Part 13

Cowper, Thomas. 1559. K.A., Greenwich.

Coxe, Wm. 1633. K.A. and Armourers’ Co.

Croche, Francis. 1528-9. K.A., Greenwich.

Crochet, John. 1515-20. K.A., Greenwich.

Crompton, John. 1544. Southwark.

Crouche, Wm. 1633. K.A. and Armourers’ Co.

Cutler, Richard.[137] 1520.

Dael, Thomas. 1515. K.A., Greenwich.

Daniele, Edmond.[138] 1547.

Daniele, John.[138] 1547.

Darwin, William. 1613. Yeoman of the Armoury at Greenwich.

Dawson. 1515. K.A., Greenwich.

Dedikes, Dirike. 1530. Yeoman of the Armoury at Greenwich.

Dericke or Diricke, Mathew. 1559-74. K.A., Greenwich.

Dericke or Diricke, Robert. 1524.

Diconson, John. 1528. K.A., Greenwich.

Faulkenor, Roger.[139] 1625-31.

Fevers, Peter. 1512-18. K.A., Greenwich.

Foster, Rowland. 1633. K.A. and Armourers’ Co.

Franklin, John. 1633. K.A. and Armourers’ Co.

Fuller, James. 1559. Yeoman of the Armoury, Greenwich.

Garret, John. 1559-1601 (date of will). Q.A., Greenwich.

Gurre, Wm. 1511-38. Brigandarius.

Halder, Jacob. 1574. Q.A., Greenwich.

Halore (?), Jacob. 1559. Q.A., Greenwich. (Possibly the same as Halder.)

Harford, Richard. 1590. London.

Herste, Martyn. 1574. Q.A., Greenwich.

Hill, Johan. 1434. Armourer to Henry VI. See page 173.

Horne, Geofrey. 1516-18.

Hotton, Richard. 1592.

Hunter, Hans.[138] 1547. Westminster.

Jacobi or Jacobe.[140] 1530-90. Master Armourer, Greenwich.

Kelte, John. 1559-74. Q.A., Greenwich.

Kemp, Jasper. 1544. K.A., Greenwich.

Keymer, Roger. 1571. Q.A., Greenwich.

Kirke, John. 1577. Master Armourer at Greenwich.

Kirkener, Erasmus or Asamus. 1519-93. Brigandarius, 1538; Chief Armourer, 1544.

Kornelys. 1515. K.A., Greenwich.

Lasy, John. 1533. Nottingham.

Lincoln, Thomas. 1604-8. Yeoman of the Armoury at Greenwich.

Mare de la, Will. K.A., 1672.

Marshall, Nicholas. 1533. K.A. and Armourers’ Co.

Martyn, “Old.” 1544. K.A., Greenwich.

Mightner, Hans. 1559-74. Q.A., Greenwich.

Oliver, Jermyn. 1514-44. (Naturalized Norman.)

Pellande, Richard. 1520.

Pellysonne, Frances. 1524-44. (Naturalized “from the domains of the Emperor.”)

Pickering, William. 1591-1630. Master Armourer at Greenwich, 1604-14.

Pipe, Nighel. 1559. Q.A., Greenwich.

Pitwell, Giles. 1516-44. (Naturalized Gascon.)

Polston, John. 1552. K.A., Greenwich.

Pounde, John de. 1520.

Poyes, Francis. 1525-44. (Naturalized Norman.)

Purday, John. 1562.

Sewell, John. 1590-1.

Sherman, Nicolas. 1629. Chief Armourer at Greenwich.

Spirarde, Carries or Tarys. 1574. Q.A., Greenwich.

Spyltherup or Speldrup, Francis.[141] 1532.

Stephens, Thos. 1626. K.A. and Armourers’ Co.

Stile, John.[142] 1524. K.A., Greenwich.

Stone, Benjamin. 1636. Sword-smith, Hounslow.

Ureland, Peter van. 1515. Gilder and Graver, Greenwich.

Watt Copyn Jacob de. 1512-26. K.A., Greenwich.

Whetstone. 1628.

