GOTHIC SUIT IN THE AUTHOR’S COLLECTION, 1460–1500.
This suit, like so many of its period, is incomplete. The armet with it, when acquired, never belonged to the suit, and there is no mentonnière. The sallad, shown on the figure, was made recently to give the general effect of the period. The suit is otherwise complete, and of fine material, proportions, and workmanship. The steel of this period is of excellent quality. The details, with a few exceptions, somewhat closely resemble those of the Sigmaringen suit. There are rondelles at the armpits on this suit which are ornamented with radiations, and these, together with the elbow-guards, are beautifully ridged and bevelled. The tuilles are larger and squarer than those on the Sigmaringen suit, and the sollerets not so long in the tips. The cuirass is in two plates, with a rim across the chest, as shown on the Berlin suit ([Fig. 18])—the mentonnière therefore went partly below the cuirass. The general details greatly resemble those of a suit at Vienna, attributed to Sigismund of Tyrol, which is also an incomplete suit. As the gauntlets of this suit are distinctly typical, it may be well perhaps to go somewhat into detail concerning them. They are of fine workmanship and material, as well as light and graceful. The surface of the steel is very hard. The cuff is sharply pointed, and deep flutings run in parallel lines towards the extremity; while similar perpendicular flutings join the lowest of these lines. Three supple articulations lend flexibility to the gauntlet, and connect the knuckle-plate with the cuff. The last-mentioned plate and four finger plates all work in slots, and are beaten into ridges for fitting over the knuckles and fingers. The thumb-guard is also articulated. An illustration is given in [Fig. 19].
Transitional Gothic, where laminated tassets replace tuilles and merge into the next stage in various ways, is also very beautiful. In both varieties you have lovely escalloped and fluted rondelles, often charged with a heraldic rose. A fine example of this description may be seen in the National Museum at Munich, and an illustration is given of it (Frontispiece), because of the beautiful details. The rondelles are especially fine, and the mentonnière and breastplate, which latter is in two plates, are clearly shown.
Fig. 19.—Gothic Suit in the Author’s Collection.
PART X.
MAXIMILIAN ARMOUR, 1500–1540.
The strong military tone lent to this period by the bent and character of the three great monarchs who then ruled the destinies of Europe, had great influence on armour, civil dress, art, and display generally. The tendency, as in architecture, was towards redundancy of detail, and the abandonment of simpler and more truly artistic forms for something more ornate. This tendency found expression more in the details and ornamentation of armour than in the intrinsic beauty of the form itself. The third estate emerged more and more from its long vassalage, bringing trade and opulence in its train; besides a corresponding diminution in the power and prestige of extreme feudalism. The imagination was cultivated, as it had not been before, and luxury, with the means of gratifying it, had correspondingly increased; indeed, the society of the time had already passed the threshold of the “renaissance”—one of those periods of revival, in long course of incubation, suddenly bursting into life. Harnesses were more solid and altogether less mobile than in the “Gothic” form.
The “Ehrenpforte” of Maximilian, supposed to have been decorated from the designs of Albert Dürer, gives a vivid representation of the meeting between Henry VIII. and Maximilian. This work, and much literature with illuminations, filled in details of the times which are invaluable to us now. These monarchs revelled in pomp and parade which found expression greatly in the tilt-yard; and the influence exercised on the arms and armour of the period was immense. Now the man-at-arms was completely encased in plate. Immensely heavy “Gothic” suits of armour already began to be laid aside in tournaments in favour of harnesses made for battle, supplemented with reinforcing pieces.
