Towarzysz pancerny


A Towarzysz pancerny was a medium-cavalryman in 16th to 18th century Poland, named after their chainmail armor. These units were the second-most-important cavalry in the Polish-Lithuanian army, after the hussars.
Most pancerni were recruited from the middle or lower classes of the Polish nobility. They were organized into companies, with each company consisting of 60 to 200 horsemen.

Arms

They used chainmail or bechter armour to protect the upper body, karwasze sometimes with gauntlets, secretes, buckler shields, Polish sabre, reflex bow, gunpowder weapons,. Earlier companies would sometimes be equipped with a horseman's pick, a short spear, or a lance. During the rule of king John III Sobieski, polearms became compulsory.
During the Middle Ages, under the rule of Mieszko I and Bolesław I the Brave, the name pancerni applied to the members of the duke's retinue. They were the wealthiest warriors in the Polish army, and as such they could afford to wear sophisticated armour, most commonly chainmail. Their weapons included arming swords, axes, spears, shields, strait bows, and nasal helmets.

Culture

In modern Polish, "pancerni" also means "tank men", as in the title of the book and TV series, Czterej pancerni i pies. The word "pancerny" is seldom used in that context, however, with the common word being "czołgista".