“Saul dressed David in his own armor.
He put chain mail on him
and put a bronze helmet on his head."
(First Kings 17:38)
Museum collections of knightly armor and weapons. And it so happened that when there was so much armor and weapons in the Tower Museum that only a small part of them could be shown, the British prudently decided to place them in the new museum. But not in London, where there are already enough museums, but in one of the cities on the periphery.
Leeds became this city. And he certainly benefited from this, because, although museums in England are free, there are incomparably more people coming to Leeds. And among its exhibits there is a completely unique knightly armor, about which we: A - first we will tell, and then: B - we will show the techniques of making knightly armor, which many readers of VO have long expressed a desire to look at.
It is believed that this embossed "Lion Armor" belonged to King Henry II of France (reigned 1547-1559).
And it was made in Italy in the famous Milanese Negroli family, which by the middle of the 16th century was the most popular manufacturer of this type of armor. The armor got its name from the formidable lion faces that are found on its most visible surfaces. Perhaps most impressive is his helmet, which frames the face with the open mouth of a lion in the manner of antique Roman ceremonial armor.
This armor, apparently, was in England from the mid-1620s, after which it was roughly altered, probably in order to increase the front opening of the helmet.
Between about 1640 and 1688, this armor was depicted in this armor, Edouard Montague, second Earl of Manchester, Charles II, Cosimo Medici and General George Monk, Duke of Albermarle. By the end of the 18th century, it was owned by John Cooper, a gunsmith of the Artillery Council, who apparently borrowed it for an exhibition in the Tower of London. There it was presented as the armor of Charles II and was on display of equestrian figures known as the "Line of Kings", and later was exhibited as the armor of Edward VI, and Charles I.
This armor, despite all its pretentiousness, is combat, and not ceremonial. This is indicated by the shoulder pads of different sizes and the presence of holes on the cuirass for the fore-lance hook. In addition, the shape of the left shoulder pad clearly indicates that the spear should have been clamped under the left arm.
However, the armor was made not in the traditional manner of the Middle Ages, but already quite "modern" (naturally for that time), that is, taking into account the use of firearms on the battlefield.
In an upright position (from the floor to the top of the helmet), the armor has a height of 1730 mm, that is, its owner was not tall. The weight of the armor is also not too large: 20, 8 kg.
And finally, plate gloves. Their sockets are also decorated with lion's muzzles, which means that the master had to make sure that the metal in this place was as thin as possible, otherwise it would not be possible to raise his hands in them. Well, and besides, they are clearly designed so that their owner can hold a pistol or a rapier in them, and not just a spear or sword. In this case, a plate gauntlet with one finger would be more suitable.
The armor has no plate shoes. Perhaps chain-mail stockings should have been worn over the entire foot. But on the other hand, plate “fingertips” are put on the forefoot (how else would you say?), Also decorated with lion's muzzles.
Of course, the manufacture of such armor required an abyss of labor. Well, so how did the masters of that time work on them?
Drawings from the Royal Arsenal in Stockholm will help us find out about this. So…
As you can see, everything is not so difficult.
There are people who cold forged such armor in their kitchen, and annealed it on a gas stove. True, how their wives and neighbors treated this, I do not know. But they made the armor!