Armour then underwent a great change about the end of the fifteenth century, during the reign of the Emperor Maximilian (died 1519), when fluted armour (armatura spigolata) came into fashion. The change was radical and abrupt, being obviously suggested by the civil dress of the period. The transition was so sharp as to convey the idea that the change was by order. The beautiful Gothic lines, ridgings, and indented outlines disappear, and the form becomes stiffer and less elegant in every way. The breastplate is shorter and more globular, and fringed at the top by a projecting piping; the more graceful épaulières change into pauldrons, often of unequal size, and the pretty rondelles become unnecessary for the time being; but they were resumed at a later period. Coudières and genouillières are smaller, while tuilles are replaced by tassets of laminated plates. Sollerets became very broad and clumsy, in absolute contrast to the “souliers à la poulaine.” It seems in every way probable that this style of armour, though like the “Gothic,” so closely associated with Germany, may have had its origin in Italy; for the Germans in contemporary writings call it “Milanese.” Henry VIII. ordered many suits at Florence. The helmet, the armet, and a little later the burgonet, are nearly as much associated with “Maximilian” armour as the sallad is with the “Gothic”; and the gorget proper replaces the mentonnière, or in other words, the bavier of the armet took the place of the neck and chin-piece.[32] Another prominent feature is the general use of pikeguards, which stand out at the head of the pauldrons to protect the neck of the wearer from pike thrusts. There are some fine suits of this armour in the Tower of London, presented by the Emperor Maximilian to our Harry the Eighth. An illustration is given in [Fig. 20] of a typical suit in the collection of Prince Carl of Prussia, now in the Zeughaus, Berlin. The details are as follow, and bear out the general descriptions of the class already given in these notes:—The suit is fluted throughout, except the jambs, which are nearly always plain. The helmet is the armet, and this example sufficiently indicates the date of the armour; both form and workmanship are good. Instead of the large “Gothic” mentonnière, there is a gorget and the bavier. The pauldrons, which are uneven in size, are surmounted by pikeguards; the left pauldron is the larger. These pieces consist of front and back plates, an innovation of the sixteenth century. The cuirass is shorter than the later Gothic form, more globular, and cut straight at the top with a rope-like rim. The backplate terminates in a garde-de-reine of three lames. Gauntlets are of the mitten type, with narrower lames than in the form immediately preceding, and there is a twisted ridge across the knuckles. The coudières are sharply rounded over the elbow joint with bivalve guards. The taces are in four lames, and the tassets buckled on; there is the usual arrangement in the centre for the insertion of the brayette or cod-piece, which is missing. The armet-collar is laminated behind. The sollerets are of the “bear-paw” form.
Fig. 20.—Fluted Maximilian Suit at Berlin.
There is a remarkably fine suit of Maximilian armour in the Königl. Bayer Armée Museum at Munich. It is not, however, quite such a characteristic example as the ones already given, inasmuch as the pauldrons, besides not being winged, are without pikeguards. The armpits are protected by spiked rondelles. In all other respects this suit is identical with the one preceding.
A suit at the National Museum, Munich, of which a drawing is given in [Fig. 21], is more shapely than the one preceding, and differs in some rather essential particulars. The armet has a very projecting and grated visor. The pauldrons are more comprehensive; the cuirass more globose. The mitten gauntlets with fluted cuffs are very beautiful, and the finger plates are wonderfully flexible. This is rather an early form of the “Maximilian” gauntlet, and would date the suit between 1505 and 1510.
Armour was often worn at this period with helmets of a grotesque character. A drawing is given in Fig. 22 of a suit at Nuremberg, badly set up, with an armet of this character. The armour is fluted. There are some of these grotesque helmets, of the same period, at Vienna, and the author has a couple of a later time in his own collection.
Although armour of the Maximilian period is usually fluted this is by no means always the case, and a smooth suit of that school in the author’s collection is now described, and a drawing of it follows in [Fig. 23], which somewhat incongruously exhibits the knight as holding a flamberge, which is a footman’s weapon.
Fig. 21.—Fluted Maximilian Suit at Munich.
Fig. 22.—Fluted Maximilian Suit, with Grotesque Helmet.
Fig. 23.—Plain Maximilian Suit, in the Author’s Collection.
