Part 8

Montfort, Simon de, 24

Montlhéry, Battle of, 47, 75

Monstrelet, 36

Morat, Battle of, 76

Morions, 78, 92

Musée d'Artillerie, 34

National Portrait Gallery, 22

Neck-guard, The, 52

Nottingham, Siege of, 14

Noyon, Battle of, 24

Nuremberg, 81, 98

Parham Collection, 18, 19, 34, 56, 61

Partisan, The, 75, 76

Paton, Sir Noel, 30, 33, 56

Pauldron, The, 69, 85, 86

Peascod, The, 92

Pembridge, Sir R., 30

Pembroke, Earl of, 22, 85

Pennant, 81

Petticoat, The, 50, 69

Philip II., 78, 98

Pickering, William (armourer), 90

Pikes, 75, 76

Pistols, 78

Plastron-de-fer. _See_ Breastplate

Plate armour, 21, 22, 28, 29, 45, 47, 50, 74

Pliny, 6

Poitiers, Battle of, 43, 46, 49

Portland, Duchess of, 81

Pouleynes, 36

Pourpoint, The, 16

Quatremayne brass, The, 56

Queen Mary's Psalter, 39, 42

Rayne Church, 65

Richard I., 10, 14-16, 20-22, 24

Robert of Normandy, 22

St. George's Chapel, 61

St. Pol, Comte de, 49, 62

St. Stephen's Chapel, 42

Sallads, 33, 57-59, 61, 62, 75

Sandwich, effigy at, 40

Scale-armour, 21

Scandinavians, The, 9, 22

Schloss Ambras, 82, 86

Seusenhofer, Conrad (armourer), 66, 70

Seusenhofer, Jörg (armourer), 82

Shields, 6, 19, 44

Shirland, Sir Robert de, 15

Shoulder-pieces, 39, 50, 52, 66

Shrewsbury, Battle of, 49

Sollerets, 36, 51, 56, 66, 69, 70, 90

Somerset, Duke of, 60

Sommers, Will, 73

South Kensington Museum, 65, 81, 82, 96

Spitzer Sale, 82, 85, 96

Spurs, 24, 39, 51

Staff-weapons, 75-77

Stafford, Sir Humphrey, 51

Standard, Battle of the, 14

Standard of mail, The, 47

Stephen, King, 16

Stevyns, Thomas (armourer), 55

Stothard, C. A., 22, 39, 40

Strutt, 12, 81

Sulney, De (brass), 36

Surcoats, 27, 35, 39, 40, 42, 46, 48

Sussex, Earl of, 85

Sword, Charles I.'s, 96

Sword, James I.'s, 96

Sword, John Hampden's, 96

Swords, 10, 85, 96-98

Swords, Legendary, 10, 11

Tabard, The, 48

Tacitus, 7, 8, 12

Tancred, 10

Tapul, The, 69, 85, 92

Tassets, 48, 50, 69, 85, 91, 92

Temple Church, The, 22

Topf, Jacob (armourer), 82, 86

Tower, The, 18, 20, 33, 66, 75, 76, 85, 86, 95, 96

Tuilles, 50, 51, 52, 66

Valence, Aymer de, 36, 39, 42

Vantail, The, 20

Venice, 81

Vere, De, 23

Verneuil, Battle of, 47

Vimose, 9

Vinsauf, 21

Visor, The, 32-34, 46, 56-60, 65, 66, 82

Viterbo, Battle of, 49

Wace, 15

Wallace Collection, 33, 86, 96

Wallace, William, 17

Waller, J. G., 19

Warwick Castle Collection, 18, 34, 36, 48, 73

Warwick, Earl of, 17, 51-55, 56, 66

Weaver, 39

Westminster Abbey, 36, 48, 61

Westmoreland, Earl of, 40

Whatton effigy, The, 40

William the Conqueror, 12, 20

William Longespée, 19, 22, 23

William the Outlaw, 16

William of Toulouse, 30

Wilton House, 85

Windsor Collection, 81, 90, 91, 92, 95, 96

Windsor Tournament, The, 29, 39

Woolwich Collection, 18, 33, 56, 61, 96

Worcester, Earl of, 85

Zouche, Lord, 56

_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_.

