The barding of the horse (which does not belong to the suit) is magnificent. It was made (according to Herr Leitner) after the designs of the famous engraver, Hans Burgmair, and came into the possession of Charles on the death of his grandfather, Maximilian. It is of steel, lined with silk, and beautifully scalloped at the edges. The poitrel and croupière are adorned by allegorical groups, illustrating notable feats of strength; the figures are in low relief and partly gilded. On the right side, we see Hercules strangling the serpents, wrestling with Antæus, slaying the Hydra, and subduing the Minotaur; on the left, Samson carrying off the gates of Gaza, breaking the lion’s jaws, being shorn of his locks by Delilah, and pulling down the Temple of Dagon. Hercules as a child again appears amid embossed foliations on the chanfron. The croupière is completed above the tail by a dolphin’s head. The saddle is even richer than the bard, and is adorned with fantastic figures engraved on steel.
Attached to the second figure of the harness (A151), is a notable helmet in the form of an eagle. The head and beak form the visor, the legs in low relief cross the cheek-pieces, and the talons appear to grasp the beavor, upholding between them the Imperial shield, finely engraved. This beavor was the subject of keen competition between King Alfonso XII. and the late Sir Richard Wallace, who, at last, gave it up to His Catholic Majesty (plate 106).
The figure also shows a fine coat of steel mail, traditionally ascribed to Charles V. Over this was worn a corselet, protecting the back and breast, and descending from the shoulders to the waist, diminishing in breadth till it ends in a point. Attached to it are shoulder-guards of three plates. This is the only piece of the kind in the Armoury—perhaps in the world. It was no doubt worn, like the peculiar arm-piece described on p. 81, over a stout leather jerkin (plate 105).
The light helmet, A154, has a cleverly designed and beautifully executed crest and visor, which, looked at in front, resembles an eagle’s head; behind, some monstrous animal’s mask; and sideways, a dolphin.
The light war harness, A157 is incomplete, many of the pieces being in the Imperial Armoury at Vienna. It was made for the Emperor in 1543, by Desiderius Colman, at the time of the campaign against the Duke of Cleves and Francis I. of France. The suit is decorated with the vertical bands of which Charles was fond, probably because they made him look taller.
The maker of the suit A159-163 (plate 34) is unknown, but he was certainly an Italian, and not improbably the illustrious Negroli. The decoration consists, as usual, of broad vertical bands, inlaid, alternately of gold and silver; these are cut diagonally by sections of gold leaves, which festoon all the pieces.
The suit A164 (plate 35) has been immortalised by Titian, in whose picture (No. 457) in the Prado Gallery, Charles is shown wearing it. The armourer’s mark proves that it was made in 1544—three years before the Battle of Mühlberg, where it was worn by the Emperor. This, thinks the Conde de Valencia, must have been the last suit worn by him in the field. “The four complete cuirasses, and the extra backplates comprised in it ... show that the Emperor was then a victim of frequent attacks of gout, and replaced uncomfortable cuirasses by such as were easier.”
The first figure (A164) has been armed in accordance with Titian’s portrait. It is composed of breast and backplates, with taces; tassets; laminated gorget; espaliers reaching to elbows over sleeves of steel mail; and strong gauntlets with fingers united two and two.
“These pieces, combined with the triple-crest morion, the javelin, and pistolet K51, fastened to the front bow of the saddle, form the armour called herreruelos, which appeared for the first time in that war, as related by Nuñez de Alba in his Dialogos del soldado, who, being a soldier himself, was in the 1547 campaign against the Schmalkalden Protestant League.”
The figure A165 (plate 40) is fitted with pieces of the same suit, after the portrait attributed to Pantoja de la Cruz in the Escorial Library. It consists of: armet with visor in two pieces, and a grating over the beavor; laminated gorget; cuirass with taces; lance-rest; the usual arm armour; tassets; cuisses, and demi-jambs.