Though not fluted, this suit belongs to the style and period of fluted armour. It is of noble form and fine workmanship. The armet is graceful in outline, with a twisted comb, and there are twin perforations on each side of the crown-piece. The visor exhibits the series of ridges so characteristic of the period, and there is a projecting peg on the right side to work it, and a spring catch on the same side to close it, while a similar catch connects the bavier with the crown-piece. The collar terminates in a grooved rim, which is articulated behind. The gorget is strengthened by an extra inner plate in the centre, riveted on to the outer; and a lamination towards each shoulder lends elasticity to the piece. The cuirass differs radically from the Gothic form. It is globular without a tapul ridge, and is shorter in the waist. The “movement” below the breastplate is a combination of taces and tassets. The former consist of three lames over the abdomen joined on to the rim of the cuirass; and the latter are in five lames, being riveted on to the lowest rim of the former. The breastplate is cut short at the top, along which runs a thick twisted projecting rim, and just below this are two small perforations in the centre. This rim is continued round the armpits on the outside edge of a laminar plate attached to the breastplate. A lance-rest is on the right side. The brassards are apparently of a somewhat later date than the rest of the suit, the pauldrons being exactly the same in form as those on a suit, of German origin, made for King Philip II. of Spain about 1540. The gauntlets are of the mitten type, and finely wrought. The knuckle-piece has a twisted ridge, and a smaller piping decorates the edge of the cuff and the last plate over the fingers. The cuffs are hinged, and clasp with a hole and peg. The cuisses have one lamination at the top, on which is a narrow twisted rim, and below it a very thick twisted ridge. The genouillières are small and “butterfly,” while the sollerets are bear-paw, thickly ridged over the toes, and very handsome. This suit presents many points of contact with a harness made by Koloman Kolman for Count Andreas von Sonnenberg, about 1506. There is another fine unfluted suit of about this period in the Tower collection, said to have been made for Henry VIII. The visor of the armet is grated, and the tapulled breastplate is rendered more mobile by two laminated plates at the bottom. The taces and tassets are riveted together, the former consisting of four lames, and the latter of seven. The pauldrons are a pair, and there is only a pikeguard on the left side, but whether the other shoulder was holed or not for a fellow, as is generally the case when only one, the author does not remember. Viscount Dillon states that the suit is composed of 235 interlocking pieces, and weighs about 93 pounds. It was specially made for foot fighting.
We will close the “Maximilian” examples pure and simple by briefly referring to a fine fluted suit on horseback formerly in the collection at the Chateau De Heeswijk, near Bois-le-Duc. This suit ([Fig. 24]) is almost identical with that already referred to in the Königl. Bayer Armée Museum at Munich, and the figure carries a tournament lance, with the coronal. The bards are contemporaneous with the armed figure, and the same theme of repoussé ornamentation runs throughout the entire armament.
Fig. 24.—Mounted Maximilian Suit, with Bards.
PART XI.
ARMOUR WITH LAMBOYS OR BASES.
As already mentioned, a very distinctive feature of this period, which lasted only four, or at the very most six decades, is the skirt of mail called “lamboys,” or in the language of the day, “bases,” which resembles a full gathered or plain petticoat, or kilt of laminated hoops, held together with “Almayne” rivets. A drawing is given of this kind of armour from an example in the author’s collection ([Fig. 25]), which is said to have come from an old castle in the Tyrol into the family from whom he obtained it. The suit could only be traced back some seventy or eighty years. Armour with long skirts was current during the reign of Henry VI., but this description differed from the “bases” of the reign of Henry VIII. in the plates being flexible in a vertical direction; capable, as Viscount Dillon says in Archæologia, vol. li., p. 258, of being lifted up like a Venetian blind. As shown by the fine suit with lamboys or bases, by Conrad Seusenhofer, in the Tower of London, which will be commented on somewhat later in these pages, it is obvious that this style of armour was to the fore during the later years of Maximilian’s reign, but it became more de rigueur in that of his successor. The general pose of the suit ([Fig. 25]) is excellent and characteristic. The armet is fluted and “Maximilian” in three pieces, and is a most perfect specimen and graceful in outline. There is a small comb on the crown-piece, and a plume-socket. The visor moves on rosettes of nine petals, and it projects sharply forward to a point, the front consisting of four deeply indented bevels, with two broad lights above them, and two smaller slits in each bevel. There is a spring-catch for closing the visor. The bevor is attachable to the crown-piece by a similar catch. The helmet has a collar