Some writers are apt to confuse this term 'poulaine' with 'poleyne', the
knee-cop used in the earlier days of the Transition Period; it is needless
to point out that they are quite distinct. Baron de Cosson has put forward
a most interesting theory in connexion with this effigy. He finds a close
resemblance between the armour here portrayed and that shown in the
picture of St. George, by Mantegna, in the Accademia at Venice. The Earl
of Warwick, who is represented on this monument, is known to have been at
Milan in his youth, and to have taken part in tournaments at Verona; so it
is more than probable that he ordered his armour from the Milanese
armourers, of whom the famous Missaglia family were the chief craftsmen,
and who made some fine suits of this Gothic style.
[Illustration: PLATE VIII
ARMOUR OF (1) Archduke Sigismond of Tyrol, 1470, (2) Louis XIV of France,
1680.]
The next distinctive style to be noticed is called the 'Maximilian'. It
can hardly be said that this new design was evolved from the Gothic,
though of necessity there must be a certain similarity between them, at
least in constructional detail. It is more likely, when we consider the
individuality of the young Maximilian, especially as recorded in Hans
Burgkmair's _Weisskunig_, and his interest in every art, craft, and trade,
that it was a fashion made, so to speak, to order. The Maximilian Period
of armour may be said to last from about 1500 to 1540. It is distinguished
by the radiating fluted channels that spread from a central point in the
breastpiece, closely resembling the flutings of the scallop-shell (Fig.
24). The main lines of the suit are heavier and more clumsy than those of
the Gothic variety. The breastplate is shorter, globose in form, and made
in one piece as distinct from the Gothic breastplate, which was generally
composed of an upper and lower portion. The pauldrons are larger and the
upstanding neck-guards more pronounced. The coude and genouillière are
both smaller than in the Gothic suit, and fit more closely to the limbs.
In imitation of the civilian dress the solleret becomes shorter and
broader in the toe. This variety is known as the 'bec de cane' or
'bear-paw' soleret. Some writers use the term Sabaton for the foot-defence
of this period. This term is found (sabataynes) in the Hastings manuscript
referred to in the preceding chapter. The pauldrons of the Maximilian
suit are generally of unequal size; that for the right arm being smaller,
to admit of the couching of the lance under the armpit (Fig. 34). The
tassets are made in two or more pieces, connected with the strap and
sliding rivet described in the preceding chapter. The fluting on the
Maximilian armour is not without practical purpose, for, besides
presenting the 'glancing' surface, which has been before referred to, it
gives increased strength and rigidity without much extra weight. A modern
example of this is to be found in the corrugated iron used for roofing,
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