FOREIGN ARMOUR IN ENGLAND

_By_ J. STARKIE GARDNER

LONDON SEELEY AND CO., LIMITED, GREAT RUSSELL STREET NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1898

CONTENTS

PAGE

I. INTRODUCTORY 5

II. CHAIN MAIL 17

III. GOTHIC ARMOUR 23

IV. ENRICHED ARMOUR 56

V. FIREARMS AND GUNLOCKS By Major V. A. FARQUHARSON 84

INDEX 95

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

_COLOURED PLATES_ PAGE

I. Painted Wooden Shield of the fifteenth century. British Museum _Frontispiece_

II. A Marauder of the "Bandes de Picardie." Mr. J. F. Sullivan 14

III. Half Suit, engraved and parcel-gilt. Duke of Westminster 24

IV. Gold Damascening on russet ground. Late Italian suit. Tower of London 30

V. Breast-plate, embossed and parcel-gilt. French. Mr. David Currie 38

VI. Casque of an Officer of the Guard of Cosmo de' Medici. Mr. David Currie 44

VII. Lower part of enriched Chanfron. Suit of Charles I. when prince. Tower of London 72

VIII. Two Wheel-locks. German and French. Of the seventeenth century. Major Farquharson 84

_ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT_

1. Mail Hauberk from Sinigaglia. Sir Noël Paton's Collection 19

2. Standard Collar of Mail. Royal Artillery Institution 21

3. Gothic Armour. Said to be from the Church of Irene at Constantinople. At Parham 26

4, 5. Gothic Armour. Said to be from an old mansion in the Tyrol. Front and Back views. Sir Noël Paton's Collection 27

6. Gothic Armour. Probably Italian. Sir Noël Paton's Collection 29

7. St. Michael. By Perugino. National Gallery 31

8. The Battle of Sant' Egidio. By Uccello. National Gallery 33

9. Carved Relief from the Visconti Tomb in the Certosa at Pavia. South Kensington Museum 35

10. German late Gothic Suit. Collection of Mr. Morgan Williams 42

11. Suit of Maximilian Fluted Armour. Belonging to Mr. Percy Macquoid 43

12. Maximilian Armour from Eaton Hall. In the possession of the Duke of Westminster, K.G. 45

13. Engraved Maximilian Breast-plate. Burges Collection in the British Museum 46

14. Portrait. By Piero di Cosimo. National Gallery 47

15. Helmet. Presented by Maximilian to Henry VIII Tower of London 48

16. Cap-à-pie Suit of Henry VIII., on a Horse barded with Embossed Burgundian Armour of the time of Henry VII. Tower of London 49

17. Tilting Helm. Time of Henry VII. Westminster Abbey 51

18. Tilting Helmet. Early sixteenth century. At Penshurst 52

19. Tilting Helmet of an Ancestor of Sir Philip Sidney. Penshurst 52

20. The Sword of Battle Abbey. Fifteenth century. Collection of Sir Noël Paton 54

21. Sword of the Fourteenth Century with Guard for the Forefinger. Windsor Castle 54

22. German Armour. Date about 1570. The Duke of Westminster, K.G. 57

23. Suit of late Italian Armour. Embossed and damascened. Tower of London 61

24. Fine Italian Breast-plate, c. 1550. Said to have been worn by Philip of Spain. Collection of Mr. David Currie 63

25. Pair of fine Italian Gauntlets. Possibly belonging to the same Suit as the Breast-plate. Collection of Mr. David Currie 64