of three lames, and weighs five pounds. It is almost identical in form with one catalogued No. 47 among the helmets exhibited at the rooms of the Royal Archæological Institute in July 1880. The date given is 1515–30. In all probability the helmet on [Fig. 25] was made earlier than the date fixed upon for the suit, and perhaps was not worn with it. The cuirass has a tapul with a projection near the base, like the “peascod,” and this feature seems at first to be indicative of a rather later date than 1550–60. The same form is present, however, on a suit with lamboys in the Vienna collection, made by Mathaus Frauenpreis of Augsburg in 1550. This armour, like the one in the author’s collection, is for fighting on foot. The lamboys in [Fig. 25] consist of nine lames, the lowest much broader than the others, with a band studded with rivets for an inner lining, terminating with an ornamental string-like piping. These skirts are attached to the lower rim of the cuirass by sliding adjustable screws, and each lame is provided with a similar screw on both sides for attaching the back and front portions together. The back of the lamboys is the same as the front. These sliding rivets are believed to be the “Almayne” rivets so often referred to in inventories of the reign of Henry VIII. They are present also on the fine suit with lamboys in the Tower, made by Conrad Seusenhofer of Innsbruck for Henry VIII. The Tower suit is earlier than the one under discussion, has pikeguards, and the “base” has a brass border, which was doubtless once gilded or silvered. The pauldrons of the author’s suit are very large, and of equal size both back and front, while the rerebrace is freely laminated. The coudières are cup-formed, and go nearly round the elbow joints. The heart-shaped guards, the tops of the pauldrons, and bottom of the rerebrace are enriched by a small piping. The gauntlets are “mitten,” quite complete, and of fine workmanship. The cuffs have their upper edges adorned with a similar piping to that on the other pieces, and the same design is repeated at the base of the last finger plate. Over the knuckles is a bold twisted piping, and the laminated plates over the back of the hand number five above the ridge, while those below are the same in number. The gauntlet is of the type prevailing about 1535–40. The cuisses and jambs have a ridge running down to the sollerets, while the genouillières are ornamented with a double bevel in the centre. The knee-guard is oval, and bevelled in the centre. The sollerets are small, and of the “bec-de-cane” type.
Fig. 25.—Suit with Lamboys, in the Author’s Collection.
PART XII.
SOME ARMOUR-SMITHS OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
The armour-smiths who stand out prominently during this period are the Negrolis of Milan, who have already been referred to, the later Kolmans of Augsburg, and the Seusenhofers of Innsbruck. An example by Koloman Kolman, son of Lorenz, may be seen at the Armeria Real, Madrid (Catálogo No. A65), in a harness made for Charles V. Tuilles are here replaced by tassets, and the figure has a “stechtarche” or tournament shield at the shoulder. Another example, in a noble unfluted suit, is at Vienna. It was made for Count Andreas von Sonnenberg about 1506, and has been already referred to. Desiderius, son of Koloman, also turned out work of the highest character. A specimen of his handiwork is in the Madrid collection. The Kolman’s mark is an armet surmounted by a cross, with the Augsburg armour-smiths’ guild badge. Very little is known concerning the work of Hans Seusenhofer of Innsbruck, beyond the curious “piped” harness at Vienna, made for the Emperor Charles V. when a youth. We have an example of that of his brother Conrad in the exquisite mounted suit, with lamboys, in the Tower of London, made by order of the Emperor Maximilian I., and presented by him to Henry VIII. The date is 1514, and it is chastely engraved with the cognizances of the king, and of his consort Katharine of Arragon. The general theme of the ornamentation throughout is the legend of St. George. The suit is referred to by Viscount Dillon in the Archæologia, vol. li. The armourer’s mark is on the helmet, and the suit has been originally silvered over. Jörg Seusenhofer, son of Hans, worthily closes the line; specimens of his work are at the Musée d’Artillerie, Paris, and there is a splendidly enriched harness at Vienna made for the Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol, about 1547. The collection at the Königl. Zeughaus, Berlin, is in possession of a fine example by this master in a suit made for Francis I. of France. It is engraved and gilded in the French style, evidently in compliment to the King, or by his orders. The breastplate exhibits an early instance of the “peascod.” The leg armour and sollerets are palpable “restorations.” Other examples by this master are given under the heading “Enriched Armour.” The engraving for this suit was done by Hans Perckhamer. Another celebrated armour-smith, who worked under the Emperor Maximilian II., is M. Frauenpreis of Augsburg, of whose work an admirable specimen with lamboys, which has been already referred to, exists at Vienna.
PART XIII.
DEFENSIVE ARMOUR, 1540–1620, AND TO THE END.
