Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, VSolis AB 3.123
Marketenderin und Troßbube (Sutler and horseman) 1534-1562
Zoomable Image: http://kk.haum-bs.de/?id=v-solis-ab3-0123
What I see:
The German word “marketender” translates to sutler and the -in suffix denotes a female. A sutler is a person who follows an army and sells provisions to the soldiers. “Tross” means baggage train and bube translates as either boy or jack.
I assume the woman in the images is marching with the Landknecht. She’s wearing a high-collar full hemd (chemise/smock) that looks like it may close with a button at her neck. It looks like the hemd also peeks out at the wrist of her sleeves.
Over this she’s wearing a dress with full sleeves that bulge over her shoulder and elbow. The dress looks like it opens down the front between the front guards and possibly closes with hook and eye closures. The skirt has three guards (the stripes on her skirt). The two wider guards are slashed while the narrow guard on top is not. The distinct x slashing on her guards popularly interpret as the representing the cross of Saint Andrew and the Holy Roman Empire (more info about the slashes). On her head she has some kind of haube/coif/hair net (I don’t think it’s a wulsthaube but it could be). Over the hair bag she’s wearing what looks to me like a split-brimmed flat cap with a very fluffy (ostrich?) feather.
The skirt of her dress is kirtled in her belt, that is, she has pulled it up so that a lot of it is above her belt. This frees her legs making it easier to walk, raises her hemline to keep it out of the dirt and helps to keep her much cooler. On her feet she’s wearing a pair of slashed shoes.
She’s holding a canteen in her right hand and a walking stick in her left. Her dog leash appears to be fastened to her belt. The dog is wearing a very lovely collar. On her back she carries a baby cradle possibly with a baby inside. The cradle is marked “IHS” which is a common Christogram denoting the first three letters of the Greek name of Jesus. I don’t think she’s supposed to be noted as carrying Jesus but I would not be surprised if it wasn’t a marking to ward off bad luck to the child.
The boy behind her appears dwarfed by his armor. He has strappy sleeves on his wams (doublet). He looks to be carrying a sword under his arm and a sack slung over his back. On his back he also has some kind of splinted armor. There’s a roster attached to his belt. His boots look to be mid calf and fairly raggedy.
In some cases rosters (and roster feathers) denote lustiness. It’s unclear if the rooster on his belt is a statement about his (lack of) manlyness or his dinner.
