If space but permitted we might devote many pages to the work of the great
armour-smiths as exemplified in the armouries of Madrid and Vienna. It is
difficult, at this period of history, to generalize at all satisfactorily.
Each suit is, in many ways, distinct from its neighbour, just as the
character and personality of the wearers differed. The young Maximilian's
words to Seusenhofer, 'Arm me according to my own taste,' is true of every
suit that we examine, for it is evident that each man had his own
favourite fashion or, from physical necessity, was provided with some
special variation from the usual form. An instance of this may be noted in
the Barendyne helm at Haseley Church, near Thame, in which an extra plate
has been added at the lower edge of the helm to suit the length of neck of
the last wearer.
As the experience of the armourer increased, and as the science of war
developed, the armed man trusted more to the fixed defences of his person
than to the more primitive protection of the movable shield. In the
tilt-yard and also in war the mounted man endeavoured to present his left
side to his adversary. On consideration the reason for this will be plain,
for the right arm was required to be free and, as far as possible,
unhampered by heavy armour, but the left arm, held at rest at the bridle,
could be covered with as heavy defences as the wearer might choose. This
form of unequal arming is well shown on the Frontispiece. The left
shoulder wears a large pauldron with a high neck-guard, and the elbow
wears the passe-guard which we have noticed in detail in the preceding
chapter. The leg armour in this suit should be noticed, for it is
extremely fine and graceful in line, and yet proclaims its material. The
suit of Henry VIII (Plate VI) is a good specimen of armour of the
Maximilian period, but without the flutings which generally distinguish
this style of plate. The neck-guards are high and the large coudes show
the glancing surface plainly. This detail also is shown on the fan plates
at the genouillières, which in the Tower Inventories are called by the
more English term 'knee-cops'. The bridle-hand of the rider wears the
Manifer (main-de-fer). Those writers who still follow blindly the
incorrect nomenclature of Meyrick give the name Mainfaire or Manefer to
the Crinet or neck defence of the horse. How this absurd play upon words
can ever have been taken seriously passes understanding.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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