Each country treats its historical heritage in its own way, and this is both good and very bad. That is, all the zigzags of the country's history can be traced in this relation, and this is good. But it is bad when, as a result of these "zigzags", works of art are destroyed, which in the future could please the eye or attract tourists. It is clear that there were epochs when they did not even think about tourists, but again it was bad, when people fought with statues and demolished beautiful temples.
For example, in England, even in the era of Cromwell, ancient statues were not broken, but France of the era of the Great French Revolution was completely distinguished in this. The statues were destroyed, the columns were overthrown, the rebellious nakedness nearly cut the Bayeux Tapestry, a valuable historical monument, into pieces. Well, the revolutionaries needed a piece of cloth to cover the ammunition cart, so they decided to take it out of the cathedral where it was kept and cut it into pieces. Fortunately, there was a sane person in Bayeux, vested with power - the Commissioner of the Convention, who managed to dissuade them from this, explaining that this is a memory of the great past of France and has nothing to do with royal power. But how many effigies were beaten - gravestone sculptures depicting knights in full armor, by which we today could judge how they really looked.
The famous effigy of the Black Prince allows you to recreate the appearance of his knightly equipment with exceptional reliability, but it is not clear what was under his cash-on-clothes clothes - a jupon with heraldic lions (leopards) and lilies.
In Germany, many effigies were not spared by the war. But on the other hand, in Spain, the revolutionaries simply did not have time to deal with them, they were not up to it, but in the war she did not take part and therefore was not bombed. Therefore, many different effigies have been preserved in cathedrals and churches. For example, in the Cathedral of Barcelona, which is located at the very entrance to the popular "Gothic Quarter" among tourists, there is a wonderful effigy of the bishop buried there.
This is how this majestic building looks from the inside, and on the left and right naves stretch, in which there are sculptural images of various saints.
For example, here's a composition.
Or these are quite simple, but very colorful sculptures.
And this is the aforementioned effigy. True, the plate below it says that it is unnamed. The time of the name of the one to whom it belongs has not been preserved.
Well, the French at one time just made fun of their ancient monuments. For example, in the cathedral in Carcassonne there is no effigy at all. In the castle of Carcassonne there is one single effigy brought there from the abbey of St. Mary in Lagrasse. Now there is practically nothing to see, except for the fragments of architectural decoration, which is why, apparently, by some miracle, the effigy that survived was brought to Carcassonne.
Abbey of St. Marie in Lagrasse. Here is all that remains of its medieval decoration.
And this is how its premises look inside.
Alas, the Carcassonne effigy has suffered a lot in the past. Firstly, it is divided into two parts, the face is badly damaged (nose is broken off), hands and sword are beaten off, that is, a number of details that are important for study. However, even in this form, it is very interesting, as it shows a combination of mail armor and plate leggings. And since it refers to the beginning of the XIII century (well, maybe to its middle), that is, to the era of the Albigensian wars, their presence is very significant. This means that in the first quarter of the 13th century in the south of France, such one-piece forged leggings with constipation on the hooks were already in use! But at the same time, the knights continued to wear surcoats below the knees and chain mail, which did not reach the knees. It is interesting that two coats of arms are depicted on her chest at once. This happened at that time, but not often! But the statue itself is still very rough. So, chain mail, for example, is shown on it with schematic semicircles and no more.
Here it is, this effigy in one of the halls of the Carcassonne castle. As you can see, it is much taller than human height, so all the preserved details on it are clearly visible.
The front part of the effigy with the coats of arms of the Counts of Trancaveli, who owned the castle of Carcassonne.
Legs of effigia. Loops of leggings and fine shoes are clearly visible - plates riveted on some kind of base. It is possible that it is metal or thick leather, but the rivets themselves should have been metal anyway. That is, it is obvious that the first armor of the knights appeared on … legs! It was the most vulnerable part of their body and that is why they began to protect it in every possible way.
But the Spaniards were lucky in this regard. They did not break their effigies, and they have a sufficient number of them. And, by the way, from them, like from a book, you can read the history of the development of Spanish armor.
See how well preserved the effigy on the sarcophagus of the Spanish knight Don Alvaro de Cabrero the Younger from the Church of Santa Maria de Belpuig de Las Avellanas in Lleida, Catalonia. On the knight's neck there is a standing metal collar-gorget, and the legs are also already protected by armor. It is also obvious that he also has metal plates under his clothes, the presence of which is indicated by the heads of rivets decorated in the form of flowers. By the way, not all rivets are the same. Some clearly show a coat of arms, others a cross. That is, if the sculptor has reproduced such trifles on this statue, then he can be fully trusted. He did everything as he saw. But he is not wearing a helmet, so we can only guess what he looked like with Señor Alvaro. Well, in time it belongs to the middle of the XIV century.
