R. Coltman Clephan

“ The steel, which looks as if it had an admixture of silver, is stronger in texture, brighter and tougher than that of any other period. Sad it is that there are so few perfect specimens of this armour left to us, for most of the armour wrought up to the middle of the century has become the prey of rust, the iconoclast, and the melting pot. The suits at Sigmaringen, Munich, Nuremberg, Vienna, and Berlin are among the most homogeneous the author has seen. ”

“ These extra tilting pieces made their appearance in the reign of Edward IV., but they were known in Germany several decades earlier. It was early when suits of armour were made differently for battle and for tournaments, as William Lord Bergavenny bequeathed to his son “the best sword and harness for justs of peace and that which belong to war.”
Late in the fifteenth century there were complete tilting harnesses of such immense weight that a knight once unhorsed lay on the ground absolutely helpless, and often could not rise without the assistance of his varlets. ”

“ The Negrolis, who worked after the Missaglias, seem to have been of the same family, and, as Boeheim points out, the name “Missaglia,” like that of Ferrara, seems to have originated as a “place” designation. Examples of the work of the Negrolis may be seen both at Vienna and Madrid. Their work represents the full swing of the “renaissance.”
Milan, where the Missaglias worked, is not the only town in Italy where there is a Via degli Armorari and a Via degli Spadari, showing that there were then separate guilds for armour- and sword-making in that country. ”

“ So much so was this the case, that owing to their dilatory habit both hand-guns and ordnance were frequently captured in battle after a first discharge, and their servers rendered hors de combat. They had practically nothing with which to defend themselves. The long dagger screwed into the butt of the rest was no match at all as against long-handled weapons, such as the gisarme, halbard, and bill. All this taxed the ingenuity of the time for the production of a surer and more reliable weapon with more simplicity of action. ”

“ The armour-smith’s best efforts were directed not only to give increased protection to the limbs and make the armour light, flexible, and impenetrable;115 but the flutings and escalloped edges were designed to produce beauty of form and outline, as well as with a view to deflecting the weapon of attack from vital points; and the armour was equally mobile for fighting on foot or on horseback. We owe its initiation doubtless to Italy, in which country, together with Germany, it reached its highest pitch of excellence ”

“ It is profusely inlaid with gold, and the ornamentation is most elegant. The sumptuous and elaborate decoration, which is in the banded Italian style in repoussé or hammered work, with arabesqued foliations, is interspersed with medallions encircling male and female figures. The helmet and suit throughout is closely in touch with the elegant Italian school of the end of the sixteenth century, which, however, already erred on the side of redundancy in ornamentation. The close of all great periods culminates with this great fault, sharply marking the beginning of the end ”

“ It is, in fact, impossible to lay down any arbitrary dates, or anything like a clear line of demarcation in respect to the relative proportions of chain and plate armour in use by English men-at-arms up to the beginning of the fifteenth century; but the fortunate preservation in our churches of the remarkable series of effigies and monumental brasses helps us greatly. ”

“ It takes many years and opportunities of study to achieve much in the direction of judging armour, and it is only by a close comparison, not merely of individual pieces, with a careful examination of every detail, but also a knowledge of the makes of steel of the various ages covered, their composition, manipulation, and relative degrees of hardness, that a reasonable amount of certainty can be arrived at. ”

“ The Wallace armour is a great accession to our store, but this collection still remains unpacked. The almost constant warfare, both in Germany and Italy, during the middle ages naturally made the manufacture of armour more of a speciality in these countries than in England, and the effect of the Italian “renaissance” was especially seen in profuse and artistic ornamentation, which at length came to be more regarded even than strength itself—it was, in fact, a fine art. Much of the armour was covered with embossed figures, engraved, chased, and damascened with gold. ”

“ The work of Tomaso is conspicuous for purity of style and nobility of form, and, from an artistic point of view, it has no rivals. Armour of his period was generally plain, but the more pronounced passion for decoration of the time120 found expression in the work of his son; an example of whose skill may be seen in the case of a helmet in the Tower of London, and at Vienna is the superb Gothic suit with pikeguards, already referred to, made for the Count of Gajazzo. Tomaso was, it is believed, the first master to use armourer’s marks. ”

“ Now that the armour period has been roughly covered, the evolution of each important piece will be followed to its decadence, when hand-to-hand fighting was rarer,68 and strategy in masses more developed, as the proud knight had at length become of minor importance as against organised infantry, which was now “the strength of the battle,” and when the use of various weapons of attack, especially the harquebus, became general. Tactics in warfare were at a very low ebb during the fourteenth century, and the military scandals of that time were many. ”

“ There are swords bearing the brand “Andrewea Ferrara” with a St. Andrew’s Cross, which clearly discloses their Scottish origin, or at all events is suggestive of their having been made in or for Scotland. Indeed, almost all Scottish blades bearing the name of Ferara, with variations, are of seventeenth century make, some even later. We know that it was a common practice of many of the German smiths during the “renaissance” to inscribe their blades with the names of Italian makers; and while Ferara blades are to be met with all over Europe, strangely enough very few are to be found in Italy. ”

