The Tabards in Wallerstein

[Myles Cupp]

I'm not an expert on Medieval heraldry so I have a simple question about the stuff the guys in the armored section of the Codex Wallerstein are wearing. I'll link to the Pseudo-Gladiatoria article for quick reference:
http://wiktenauer.com/wiki/Pseudo-Gladiatoria

Is there any obvious or particular significance to the style, pattern or color of the crosses they are wearing?

[Jeffrey Hull]

It is serendipitous that you mention those, as I have been thinking about finishing a short essay about those. To sum up:

Yes, there is significance to those. Although those colours are faded / distorted, those are the same crosses & context as found in other German dueling treatises (e.g. Talhoffer Thott-1459). The red cross on white is for Saint George (Joerg). The white cross on red is for Saint Maurice (Moritz). Each was a warrior-saint. So fittingly the knight would put a tabard or surcoat over his armour with such device for saintly protection, and to show serious intention, at the judicial duel. It could also be displayed via commencement banner or via (the hopefully unneeded) pall over coffin of the knight.

It may be comparable in its own way to certain headbands worn in context of Japanese dueling. Not to get too astray into their arts (and please let us not), but as I was instructed not to wear such in jujitsu, as such was still taken as saying "I am here to kill or die trying".

Likewise, I would assert that a similar gravity was meant by the German who showed up at a judicial duel decorated with either the Georgian cross or the Maurician cross. And accordingly, I would suggest that nobody modernly show up at anybody's training hall dressed as such, out of respect for peers and the past - unless that is what they actually intend (i.e. showing up so dressed at that one fencing studio near Atlanta GA).

I hope that explanation is of value.

[Myles Cupp]

Indeed, that explanation is very helpful. I took the liberty to go into the Talhoffer 1459 and saw what you were talking about there with respect to the same imagery appearing on those knights, at least, on their coffin covers. I'm linking the image so that people can see it too and also because the implications of bringing your own coffin to a duel are both freaking serious and damn scary:
http://wiktenauer.com/w/images/5/5d/MS_ ... BA_85r.jpg

To follow this line of discussion one step farther, do you think there is any reason to suspect provincial connection between Talhoffer and the guys in the last section of Wallerstein? Or are they both the product of the same martial culture without direct personal ties?

Now that you've pointed out the similarities to me I am curious as to whether the similarities in imagery and context go beyond the surface.

[Richard Marsden]

Very interesting finds!

Similar topic on tabbards and clothes.

In some of the Mair judicial dueling art and other judicial dueling art you'll see someone in all red. In some cases such a person has been accused of murder and is denying the charge through trial by combat. Every region seemed to be different but the author (Kottenkamp) found examples of what had to be worn for certain occasions.