A sketch of the details of the effigy of Don Alvaro de Cabrero the Younger by the English historian David Nichol. A. Sheps toning.
Well, no one beat off his nose either, just as it was done with effigy from Carcassonne.
Well, later the skill of sculptors increased even more, they began to use such a stone as alabaster and the quality of effigies in the 15th century reached its peak, one might say.
For example, in Guadalajara there is the Church of St. Nicholas, where the effigia of Don Rodrigo de Campusano (d. 1488?) Is located, the author of which was the sculptor Sebastian from Toledo. It is believed that today this sculpture is one of the most carefully executed works of this kind, characteristic of the end of the 15th century.
It is she who allows us to examine and evaluate in detail the clothes and weapons of the Spanish knight of this time.
It is known that Don Rodrigo was a knight and commander of the Order of Santiago (as evidenced by the image of Santiago's sword on his cloak), that is, a man clearly not poor, and what poor man could order himself full knightly armor at that time? Moreover, he was not only a good warrior, but also a literate and well-read person, and what the thick tomes depicted under the pillow on which his head rests say.
The armor depicting Don Rodrigo is quite interesting. Well, first of all, for some reason there is a chain mail collar in them, although it is completely unnecessary if a gorget with a chin is worn. A globular breastplate, typical of Milanese armor, but small hanging lanceolate thigh guards - tassettes, more correspond to German armor. Truly, chain mail, voluminously carved from alabaster, looks amazing!
The famous effigy of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick at St. Mary in Warwick with tapes similar to those we see on Don Rodrigo's effigy. True, Don Rodrigo has them smaller in size.
Interestingly, his armor is in a certain way similar to the armor depicted, for example, on the brace (plaque) of Sir John le Strange of Hillingdon (Middlesex), 1509, or John Leventhorpe of St. Helena in London, who died a year later. Since the armor served its owners for many years, the later image in this case does not mean anything, because 17 years is not a very long period for knightly weapons. We see similar tapes over a chain skirt at Sir Humphrey Stanley at Westminster Abbey, who died in 1505. That is, it can be argued that at the end of the 16th century, such a design of armor was quite widespread both in Spain and in England, although it should be recognized as less perfect in comparison with armor that has a "skirt" not made of chain mail, even if with tape, and from metal strips in the form of a bell. On the other hand, it was most likely that it was more comfortable to sit in the saddle in the “skirt” made of chain mail!
Bras of John Leventhorpe, 1510 Abbey of St. Helena, London.
Bras Henry Stanley Henry, 1528 Hillingdon, Middlesex.
Surprisingly, even Ralph Verney, who died in 1547, whose memorial plaque is today in Oldbury (Hardfordshire), wore armor with a chain skirt and lanceolate tassettes, however, since he wears a tabar heraldic cloak with wide sleeves over it, then most of the armor he is just hiding. That is, for 1488, Don Rodrigo's armor should be considered very modern!
It is surprising that the chain mail weave for some reason hangs on the armor from under the knee pads, and in the form of a narrow strip. These strips do not carry any protective functions here, but for some reason they were attached. For beauty? But then they could be weaved toothed! An incomprehensible detail … Two-piece tubular bracers with clearly visible loops are very interesting, which are not “locked” with hooks and pins, but are pulled together by leather straps with buckles riveted to the halves of the bracers!
Finally, the sword with the "ring" on the crosshair is also very interesting. It was needed to protect the index finger, which at that time, according to Moorish custom, many knights began to lay behind the crosshair at the Ricasso. It is believed that this helped to better control the sword, however, even in the era of the Crusades, Osama ibn Munkyz, calling this method "Persian", wrote in his memoirs that, seeing with whom you are fighting, you must first hit with your blade at the base of the enemy's blade and chop off his finger, and only then chop off his head! The method itself, however, took root, spread among the Moors, and then Christians, but as a way to protect the index finger, this ring was invented.
The helmet is at the knight's feet, and during the restoration of the effigia it was possible to see it well from all sides. Visibly passing through the dome of the helmet and took in a well-defined rib and a viewing slot in the form of a single slot, as well as a butt pad. That is, apparently, this is a salad (or sallet), with a visor in the French fashion.
Helmet, front view.
And here's what is interesting, in England there was a gravestone plate (brace) of very good preservation, belonging to William de Gray, 1495, Merton, Norfolk, on which he is depicted in a tabar, chain mail skirt with teeth and with exactly the same helmet as Don Rodrigo. Moreover, in the Church of St. Martin in Salamanca there is an effigy of Diego de Santiestivana, dating from 1483, and dressed in armor very similar to that of Don Rodrigo. They have exactly the same tapes and chain mail perfectly reproduced in stone!
Effigia Diego de Santiestivana, 1483
That is, it was a whole trend in knightly fashion, moreover, a direction covering a long period of time and sufficiently international, since we meet very similar armor both on effigia from Spain and on braces in England.
