One day at the imperial arsenal in Vienna
Here we go through the square
And finally we enter
In a big beautiful red house,
It looks like a palace.
Sergey Mikhalkov. In the museum of V.I. Lenin
And finally we enter
In a big beautiful red house,
It looks like a palace.
Sergey Mikhalkov. In the museum of V.I. Lenin
Military museums of Europe. Today we will get acquainted with the exhibits of the Vienna Imperial Arsenal. The building itself, the palace of Hovburg, is precisely the real palace, although the colors are gray, not red. However, the Ilyichevsk Museum of Hovburg is not suitable for soles, and in terms of the value of its collections, as well as their volume, it knows no equal. The Knight’s Hall of the Hermitage, in comparison with its halls, is simply something like a regional museum of local lore, no more. And there is no exaggeration. Four riders and such a “wall” of them, as in the photo below. But this is only one of the 12 halls devoted to knight themes. And in each horse figure literally at every step.
Fortunately for visitors, almost 80% of the arsenal exhibits are displayed without being fenced with glass. Of course, you won’t be able to touch them, but viewing anything in detail and taking pictures will not hurt anything.
And this is for comparison: our "four" from the Knight's Hall of the Hermitage
By the way, for many years now the right leg of the rider on the far right has been improbably twisted. And none of the museum workers care about this. People ... she swallows everything. And the Chinese, from whom today and in St. Petersburg (and European) museums today literally can not push around, and even more so, because for them such "iron guys" are something completely unheard of and unprecedented. There were completely different forms of protection ...
Well, we begin our story with stories the emergence of this collection, so that it is clear why it is so rich and there are so many valuable exhibits in it.
Segment Helmet, or Spandenhead
Acquaintance with collections of armor and weapons it is customary to start with the oldest models, or ... helmets, since it is considered to be an important, so to speak, part of the human body and the level of protection corresponding to its status is simply necessary for it. In the collection of the Chamber there is a very interesting segment helmet (spanhelm) of the VI century. He came to Europe from the East along with the Sarmatians. It was very popular in the early Middle Ages among the German nobility. It was found among Franks in northern Europe, and among vandals in Africa, and among Saxons and Angles in the lands of Britain. It usually consisted of four iron segments connected by rivets on a copper or bronze frame, often gilded.
The fact is that emperors from the Habsburg family received objects of art and the same knightly equipment from the most remote lands: from Bohemia and Hungary, Galicia and various Balkan territories, from the modern Benelux countries - the old Netherlands, and such provinces of modern France as Burgundy, Alsace, Lorraine and finally from Spain and northern Italy. The development of diplomatic relations and military conflicts made it possible to diversify the collection with a multitude of items from the Middle East, including armor and weapons of the Turks, Persians and Egyptians, who had one or another relationship with the Habsburgs.
Conical helmet
Conical helmets with a fixed nasal iron plate were used mainly from the 9th to the 12th centuries. They were made of a whole piece of iron as a whole and without decorations. Due to the fact that the Bayeux tapestry depicts the conquest of England by the Normans (the Battle of Hastings 1066), whose heads have just these helmets, it is mistakenly called the "Norman helmet." Meanwhile, the helmet of St. Vaclav 955 of the year, which appeared long before the Battle of Hastings. Together with a large almond-shaped shield and chain mail, knee-length, this helmet was part of the complete equipment of medieval warriors for a very long time. Only a few such helmets have survived, among which the helmet of St. Wenceslas, and this Viennese helmet, which was found in the 1864 year in the Olomouc Voivodeship.
Naturally, the imperial status of everything that surrounded the then rulers of the empire and their vassals, starting from the palaces in which they lived, their furnishings, and even more so clothing, led to the fact that all this acquired the greatest possible refinement. And, of course, the emperor’s knightly armor acquired special value, which should have been truly magnificent from the top of the helmet to the tip of his sword, dagger or mace. The same was true for horses and horse armor. Thus, each of these objects simply could not be a work of art.
Topfhelm 1350 g., Owned by the Prank family. A typical knight's helmet and very valuable primarily because it retained its emblematic decoration in the form of buffalo horns. Very heavy, so it was most likely used as a tournament. The original owner of the helmet was probably Albert von Prank, whose seal, dated to the 1353 year, shows almost the same helmet. It was kept in the Augustinian monastery in Secau. In 1878, it was bought for the imperial collection.
