Bone-saddles of the 13th to 17th centuries. Riding equipment as a symbol of courtly and chivalric ideals

• Applicant: Maria Schröder
• Subject Area: Art History
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 521770030

The dissertation focuses on a group of 37 splendid saddles and saddle-bows that can be found distributed throughout various European and North American museums. Usually exhibited alongside armour made from leather and metal, the saddles are remarkable for their light, shiny surfaces of elaborately carved and engraved bone and antler. These appliques make the saddles appear fragile, especially since their decoration would be concealed by a rider. Thus, despite the outer form, their functionality for riding must be called into question. The prevailing explanation is that they were awarded as ceremonial gifts to members of the Order of the Dragon, founded in 1408 by Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg (1368-1437). However, evidence for this proposal is lacking, and it also fails to explain the existence of examples from the 13th and 14th as well as the 16th and 17th centuries. Despite these issues, this has remained the prevailing interpretation of the bone-saddles since the early 20th century. Therefore, there was a need for fundamental research in which all objects were studied in detail and analysed in relation to contemporary textual and pictorial sources in order to determine, among other things, the original meaning and function of the bone-saddles. The dissertation undertakes this task with the aim of placing the works in the context of their time and expanding our knowledge of Central European court culture. This approach has uncovered that the saddles were a means of representation that embodied the ideals of chivalry and courtly life. They were associated with specific means of representation that were established by the courtly nobility and later adopted by the emerging bourgeoisie. These findings lend a new relevance to the study of riding equiment, a field which has remained largely unnoticed by research, although the horse was of unparalleled importance within the society of the time. The chosen methodolgical approach, which combines art-historical, historical and literary techniques and research, means that the work is also of value to the study of ivories, early material culture, material-semantic object studies and the literary study of the courtly epic. The latter took on a key role within the dissertation as a textual source, not least in analysing the connection and conditionality between literary descriptions of bone-saddles and their real counterparts. In keeping with its importance to research and as an authoritative fundamental work on bone-saddles, it would be optimal to publish the dissertation in print and open access form to ensure the broadest possible access to current research results for free, as required by central research bodies. To date, this approach appears to be unique for standard works on applied art and will hopefully serve as an example for further research.

• DFG Programme: Publication Grants