Defensive armour experienced another change a little before the middle of the sixteenth century, viz., in the casting aside of fluted armour, for the reasons already stated, and the resumption of plain steel. Suits became generally lighter, and the form of the breastplate changed, with a hump over the stomach or the abdomen. During the second half of the century the cuisse and tasset tend to combine in a series of laminated plates to the knee, and sollerets were smaller and more the shape of the foot; indeed, greaves and sollerets began to be replaced by leather boots. This period was specially remarkable for profuse and artistic ornamentation. Armour was engraved by hand and manipulated with aquafortis, as well as embossed and damascened with gold, in a manner that has never been surpassed in any work of the kind whatever. There is a very fine suit of the period, 1550–60, at the Königliche Zeughaus, Berlin, made by the elder von Speyer; and though the armour is enriched, it has been described in this section by way of showing a typical harness of the period in its order. It was undoubtedly made by Peter von Speyer in 1560 for the Kurfürst Joachim II. of Brandenburg, and is thus historic. The letters P. V. S., with the year, appear several times on the armour, and the Brandenburg arms decorate the breast. The helmet is the burgonet, the cuirass is shorter than the fashion immediately preceding, while the rim of the breastplate stands out sharply beyond the tassets. The breastplate projects a little below the centre, and the shoulder-pieces and general pose, with the before-mentioned features, are all characteristic of the year of make. The ornamentation in repoussé work is very fine. This suit has been fully and ably described by Dr. Edgar von Ubisch in the Hohenzollern Jahrbuch of 1899. (See illustration, [Fig. 26].) Descriptions in detail and illustrations are given of various suits of the second half of the sixteenth century. During this half century (sixteenth) defensive armour may be said in some respects to have reached its highest point of excellence; but towards its close unmistakable signs of decadence began to appear, and cap-à-pie suits fell gradually into disuse. This was caused by the inability of the armour to resist the then more penetrating firearms, or perhaps even still more, because the newer tactics demanded lighter cavalry and fighting more in masses, and less from individual efforts hand-to-hand. A style of demi-armour, called the “Allecret,” largely prevailed during the second half of the sixteenth century. The name is a corruption of “allekraft” (all strength). The peculiarities of this fashion will be shown in an example from the author’s collection ([Fig. 27]), which will be fully described later in these pages. This half-armour was often worn by light horsemen, household troops, and leaders of companies. It is very common to find, especially in family collections, some particular suit or suits ascribed to a great ancestor, but this is nearly always romance. It is an uncommon advantage to find a harness dated with the year, as some few are. There is a suit of this kind in the National Museum, Munich, with the date 1597 inscribed, and others at Nuremberg and Berlin. The more that is seen of armour, 1560–1600, the greater is the difficulty in many cases of fixing any approximate date, or arriving at any standard for suits covered by the period. Many suits were restored again and again, and this naturally gives rise to great perplexity. With this period closes the pre-eminence in the field of the knightly order, as such.
Fig. 26.—Suit by Peter von Speyer of Annaberg, dated 1560.
The decline of armour may be said to have already commenced contemporaneously with the period of its greatest elaboration, in the sense that half-armour began to be freely worn early in the second half of the sixteenth century, indeed, a figure of a Swiss halbardier, given in Holbein’s “Costumes Suisses,” of the first half of the century wears merely a light sallad, with cuirass and taces; and the rank and file of pikemen, billmen, and harquebusiers generally bore a similar equipment. Even the “Allecret” description, which is half-armour, was greatly used by the leaders of companies and mercenaries generally; while what might constitute a battalion or combined body of troops was often under the command of a captain belonging to the knightly order, still armed cap-à-pie. The fact is, that full armour could not be constantly worn during a long campaign as then conducted without injury to health, and its use became more and more restricted to the knightly order and men-at-arms, who were not generally exposed to the same hardships as the common soldier. The man-at-arms of the sixteenth century became the pistolier and cuirassier of the seventeenth, and then wore half-armour. The example of demi-armour ([Fig. 27]), sometimes called “Allecret,” dates from late in Queen Elizabeth’s reign; but a demi-harness, with other details, was worn much earlier, and notably by the German Landsknecht and the Swiss. The main features of this suit are that there are elbow gauntlets, a fashion adopted from the Asiatics; and that the gorget and épaulières are riveted together. The specimen under discussion is probably of English make. A shirt of mail was possibly worn beneath it, but this defence was generally dispensed with by the end of the sixteenth century. The “Triumph of Maximilian” shows leaders of footmen wearing half-armour. Black and white demi-armour was very common at this time, and an interesting example of this description is given in [Fig. 28]. Its general characteristics are as follows:—The burgonet is open, and the gorget, which is riveted to the épaulières, has two laminations at the neck, around the highest of which is a corded rim. The breastplate is short, with a projection over the navel. The taces are riveted to the tassets, which descend to the knee. There are no brassards, but short elbow gauntlets protect the hands and lower arms. The figure has jackboots, and is of early seventeenth century date.