The foundation of the collection was laid by the Imperial Chamber of Personal Armor, the existence of which has been documented since the 1436 of the year, in which the armor and decorative weapons of the ruling house and its retinues were stored. But in the Baroque era, all this completely lost its significance, since it was no longer necessary to symbolize knightly prowess or physical strength through armor. So the objects of the imperial collection became museum exhibits designed to perpetuate the history of the Austrian house of the Habsburgs in a different way - through a demonstration of their possession of ancient and beautiful artifacts.
The famous Bundhugel - "dog helmet" 1400 - 1410 years. It was more convenient than the “helmet-pot”, as it had more free space in the face, making breathing easier. The visor made it possible to wear such a helmet all the time, it was enough to lift the visor. Holes for breathing were usually located on the mask, it was taken on the right, and the left side did not have them
The era of knightly armament and tournaments was replaced by the "era of hunting", when it was hunting, and not tournaments, that became the main form of entertainment for the nobility. So there was an exposition of the court weapon or the “Court hunting chamber” created under the emperor Ferdinand II, it includes objects of the highest quality of manufacture of each era and up to the end of the monarchy in 1918 year.
The collection of the Vienna Armory also has a very unique helmet that belonged to George Kastrioti, the Albanian prince, nicknamed Skanderbeg (c. 1405 — 1468). The helmet dome is polished, the diadem and the heraldic figure are made of copper with partial gilding. The diadem has a Latin inscription: in * pe * ra * to * re * bt, which can be deciphered as follows: "Jesus of Nazareth blesses Prince Emathius, king of Albania, the horror of the Ottomans, king of Epirus." The heraldic figure is a goat head with horns.
The collection also included the unique collection of Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol (1529 – 1595), which began to collect it in the 1577 year. He possessed tremendous wealth and at the same time believed that his duty was to preserve the heritage of the past and perpetuate the memory of his heroes. In accordance with this concept, which was surprisingly modern even by today's standards, he collected armor and weapons that belonged to various famous personalities - from princes to military leaders - both of his own era and of past centuries. In this way, his famous Armory of Heroes arose, which was located in the castle of Ambras in Tyrol. He also ordered the preparation of the world's first catalog of this collection, which includes 125 illustrations - the world's first printed and illustrated museum catalog in Latin, published in 1601 and in German in 1603. Each “hero” is depicted here in the form of an engraving on a copper plate, dressed in armor, and next to his biography. So we have a document confirming the existence of all these armors at the time of its creation, and we also know their initial appearance. Interestingly, all in the same XVI century, this collection was open to the public for admission.
Armor of Elector Frederick of Pfalz (1425 — 1476 gg.) Work Missaglia, approx. 1450 g.
Armor marks indicate that four different masters worked at once, namely Tomaso Missaglia, Antonio Misaglia, Innocenzo da Faerno and Antonio Seroni. This division of labor was characteristic of this Milanese company, in which particular masters specialized in individual items of armor. This armor was intended for export to France, therefore, "alla francese", that is, in the "French style", was made. From the actual Milanese armor, this style was distinguished by symmetrical shoulder pads and small discs to protect the armpits. The helmet is a grand bascinet, that is, a "big bascinet." Sabatons have characteristic late Gothic points at the ends. Elector Frederick the Victorious began his reign in the Palatinate in the 1449 year, and it is likely that he bought these armor on the occasion of this event. Note that a feature of the armor of the 15th century, by which they can be easily distinguished from armor of a later time, was the fastening of the collar. It was attached to the cuirass on two leather straps, front and back. There was a slot on the collar. On the belt - a metal shackle with a U-shaped mount, which led through this slot, after which a transverse metal rod on a cord was inserted into it. Due to its shape, it could not fall out, and even if it had fallen out, it would not be lost and remained to hang on the cord. Nevertheless, this design was subsequently abandoned and they came up with a “necklace” fastened with a hook. In addition, an adversary’s spear sliding on its cuirass could fall under this belt and break it! Another difference was the cuirass itself, in which the front and rear parts consisted of two parts each, and they did not connect to each other, although they came on one another. That is, the armor had a “top” held on its shoulders, and a “bottom” - held by a warrior on a belt.