26. Embossed Gorget. French, c. 1550. Collection of Mr. David Currie 65

27. Silver Armour of Charles II. when prince. Tower of London 67

28. Sixteenth century Armet of rare form, with double visor. Mr. E. Cozens Smith 68

29. Suit of parcel-gilt Armour. Made for Charles I. when prince. Tower of London 69

30. Richly Embossed and Damascened Target. Italian, sixteenth century. Mr. David Currie's Collection 71

31. Target of Etched Steel. Italian or German, about 1550. Mr. P. Davidson's Collection 73

32. Roundel, with National Badges and Inscription. Belonging to Lord Kenyon 74

33. Hilt of Two-handed Sword with the Bear and Ragged Staff on the Pommel and Quillons in chased steel. Penshurst 75

34. Venetian Cinquedea, engraved, with Ivory Handle. The Duke of Norfolk 77

35. Main-Gauche with Steel Hilt. Belonging to Mr. Percy Macquoid 78

36. Main-Gauche with Silver Guard. Windsor Castle 79

37. Rapier with Silver Guard. Windsor Castle 79

38. Inlaid Ivory Cross-bow. Tower of London 81

39. Pistol by Lazarino Cominazzo. Collection of Major Farquharson 87

40. Early German Wheel-lock Pistol, used by the Reiters. Collection of Major Farquharson 87

41. Richly Decorated Flint-lock. Probably Spanish. Collection of Major Farquharson 91

42. Snap-hance of Italian make, about 1640. Collection of Major Farquharson 91

43, 44. Highland Pistols. Collection of Major Farquharson 92

FOREIGN ARMOUR IN ENGLAND

I

INTRODUCTORY

A former monograph, _Armour in England_, treated of weapons and armour made either in this country or connected historically with English wearers. The more extensive field of foreign armour brought into England by wealthy and enthusiastic collectors is now embraced.

The enthusiasm felt for armour is not surprising; its interest is so many-sided. Not only are collectors fascinated by it, but students of history, artists, and antiquaries. As mere decoration it appeals to some, and finds a place in their abodes; but it is among artistic people that its more ardent admirers are found. Hence it is far from rare to find the glint of arms and weapons lighting up the artist's walls.

From the artistic standpoint nothing can be more picturesque than the varied forms assumed by armour and weapons in obedience to the all-powerful dictates of self-preservation, or to the more arbitrary changes of fashion. To realise what these changes mean, to appropriate them to the scenes and episodes of history, belongs to the painter, sculptor, and scenic artist. If anything in art should be accurately portrayed, it is the men and the events which make up history. Historic painting and sculpture, which might live long in art, may be disregarded by posterity owing to the anachronisms due to neglect of this important study. Most of the changes were perhaps efforts to avert the recurrence of some accident in the lists or field of battle. To definitely track them to their actual origin, to seek out the causes for the singular and ceaseless modifications arms and armour have undergone, is, however, work only possible to the antiquary. It is his province to open the door to the artist.

The quality of the art lavished as decoration on the gala suits of princes and nobles is superb. In mediæval days it was the prerogative of the male sex, the fighting sex, to deck itself like a game bird in gorgeous plumage; women's raiment was more subdued. To the male, no richness of dress that ingenuity could invent or wealth procure was denied. In preparation for those stately festivals when the courtier was to shine in the presence of the fair sex, his sovereign, and his peers, nothing was spared. The armour of parade intended for royal jousts and tournaments is as sumptuous as the wit of man could devise, with time and money unstinted. Chasing, embossing, engraving, damascening, and gilding of the most exquisite quality were lavished upon it, the designs, and possibly the actual work, being by the best artists of the day. The later suits, when cap-à-pie armour was mainly consecrated to festivals and little regarded in battle, were especially loaded with decoration. Besides its excellence of design and richness of ornament, the mere craftsmanship of the armour itself is of a quality that never can be excelled, and the modern counterfeiter, with all his skill and appliances, is baffled in the reproduction of _tours-de-force_, such as the high-combed morions of Italy and Spain.

To study the evolution of armour is like observing the works of nature. Necessity, it is well known, is the great stimulator of the inventive faculty of man, and no necessity is more cogent than that of self-preservation. In the long trials of skill, in which for generation after generation the armourer was pitted against the guilds concerned in the production of lethal weapons, the means of defence seemed once or twice so entirely perfected as to defy the weapons of the assailants. But ere long, the attacking forces, gathering energy, calling on the ingenuity of bowyers, fletchers, sword- and gun-smiths, seem again to emerge triumphant, armed with yet more deadly and powerful weapons. The struggle on the one hand to encase the man, like Achilles, in invulnerable armour, and on the other to break down his armour of proof, was like that between the gunners and naval architects to-day, but it lasted for centuries. It ended, as all such struggles must, in the complete discomfiture of the armourer; the increasing use and accuracy of firearms finally reducing defensive armour to a costly incumbrance. Nature, indeed, seems to will that all things, animate or inanimate, should succumb to persistent attack. Viewed in its true light, armour reveals all the stages, and is the very embodiment of, perhaps, the most prolonged and determined struggle that the development of civilisation has witnessed. It presents a gauge of the extent and limitation of man's inventive faculties, in other words, of his brain capacity, in the ages so-called mediæval.

