Part 7

The drawings are in pen and ink and water-colours and represent twenty-nine full suits, besides the extra pieces for tilting. Some of them are inscribed "Made by me Jacobe," the name of the master armourer at Greenwich during part of Elizabeth's reign, and mentioned by Sir Henry Lee, the Master of the Armoury, in a letter to the Lord Treasurer, dated 12th October 1590, published by Lord Dillon in the fifty-first volume of _Archæologia_. Wendelin Böheim, the curator of the Imperial collections of armour at Vienna, has recently identified this Jacobe with Jacob Topf, one of three brothers, natives of Innsbrück or its vicinity, and who suddenly appears as court armourer in 1575. This post he seems to have retained and worked at Schloss Ambras till his death in 1597. Suits made by him during this period for the Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol and Archduke Charles of Styria certainly bear some resemblance to those in the Album. Böheim infers from the Italian influence seen in his work, especially in the ornament, that Topf must have proceeded from the atelier of Jörg Seusenhofer to Milan or Brescia, about the year 1558, and taken up his abode in England between 1562 and 1575.

To support the identification of the Jacobe of the Album with Jacob Topf of Innsbrück, it is necessary either that all the suits should have been produced before 1575, or that those made at a later time should be regarded as by some other hand. The first two, for Rutland and Bedford, who died respectively in 1563 and 1564, are relatively plain, and have M.R. over them, and the rest E.R., which can only, it would appear, have reference to the initials of the reigning queens. All the figures are practically drawn from one model, though sometimes reversed, and are in an easy and graceful pose. Two of the richest, namely the second suit for Sir Henry Lee, the Master Armourer, No. 19, and the first suit of Sir Christopher Hatton, No. 15 of the Album, are here reproduced in facsimile, though reduced in scale (Plates II. and III.). One holds a mace and the other a truncheon in one hand, with the butt resting upon the hip, while the other arm is bent and the extended palm rests upon the thigh. They wear the close helmet or armet of Italian fashion, with a high comb and a large sharply-pointed visor. The gorgets are laminated, the pauldrons large and massive, the breastplates long-waisted, known as the peascod shape, ending in a point, with a ridge down the centre called the tapul; the tassets are short and laminated. Only the front of the thigh is protected by laminated cuissarts, and the rest of the leg by close-fitting knee-caps and greaves. The sollerets are complete and take the shape of the foot. The swords appear to be simply cross-hilted and worn in scabbards. Both the suits reproduced are richly engraved with vertical bands of gilt arabesqued ornament in the Italian fashion: Sir Christopher Hatton's being on a russet ground with a gold corded pattern connecting the bands; and Sir Henry Lee's on a white ground with a knotted reticulated pattern between. The minor details are considerably varied in the other suits, two of which have been reproduced by Lord Dillon, and two by Böheim in the publications already referred to. The complete list comprises the names of many of the leading nobles and captains of Elizabeth's reign, only two in it being foreigners.

The ornament is sufficiently distinct to admit of the suits being identified where they still exist. Thus the Earl of Pembroke's suit is still at Wilton, in perfect preservation; the suit of George, Earl of Cumberland, is in the possession of Lord Hothfield at Appleby Castle. The grand-guard of this suit, with volant attached, forms the subject of Plate IV., in which the original russet and gilding is somewhat restored. The ornament on the bands is an interlacing strap upon a foliated arabesque ground, with a figure of Mercury near the top, and two E's at intervals addorsed and crowned, coupled by a true-lover's knot. Between are large roses and fleurs-de-lis united by knots. The helmet of Sir Henry Lee's second suit, Plate II., is now in the Tower, having been identified by Lord Dillon, while a locking gauntlet belonging to it is in the Hall of the Armourers' Company. This gauntlet, called the "forbidden gauntlet," was in form of a closed right hand, the fingers fastened by a hook and staple, leaving an aperture for the passage of the weapon which, if a lance, or sword with cross-guard and pommel, could not be dislodged. In the Tower are also the vamplate of Sir Christopher Hatton's second suit, and the complete armour of the Earl of Worcester, with both the headpieces. A helmet of Lord Sussex's suit is in the Tower, and two gauntlets belonging to it were in the Spitzer sale. Lord Bucarte's suit is in the Wallace collection at Hertford House, and another fine suit is in Armourers' Hall.

The first Sir Christopher Hatton suit, Plate III., has also recently reached this country, fortunately in almost perfect condition. It was disposed of in the Spitzer sale, and was purchased by Mr. Davies of New Bond Street. It will be a misfortune if this historic piece is not added to the national collection. Fig. 30 represents the upper part of this suit, taken from a photograph, with the high neck-guards attached to the pauldrons. The original front-plate seems to be lost, but the extra breastplate for tilting and some other extra pieces are preserved.