During the Napoleonic studies, the Ambras collection in 1806 went to Vienna as the property of the emperor and was combined with the collection funds described above. In 1889, the collection of weapons and armor was opened to the public as the first collection of the imperial arsenal in the building of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Well, and after the overthrow of the monarchy at the end of the First World War in 1918, all the artistic and historical collections of the Habsburg imperial house passed into the ownership of the Republic of Austria.
Before us is the Gothic armor made by Lorenz Helmschmidt for Emperor Maximilian I. He probably wore it as a young prince, and then handed it over to his uncle Sigismund on the occasion of his wedding with his second wife, Catherine of Saxony, in 1484. In this photo, all its details are visible very well.
To some extent, the basis of the arms collection is the legacy of two emperors: Maximilian I (d. In 1519) and Ferdinand I (d. In 1564). Moreover, the latter shared all the armor and weapons from his inheritance between his three sons. Part of Emperor Maximilian II remained in Vienna, in the Salzburg Palace, which later became the imperial arsenal, the collection of Ferdinand of Tyrol was in Prague, and then in Innsbruck, in the Ambras Castle, and the part that went to Karl of Styria in Graz. After the death of Karl, in the 1599 year, she again returned to the ownership of representatives of the main branch, but in Vienna was only in the 1765 year. Ferdinand added to the inherited possession a collection of weapons of famous people of the past and present, and thus created a collection, unique in historical and artistic significance. After the death of Ferdinand of Tyrol in 1595, his collection went to his eldest son, Karl von Burgau, but then was bought from him by the emperor, and eventually merged with all the other collections.
Around 1500, the so-called “Maximilian armor” appeared, the invention of which is attributed to Emperor Maximilian I. They are characterized by the presence of grooves running along their entire surface, but smooth greaves below the knees. The corrugated surface of the new armor created a beautiful play of sunlight on their surfaces, and was definitely close to pleating fashion in the clothing of the nobility. In addition to its optical properties, the corrugation also increased the strength of the armor itself, which made it thinner and therefore lighter, but with the same level of protection. However, the exact work needed to make the corrugation increased the cost of the armor, so this very expensive fashion disappeared before the middle of the century. The strange “face” on the helmet visor was due to the fact that tournaments were often held then during carnivals, which it was customary to wear a variety of masks, including terrifying ones. The helmet depicted in this photograph belonged to the Duke Ulrich von Württemberg (1487 - 1550 gg.). The work of the master armor Wilhelm Worm of the Elder (1501 - in 1538 g. Nuremberg).
Without a doubt, armor with such visors on helmets looked a little creepy ...
The value of the meeting of the Vienna Armory is primarily its historical significance, since it stores a huge number of armor and weapons of famous people, and just the original artifacts of its time. Moreover, it must be emphasized that the authenticity of many of them is also confirmed by numerous inventory inventories that begin with the 1580 of the year, and no less by sculptures of the 16th century.
Set Ferdinand I (1503 — 1564) with corrugated armor, both for the rider and his horse 1526. Master: Colman Helmschmid (1471 — 1532, Augsburg)
The collection contains mainly weapons and armor from the Middle Ages to the outbreak of the Thirty Years War. It is also unique in its selection of samples of tournament weapons, among which there are completely unique specimens. An important addition to the unique collections of the arsenal is also the library of the imperial house, which contains valuable illustrated manuscripts and printed publications on military affairs, tournaments, as well as the art of fencing and horse riding.
Right Shoulder of the Maximilian Armor Breastplate, approx. 1514 g., Owned by King Louis II (1506 - 1526 gg.), The son of King Vladislav II. Made by Conrad Zeusenhofer, Innsbruck
PS The author and site administration express their heartfelt gratitude to the curators of the Vienna Armory Ilse Jung and Florian Kugler for the opportunity to use her photographs.
To be continued ...
- Vyacheslav Shpakovsky
- Naval Historical Museum of Venice. Excursion to the “Ship Hall”
Mistress Museum of the Lady of the Mediterranean
Many, many "iron guys." One day at the Army Museum in Paris
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