Concerning the history of the vast bulk of the armour that falls into the possession of the collector, all is speculation, and its very nationality perhaps matter of conjecture. The place whence it has come is often purposely concealed by the dealer, and a legend concocted to invest it with a higher market value. The weapon may have played its part in the stern realities of war; the armour may have saved its owner, or, failing in the hour of need, contributed to the deaths of those who trusted to it. Little armour perished with the wearer. Next to gold and silver, the harvest of arms was the most coveted spoil of victory, and none remained ungleaned on the battle-field. What harvests such holocausts as Flodden Field must have presented, affording opportunities of refitting to the man-at-arms, archer, hobiler, billman, down to the rapacious camp-follower. Though etiquette may have hindered the squire of low degree from donning the full cap-à-pie armour of the knight he overcame, no doubt many a captor of rich armour sacrificed life to indulgence in the dangerous vanity of dressing beyond his station.

The historic and personal associations connected with the arms and weapons present at, and by whose agency were enacted, the decisive battles, the most stirring incidents of history humanity can witness, are not the least of the many-sided interests of armour.

Though but a small proportion of the vast number of suits, helmets, and weapons that have come down to us can be assigned to definite wearers, and most of even these were but the parade suits of royalty and the court, the few pieces of real actual fighting armour identified with particular owners are invested with extraordinary interest. Most of these owe their preservation to the ancient and poetic custom of hanging the arms of knightly personages over their tombs, a custom linked with the still older dedication of arms and armour at the obsequies of the dead, either by placing them in the grave or hanging them in the temples of the gods. The reality of the connection between the pagan and Christian customs is apparent by such incidents as that of William of Toulouse, early in the thirteenth century, who dedicated his helm, shield, and weapons to St. Julian, hanging them over his shrine; or that of the King of France, who, after the battle of Cassel in 1327, presented his victorious arms to the neighbouring church. The churches in fact ought to have been the great treasure-houses for actual armour, as they are of representations of armour on monuments and brasses. Unfortunately, however, the old veneration for the person of the dead which led to the consecration of the armour and weapons he had actually used, hardly survived the close of the thirteenth century. Cupidity induced the prelate to claim them as a perquisite of the burial function, as when the Prior of Westminster received £100 as ransom for the horse and accoutrements of John of Eltham; while the temptation natural to the survivor to retain the finely tempered weapons and armour, whose quality had been tested in the field, had always to be reckoned with. This reluctance to sacrifice them is beautifully expressed in such ancient ballads as those on the death of King Arthur.

Armour was moreover specially devised by will to be kept as heirlooms. Grose in the _Antiquities_ states that Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick in the time of Henry IV., left to his son Richard by will the sword and coat of mail said to belong to the celebrated Guy, Earl of Warwick, he having received them as an heir-loom from his father. Sir Thomas Poynings, in 1369, devised to his heir the helmet and armour which his father devised to him. It also became penal to make away with armour. Enactments, such as that of 1270, commanded that all armour was to be viewed and kept in safe keeping under good security not to be let go, for the king's use at reasonable valuation. The custom, which prevailed extensively, of leaving the undertaker to provide property helmets and arms in place of those the departed had himself used, also tended to lessen the interest of even the arms which yet remain. That the helmet of Henry V. was provided by the undertaker is well known, and that he continued to provide arms down to Elizabeth's time, is shown by accounts of funerals such as of Lord Grey de Wilton in 1562, when among the items of the undertaker's bill are a "cote of arms," banner and bannerolles, a "helmett of stele gylt with fyne golde," with a crest gilt and coloured, a "swerde with the hyltes, pomell, chape, buckle, and pendant, likewise gylte, with a gurdle and sheathe of velvet." This custom of substituting spurious insignia at the solemn interment of the dead was set by the Church, who consigned mock croziers and chalices of no intrinsic value to the graves of even the most exalted prelates. But of the true and the spurious armour alike, time, rust, and above all, changes of religious sentiment in regard to the churches, have spared little besides an occasional helmet. The claims of neighbouring magnates, to the custody of what they regard as family relics, the temptation to sell, and lack of interest, have further sadly reduced this residue within the present century.

