The Archaeology of the Battle of Lützen: an Examination of 17Th Century Military Material Culture
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Schürger, André (2015) The archaeology of the Battle of Lützen: an examination of 17th century military material culture. PhD thesis. Edited version, 3rd party copyright material removed. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6508/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] The Archaeology of the Battle of Lützen: An examination of 17th century military material culture André Schürger M.A. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Humanities College of Arts University of Glasgow 2 Abstract In the late 20th century, historical research on the 1632 Battle of Lützen, a major engagement of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), came to a dead end after 150 years of mostly unfruitful discussions. This thesis examines the battle’s military material culture, including historical accounts and physical evidence in the form of archaeological finds from the battlefield to provide new insight into the battle’s events, but also to develop a methodology which allows a comparison between two very different sources: the eyewitness account and the ‘lead bullet.’ To achieve this aim, the development of 17th century firearms is highlighted through an assessment of historical sources and existing weapons and by an evaluation of various collections of ‘lead bullets’ from Lützen and other archaeological sites, thus providing a working baseline for interpreting bullet distribution patterns on the battlefield. The validity of bullet distribution patterns is also dependant on the deposit process during the battle and metal detector survey methodologies, which also provides vital information for battlefield surveys in general. In an overarching methodology, statements from battle eyewitnesses are evaluated and compared to bullet distribution patterns, in conjunction with the historic landscape, equipment and tactics. Together, these ultimately lead to a better understanding of the battle and its historic narrative, by asking why reported events actually did not happen at Lützen. This last element is also important for understand the reliability of early modern battle accounts in general. Overall, a more general aim of this case study has been to provide a better insight into the wider potentials of early modern battle research in Europe. 3 Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. 2 List of Tables...................................................................................................................... 7 List of Figures .................................................................................................................... 7 List of Plates ..................................................................................................................... 12 Acknowledgement............................................................................................................ 14 Author's declaration ......................................................................................................... 16 Legends ............................................................................................................................ 17 Chapter One ......................................................................................................................... 19 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 19 1.1 The material: Archaeological and historical sources ..................................................... 20 1.2 Thesis structure and research questions ......................................................................... 22 1.3 The Battle of Lützen: A short introduction .................................................................... 28 Chapter Two ......................................................................................................................... 30 Historical sources and historiography .................................................................................. 30 2.1 Historiography ............................................................................................................... 30 2.2 Historical sources ........................................................................................................... 32 2.2.1 Primary sources: Eyewitness accounts.................................................................... 33 2.2.1.1 Methodology .................................................................................................... 33 2.2.1.2 Early letters from eyewitnesses ........................................................................ 34 2.2.1.3 Swedish eyewitness accounts ........................................................................... 35 2.2.1.4 Imperial eyewitness accounts ........................................................................... 38 2.2.1.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 42 2.2.2 Secondary sources ................................................................................................... 42 2.2.2.1 Letters ............................................................................................................... 43 2.2.2.2 Early printed ‘relations’ ................................................................................... 45 2.2.2.3 Protestant ‘relations’ and copperplates from 1633 to 1637 ............................. 47 2.2.2.4 Other ‘relations’ ............................................................................................... 48 2.2.2.5 Early historical papers ...................................................................................... 49 2.2.2.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 51 2.2.3 Official records and documents .............................................................................. 52 2.2.4 Pictorial representations .......................................................................................... 53 2.3 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 54 Chapter Three ....................................................................................................................... 56 The Armies ........................................................................................................................... 56 3.1 Order of battle ................................................................................................................ 56 3.1.1 Armies at Weissenfels and Naumburg .................................................................... 56 3.1.2 Imperial army at Lützen .......................................................................................... 59 3.1.3 Swedish army at Lützen .......................................................................................... 65 3.2 Firearms ......................................................................................................................... 70 3.2.1 Production of firearms in the Thirty Years War ..................................................... 72 3.2.2 Calibre, windage and firing range of firearms ........................................................ 73 3.2.3 Development of firearms from late 16th to mid-17th century .................................. 77 3.2.3.1 Arquebuses and Calivers .................................................................................. 77 3.2.3.2 Matchlock muskets and forked rests ................................................................ 80 3.2.3.3 Wheel lock carbines ......................................................................................... 82 3.2.3.4 Wheel lock pistols ............................................................................................ 83 3.2.3.5 Rifles ................................................................................................................ 86 3.3 Organisation, arms, equipment, formations and battle tactics ....................................... 88 3.3.1 Organisation: Tactical and administrative units ...................................................... 88 3.3.2 Cavalry .................................................................................................................... 89 4 3.3.2.1 Imperial heavy cavalry: Cuirassiers ................................................................. 90 3.3.2.2 Imperial medium cavalry: Harquebusiers ........................................................ 91 3.3.2.3 Imperial light cavalry: Croats and Cossacks .................................................... 93 3.3.2.4 Dragoons .......................................................................................................... 93 3.3.2.5 Imperial