Gorget - originally a steel collar to protect the neck and throat. Gorget was part of the old armor and was intended to protect against swords and other types of knives . Most medieval gorgets were simple neck shields that were worn under the bib and back. These plates supported the weight of the armor worn on them and were often equipped with straps for attaching other parts of the armor.
With the disappearance of the lat, the gorget survived as a symbol of the "nobility" of its owner (since armor was a symbol of chivalry, then the gorget - an element of armor - indicated a chivalrous status). Not surprisingly, in the European armies, gorget has become a sign of the distinction of an officer . Until the end of the 18th century epaulettes and epaulettes , as a rule, did not designate a rank . This function was partially fulfilled by the cut form of clothes, and partly by a burner . By its coloring and / or form, it was possible to determine the rank ( rank ), and sometimes even the regiment where the officer served (for example, the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments in the Russian Imperial Army had special boars ).
With the spread of epaulettes and epaulettes as insignia, the gorget lost its significance. He became a decorative element of the officer’s uniform, usually the front door. Since the end of the 19th century, only military men (usually officers) of privileged units have been wearing gorget (in some countries) on special occasions. One of the exceptions was the Wehrmacht field gendarmerie gorget (1933-1945) .
Content
Middle Ages
At the end of the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth centuries, the skill of the blacksmiths-armor reached such a level that it became possible to manufacture armor that completely covered the wearer's body with steel plates - including the neck, which is one of the most vulnerable parts of the body and which until then was protected only by chain mail either a chain hood. The first plate neck protection was used in grand bacinets . Later, with the proliferation of armetes , the plate-like neck protection became an integral element of them and was attached, as a rule, to the helmet itself. In the infantry, such a design was not used, since the infantry at that time extremely rarely wore plate armor, content with brigandines.
Since the middle of the 15th century, with the spread of salads of various forms, gorge , with the addition of the protection of the chin, evolved into bouwiger . He was very popular with both cavalry and infantry. At the same time, despite the variety of forms of the salads themselves, the bouvigers under them were also used in the infantry, along with brigand armor. In the chronicles of Jean Froissart, there are many examples of this, with the bouvigers often used even by archers , most likely as trophies.
By the beginning of the sixteenth century, with the proliferation of firearms, plate neck protection was gradually phasing out, mainly because the appearance of firearms made it ineffective. However, as part of the first Maximilian , and later late plate armor, the gorget was an integral part of the cuirass, to which it was mounted on floating rivets. Armetes and bourguignotes of the 16th century were forged in such a way that the neck came under their protection more proudly and formed reliable protection. Gorget was discontinued only at the same time as cuirass, and this happened by the end of the XVII century. The cuirassiers' armor of this element of protection was deprived.
Fragment of the painting "Madonna and Child with Saints" ( Montefeltro Altar ). By Piero della Francesca , 1472. Located in the Pinacoteca Brera , Milan . It is clearly visible gorge on armete .
Grand Bacinet. Illustration from the book of Immanuel Viollet-le-Duc.
Armet with a gorger. Illustration from the book of Immanuel Viollet-le-Duc.
Infantry salute with bouwiger. Illustration from the book of Immanuel Viollet-le-Duc.
Louis Saint, king of France. Artist El Greco , 1585-1590. The Louvre .
Armor of Stephen Bathory . Artist Jan Matejko , 1872.
Russia
In the regular army of Peter I, officers as a distinction had a gorget , a three-color white-blue-red scarf with silver and gold tassels, an officer belt and a sword with a gilded hilt. The officer gorget was in the shape of a crescent with the national emblem in the center, put on under the collar, attached with laces to epaulettes and buttons.
It was canceled in 1858 , left from 1884 (as an insignia) to be worn only by chief officers of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments and the 1st battery of the Life Guards of the 1st Artillery Brigade, which had signs granted by Peter I for the difference in the battle of Narva on November 19, 1700 (the sign was the inscription “1700 19NO” embossed on a gorget ). Since 1864, such signs were ordered to be worn by officers of the 1st Pavlovsk Military School [1] .
In the years 1699 - 1716, the coloring of gorget was as follows:
| Chin | Field color | Rim color | Coat of arms color |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ensign | Silver | Silver | Silver |
| Second lieutenant | Silver | Gold | Silver |
| Lieutenant | Silver | Silver | Gold |
| Captain | Silver | Gold | Gold |
| Major | Gold | Gold | Silver |
| Lieutenant colonel | Gold | Silver | Gold |
| Colonel | Gold | Gold | Gold |
- Officers marks of the Russian army
1700-1732.
1727-1732. Chief Officer Badge L.G. Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments.
1732-1742.
Officer badges of garrison officers.1756-1762.
Badge of officers of the infantry regiment.1756-1760.
Officer badges of the regiments of the observational corps .1756-1762.
Officer badge Holstein troops.1788-1796.
Infantry officer badge.since 1808
Guard officer badges.1820.
Army officer badge.1820.
Guard officer badges.
- Gorget in the 20th century
Gorget field gendarmes on the background of the shape of the Wehrmacht .
Gendarmes on the territory of the USSR, July 1941. Gorges are clearly visible.
The Royal Guards in Sweden in front of the Stockholm Palace : the officer (rides first in the convoy) has a clear view of the gorget.
A miniature gorget in the form of a breastplate with an image on a religious theme in the uniform of a soldier of the Polish anti-communist underground (second half of the 1940s).
See also
- Neckpiece
- Success
Notes
- ↑ Gorget