If Boheim is correct in his identification of Jacobe with Jacob Topf, and in his dates, the armour in the Album must be by different hands. Thus Topf, arriving in 1562, could hardly have made the first two suits marked M.R., the owners of which died, as we have mentioned, in 1563 and 1564 respectively. The mail defence for the instep and the relatively broad toes are features of an earlier time, which the letters M.R. identify as that of Mary, and show that the very broad stirrup of Henry VIII. was still in use. Neither could he, being settled in Innsbrück or at Ambras in 1575, have made the suits for Sir Henry Lee, as Master of the Armoury; nor that for Sir Thomas Bromley, as Lord Chancellor, though the latter suit may have been for Sir Nicholas Bacon, the previous Lord Chancellor. The chief difficulty is the date of Sir Henry Lee's appointment, which Lord Dillon in his able treatise, in the _Archæological Journal_ for June 1895, gives as 1580, and the fact that the solitary mention of Jacobe in any document is by Sir Henry Lee himself, and is dated October 1590, in which he speaks of him as "the M^r workman of Grenewhyche," and in a way that could not well have reference to one who had quitted the post fifteen years before. These difficulties may, however, it is possible, yet be reconciled.

Among the fine suits in the Tower is the equestrian armour of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (Fig. 31), not however one of the suits in the Album. It is, like the Jacobe suits, banded in the Italian fashion, with a similar kind of design upon the bands, and between them a broad impressed diaper of crossed ragged staves and leaves filled with fine arabesques. Among the enrichments can also be seen the George of the Garter, the bear and ragged staff, the initials R.D., and the collar of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, conferred upon this favourite of Queen Elizabeth in 1566. In the illustration of this suit, Fig. 31, the bear and ragged staff is plainly visible on the horse's chamfron, from which issues a twisted spike. The armet is combed, but differs in form from the Jacobe type, and the visor is pierced on one side with round holes. In other respects the fashion of the armour is very similar to that of his enemy, Sir Christopher Hatton. The grand-guard and pass-guard or elbow-guard are preserved with it. The former is illustrated, Plate V., with its original gilding restored, the military cleaning and scouring to which it has been subjected for so many years, not wisely but too well, having obliterated every trace of the original splendour of colour. A portrait of the Earl in this very suit exists, however, to show what it was. He died, it is well known, in 1588.

Several splendid and historic suits are preserved in the Guard-room at Windsor Castle. Among these, one, the suit of Prince Henry of Wales, son of James I. (frontispiece), bears a remarkable resemblance to the Jacobe suits, recalling especially the design of the Cumberland suit, Plate IV. But for the alternation of thistles among the fleurs-de-lis and roses between the bands of gilded ornament, the body armour in both would be nearly identical. The monogram H.P. appears on the gilt bands of strap and arabesque work. The gilding is in fine preservation, and except that the steel was formerly a deep blue, in the Milanese fashion, it is still as represented in the portrait of Prince Henry in the possession of the Marquis of Lothian. It has been attributed to William Pickering, Master of the Armourers' Company of London in 1608-9, on the faith of some payments made to him, which Mr. St. John Hope has noted as follows: "In March 1613, a warrant issued under sign manual, for the payment to Sir Edward Cecil of a balance of £300 due for armour value £450 for the late Prince Henry: and in July 1614 a warrant issued to pay William Pickering, Master of the Armoury at Greenwich, £200 balance of £340 for armour gilt and graven for the late Prince." The helmet somewhat resembles that of the Leicester suit, but has a singularly stiff, vertically-ridged gorget with scalloped edge, and heavier gauntlets. The leg-defences and sollerets do not differ appreciably from those already noticed. A number of the extra pieces and some of the horse armour belonging to the suit are preserved with it. If really by Pickering he was a close copyist of Jacobe. An apparently companion suit of Prince Charles is looked on with suspicion by Lord Dillon. Another of Prince Henry's suits, presented by the Prince de Joinville, and now in the Tower, was originally of blued steel richly ornamented with classical designs in gold. There are also in the Tower a fine suit made for Charles I. when a boy, some silvered pieces, and the richly gilt and engraved armour presented to him by the City of London.

