The strong military tone lent to this period by the bent and character of the three great monarchs who then ruled the destinies of Europe, had great influence on armour, civil dress, art, and display generally. The tendency, as in architecture, was towards redundancy of detail, and the abandonment of simpler and more truly artistic forms for something more ornate. This tendency found expression more in the details and ornamentation of armour than in the intrinsic beauty of the form itself. The third estate emerged more and more from its long vassalage, bringing trade and opulence in its train; besides a corresponding diminution in the power and prestige of extreme feudalism. The imagination was cultivated, as it had not been before, and luxury, with the means of gratifying it, had correspondingly increased; indeed, the society of the time had already passed the threshold of the “renaissance”--one of those periods of revival, in long course of incubation, suddenly bursting into life. Harnesses were more solid and altogether less mobile than in the “Gothic” form. The “Ehrenpforte” of Maximilian, supposed to have been decorated from the designs of Albert Dürer, gives a vivid representation of the meeting between Henry VIII. and Maximilian. This work, and much literature with illuminations, filled in details of the times which are invaluable to us now. These monarchs revelled in pomp and parade which found expression greatly in the tilt-yard; and the influence exercised on the arms and armour of the period was immense. Now the man-at-arms was completely encased in plate. Immensely heavy “Gothic” suits of armour already began to be laid aside in tournaments in favour of harnesses made for battle, supplemented with reinforcing pieces.