"A warrior putting on armor should not brag like one who takes it off after victory."
(I Kings 20:11)
Museum collections of knightly armor and weapons. Today we continue our acquaintance with the most remarkable examples of armor craft of the past, collected in various museums around the world. And our way lies to the Tower of London - the famous "White Tower", on the lower floor of which you can see the beautiful armor of King Charles I. Well, the one who ended his life under the executioner's ax, but the armor left behind him is simply wonderful.
True, although these armor is traditionally associated with Charles I, they were originally made for his older brother Henry. It is possible that such gilded armor was previously worn by one of Henry's courtiers, the Dutch prince Maurice of Nassau, depicted in them in a portrait painted in honor of his victory in 1600 over the Spaniards at Newport. And it is also possible that they were an attempt by Sir Edward Cecil, the former commander of the cavalry in the Netherlands and a close friend of Henry, to gain his favor, that is, it was his order. Unfortunately, the prince was already dead when they were finally delivered in 1613.
It was once believed that this armor was worn by Charles I at the Battle of Nasby in 1645, but in fact it was sent from Greenwich Palace to the Tower of London a year before this battle in 1644, along with other armor. Be that as it may, but in 1660 they were exhibited in the Tower in the line of equestrian figures, which today is called the "Line of Kings", precisely as the armor of Charles I.
Let's start with the fact that these are by no means knightly armor. This is a typical cuirassier armor, the so-called "armor in three quarters", that is, it does not have a plate cover for the legs.
So, structurally, it was a rider's "armor" in the fashion of the time, when short stuffed trousers with pumpkin-shaped trousers gave way to the still voluminous, but elongated melon trousers. Naturally, they (like everything under them!) Also needed to be covered with armor. Therefore, a plate skirt immediately went out of fashion, and then legguards curved in the shape of pumpkin pants with a slit in the middle.
Now the leggings and skirt have turned into one whole - two carapace pieces descending to the knees - cuis or tassettes.
And all this "field armor" is covered with engraving of amazing complexity and, in addition, gilding. It consists of a closed helmet, a gorget, a cuirass from the front and back, a cule - a plate that protected what is below the back, a pair of tassets, greaves and sabaton boots, shoulder pads and bracers, and plate gloves. That is, this is exactly a full, and not a "three-quarter armor", but clearly not intended for spear fighting, since it does not have a spear hook.
The closed helmet has a visor with slits for the eyes, a visor and a low comb. At the back of the ridge is a characteristic plume tube, topped with three fleur-de-lis, which are attached to the helmet. Also, a bevor (prelichnik) or buff is attached to it, covering the neck and chin. Bevor attaches to the helmet with hooks, which are clearly visible in the photo, where he is shown from the side. The hook that locks the visor is on the right.
The gorget plates are composed of front and back pieces. The lower edge is bordered with 26 rivets, and the upper edge with 14 rivets. There are shoulder straps on either side of the back plate. The bib is made in one piece and has a rather sharp edge in the middle. The bottom edge has an outwardly projecting flange to support the tapes. On the side of the neck there are straps with which the breastplate of the cuirass is attached to its back.
Symmetrical shoulders. Each of them consists of a main plate with four plates on top and six on the bottom. The main plate is bordered by the rivets of the lining. The four top plates are connected by straps and slip rivets. The six bottom plates are connected by three inner straps.
The right and left tapes consist of 14 plates that overlap each other from bottom to top, and each follows the shape of the thigh. The strips are attached to each other in the usual way, that is, with leather straps and external sliding rivets.
The greaves are attached to the sabatons with pins and hairpins. Each grease consists of two plates that are joined by raised hinges and pins at the top and bottom. The side edges of the faceplate are bordered with riveted overlays. The back plate has spurs with six-pointed stars. Square-toed sabatons consist of nine plates.
The armor is completely gilded, the surface is covered with a delicate pattern of flowers and leaves, made with an engraving tool and chisel, as well as with the help of ready-made figured stamps. A complex and flowing linear ornament covers the central part of the plates, while a “hard”, simplified and repeating pattern fills in the auxiliary details and narrow plates.
The decorator created the linear decor in stages. At first, he drew thin, curved lines to get the "stems." The primary stem usually began at the lower right and left corners of the plate. These two stems produce secondary twisting shoots and eventually meet in the center of the plate. This is best seen on the bib and back. Then each flower, fruit and leaf was applied to the surface using a set of shaped stamps. Then they used a stamp to make the leaves. Last but not least, dots were drawn on the metal surface using a small circular punch. The plates are bordered by double lines, between which there are narrow stripes of simple plant ornament. In general, despite the fact that the work was done with pre-prepared stamps, it was extremely laborious.
Gilding was carried out with the help of mercury amalgam, which, of course, diminished the centuries for the masters who were engaged in this. But on the other hand, the gold plating made in this way is very durable. In this connection, they have survived to this day in a fairly good condition.
It is interesting to see how much this armor weighed, so to speak, "in parts", that is, their separate elements.
First of all, it should be noted that their height was small - only 169 cm, that is, the growth of Charles I was not too large.
But the armor itself weighed quite a lot: 33, 2 kg.
Right glove: 0.578 kg.
Left glove: 0.59 kg.
Gorget: 1.09 kg.
Right leggings and sabaton: 1.39 kg.
Left leggings and sabaton: 1.44 kg.
Left tassette: 1.59 kg.
Right tassette: 1.66 kg.
Left tassette (top): 2.22 kg.
Right tassette (top): 1.86 kg.
Left shoulder pad and vambras: 2.95 kg.
Rear panel weight: 4.23 kg.
Cuirass weight: 4.45 kg.
Helmet weight: 4, 9 kg.
Obviously, not everything is listed here, but such is the list presented in the Tower Arsenal.
The English historian Claude Blair also found documentary evidence of the cost of this armor, equal to £ 450.
