I'm in Stockolm with my work, and managed to get a little time free to see the old town.

The Storkyrkan ("Big church"...effectively stockholm's medieval cathedral) turns out to have a larger-than-lifesize statue of mounted and armoured St George killing the dragon, unveiled in 1489.

I've never seen a reference to this piece before, although I'd hve thought it would have been a really handy reference for anybody doing a c15th knight - best I can figure is they're just so far off the high medieval track that people don't even think of doing research up here.

Either way, Ill post a picture as soon as I get back home to my scanner, but a couple of useful and interesting points for the other "warhorse techies" on the list.

a) St George's horse is rearing up, so you can see the underside of both front hooves. Both front shoes have large calkins. Looked like four nails per side on the shoes, but too dark to be sure.

b) St George is using chain reins - seen this in several illustrations, but it's always handy to have another.

c) Horses' tail is braided up into what I can only describe as a bun, complete with a bell attached to it.

Unfortunately, photography wasn't allowed, but I was able to get a postcard of it, from one side only.

Caulkins? Do you mean something on the bottom of the shoe resembling three eventing studs or racing mud caulks? Or prominent shoe nails? Sorry, I'm thinking it's an across the pond terminology difference.

The tail thing sounds similar to the modern Spanish knot which I have seen in some illuminations (can't place dates though right now, I'm at work) and is still practiced by the Cadre Noir, the Spanish Riding School and some Andalusian groups.

Can't wait to see it.

"Cailkins" are formed by turning down or thickening the ends of a horse shoe, to form a stud at the back of each arm of the shoe.

The idea is to give the horse more grip, though obviously, they also mean that the horse can't stand flat on a hard surface, which is why they go out as paved roads come in. The ones on the statue are especially large - all that ice and snow up here, perhaps?

They are known on some medieval horse shoes, but obviously, it's hard to be sure any given shoe was usd by a warhorse, rather than farmer bloggs's ploughhorse.

I appreciate it

Hi;

Here's the pic of the statue.

Sorry it's taken me so long, I had to wait until I got back home before I could access a scanner.

The front view is even better, but unfortunately, they don't allow flash photography in the (very dark) church, so we have to make do with this one.

Is the "dappling" a trick of the lighting or is the metal really done that way?

The whole statue is actually gilded and painted....I'm not actually sure whether it's metal or stone underneath the paint (or even, conceivably, wood, though I doubt that)

I'd assumed that it had been repainted at some point.

Do you have information to the effect that that's the original paint, or am I reading too much into your phrasing?

Most "unpainted" Renaissance wooden statues have had their paint stripped off, often by 19th-century restorers. The orignal paint could be very durable if the statue was kept indoors and not abused, and the effect in many cases is bright or even garish - in this case it is unsettlingly like a merry-go-round horse.

My name is Stefan. I am a new member living in Sweden. I am a member of the Swiss re-enactment group "Company of Saynt George" and work as a history teacher.
I found this forum just a few days ago and think it is of a very fine quality. As I live in Stockholm and am very interested in all things medieval, especially late medieval culture I think I could help you Neil with a source for more pics of the S.t George statue. You see, whole book on the subject was published a few years ago!

Svanberg, J.
& Qvarnström, A. Sankt Göran och draken Rabén Prisma, 1993 245:-

You can order it from "Medeltidsmuseét" in Stockholm:

http://www.medeltidsmuseet.stockholm.se/

hope you enjoy it!

I have question also:

Do you or anyone else know of any fine craftsman who makes very accurate replicas of late medieval war saddles?

all the best Stefan

quote:

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Originally posted by NEIL G:
Hi,

I'm in Stockolm with my work, and managed to get a little time free to see the old town.

The Storkyrkan ("Big church"...effectively stockholm's medieval cathedral) turns out to have a larger-than-lifesize statue of mounted and armoured St George killing the dragon, unveiled in 1489.

I've never seen a reference to this piece before, although I'd hve thought it would have been a really handy reference for anybody doing a c15th knight - best I can figure is they're just so far off the high medieval track that people don't even think of doing research up here.

Either way, Ill post a picture as soon as I get back home to my scanner, but a couple of useful and interesting points for the other "warhorse techies" on the list.

a) St George's horse is rearing up, so you can see the underside of both front hooves. Both front shoes have large calkins. Looked like four nails per side on the shoes, but too dark to be sure.

b) St George is using chain reins - seen this in several illustrations, but it's always handy to have another.

c) Horses' tail is braided up into what I can only describe as a bun, complete with a bell attached to it.

Unfortunately, photography wasn't allowed, but I was able to get a postcard of it, from one side only.

Neil

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quote:

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Originally posted by Stefan:
I have question also:

Do you or anyone else know of any fine craftsman who makes very accurate replicas of late medieval war saddles?

---

Hi Stefan

I know of a couple of people who have had replica medieval saddles made, but I have yet to see any really good ones, some look ok, but are not a true medieval replica.

I have modified 2 UP's (universal patern modern military saddle) into jousting saddles, they look and function correctly but are not a true replica.

I have been thinking about making a proper replica from scratch, based on the 1490's saddle in the Wallace collection. Ive got a fairly good idea of how to do it, just need the time and motivation.
One of my main thoughts is if you are going to get a real replica medieval saddle made, you want it made to fit a particular horse, so taking a cast of its back would be a good idea. Thats what I intend to do when I eventually get around to making a proper replica.

Good luck.

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But if you order, please do order the english version of Svanbergs book: "St George and the dragon" - Swedish might be a little hard to understand.

cheers

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quote:

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Originally posted by Fire Stryker:
Does anyone have detailed photos of the equestrian statue of St. George that is in Prague?

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Jenn,

I have a couple/few of the cast in the V&A. Give me a couple of days and I can probably send them your way. They're prints from our 35mm, so I'll have to track 'em down and scan them. I'm happy to help, tho'.