White, Thomas. 1416. Master Armourer.

Wolf, John. 1538-42. K.A., Greenwich.

Wollwarde, Thomas. 1530-41. K.A., Greenwich.

Woode, Richard. 1590. London.

GERMAN ARMOURERS

Aldegraver, Heinrich. 1502-58.

Brabenter, Wilhelm, Solingen. Sixteenth century.

Colman, Coloman. 1470-1532. Augsburg. Mark No. 40. See page 133.

Colman (Helmschmied), Desiderius. 1552. Mark No. 40. See page 134.

Colman (Helmschmied), Lorenz. 1490-1516. Mark Nos. 2, 23, 41. See page 133.

Frauenpreis, Matthaias. 1549. Mark No. 38. See page 135.

Frauenpreis, Matthaias, the younger. See page 135.

Grofsschedl, Franz. Landshut. 1568. Mark No. 39.

Grünewalt, Hans. Nuremberg. 1503. Mark No. 54. See page 135.

Hopfer, Daniel. 1566. See page 136.

Jövingk, Jakob. Dresden. 1650-9.

Knopf, Heinrich. 1604.

Lochner, Conrad. Nuremberg. 1567. Mark No. 46. See page 136.

Obresch, Heinrich. Grätz. 1590. Mark No. 47.

Peffenhauser, Anton. Augsburg. 1566-94. Mark No. 48.

Ringler, Hans. Nuremberg. 1560. Mark No. 49.

Rockenberger or Rosenberger, Hans. 1543-70. Dresden.

Rockenburger, Sigmund. 1554-72. Mark No. 79.

Rotschmied. Nuremberg. 1597. Mark No. 6.

Seusenhofer, Conrad. Innsbruck. 1502-18. Mark No. 7. See page 141.

Seusenhofer, Jorg. Innsbruck. 1558. Mark No. 8. See page 141.

Seusenhofer, Wilhelm. Augsburg. 1547.

Siebenburger, Valentine. Nuremberg. 1547. Mark Nos. 20, 74.

Sigman, George. 1560. Mark No. 76.

Speyer, Peter. Dresden. 1560. Mark No. 60.

Speyer, Wolf. Dresden. 1580.

Topf, Jacob. Innsbruck. 1530-90. See page 143.

Treytz, Adrian. Innsbruck. 1469-1517. Mark No. 15.

Veit. Nuremberg. Sixteenth century. Mark No. 16.

Wolf, Sigismond. Landshut. 1554.

Worms, Wilhelm (father and son). Nuremberg. 1539. Mark No. 17.

FRANCE

Petit, M. Seventeenth century. Mark No. 83.

NETHERLANDS

Merate, Gabriel and Francesco. Arbois. 1495. Mark Nos. 18, 51, 53. See page 136.

Voys, Jacques. Brussels. Fifteenth to sixteenth century. Mark No. 56.

ITALY

Campi, Bartolomeo. Milan. 1573. See page 132.

Camelio, Victor. Brescia. 1500. See page 131.

Cantoni, Bernardino. Milan. 1500. See page 133.

Chiesa, Pompeo della. Milan. 1590.

Missaglia, Antonio. 1492. Mark Nos. 24, 25, 26. See page 138.

Missaglia, Petrajolo. Milan. 1390. Mark Nos. 27, 78.

Missaglia, Tomaso. Milan. 1468. Mark Nos. 27, 78. See page 137.

Mola, Gesparo. Rome. 1640. See page 139.

Negroli, Philip and Jacopo. Milan. 1530-90. Mark Nos. 42, 43, 44. See page 140.

Piccinino, Lucio. Milan. 1550-70. See page 140.

FOOTNOTES:

[135] At funeral of Henry VIII.

[136] Sent to Flanders in this year to provide armour, etc., for the Field of the Cloth of Gold.

[137] Sent to Flanders in this year to provide armour, etc., for the Field of the Cloth of Gold.

[138] At funeral of Henry VIII.

[139] Made sundry petitions for inquiry as to the state of the Armouries, S.P.D. Car. I, xiii, 96, etc.