Another suit at Windsor of extraordinary magnificence is that represented in Fig. 32. It is, unfortunately, not well set up, and differs considerably in construction from those hitherto noticed, and is of later date than the Jacobe suits. The tassets are replaced by laminar cuissarts extending to the knee, below which the suit is not continued. The ornament is banded vertically, like that of the suits previously figured, but is of a richer character. Its details and colouring are reproduced on a larger scale in the helmet, Plate VI., which is combed, fluted, and of singularly graceful outline, with all its fastenings, plume-holders, and the stiffly-ribbed gorget in most perfect condition. The whole appears to be a specimen of rare French armour, but nothing is known of its history. Even more sumptuous, if possible, is the Italian suit, Fig. 33, which also exhibits some peculiar characters, such as the single plates in place of the tassets and the construction of the arm-defences and gauntlets. The setting up in this suit is also unfortunately defective. The extraordinary richness of the damascening and appliqué work is reproduced in Fig. 34, in which a portion is sketched real size. Nearly all the escutcheon-like appliqués have been picked off at some period, either for mischief or for the gold. The original owner of this suit is also unknown, but it may, with the one last described, have possibly been a present to Prince Henry, whose passion for military exercises and display is matter of history. The last of our illustrations (Fig. 35) taken from suits in the Windsor Guard-chamber is a demi-suit of the Earl of Essex, and is a war suit, something like a pikeman's, except that the closed helmet was not worn by dismounted men. This is combed, and introduces a shade or peak over the sight. It has no visor, but a bavier in two pieces protects the face. It should perhaps be described as a burgonet with gorget and movable mentonières. Probably only a part of the suit is present, that for use on foot, and the helmet may belong to the missing equipment for a rider, or if worn on foot it would have been as an open burgonet. The Jacobe Album introduces us to the burgonet and cabasset, a lighter morion, and shows that these were used when fighting on foot by even the greatest captains. This suit is also decorated in bands, a fashion almost universal during the reign of Elizabeth. The breastplate is the peascod with tapul form, and the cuissarts "à écrivisse" form the only protection for the legs. The ornament is more finely and delicately chased than that of any suit yet noticed. The design on the bands is an interlacing and knotted strap, filled with arabesqued foliage enclosing medallions with emblematic figures and flowers encircled by mottoes, as Futura præteritis, on a ground etched down, but with foliage and bright points like grains of seed, left on it. A part of this ornament is drawn full size in Plate VII. There is a suit in the Tower attributed to the same Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, who was executed in 1601, also richly engraved and gilt.

The suits now divided between Windsor and the Tower evidently formed part of a single collection. Those at Windsor are placed on brackets at such a height that they can only be inspected from a ladder, and they sadly require setting up, in the way that Lord Dillon has mounted those in the Tower. It is perhaps unfortunate that the national collection of armour is so scattered, parts being, besides the great collections at the Tower and Windsor, in the British and South Kensington Museums, Hertford House, Woolwich Rotunda, and Dover Castle, while most of the earlier English and historic pieces are still in churches and cathedrals. If brought together, properly displayed and added to in a reasonable manner by the purchase of such suits as that recently sold in the Spitzer sale, a suit of fine quality and directly connected with our national history, it might become worthy the country, and rank in time with the great armouries of Vienna, Paris, Madrid, Turin, or Dresden.

Besides the half-dozen really magnificent suits in the Guard-chamber at Windsor, there is a vast collection of arms and weapons in the North Corridor, formed in a great measure by Her Majesty. Among these are three swords intimately connected with our history. Of these, that of Charles I. has a pommel and guard of steel overlaid with raised gold damascening, and a grip covered with silver wire woven like basket-work (Plate VIII.). The blade is decorated with Latin inscriptions in Roman capitals along both margins, back and front, and in circles at intervals. Between these are panels, alternately of emblems and ornament, and of arabesqued scrolls, damascened so minutely that the work is almost invisible until magnified. The small portion of the blade in our figure shows the character of the work. The royal arms, Prince of Wales' feathers, and date 1616 on the blade show that it was made for Charles I. when Prince of Wales. The second sword, with the magnificently-worked basket hilt of chased gold inlay on steel (Fig. 36), has a similar blade, marvellously fine arabesques taking the place of the marginal inscriptions. It is otherwise nearly identical with the last, the spread eagles, griffins, etc., being common to both. The presence of the lion of England under a royal crown points to James I. as its owner. The third sword (Fig. 37) is that of John Hampden. Its blade is plain, but the hilt is of superb workmanship and of carved steel. The grip is small, and, like the pear-shaped pommel, covered with warriors in relief in Roman dress. The quillons are slightly curved, and carved with pomegranates and foliage, with figures reclining horizontally to form the extremities. The smaller front guard over the blade, known as the "pas-d'âne," and most elaborately worked with figures and medallions, is a prominent feature of the hilt. All three swords bear the unicorn's head mark of Nuremberg, but the two enriched blades can be identified, thanks to the assistance of Baron de Cosson, as the work of Clemens Horn of Solingen, 1580-1625. There is a similar sword in the Royal Armoury at Madrid, belonging to the suits made by Desiderius Kolman for Philip II., and another is in the Baron's own collection. The sword, as the emblem of knightly honour and faith, was from the remotest times a vehicle for the richest decoration; but it is doubtful whether any specimens were ever produced, even by the combined efforts of the swordsmith and jeweller, to equal the work of those here represented, which are not only connected with the history of our country, but happily also the property of the nation.

