“For Eternal Storage...”: Regimental Relics of the Era of Paul I

Military material culture (tangible expression of military history) does not belong to topics unfairly forgotten by researchers. However, in mo­dern practice, the lost cultural heritage is not researched as actively as the preserved one. This study aims to fill in some lacunae in the history of military material culture related to the practice of re-mel­ting precious metal objects. The issue is consi­dered on the example of Life-Cuirassier Her Majesty’s Regiment. The article highlights the key moments of the regiment’s history related to royal awards. It was, primarily, the short epoch of the reign of Paul I when silver timpani, trumpets and cuirasses received the status of regimental relics (1799). During the reign of his successor Alexander I, with a reduction in the cost of maintaining the army, the silver part of this regimental relics was re-melted. The money received made up the fund of the offi­cer’s insurance capital. Some more of the regimental relics, precious in every sense, were lost in the years of the Great Patriotic War. As a result, the military material culture of the era of Paul I, in particular the protective armament, is presented very poorly in modern museum collections. This research helps to describe its character and history of exis­tence. The main sources of stu­dying the lost relics is the history of the regiment and its regimental archive published by Colonel M.I. Markov. Graphic documents are used as additional sources. The article outlines the list of modern museum collections that store preserved items, partly similar (partially interchangeable) to the lost ones. Summing up the results of the work, the study of the lost material cultural heritage is a promising scantily-explored direction of military history.

cultural heritage, military material culture, military history of Russia, Paul I, Alexander I, Russian army, Life-Cuirassier Her Majesty’s Regiment, regiment history, regimental relics, Theory and History of Culture

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