Yet neglect and depredations notwithstanding, the preservation of nearly all the English fighting helms known, from the time of the Black Prince to that of Henry VIII., and of many swords of early date, is due to their having been deposited in churches. Other magnificent fourteenth and even thirteenth century swords owe their preservation to their inclusion in the insignia of Municipal Corporations. Lincoln, Bristol, Kingston on Hull, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Southampton, Gloucester, Hereford, Exeter, Chester, Coventry, are among the cities still possessing these interesting relics.

If our national collections are less imposing than those of Spain, Austria, Italy, France, and Germany, the enthusiasm of wealthy amateurs has made this country second to none in the richness of its private collections of European arms and armour.

Of collections commenced and handed down from the time that armour was still in use, by far the most important is the Tower Armoury. Its history can be gathered from Lord Dillon's paper in the fifty-first volume of _Archæologia_, "Arms and Armour at Westminster, the Tower, and Greenwich." The collection had its origin in Henry VIII.'s passion for arms and armour, which was ministered to by Continental sovereigns, especially Maximilian, who shared this taste, and with whom he maintained a close friendship. His extensive array of tilting and jousting suits was kept at Greenwich, and an inventory taken of them upon his death. They were not removed to the Tower until perhaps 1644, though the armoury there was already, during the reign of Henry, one of the sights of London. The arms stored at Westminster were probably removed to the Tower as early as the beginning of the reign of Edward VI. The armoury was no doubt regarded more as an arsenal for use, than in the light of a collection, and perhaps was drawn upon constantly until the Civil Wars, when it was extensively depleted. Five of the Greenwich complete suits of Henry VIII. still exist, however, three mounted upon barded horses, as well as other pieces. The collection becoming on its removal a national one, several suits of distinguished nobles of Elizabeth's reign, and some of the royal armour of the Stuarts, were added. During the present century attempts to render it more complete have been made, by purchasing examples of enriched foreign armour, and more especially of pieces illustrating the armour of more ancient days. Many of the latter, however, are now pronounced to be spurious, and none of them are remarkable.

It appears that the Tower collection has been drawn upon, at some comparatively recent period, for the decoration of Windsor Castle. Some half-dozen of the richest suits are now in the Guard Chamber. Arrayed in cases in the north corridor is a most extensive collection of magnificent weapons, many intimately connected with the history of the country, as well as a matchless collection of oriental arms and armour, formed to a large extent from the collection at Carlton House and added to by Her Majesty.

The Museum of Artillery in the Rotunda at Woolwich contains a valuable collection of armour and weapons, formed partly from the Tower collection, and by judicious purchases. The series of Gothic armour from Rhodes is very remarkable. There are also a few pieces in the Royal Artillery Institution not far distant, and a small part of the collection has been placed in Dover Castle.

The British Museum contains a limited but choice collection, chiefly bequeathed by Mr. Burges, of Mediæval and Renaissance armour, as well as its unrivalled series of antique arms and weapons.

The South Kensington Museum also possesses a few interesting arms and weapons, besides collections deposited on loan.

The munificent bequest of the Wallace Collection has put the nation in possession of a superb series of armour only rivalled by that in the Tower Armoury. It must unfortunately remain inaccessible, being packed away in cases until the rearrangement of Manchester House is completed; consequently none of its contents could be illustrated. It contains perhaps over 1200 specimens, without counting the Oriental arms, all of them choice and some unsurpassed. It is rich in Gothic, fluted, and highly decorated armour, and comprises a matchless series of swords and other weapons. Of private collections in this country that are historic, the Earl of Warwick's is undoubtedly the most interesting, part of it having been in the Castle from the days when armour was in constant use. Besides the few almost legendary pieces, it claims to contain armour of Lord Brooke, killed at Lichfield, of Montrose, the target of the Pretender, and Cromwell's helmet.