INDEX

d'Abernon brass, 36, 40

Acre, Siege of, 14

Agincourt, Battle of, 46, 48, 49

Aldborough Church, 33

Alençon, Duke of, 48

Alfred, King, 10

Allbright (armourer), 46

Almayne rivets, 70

Appleby Castle, 85

Archæological Institute, 30

Archers, 17, 20, 43, 46, 47, 58, 74-76

Armet, The, 58, 62, 65, 66, 82, 90

Armourers' Album, 81, 82, 86, 92

Armourers' Hall, 18, 86

Arthur, King, 7, 10

Ash, Effigy at, 40

Athelstan, 10

Augsburg, 81

Auray, Battle of, 44

Austin, William (armourer), 52

Bacon, Sir Nicholas, 86

Badges, Heraldic, 20

Barres, William de, 22

Base, The, 70

Bassinets, 24, 29, 30, 32-34, 36, 46, 48, 56-61

Battle-axes, 45

Bavier, The, 58, 62, 65, 92

Bayeux Tapestry, 12, 32

Beauchamp, Richard. _See_ Warwick, Earl of

Beauchamp MS., 52

Beauvais, Battle of, 47

Beche, De (monument), 19

Beckman, 18

Beowulf, 9-11

Bills, 46, 76

Black Prince, The, 30, 32, 35, 40, 48

Blount, Sir Walter, 50

Böheim, Wendelin, 82, 85, 86

Bohun, Sir Humphrey de, 34, 42

Boileau, Etienne, 18

Boulogne, Siege of, 76

Bourgthéroude, Battle of, 14

Bows and arrows, 14, 43, 74

Brantôme, 78

Breastplates, 7, 22, 34, 35, 42, 47, 51, 52, 66, 69, 85, 86

Brescia, 81, 82

Brigandine, The, 42, 47, 56, 74, 75

British Museum, 6, 7, 10, 18, 52, 56, 61, 96

Brives, 30

Broadwater Church (helmet in), 60

Bromley, Sir Thomas, 86

Brooke, Sir George, 62

Brooke, Sir Thomas, 60

Bucarte, Lord, 86

Burgess Collection, 33

Burgonet, The, 65, 92

Burley, Simon, 34

"Byrnies," 9, 18

Cabasset, The, 92

Cade, Jack, 51

Camail, The, 32, 46, 62

Cambray, Battle of, 16

Canterbury, 30

Canute, 11

Capel family, 59

Caractacus, 7

Cassel, Battle of, 30

Cassivelaunus, 7

Cawne, Sir Thomas (effigy of), 40

Cellini, Benvenuto, 81

Chain-mail. _See_ Mail armour

Chamfron, The, 48, 89

Chandos, Sir John, 34, 44, 56

Chapelle-de-fer, The, 20, 29, 30, 32

Chariots, 5, 7

Charlemagne, 22

Charles VII., 62

Charles Stuart, Prince, 90, 91

Chausse and Chausson, 22, 23

Cheney, De, brass, 36

Christy Collection, 33

Clisson, Sir Oliver de, 44

Clypeus, The, 5

Cobham, 48, 62

Cognizances, 24

Commines, Philip de, 56, 61

Comnena, Anna, 12-14

Cornewall, Sir John de, 49, 58

Corselets, 66, 78

Cosson, Baron de, 30, 33, 51, 59, 60, 62, 65, 81, 98

Courci, Ralph de, 24

Courtrai, Battle of, 39

Coventry (sallad at), 58

Cracowes, 36

Crell, de, brass, 40

Cressy, Battle of, 43, 46

Crests, 20, 21, 29, 30

Crinet, The, 48

Crossbows, 14, 15, 43, 75

Crossbow-men, 16, 46

Cuir-bouilli, 28, 29, 34, 42

Cuissarts, 52, 85, 91, 92

Cumberland, Earl of, 81, 85

Damascened armour, 81

Danes, The, 12

Danish armour, 10

Daundelyon brass, The, 51

Daunt, Thomas, 48

Dillon, Lord, 20, 69, 70, 81, 82, 85, 86, 90, 96

Diodorus Siculus, 6

Dover Castle Collection, 18, 34, 75, 96

Easter Sepulchre, Lincoln, 22, 24

Edda, The, 11, 18