Fig. 27.—Plain Demi-suit, in the Author’s Collection.
Fig. 28.—Black and White Demi-Suit, in the Author’s Collection.
Fig. 29.—Late Suit at Munich, 1590–1620.
Cap-à-pie harnesses tended to become lighter as time wore on, and in the last quarter of the century the tasset and cuisse became combined in a series of light overlapping plates, directly attached to the cuirass and riveted on to the genouillières; which in their turn become attachable to the jambs by an adjustable screw. A representation is given of a late suit of armour of this description in [Fig. 29], where the helmet is the collared burgonet, which is characteristic of the end of the sixteenth and early in the seventeenth century. The cuirass has three horizontal laminations over the abdomen, while the upper leg and thigh armour is the combination already referred to. The elbow gauntlets of the suit are very characteristic of the period. The harness dates from very late in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, or possibly even later.
Many writers lay far too much stress on the use of firearms as the main cause of the gradual disuse of armour. Coming easy to hand, it was eagerly adopted by many writers on the subject, but like most generalisations it is misleading. That it was a potent factor in this direction is certain, but it was only one of the many causes which have been already touched upon in these pages. The general demand for cap-à-pie armour languished from the end of the sixteenth century forward, and with it vanished the taste and skill of making and decorating it; for we have very little more of the exquisite work of the “renaissance,” the vigour and force of which had spent itself. Here and there a fine suit is met with, usually made for royalty, but always lacking finish in the details; the majority are sadly inferior in material, workmanship, and decoration—indeed, the character of the work is coarse in every particular, and became more so as time moved on. The change in armour during the first half of the seventeenth century was very great. The breastplate became flat and very short, and open helms were much worn. The representation ([Fig. 30]) of a very early seventeenth century suit is from the armoury at Brancepeth Castle, Durham. This suit probably dates from very early in the seventeenth century. The helmet has an umbril over the eyes. Immediately under the peak is the ocularium of two very broad slits—the visor is grated. The suit is freely studded over with rather large-headed rivets, the gorget is pointed, cuirass short with lance-rest, but no garde-de-reine. To a broad rim at the bottom, tassets, consisting of nine lames, are attached by straps and buckles. The coudières are sharply pointed at the elbow. The most remarkable and distinctive feature in connection with this suit is the protection given to the inner arm by a series of small and very mobile laminated plates, attached to the rerebrace and vambrace by rivets; another example with a similar arrangement may be seen in the Tower. Cuisse and jamb have a high ridge running down the centre in front, the genouillières having a thicker projection, bevelled at the sides, in a line with the ridge on the other two pieces.
Plate armour fell into discredit during the seventeenth century and gradually disappeared, the pikeman being the last of the foot soldiers to use it. The cuirass was the last piece generally worn, and this in time gave place, except in the case of the cuirassiers, to the buff coat and jerkin.
Fig. 30.—Late Suit at Brancepeth Castle.
Among the great armour-smiths who worked from 1540 to the end of the century may be mentioned Kunz Lochner of Nuremberg, who was perhaps the greatest artist in steel of the German “renaissance.” A suit made for Duke Johann Wilhelm of Weimar about 1560–65, at Dresden, is very typical of his time. The comb of the burgonet is high, the neck-piece consists of three lames; the breastplate is short and “peascod”; while the cuisses exhibit an early instance of coming to the knees. This suit is referred to under the heading “Enriched Armour.” Anton Peffenhauser of Augsburg began somewhat later, and worked up to the end of the century. A notable example of this master may be seen at Madrid, in an enriched harness made for Don Sebastian of Portugal in 1576 ([Fig. 39]); and there are others at Dresden. Sigmund Rockenberger of Wittenberg; the von Speyers of Annaberg in Saxony, and the two Wilhelms von Worms, and Heinrich Knopf of Nuremberg; Giovanni Battista Serabagio, and Lucio Piccinino of Milan, were all great artists of their time; and examples of their work may be seen at Vienna, Dresden, and Berlin. Mention of the work of Jakob Topf of Innsbruck first appears about 1575, and an attempt has been made to identify this armour-smith with the “Jacobe” of the South Kensington Album, but with very slender foundation in point of evidence, as it seems to us. Some further sifting of the matter would be interesting.