[140] Now considered to be the same as Topf. Only mention as armourer in England, 1590.

[141] Appropriated gold intended to gild armour, also clipped money.

[142] Died by burning in this year.

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF NOTABLE ARMOURERS

[Sidenote: _Hans Burgmair_, Augsburg, 1473-1531.]

This celebrated engraver was the son of Hans Burgmair or Burgkmair. There is some confusion between the father and son, but the former seems to have worked either as a maker or a decorator of armour. The family were neighbours of the famous Colmans, the armourers, who lived in the Lange Schmiede gasse, while the Burgmairs had a house close by in Mauerburg. In 1526 Coloman Colman left his house to live with Hans Burgmair the elder, while Hans the younger took Colman’s house. The two families seem to have been on most intimate terms. S. Quirin. Leitner considered that the bard of A, 149, Madrid, which represents the labours of Hercules and Samson, was designed by Burgmair, and Wendelin Boeheim[143] also inclined to this view. His principal works were the Triumph of Maximilian and the illustrations of the _Weisz Künig_, both of which show such endless varieties of armour and weapons that we cannot but feel that the artist must have had a very practical knowledge of the craft of the armourer.

It would enlarge the present work beyond its original scope if mention were made of all the artists who designed armour and weapons, for in all ages the painter and sculptor have been employed in this direction. It will be sufficient to note that designs of this nature are to be found in the sketch-books of Donatello, Giulio Romano, Holbein, Leonardo da Vinci, Benvenuto Cellini, and Albert Dürer. Reproductions of two drawings by the latter are given on Plate XXXI.

[Sidenote: _Vittore Camelio_, Venice, _circ._ 1450-1509.]

Camelio was born either at Venice or Vincenza. He was a fine engraver and medallist, and is considered by Nägler to have invented the process of striking coins and medals from steel dies. He was especially noted for light steel armour of high temper. He was granted a patent or concession for the sole working of his invention by the Senate of Venice from 1509 for five years.

[Sidenote: _Bartolomeo Campi_, Pesaro, Venice, Paris, 1573.]

Campi was born at Pesaro, but the exact date of his birth is unknown. He was a goldsmith, and engraver and maker of arms and armour of such merit that they elicited the highest praise from Pedro Aretino in his letters from Venice to Bartolomeo Egnazio in 1545. About this date he made a magnificent pageant suit of pseudo-Roman armour for Guidobaldo II, Duke of Urbino, who presented it to Charles V. The cuirass is superbly modelled on the human torse and is decorated with a Medusa’s head and bands of gold with silver flowers. The shoulder-pieces are of blackened steel in the form of masks with golden eyes, and the lambrequins hanging from the cuirass end in medallions and masks. The helmet is decorated with a crown of golden leaves. On the cuirass is the inscription: “BARTOLOMEVS CAMPI AVRIFEX TOTIVS OPERIS ARTIFEX QVOD ANNO INTEGRO INDIGEBAT PRINCIPIS SVI NVTVI OBTEMPERANS GEMINATO PERFECIT.” If this inscription is not an exaggeration, it is little short of miraculous that this suit should have been made in one year. It is now at Madrid (A, 188). In 1547 Campi directed the fêtes held in honour of the marriage of Guidobaldo II and Vittoria Farnese at Pesaro. He was military engineer to the Republic of Siena, to that of Venice, and to the King of France between the years 1554 and 1560. He assisted the Duc de Guise at the siege of Calais in 1562, and in 1568 served with the Duke of Alba in Flanders, where he was given a commission as chief engineer of fortifications at a salary of 500 escudi. The Duke, writing to the King on June 3, 1569, says: “I tell your Majesty that you have a good man in Captain B. Campi, because in truth he is a soldier and has art, although not so well founded as Pachote ... and he is the best man I have met with since I have known men--I do not say only engineers, but men of any sort--very happy and steady in his work.” Campi was killed by an arquebus shot at the siege of Haarlem on March 7th, 1573, to the great grief of the Duke and the whole army. His brother was an armourer about 1555, but we have no records of his work. The magnificent specimen of Bartolomeo’s work at Madrid is the only example of his craft as an armourer that has come down to us (Plate XIV).

