Although the matchless Beauchamp effigy (Fig. 16) was the work of an Englishman, it is probable that most of the fine suits in English collections, with the least possible pretensions to any historic connection with this country, were principally of Italian or German make, up to the meeting of Henry VIII. with the Emperor Maximilian; but a good deal of English armour was turned out later in Henry’s reign, and in that of Elizabeth, by the “Almayne” smiths, already referred to, brought over from Germany and Italy. The Armourers’ Album at South Kensington, with drawings of twenty-nine harnesses, throws much light on the armour of the earlier Elizabethan period, and some of the suits mentioned therein have been identified. It is certain, however, that the influence exercised by the imported German and Italian smiths on armour of English make was of comparatively short duration, for suits made by armour-smiths in this country after the early portion of Elizabeth’s reign were characterised by a vast inferiority in design, execution, and material to those turned out by their German and Italian confrères. With the exception of the fine specimens in the collection at the Tower of London, it is in Germany where most of the Gothic and Maximilian suits have been preserved, and a few are still to be met with in Italy and Spain. It is a great pity that the armour possessed by the nation should be scattered over so many places, instead of being concentrated in one grand national collection. Could this be arranged, we would possess an armoury worthy of the empire. The Wallace armour is a great accession to our store, but this collection still remains unpacked. The almost constant warfare, both in Germany and Italy, during the middle ages naturally made the manufacture of armour more of a speciality in these countries than in England, and the effect of the Italian “renaissance” was especially seen in profuse and artistic ornamentation, which at length came to be more regarded even than strength itself--it was, in fact, a fine art. Much of the armour was covered with embossed figures, engraved, chased, and damascened with gold. The work of the Augsburg, Nuremberg, and Innsbruck armourers was really, if not quite, equal, both in design and workmanship, to that of Italy; and many historic suits until recently classed as Italian have been since proved to be of German workmanship. The counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Durham are not rich in armour, especially in that of the sixteenth century, and the only Gothic suit is, we believe, one in the author’s possession, and there is no perfect harness of the “Maximilian” type in the district. As many as possible of what may be termed north-country examples will be given in these pages.