In the first part of the material about "anatomical cuirasses", it was concluded that they appeared as a result of the antique fashion for male torsos and nude nature, while in the Christian era the canons of faith did not allow hinting that the knight was "under the bottom" … Although during the Renaissance, some attempts (but on ceremonial armor) were made.
Ancient anatomical cuirasses had huge armholes, providing complete freedom for the arms, which was certainly important for the hoplite infantry, fighting with a spear, short sword and shield.
But there was no scent of utility in the armor case either! It would seem that what is easier - to forge a flat steel plate and attach to it flat sides with armholes and a rounded waist and that's it - here's a cuirass for all occasions. Due to its inclination from the waist to the neck, the spearheads from it would slide up to the collar in the form of an acute angle and deflect them to the sides. Another option is a sharp, straight edge in the middle of the cuirass, similar to the bow of a ship. Then the tip would deflect left and right, and under the cuirass there would be room for a softener heater, or even additional armor! But also no. Moreover, if Liliana and Fred Funkenov have a similar flat cuirass in their "Encyclopedia of Arms and Military Suit", then there are no cuirasses with a pronounced rib.
Armor of Sir James Scudamore with a rib at the bottom of the cuirass. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
They are either globular or ribbed, yes, but not very pronounced. But the main task of armor is to save the life of its owner, and in this matter, it seems, all means are good! Another variant of armor is also interesting - armor made of metal stripes. After all, this was exactly what was the oldest metal armor from Dendra, and then the Roman lorics.
Armor from Dendra. Archaeological Museum of Nafplion. Original.
Armor from Dendra. Archaeological Museum of Nafplion. Reconstruction.
But … it was and passed, leaving almost no memory in Europe, except perhaps in the form of Polish armor at the "winged hussars". And so everywhere we have cuirasses of a shape approaching anatomical (ie, comfortable to wear), and at the same time with the “ennobled” hand of the master, and not primitively “naked”.
Breastplate, back, c. 1505-1510 Probably the work of Francesco Negroli (d. December 1519). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
So after all, even over such cuirasses, over time, it became fashionable to wear clothes of their fabric, so in this case it was civil fashion and, of course, the religious aesthetic views of Europeans that dictated their design of protective weapons.
Gothic armor from 1470. Bavarian National Museum, Munich. The armor itself was made in Nuremberg, as evidenced by the brand on the bottom right.
However, it is worth considering the genesis of the European cuirass as a whole and smoothly moving from it to the Asian models, on which we will complete the study of the cuirasses of the "anatomical shape". Let's start with the fact that the appeal to the extant effigies unequivocally proves that already in 1410 cuirasses were and were worn, and without any cover with cloth. In 1430, first, the first grooves (flutes) began to appear on the flaps of the elbow pads and knee pads, simultaneously facilitating and strengthening them.
Gothic armor from 1470 (horse armor c. 1480 - 1490). German Historical Museum, Berlin.
In 1450, with a certain degree of convention, of course, the "white" plate armor acquired its classical form, but there was no talk of any "muscularity" in the outlines of the cuirass. It is believed that this was the time of the maximum perfection of such armor.
Gothic armor 1475-1485 Wallace Collection, London. As you can see, the armor is quite simple and very functional. Nothing extra.
Around 1475, flutes begin to cover the entire surface of the armor, especially in Germany. The armor of this period, both made in Germany and in Italy, is precisely called "Gothic". Shoes (sabatons) still have sharp noses.
Around 1500, the next stage of their improvement begins: frequent grooves appear on the armor, which were already made with a chisel, and not forged. At the same time, the leggings remain smooth, and the "gloves" are replaced with plate mittens and a separate finger.
Armor from Nuremberg 1470 -1480 German National Museum.
German armor 1515 - 1520 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Pointed shoes, as you can see, disappear and are replaced by "shoes" of the "bear paw" type. On the hands of the mittens. The grooves cover almost all parts of the armor.
At the same time, the so-called "costume armor" appeared, some parts of which were elements of the then fashionable clothes, only they were made of metal. In 1520, Maximiliman's armor appeared, nicknamed "weightless" due to the fact that they weighed only 18, 790 kg.
Late Gothic armor belonging to the "costume type" armor from the Historical Museum in Vienna. The "sleeves" and imitation of the then fashionable cuts on the armor above the knees are clearly visible. The "skirt" was used for walking fights, but in this case additional details were attached to it in the front and back. Well, and for riding, respectively, they were unfastened, which allowed the knight to perch in the saddle.
Armor of Emperor Ferdinand I (1503 - 1564), Germany, mid-16th century. Suit armor of the Spanish type. A burgo with a visor made of ribs, but old rondels, engraving on the entire chest and … just a completely indecent-looking codpiece.
At the same time, namely in 1512, the first half-armor with corresponding greaves appeared. Instead of a "skirt", they had split legguards, and the leggings did not reach the upper part of the thigh, since the legguards came down on top of them. In 1530, cuirasses of the "bird's chest" (or "goose chest") type with a protrusion in the solar plexus area appeared, while in Italy, since 1520, there was a rejection of corrugated armor.
Here it is, a cuirass with such a protrusion on the Italian half-armor of 1571. As you can see, this form lasted long enough. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
In 1540, corrugated armor disappears in Germany. Then, in 1540, the lower part of the cuirass is pulled out into a "pod". Breastplates appear with knee-length legguards attached to them. In 1570, the "pod" lengthens and swells into the so-called "goose belly". Ten years later, round thigh legguards, worn over spherical short pants, are in vogue. The hip guards are made of plates that extend to the knees. Finally, in 1590, the “antique” armor that had become fashionable disappeared, some samples of which, for example, the armor of King Charles I of 1546 by Filippo Negroli (photo is given in the previous material), had an “anatomical cuirass”.
Armor with legguards up to the knees of the late 16th century, belonging to the Barberini family. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Front view.
The same armor, rear view.
Finally, in 1600, half-cuirass came into fashion only on the chest, fastened on the back with straps.
Half-cuirass of the Papal Guard, from about 1600 until the 18th century. Painted blue with gold inlay.
Well, and finally, the most common armor of the early 17th century was the so-called "three-quarter" armor, which was a cuirass and legguards attached to it. As a rule, cuirassiers and pistoliers, the most difficult types of cavalry of this period, were dressed this way. Such armor could weigh up to 40 kg, that is, they were matched by a full knightly. In any case, this is how much the Italian cuirassier armor of the beginning of the 16th century weighs.at the Metropolitan Museum, in New York, and additional reinforcements were also relied on him and, in particular, a breastplate on a cuirass!
Cuirassier armor "three-quarters" from Germany, approx. 1620 Higgins Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
An interesting element of the armor was the so-called "siege breastplates", which also appeared at the end of the 16th century. The weight of such a "plate" could be 11 kg, and the device made it possible to put another one on top of it! However, one such half-cuirass was more than enough.
(To be continued)
