Help Please- Swedish TYW Trumpeter

[Paul Richardson]

Is anyone able to help please? I'm planning to put together a unit of Swedish cavalry of the Gustavus period. Does anyone have any idea how the trumpeters would have looked?

[Friends of General Haig]

Hi Paul - I haven’t seen much about Swedish Trumpeters (or anyone else’s). It was common to all armies of the period that musicians, such as trumpeters, were expected to act as emissaries, and so were expected to look smart in honour of their commander.  I therefore try to paint my musicians to look “a bit fancier”  than the rank and file.

In the recent Helion ‘The Lion of the North’ it mentioned that Swedish Trumpeters were expected to ride pie-bald horses.  This would make an interesting looking figure, and perhaps more interesting than the classic latter view of the grey/white horse for mounted musicians.

[modelwarrior]

Not sure if these are what you are after ?

https://www.art-girona.com/product/trumpet-of-the-thirty-years-war-1618-1648/

[traveller]

Here you go:



This image is from the book ”Gustav II Adolf och hans folk” by Göte Göransson Publisher Bra Böcker 1994

The text says ”Trumpeter at Lutzen 1632. According to an oil painting at Karlberg castle in Sweden. The trumpeters horse should be piebald. The colours on the trumpeters cassack with cutout arms are somewhat unsure but corresponds to the yellow and black colours of the Vasa dynasty. The standard with three crowns is an assumption”

[Paul Richardson]

Many thanks for the help. One thing is obvious: the Osprey books, excellent as they are, are not going to be enough and I'll have to buy some more books.
FOGH: thanks for that. I'd never have known that.
modelwarrior: interesting, although the figure has been painted as an Imperial trumpeter:
traveller: this is really helpful. What I really wanted to know was whether Swedish trumpeters wore tabards, like Imperial ones and, if they did, how they were decorated. I'm aware that TAG's Swedish trumpeter is not in a tabard. The illustration which you've reproduced is the first of a Swedish trumpeter I've seen.   

[traveller]

I checked another book I have "Sveriges krigshistoria i bilder" by Björlin which contains a lot of images from the 30YW. The ones below are Swedish trumpeters from 1631-1632 from paintings mainly in Karlberg Castle. As can be seen there was no uniformity amonth the troops so you could more or less get away with any 30YW trumpeter  - the piebald horse seems though to be used in all









I think it is the last image that Göte Göransson has reproduced in my first post. As a Swede there are quite a lot of sources accessible. Please let me know if I can help you further.

[Paul Richardson]

Hi Traveller,

That's really kind and helpful. Many thanks.

Paul