PART XIV.
ENRICHED ARMOUR.
This class of armour was more for parade purposes than for actual service in the field, and it was much used in the lists. Most suits of the kind were provided with a set of reinforcing pieces for jousts and tourneying. These pieces have already been fully described under “The Tournament” heading, and illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11. The amount of artistic skill of the very highest order that was lavished on the ornamentation of armour in the later “middle ages,” and especially during the “renaissance,” was a remarkable feature of the times, and artists of the greatest repute found constant and lucrative employment in designing for this purpose. Suits were finely and delicately chased, engraved, russeted, and enriched with gold, embossed, damascened, appliqued, and decorated with repoussé work.
Fig. 31.—Suits by Jörg Seusenhofer of Innsbruck.
Italy and Germany were the workshops for the finest specimens, and Milan, Brescia, Nuremberg, Augsburg, Innsbruck, Venice, Florence, besides other places, vied with one another in the production of specimens of consummate skill and elegance. French examples were coarser and less artistic in every way, while there was but little of knightly armour made in England, and that little, excepting for a very brief period, was of a vastly inferior description. The number of artists and craftsmen, in widely different branches of art and manufacture, who were employed to design, turn out, and finish a suit of armour, or a weapon for war or for the chase, was simply legion; and, of course, in the case of enriched suits, or arms, still more were brought into requisition. There is the designer, modeller, steel, silver and gold smiths, carvers, enamellers, inlayers, engravers, repoussé or workers in hammered work, damasceners, polishers, and hosts of other craftsmen, each contributing his quota of industry and skill to one complete whole. Artists of the very highest celebrity, such as Donatello,[33] Michael Angelo, Albrecht Dürer, Leonardo da Vinci, Benvenuto Cellini, and Hans Holbein, had no higher ideal than in designing for this kind of work, and some of them were engaged in engraving also. It is well known that many armour-smiths employed other artists for designing and ornamentation, while others, like Kunz Lochner of Nuremberg, did their own embellishing as well as the smith’s work. An illustration is given in [Fig. 31] of two very fine suits by Jörg Seusenhofer of Innsbruck. They are both tastefully engraved, and appear to be of a somewhat earlier make than the archducal suit by the same master, referred to in a previous chapter, and differ from it, as well as from each other, in some rather important features, especially in the form of the cuirasses and tassets. Only one of the three has pikeguards. These suits were made about 1540.
Fig. 32.—Cuirass and Tassets, at Dresden.
There is a chastely enriched harness in the Kriegswaffen-Saal at Dresden attributed to Wilhelm von Worms. A drawing is given in [Fig. 32] of the cuirass and tassets. On the left side of the breastplate is engraved a figure of a knight kneeling before the crucified Christ on the cross. The top of the breastplate is tastefully ornamented with a shield, with foliations on either side. This example is specially valuable, as it bears the date of make—1539.
An example in black and white may be seen at Berlin, the bright spaces being engraved. The breastplate is adorned with an engraved figure of Christ on the cross, and the gorget bears the legend: SOLVS SPES MEA CHRISTVS. A rondelle protects the right armpit. The left pauldron is a restoration. The suit dates about 1570.
There is a remarkable harness at Berlin, dating from about the middle of the sixteenth century. The cuirass, taces, and tassets are banded with an ornamentation of chevrons, which are bright and black alternately. Each row is defined with lines of brass, probably originally gilded. The cuisses are bright on the upper portions, which are enriched alternately with piping and small overlapping plates like shillings; the lower portions are black, and so also are the jambs. The sollerets are small and “bear-paw,” the extremities adorned with alternate bright and black flutings; the pauldrons are treated in the same manner. The rerebraces are ornamented with thick, circular coils to resemble puffs; there are no coudières, but the joint is rendered mobile by eleven narrow lames. There is a boy’s harness of similar make at Vienna, by Hans Seusenhofer, dating about 1511. This suit is obviously a copy of the civil dress of the time.