[Sidenote: _Jacopo and Bernardino Cantoni_, Milan, 1477-1500.]

But little definite information is to be obtained respecting the Cantoni family. They worked for Galeazzo Maria Sforza and other princes, and are mentioned as “magistri armorum” in the gild-records of Milan. Bernardino worked for the Emperor Maximilian I and produced the brigandine (Madrid, C, 11) which bears his signature (Fig. 64). This is the only work which can be directly ascribed to this family.

[Sidenote: _Lorenz Colman_, Augsburg, d. 1516. Mark Nos. 23, 41.]

This armourer is also known as Colman Helmschmied. Little is known of his history except that one of his ancestors was living in Augsburg in 1377. His father George was also an armourer who worked in Augsburg in the Harbruc and in the Luginsland, craft-streets of that city. He died in 1479. The name of his son Lorenz first appears in the civic records in 1467, and his work must have soon attracted attention, for in 1477 we find him making armour for Maximilian I and obtaining the freedom of the city. In 1491 he was created Hof Platner to the Emperor and established himself in a house in Innsbruck. From commissions entrusted to him for buying metal in 1498 he appears to have been still at Innsbruck, and in 1506 the records of Mantua show that he was making armour for that court. After this he seems to have been employed entirely by Maximilian, and in 1508 he received a large contract for armour for his army. His work is marked with a helm surmounted by a cross, and always bears in addition the pine, the Augsburg city stamp. Armour from his hand is to be found at Madrid, A, 44, and Vienna, 62, 1005, 1016, 1023.

[Sidenote: _Coloman Colman_, Augsburg, 1476-1532. Mark No. 40.]

Coloman was the son of Lorenz, and with the rest of his family took the craft-name of Helmschmied, a fact which makes investigations of records, documents, etc., of some difficulty. This is especially the case with Coloman, whose name is spelt sometimes with a “C” and sometimes with a “K.” The first mention of Coloman in civic documents is in 1507. In 1512 we find him working for Charles V, and shortly after he entered the service of Maximilian I. In 1516 a silver suit of armour (steel plated with silver) was ordered from him by Maximilian, but in 1519 this suit seems still to have been unfinished, probably owing to lack of payments, a reason which was and is always being advanced by craftsmen of all kinds for work delayed at this period. He employed the two Burgmairs, father and son, to decorate his armour.

Although Charles V frequently urged him to come to Spain, his numerous commissions at home prevented him. He seems to have been prosperous in 1525, for he bought the “Schmied haus in the Karoline strasse” from the widow of Thomas Burgmair. Two portrait medals were struck for him in 1518, 1532. His clientele extended to Italy, and in 1511 he wrote a letter to the Marchesa Francesco di Mantua describing a project for completely arming a horse with laminated and jointed defences of plate covering head, body, and legs. A picture in the Zeughaus at Vienna shows Harnischmeister Albrecht riding a horse armed in this fashion, and a portion of the leg-piece of such a suit is preserved in the Musée Porte de Hal, Brussels (see page 9).

The following works bear Coloman Colman’s mark or are known from documentary evidence to be from his hand: Vienna, 175. Wallace Collection, 402. Madrid, A, 19; A, 37-42; A, 59; A, 93-107 (Tonlet suit “The Chase”); A, 108-11; E, 57; E, 59. Dresden, G, 15.

[Sidenote: _Desiderius Colman_, Augsburg, _circ._ 1532. Marks, the same as No. 40.]

Desiderius was the son of Coloman Colman. In 1532 he took over the workshops in the Mauerburg at Augsburg, which his father had shared with the Burgmair family. He worked at first with the armourer Lutzenberger, who married the stepmother of Desiderius in 1545. In 1550 he became a member of the City Council, and in 1556 he was made Court Armourer to Charles V. This title was afterwards confirmed by Maximilian II. Desiderius seems to have used the same mark as his father, hence there is some confusion between the two craftsmen. The suits known to be by him are at Madrid, A, 157, 158, 239, 142--the splendid parade suit made for Philip II, which is signed and dated 1550, and the richly embossed and chased round shield A, 241, which is also signed and dated 15 April, 1552. It is upon this shield that he recorded his rivalry with the Negrolis (Plate XXIV, Fig. 65, also page 16).

