The Garde-de-Bras was essentially a protection for the left arm in tilting; it was attached to the coudière.
The Maximilian armour for fighting on foot in the lists was of very elaborate workmanship, but not as a rule embellished with the ornamentation which distinguished the equestrian suit. A complete suit for this purpose is preserved in the Tower; it was made for King Henry VIII., and is one of the finest in existence, containing as it does over two hundred separate pieces, most of them provided with a hollow groove which fits over a corresponding ridge upon the adjacent piece, thus presenting such a perfect interlocking system that the suit could not be taken to pieces without the greatest trouble. There are no goussets or exposed parts of the person of the wearer, the whole body being enclosed in a case of steel whose joints do not permit of the passage of a pin. It weighs nearly one hundred pounds, and has the broad-toed sabbatons of the period, and not only is the armour carried inside the legs and arms at the bends but plates are also provided under the seat. The breastplate has a slight ridging down the centre, the precursor of the tapul or prominent projection so characteristic of the breastplates immediately following. Upon this suit arm and knee protections are used similar to those illustrated in [Fig. 376].
Lamboys or Bases.—The drapery used at this time, depending in folds from the waist and hanging over the thighs, was occasionally imitated in steel, but examples preserved to the present age are of great rarity.
Fig. 384.
Fig. 385.—Three-quarter suit “slashed” armour, 1520. (Wallace Collection.)
The finest in existence is probably that preserved in the Tower, which once belonged to Henry VIII.; it is a suit made by Seusenhofer of Innsbruck, and was presented to the king by Maximilian I., in 1514 ([Fig. 384]). It is shown mounted in the collection, a portion of the lamboys back and front being removable for the purpose. A close helmet with gorget attached protects the head and neck; pike-guards are affixed to both pauldrons, and a tapul appears upon the breastplate. The legs are encased in close-fitting plate defences with no elaborate ornamentation; indeed, but for a beautifully-designed border in brass with the initials H and K appearing upon it, it is now practically devoid of ornamentation. This, however, was compensated for when new by being silvered.