Imperial Cavalry Standards of the TYW

[DanielS]

A sadly unused source for the flags & standards of the Imperial army of the TYW in the trophy collection housed in the Swedish Army Museum. Even though images of all surviving colours are available online for free the language barrier seem prevent it from being used. Which is a shame since the real deal is superior to the various Imperial flags based on designs from old German magaines for tin soldiers collectors floating around on the net. At best they are based on the actual flags but all to often important details have been left out or only one side of cavalry standard is reproduced when it in fact had two diffrent sides.

In an attempt to overcome the language barrier I’ve collected together links to the best preserved imperial standards in the Trophy collection. Due to the fortunes and misfortunes of the collection over the centuries it is not only worn and ragged but the older parts of the collection are hard to identify beyond nationality and period. If we’re lucky the battle or action in which the colour was captured is recorded but regimental identity were never part of the records. Instead it is later research using other sources which have been able to identify a few of the hundreds of TYW colourse in the collection.

Cavalry standards were usually made from a double layer of cloth rather than the single layer used by the infantry the standard would be made with diffrent images on each side. The obverse would commonly have the Imperial Doppeladler with the Bindenschild of the Habsburgs (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bindenschild) and the cypher of the regining Emperor (I.e F II or F III). Some standards lacked the Doppeladler and instead used an enlarged Imperial cypher in its place but these were a clear minority of the recorded standards. An even smaller group instead used the ragged Burgundian cross together with the cypher but these were rare. There is a standard supposedly captured at the action of Burgstall in 1631 which would be an unique example of an Imperial standard without Doppeladler and/or cypher but the connection to Burgstall is shaky at best.

So if a standard has neither the Doppeladler, nor the cypher (with or without the burgundian cross) you can be pretty sure that it is not an Imperial standard of the TYW period. Either it is a case of mistaken identity or a conjectural flag made without essential period details.

The reverse of the standard would carry the image chosen for the company and often a motto in Latin or German as well. As can be seen the imagry was very rich and varied and money was clearly lavished on the apperance of the standards in many cases. Today the colours have often faded or in the case of silver thread blackend, hence the red & black Bindenschild which in the TYW would have been red & white.

De Waghi?
These standards are some of the most well made and richly decorated in the Trophy collection. Their identity is uncertain but one theory is that they belonged to the De Waghi Curiassier regiment and were lost in the finaly years of the TYW when that regiment were mauled by the Swedes.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 70?pos=691
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 72?pos=207
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 71?pos=167
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 74?pos=133
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 75?pos=134

Alt-Piccolomini
The Alt-Piccolomini regiment had a justified reputation as an ”elite” regiment in the Imperial army and would usually be found were the fighting was hardest in any battle. A down side of this was that the regiment would often find it self fighting unsupported when other Imperial units routed in defeat. As a result it would lose colours to the Swedes in no less than 3 battles, 1st Breitenfeld 1631, 2nd Breitenfeld 1642 and at Jankow 1645. These following standards belonged to the set made in 1643 to prelace the ones lost at 2nd Breitenfeld and which were captured by the Swedes in the long and hard fought battle of Jankow.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 115?pos=86
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 13?pos=104
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 17?pos=157
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 14?pos=206
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 18?pos=700

Don Fernando de Capua?
This has been indentfied in older histories as the life standard of Don Fernando de Capua’s regiment of Cuirassiers which was captured in 1630 when Gustavus stormed Greifhagen. But alternate research suggest an unknown colour captured in 1636.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 10?pos=279

Unknown ”Red” regiment
These 3 red standards are clearly part of the same set but i have no clue as to the indentity of the regiment.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 61?pos=126
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 158?pos=70
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 59?pos=166

Unknown ”Doppeladler” standards
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 40?pos=209
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 69?pos=187
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 48?pos=183
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 42?pos=178
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 41?pos=169
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 19?pos=158
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 82?pos=141
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 81?pos=135
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 93?pos=128
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 146?pos=87
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 11?pos=142
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 180?pos=91

Unknown ”F” standards
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 09?pos=154
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 01?pos=150
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 202?pos=99


”Burgundian” standard
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 73?pos=328

Burgstall trophy
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sta ... 21?pos=127

[nickdives]

I have seen those before, thanks to you, it would be rather nice if someone with the right skill could produce some usable flags based on them.

[footslogger]

Nicely done, thanks Daniel.