Edward I., 15-17, 32, 34

Elbow-guards, 39, 50, 52, 56, 66

Enamelling on bronze, 5-7

Enriched armour, 78-81

Epaulettes, 50

Essex, Earl of, 92, 95

Ethelwulf, 10

Evans, Sir John, 5

Evesham, Battle of, 14

Exeter Cathedral, 42

Falkirk, Battle of, 14

Flint, 7

Flodden, Battle of, 75

Florence, 81

Fluted armour, 73

Foix, Comte de, 49

Fram, The, 8

Francis I., 66

Frisian Pirates, 8

Froissart, 34, 39, 56, 61

Gambeson, The, 16, 19, 23, 28, 40, 46, 47, 55

Gardner, Mr. J. E., 18

Gauntlets, 39, 40, 56, 69, 70, 85, 90, 92

Gauntlets, Forbidden. _See_ Gauntlets, Locking

Gauntlets, Locking, 70, 85

Gaveston, Piers, 36, 39, 42

Gaynesford, John (his brass), 51

Genouillière. _See_ Knee-cap

Gildas, 8

Gilded armour, 7, 30, 40-42, 51, 73, 91

Gisors, Battle of, 15

Gloucester, Richard of, 24

Godwin, Earl, 11

Gordon, Adam (outlaw), 16

Gorget, The, 32, 34, 36, 56, 62, 65, 82, 90, 92

Gostwick, Sir John, 60

Grand-guard, The, 85, 90

Greaves, 23, 35, 36, 42, 74, 85

Gussets, 45, 48, 55, 69

Habergeon, The, 40

Haketon, The, 40

Halbards, 75, 76

Hampton Court, 62, 76, 78

Hanging arms in churches, 30

Harold, 12

Hastings, Battle of, 12, 14, 15, 20

Hatton, Sir Christopher, 82, 85, 86, 90

Hauberk, The, 16, 18, 19, 40, 46, 47

Hawberk, Sir Nicholas, 48

Helmets, 7, 12, 20, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 42, 56-66, 90, 92

Helm or Heaume, The Great, 20, 24, 28, 29, 48, 56, 60, 61, 62

Henry I., 14, 16

Henry II., 16

Henry III., 16, 20, 22, 24

Henry V., 46-50, 75

Henry VI., 32, 50

Henry VII., 59, 60

Henry VIII., 58-62, 66, 69, 70, 73-77

Henry Stuart, Prince, 90, 92

Hereford Cathedral, 30

Herrings, Battle of, 47

"Holy-water sprinklers," 76, 77

Hood, Robin, 16

Horn, Clemens (armourer), 98

Horse-armour, 15, 42, 49, 73, 90

Housings, 49

Ifield effigy, 39, 40

Innsbrück, 81, 82, 86

Jacobe (armourer), 82, 86, 90-92

John of Eltham (his effigy), 36, 39, 40

John, King, 15

Joinville, Prince de, 91

Joppa, Battle of, 14

Julius Cæsar, 5, 7, 11

Katharine of Arragon, 8, 70

Knee-caps, 22, 29, 35, 36, 42, 52, 66, 85

Kolman, Desiderius (armourer), 98

Lambespring, Bartholomew (goldsmith), 55

Lancaster, Earl of (Edmund Crouchback), 36, 42

Lances, 44-46, 74

Langford, William, 34

Le Botiler, 24

Lee, Sir Henry, 82, 85, 86

Leicester, Earl of, 81, 86

Lewes, Battle of, 22

Lincoln, Battle of, 14, 15

Littlebury effigy, 36

Long-bows, 75

Lothian, Lord, 90

Louis XI., 49, 59, 62

Lucas, Mr. Seymour, 65

Madrid armoury, 98

Magnus Barefoot, 12

Mail armour, 9, 12, 13, 16, 18, 22, 24, 27, 29, 45-47

Mantling, 32

March, Earl of, 42

Matthew of Paris, 24

Maule, Peter de, 24

Maximilian, The Emperor, 58, 66, 70, 73, 74

Melsa, Sir John de, 33

Men-at-arms, 43, 46, 47

Mentonière, The, 65, 92

Meyrick, 6, 65, 73

Milan, 82

Milanese armour, 52, 81

Missaglias, The (armourers), 52, 56, 69