[Sidenote: _Matthaias Frauenpreis_, Augsburg. Father, 1529-49. Son, 1530-1604. Mark No. 38.]

The elder Frauenpreis or Frauenbreis was a pupil of the Colman family (q.v.), and in 1529 married the widow of a helm-smith. He is first heard of as an independent workman in 1530. The following works are ascribed to him or his son:--

Madrid. A, 198. A brassard forming part of the suit A, 190, made by Desiderius Colman.

D, 68. A shield signed with his name on which the figure of Fortuna is ascribed to Hans Burgmair.

M, 6. A small shield marked with his stamp No. 38.

Vienna. 950. Field suit of Archduke Maximilian.

397. A white and gold suit bearing the mark No. 38.

Dresden. G, 39. A fine suit of Kurfürst Moritz, bearing the mark No. 38. Illustrated on Plate VII.

[Sidenote: _Hans Grünewalt_, Nuremberg, 1440-1503. Mark No. 54.]

His grandfather was a bell-founder of Nuremberg, who made the bells for the church of S. Sebald in 1396. In 1465, after his father’s death, Hans built a large house and workshop, after much litigation with the city over his glazing or polishing mills. In 1480 he owned many houses in Nuremberg, and built the “Pilatus” house near the Thiergartner-Thor, close to the house of Albert Dürer. He worked for the Emperor Maximilian I, and was the most serious rival of the Missaglia family of Milan, who at this time were the most celebrated armourers of Europe. The mark No. 54 is ascribed by Boeheim to Grünewalt. Works bearing this mark are to be found in the Waffensammlung, Vienna, 66, 995.

[Sidenote: _Daniel Hopfer_, Augsburg, _circ._ 1495-1566.]

Hopfer was in the first instance a painter, a designer and maker of stained glass, and an engraver. He settled in Augsburg in 1495. According to Heller he died in 1549, but this is not borne out by the entries in the account books of Maximilian II, who employed him and his brother. In the Hofzahlantsbuch, under the date 1566, it is stated that Daniel and his brother George, both of Augsburg, were ordered by Maximilian II to make 110 new helmets for the Trabantengarde and to decorate them with engraving. Four were made in March as samples, and the remainder were to be delivered in July at a cost of 397 gulden 42 kreutzer. Much of the work of the brothers Hopfer consisted in decorating armour made by other masters, of whom Coloman Colman was the chief. In Madrid are several examples of the work of Daniel: A, 26 and 65 are horse-armours which are decorated in Hopfer’s style, and A, 27, 57 are jousting-shields which are certainly from his hand; the latter is signed and dated 1536.

[Sidenote: _Conrad Lochner_, Nuremberg, 1510-67. Mark No. 46.]

In 1544 Conrad, or Kuntz as he is sometimes called, was Hofplatner to Maximilian II with a retaining fee of 14 florins 10 kronen, and in 1547 Maximilian gave him a settled yearly pension. He must have given up his appointment in 1551, for we find Hans Siefert Court Armourer in this year. He was born at Nuremberg in 1510, where his father followed the trade of an armourer, and had two brothers who worked with him, but the names of the Lochners do not often appear in the royal accounts. Like most of his craft, he was frequently in money difficulties, and had great trouble in collecting his debts from the King of Poland. His works are found at Berlin, 116, a horse-armour; Paris, G, 166, 182, 565, 566; Madrid, A, 243; Dresden, E, 5 and G, 165; Vienna, 334. He frequently used tritons and sea-monsters as a motif for his decorations.

[Sidenote: _Gabrielle and Francesco Merate_, Milan and Arbois, _circ._ 1494-1529. Marks, possibly 18, 51, 53.]

