The Artemisian Costuming Challenge

I am making an outfit for the Artemisian Costuming Challenge.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

History on the Landsknechts:The first Landsknechts were recruited on German soil was in 1487 by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.  These initial soldiers were recurited in relation to the creation of the Swabian alliance (1487-8) to keep the powerful princes of Bohemia and Bavaria at bay. Maximilian I had to have an army in order to uphold his claim to the Burgundian legacy of the Netherlands and of controlling his future territories in the east. . Maximilian owed a lot to the success of his Landsknechts to the Lord of Mindelheim, who assisted him in the Landsknechts organization.  Georg von Frundsberg, is regarded by many as the true "father of the Landsknechts".

Landsknechts typically came from Swabia, Alsace, Flanders, and the Rhineland, but ultimately the regiments were made up of men from all parts of Europe.
The part of the unit that I'm intersted in were the Tross. Members of the Tross were made up of women, children and some craftsmen.  The Tross were the camp followers or "baggage train" who traveled with each Landsknecht unit, carrying the military necessities, the food and the belongings of each soldier and his family.  How they set up camp, cooked and moved from site to site is where I'm at.
I've found many woodcuts from which I'm taking my inspiration from.

2 comments:

  1. This has been an area of costuming that I have always been interested in but haven't delved into. I can't wait to see what you do.

    You may be interested in checking out a blog that I follow - Racaire's Embroidery & Needlework. She recently took a trip to the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna, Austria) and there are photos of many, many, many portraits that I think you'd be interested in. I personally can't wait to get my hands on an English version of the DÜRER CRANACH HOLBEIN Exhibition catalog.

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