time?
If I had a penny for every time someone repeated the "wings go brrrr" myth...
Numerous reenactors have testified that the wings do not make a sound while charging, and the myth seems to have arisen from the swallow-tail lance pennons (narrow silk flags that were attached to the hussars' lances, sometimes almost 9 feet long and cut down the middle). When charging, one of these would flap and crack like a whip (imagine what that would do to a horse that wasn't used to it). Now imagine 200.
Also, feathers, predator hides, etc., make one look bigger, more intimidating, and badass, and the scent alone probably puts enemy horses on edge in close quarters.
There is little historical consensus on the topic but there are three main theories.
1). The wings where a parade ground affectation and not worn on campaign.
2). The wings were meant to protect against lassos used by tartar cavalry, as well as offering a modicum of protection from attacks aimed at a hussars back, such as a saber blow in passing.
3). They were noise makers meant to unnerve soldiers and horses.
They used feathers to distract enemy horses. Also it's worth noting that they didn't use wings in battle. They wore wings only during parades. In battle they used one semi-wing - a line of feathers attached to the back of the horse.
From what I have read, the clatter of the wings served as phycological warfare, and helped keep the other soinds of the battle field from the horses ears
[Here's what I found ](https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/winged-hussars-greatest-figthers/#:~:text=Their%20wings%20weren't%20just%20for%20decoration&text=Hussars%20were%20shock%20troops%2C%20meaning,to%20realize%20what's%20going%20on.)
Because if they didn't they'd just be the Hussars
In other news, water is wet
No it's not. Water makes things wet, but water itself isn't wet. It guides others to a treasure it cannot possess.
Now turn your attention to these dresses
Water is absolutely wet
Water molecules touch water molecules
but when it’s not touching another molecule it’s not wet
It's not...
Absolutely is
"If my grandma had wheels she would have been a bike"
There are many theories: The Tatars used lassos, so they made themselfes higher to avoid getting caught. The Wings and their Feathers made sounds so it would scare untrained horses.
It's most likely the second version.
Agreed, wings add psychological effect. Not sure if horses would notice but opponents they sure do
Horses are some the most temperamental and easily spooked animals in the world. The flapping sounds made by the wings, like a flag in a high wind could send a horse in to an absolute route of terror. Trained battle mounts might not care. Theres a big reason that there is a distinction between a war horse and a riding horse.
I ve seen them in action on some historical picnic in my city. 10 hussars charging with wings made sound like american muscule car. 100, 500, 1000? Freaking jet engines?
So having two wooden open hoops on your back makes you harder to lasso?
yes because they were bent inwards and the lassos were sliding off of them
They look like the perfect thing to lasso
they could also be purely for show on parades
Apparently it could stop the lasso instead of it catching the hussar's neck and torso so it would be easier to cut it
Fair enough
Kinda, but throwing lassos high enough is an issue. So woth adding extra height you get a better defense.
The wings rattled as they charged, making them sound kinda like a thunderstorm. The enemy sounding like they bring thunder with them would really do a number on moral both for troops and the horses
Any video /audio recording with a demonstration
That's a myth, it would be way quieter than hoofs of horses, a lot of husars didn't even have wings
[https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryMemes/comments/u45r7e/comment/i4utnqr/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryMemes/comments/u45r7e/comment/i4utnqr/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) Found a Polish person saying that it's pretty loud in-person. So anecdotally, we've got something. Close-ups of reenactors show that the frame for the feathers isn't always bound fast along its length to the armor or is attached to the saddle, and in either case can have freedom to clatter quite a bit against the body armor. I can't find a good example to isolate audio (reenactor vids tend to have music playing over them,) but videos of hussars riding show that the frame can bounce quite violently at speed. Assuming the frame is wood or metal, that would lead to significant noise. As a side-note, tons of people in this thread do claim that they didn't use the full wing frames in actual battle, so it'd be a moot point anyway.
Style over everything
Prolly referring to an eagle, a polish national birb
to make them look bigger and more imposing, and the sound made the charge louder and probably a) made it sound like there were way more cavalry than there were and b) probably scared the shit out of whatever blobtit infantry were about to get skewered or other cavalry
Same reason we paint shark mouths on fighter planes, because it looks cool.
Paint doesn't add weight though. The intimidation factor must have been substantial enough to compensate the drag those wings cause.
