THE SPANISH SERIES SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR THE SPANISH SERIES _EDITED BY ALBERT F. CALVERT_ SEVILLE MURILLO CORDOVA THE PRADO THE ESCORIAL SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR _In preparation_-- GOYA TOLEDO MADRID VELAZQUEZ GRANADA AND ALHAMBRA ROYAL PALACES OF SPAIN LEON, BURGOS & SALAMANCA VALLADOLID, OVIEDO, SEGOVIA, ZAMORA, AVILA & ZARAGOZA SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR BEING A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE ROYAL ARMOURY OF MADRID, BY ALBERT F. CALVERT, WITH 386 ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMVII _E. Goodman and Son, The Phœnix Press Taunton_ DEDICATED WITH PROFOUND RESPECT AND ESTEEM TO HER MAJESTY QUEEN MARIA CRISTINA OF SPAIN WHO SO WORTHILY AND FOR SO LONG MAINTAINED THOSE GLORIOUS TRADITIONS OF SPANISH GREATNESS WHICH ARE SYMBOLISED IN THE TREASURES OF THE ROYAL ARMOURY PREFACE In compiling this volume I believe I can claim, in a sense, to have broken new ground, for although a description of the Spanish Royal Armoury finds a place in every Guide and Handbook to Madrid, no exhaustive survey of the contents of this priceless treasure-house, apart from the official catalogue, is in existence. The present work is based on the admirable catalogue prepared in 1898 at the instigation of Queen Maria Cristina by the Conde de Valencia de San Juan, to whom, with peculiar pleasure, I desire to make full acknowledgment of my indebtedness. To the formal descriptions of the exhibits, which the Conde de San Juan has collated with invariable accuracy, I have prefixed a brief sketch of the historical development of Spanish arms and armour, which, I venture to hope, will make the book more acceptable, both to the specialist in armour, and to those who visit the Armoury without any particular knowledge of the subject. Though the Armeria Real remains the richest in the world, it has enriched nearly all the collections of arms and armour in Europe and America. Mr. G. P. Laking, in a recent number of the _Art Journal_, has shown that after the fire of 1839, a very large number of pieces were fraudulently abstracted and sent to London for sale--ultimately finding their way to armouries and museums as far apart as Rome and New York. If the truth were known it would probably be found that there was not a collection of any importance that did not include some of the spoils of the great treasure house established by the Kings of Spain.