In 1494 the Merate brothers were sent for by Maximilian I and did work for him personally. They also obtained a contract for three years, for which they received 1000 francs and 1000 gulden, under which they pledged themselves to set up a forge, workshops, and mill at Arbois, in Burgundy. Gabrielle was also to receive 100 francs a year and to be free of taxes, an advantage frequently granted to master-armourers. For this he had to deliver annually fifty suits stamped with his mark, each suit costing 40 francs, and one hundred helmets at 10 francs each, one hundred pair of grandgardes at 5 francs, and one hundred pair of garde-bras at 40 francs the pair.

The enumeration of the last two items in pairs is unusual, as they were defences only worn on the left shoulder and arm and would not be sold in pairs. At the same time we should remember that the terms used for different portions of the suit are often confused, and a word which now has a certain definite meaning in collections was often used in a totally different sense. The Merates were bound by this contract to work only for the Emperor. Their stamp is generally supposed to be a crown and the word “Arbois,” but it is uncertain as to what actual specimens now in existence are by their hands. Possibly the “Burgundian Bard” (II, 3) in the Tower was made by them. It bears a crescent and the letter “M,” and is decorated with the cross ragule and the flint and steel, the Burgundian badges which were brought to Maximilian by his wife, Mary of Burgundy. Their names are mentioned in the list of tax-payers in the parish of S. Maria Beltrade, the church of the Sword-smiths’ Gild, at Milan under the date 1524-9, and they are also mentioned in a letter from Maximilian to Ludovico il Moro in 1495 as excellent armourers. They took their name from the village of Merate, which is near Missaglia, a township which was the birthplace of the famous Missaglia family.

Work stamped with the word “Arbois” and the crown is found at Vienna, 917, 948, and the “M” with the crescent is marked on the bard of A, 3 at Madrid, on II, 3 and II, 5, Tower of London.

[Sidenote: _Thomaso Missaglia_, Milan, _circ._ 1415-1468. Marks 27, 78.]

The family name of Thomaso and his descendants was Negroni, as is proved by a tombstone formerly in the church of San Satiro at Milan on which the two names appear. They came from the township of Missalia, near Ello, on the lake of Como. Petrajolo, the father of Thomaso, was also an armourer, and worked about the year 1390, but we have little knowledge of his history. The house occupied by the Missaglias was in the Via degli Spadari, Milan, and was decorated with the family badges and monograms (Fig. 66). It was demolished in 1901 in the course of street improvements, but was first carefully drawn and described by Sigs. Gelli and Morretti in their monograph on the Milanese armourers. The heavy work of the armourers was carried out at a mill near the Porta Romana, for which the Missaglias paid a rent of one sallad a year to the Duke of Milan. Thomaso da Missaglia was ennobled in 1435 by Philip Maria Visconti and was made free of taxes in 1450. There are many records of commissions to him and of taxes and other municipal matters connected with the family in the Archives of Milan. He died in 1469 and was buried in the church of S. Maria Beltrade, Milan. The only known work by this master is No. 2 in the Vienna Collection (Plate XXX). Baron de Cosson[144] has pointed out the strong resemblance between this suit, the effigy of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, in S. Mary’s Church, Warwick, and the picture of S. George by Mantegna in the Accademia, Venice.

[Sidenote: _Antonio Missaglia_, Milan, _circ._ 1430-92. Marks 24, 25, 26.]

Antonio was the son of Thomaso Missaglia, and was one of the foremost of the Milanese armourers. As has been noticed in the Introduction, the style of armour which was evolved by him and his father seems to have been adopted by German craftsmen. There are numerous records of payments and letters connected with Antonio in the Archives of Milan from the year 1450 onwards. He worked for Galeazzo Maria Visconti and for Bona di Savoia and after the death of the former became Ducal Armourer. In 1456 he made armour for the Papal troops, and about this time he enlarged the workshops of the family in the Via degli Spadari. In 1469 the Duke of Milan gave him a mill near the S. Angelo Canal. In 1470 he received a lease of iron-mines near the forest of Canzo, near the Lago del Segrino, from the Ducal Chamber, and in 1472, in recognition of his services to the State, he was allowed to purchase the property.