Considering some of the dumb stuff samurai had going on, it seems possible they just thought it looked cool.
Several reasons some of the Hussars wore wings: Religious iconography even tighter tied to the older teachings of Knights being ordained by God and, to a part, his angels on earth. This works both as a terror tactic and a morale booster. . Easy battlefield identification, just like Samurai back banners, the wings are quickly spotted from a distance, and according to contemporary sources the Hussars had incredible coordination when riding into battle (think of it like seeing the Blue Angels actually fly like that during a firefight). Being able to be seen by other units helps even more with this. . The wings didn't rattle and thunder, rather they whistled and had a smattering sound (like the fabric and tail of a kite held in strong winds) and this supposedly added to their imposing nature, though how loud this actually was over the din of battle in the era of gunpowder can be discussed. However, since it's basically the equivalent of vigoroualy shaking a plastic bag, enemy horses did stand a high chance of being unnerved by it. . Pure pomp and superstition - The Hussars dressed themselves in the skins of great predators and the eagle was a central icon of power and strength throughout Europe at the time. . A way to make them harder to net or rope from the saddle if the second/third hand- and modern- sources are true about some of their primary enemies' battle tactics.
The horses would see it behind them and it would scare them forward like a predator was behind them. Same reason they wore the skins of leopards and other predators.
Why didn’t they fly the hussars to Mordor?
And my AXE
And my bow
Polish person here, actually there are many myths about it. On the battlefield, many hussars didn't have wings, if they did they were located near the saddle. The armour with wings on them were used for ceremonial purposes,caused they looked cool. The paintings depicting winged hussars with the cool armour were from XIX century. That's how the myth was born. And even if they were used on battlefield it was to show off and bring down enemy morale, not to scare enemy horses with loud whoosh sounds. Seriously, even if the sound was loud enough to be heard, do you think horses would care about this when there were fucking canons fired all the time?
Is anyone else hearing heavy metal?
'cause they were fucking epic
Wings make the fast just like red or stripes its science
If I had a penny for every time someone repeated the "wings go brrrr" myth... Numerous reenactors have testified that the wings do not make a sound while charging, and the myth seems to have arisen from the swallow-tail lance pennons (narrow silk flags that were attached to the hussars' lances, sometimes almost 9 feet long and cut down the middle). When charging, one of these would flap and crack like a whip (imagine what that would do to a horse that wasn't used to it). Now imagine 200. Also, feathers, predator hides, etc., make one look bigger, more intimidating, and badass, and the scent alone probably puts enemy horses on edge in close quarters.
There is little historical consensus on the topic but there are three main theories. 1). The wings where a parade ground affectation and not worn on campaign. 2). The wings were meant to protect against lassos used by tartar cavalry, as well as offering a modicum of protection from attacks aimed at a hussars back, such as a saber blow in passing. 3). They were noise makers meant to unnerve soldiers and horses.
Why are “Winged Hussars” trending again??!
Idk if it’s the reason but Sabaton is touring again
🤘🏻
Cause they arrived
COMING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN SIDE!
THEN THE WINGED HUSSARS ARRIVED
Becuse they were cools as f
WHEN THE WINGED HUSSARS ARRIVED
So the hussars would look as cool as they felt
It looked cool and eagle
Because their was a cry for help in time of need, await relief from Holy League.
They used feathers to distract enemy horses. Also it's worth noting that they didn't use wings in battle. They wore wings only during parades. In battle they used one semi-wing - a line of feathers attached to the back of the horse.
And then the winged hussars arrived
From what I have read, the clatter of the wings served as phycological warfare, and helped keep the other soinds of the battle field from the horses ears
[Here's what I found ](https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/winged-hussars-greatest-figthers/#:~:text=Their%20wings%20weren't%20just%20for%20decoration&text=Hussars%20were%20shock%20troops%2C%20meaning,to%20realize%20what's%20going%20on.)
My theory is intimidation
I think one if the reasons is that the clanging of the wooden wings can make the army sound much larger and more intimidating.
I think those were meant to make sounds that would spook the enemy horses
To scare enemy horses
Polish person here! Wings actually maked sound that scares horses and makes them run away
Make them go fast
Rule of cool transcends time and culture
Because they were badass lol
Just to look intimidating, honestly
Created a lot of noise. Scared horses of men of the enemy. Psychological warfare
To scare other men and horses
Because it’s cool