“ The armament consists of a mentonnière of several laminated plates to be raised or lowered, cuirass with rondelles, taces of five or more overlapping plates, going right across the lower body, but no tuilles, cuisse with genouillières and hinged jambs; laminated rerebraces, and large pointed coudières. The fingers of the gauntlets are articulated, with a sharp gadling over each knuckle, and sollerets “à la poulaine.” This monument doubtless represents armour of the first half of the century. ”

“ The conquest of England by the Normans, the stirring incidents of the first crusade, when we have the shrewd account of the arms and armour of the crusaders by the Byzantine Princess Anna Comnena, and the general martial spirit of the age, lent an immense impetus in the eleventh and twelfth centuries to warlike equipment of all kinds ”

“ Mixed armour in France went well into the fifteenth century. Broadly speaking, mixed armour was used in England during the last quarter of the thirteenth to the end of the fourteenth century, but nearly full-plate armour began to be seen there in the reign of Richard II. It had, however, been in vogue in Germany and Italy for some decades before it was generally worn by the English, and it is probable that the earlier complete suits in England were imported from Germany or Italy, which countries set the fashion. ”

“ There are several sallads of the Italian type, a beautiful breastplate in two plates, a backplate, some gardes-de-reine, a cuisse with a small butterfly genouillière guard, rounded flutings radiating from the centre of the upper thigh, several broken gauntlets, besides other fragments, and a tilting helm of the end of the fifteenth century, on which fifteen of the staples remain; the helm is perforated on one side only. ”

“ It was not before the reign of Elizabeth that any large body of troops could advance in close column without breaking its formation. Armies in the sixteenth century no longer consisted of mere feudal and communal levies, but were organised into companies and regiments, the battalion becoming the recognised unit for the infantry in the reign of James I. Systematic tactics were introduced, and the proper proportions of horse, foot, and artillery in the field determined. ”

“ Much depended naturally on the training of the horses, which were sometimes ridden blindfold. The legs and feet of the competitors were without armour, except the “diechlinge,” so that the rider could sit firmly supported on the saddle. The “diechlinge” served as a protection for the thigh and knee. Such a defence was necessary, owing to the risk of these limbs of the combatants colliding. In the Dresden Museum, in the “Turnierwaffen-Saal,” an interesting and very realistic representation of a German “Sharfrennen” may be seen, the combatants facing each other, fully armed, with lances in rest. ”

“ It would thus appear that the dignity of knighthood was only conferred on men possessing a suitable estate, and that the two grades were based on the extent of estate; which, of course, implied the number of vassals available for military service. Although the pennon was the ensign of a knight-bachelor, we have the authority of Du Fresne that an esquire could also bear one, always providing that he could ride with a sufficient number of vassals.
Orders of knighthood appear to have originated in France, and were introduced into England probably by the Normans. ”

“ Albert, who died in 1500, wears the armet, pauldrons with pikeguards,17 and broad sollerets. Another duke, who died seventeen years later, shows tassets of five lames, and “bear-paw” sollerets. The armour of Duke Frederick, who died in 1539, shows mitten gauntlets of numerous narrow lames.
Gothic armour is the most perfect of all. It is more “mobile” than any of the later schools, and was made to fit almost like a glove; and as the details of suits are no longer obscured by the surcoat on effigies, we have these representations to guide us, as well as actual specimens. ”

“ It was the first duty of the archers in battle to send clouds of arrows against charges of cavalry, so as to disorganise their formation by killing or wounding as many of the horses of the opposing host as possible, thus causing confusion in the enemy’s ranks by rendering many riders hors de combat, and though rarely able to pierce a harness of proof, the arrows often found an interstice in the armour. ”

“ With the exception of the fine specimens in the collection at the Tower of London, it is in Germany where most of the Gothic and Maximilian suits have been preserved, and a few are still to be met with in Italy and Spain. It is a great pity that the armour possessed by the nation should be scattered over so many places, instead of being concentrated in one grand national collection. ”

“ The growing power of the Hanseatic Bund did more than anything else in Germany towards the enfranchisement of the towns from the galling fetters of feudalism. This mighty organisation, in the heyday of its power, consisted of over a hundred of the most important towns, scattered over Germany and Northern Europe, and extending as far as Wisby in the Gulf of Bothnia, and even to Novgorod in Russia. ”

“ DETAILS.
The whole suit (Fig. 37) is freely ornamented with arabesqued foliations on a ground of fine vertical lines, banded in the Italian style, interspersed with human heads, some of them grotesque, and enclosed in medallions; and a series of armed figures, which would richly repay a close examination. The helmet is a remarkable piece of workmanship, and forged in a single piece; it weighs seven pounds. It is an Italian casque of a most graceful and classic form. The repoussé ornamentation on it is banded like the rest of the armour. The comb is very high, and fluted all over the crest. ”

“ The gallant knights are distinguished by their belts and gilded spurs.
“The knights are dust
And their good swords are rust,
Their souls are with the saints, we trust.”
81 In the specification for arms and armour for the tournament of Windsor Park (1278) we see of what each suit consisted, viz., “one coat of fence, one surcoat, one pair of ailettes, two crests (one for the horse) , one shield (heraldically ensigned) , one helm of leather (gilded or silvered) , and one sword made of whalebone.” The cost of each armament varied in price from about ten to thirty shillings. ”