Hartschiere (

singular Singular may refer to: * Singular, the grammatical number that denotes a unit quantity, as opposed to the plural and other forms * Singular homology * SINGULAR, an open source Computer Algebra System (CAS) * Singular or sounder, a group of boar, ...

form: ''Hartschier'') were predominantly members of the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n residence guards before 1918, a historic military branch of the former

Duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once exis ...

and the later

Electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, ...

and at last

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

History

According to

Meyers Konversations-Lexikon ' or ' was a major encyclopedia in the German language that existed in various editions, and by several titles, from 1839 to 1984, when it merged with the '. Joseph Meyer (1796–1856), who had founded the publishing house in 1826, intended t ...

, the Germanized word Hartschier originally derived from the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

word ''arciere'' for

archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

, but it might also be possible that it has Spanish roots, because the Bavarian Duke

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

received a Spanish archer company ( es, arqueros) of

Charles I of Spain Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fro ...

and added Bavarian court bodyguards with notable roots in the deep Middle Ages. On April 13, 1669,

Ferdinand Maria Ferdinand Maria (31 October 1636 – 26 May 1679) was a Wittelsbach ruler of Electorate of Bavaria, Bavaria and an elector (''prince-elector, Kurfürst'') of the Holy Roman Empire from 1651 to 1679. Electoral Prince of Bavaria He was born in M ...

transformed this unit to the ''Hartschier-Garde''.''Die Pariser Weltausstellung in Wort und Bild''
(German) The name of the former

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n equivalent, the k.k. Arcièren-Leibgarde, is similar-sounding. The Bavarian palace guard troop, later called ''Königlich-Bayerische Leibgarde der Hartschier'' (L.G.''H''.), had only ceremonial and no conventional military functions. Relating to military affairs, the ''Command of the Leibgarde der Hartschiere'' was directly subordinated to the

Army Ministry The , also known as the Ministry of War, was the cabinet-level ministry in the Empire of Japan charged with the administrative affairs of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). It existed from 1872 to 1945. History The Army Ministry was created in ...

. By contrast the ''Leibgarde der Hartschiere'' by itself was subordinated, concerning civilian and criminal justiciable affairs, to the General Command in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

like the other military branches. In addition to the Hartschiere, the kings of Bavaria had a royal house regiment from the end of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

until the fall of the kingdom after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the so-called Infantry Lifeguards Regiment. Entrance to this Guard was only possible for soldiers of impeccable character and conduct. The commander of the Hartschier troop had the title ''Generalkapitän'' (see also

Captain General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Comma ...

), associated with the highest class ranking in the Hofrangordnung (court order of precedence). He was appointed personally by the king.''Bavarian Hartscherie M.1852 helmet with lion top''
Hartschier (Kingdom of Bavaria)

In 1852 the Hartschiere got new uniforms with white supra vests over their jackets and helmets instead of the former caps, made of nickeled tin and gilded cast brass. The golden helmet plate showed the royal coats of arms and on top of the helmet was a standing golden lion figure. The helmet was worn with the lion for normal service, which was replaced by a white horsehair plume on full dress occasions. Older helmets had obviously two-headed eagle figures on top instead of the lion. The embroidered patch on the chest of the Hartschiere showed a large version of the Order of Saint Hubertus (Hubertusorden) with its motto "in trau vast" (means: ''be firm in fidelity''). The Hartschiere were armed with

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contain ...

s and the

halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The word ''halberd'' is cognate with the German word ''Hellebarde'', deriving from ...

-like "couse". On the occasion of the 200th anniversary a commemorative medal (2 Ducats) with a portrait of

Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...

was given out in 1869.''No. 185''
in Günter Schön / Jean-François Cartier: ''Weltmünzkatalog 19. Jahrhundert'', 2004, p. 318.

Notable members

* Maximilian Graf Seyssel d’Aix, Generalkapitän from 1837 to 1845 * Christian Frhr. von Zweibrücken, Generalkapitän * Leonhard Frhr. von Hohenhausen, Generalkapitän after 1861 *

Siegmund von Pranckh Siegmund Freiherr von Pranckh (5 December 1821, Altötting, Upper Bavaria – 8 May 1888, Munich), descendant of the ancient Austrian noble family Pranckh, originally residentiary in the former March and later Duchy of Styria, was a Bavarian ...

, Generalkapitän after 1876 * Maximilian Graf von Verri della Bosia, Generalkapitän *

Felix Graf von Bothmer Felix Ludwig Graf von Bothmer (10 December 1852 – 18 March 1937) was a German general from Bavaria. He notably served in the Brusilov offensive of World War I. Military Career and After In 1871 Bothmer joined the Bavarian Army. He spent most ...

, last Generalkapitän from 1909 to 1918

References

{{reflist, 2 Military units and formations of Bavaria Royal guards