From Armor to Armor: The Iron Suits of King Henry VIII
Henry VIII's armour, prepared for his wedding to Catherine of Aragon. Royal Armouries, Leeds
All in gold, like the idols of savages,
Today they overshadow the English,
And tomorrow, it’s like India is before us,
And every Briton is like a gold mine.
"Henry VIII" William Shakespeare
Today they overshadow the English,
And tomorrow, it’s like India is before us,
And every Briton is like a gold mine.
"Henry VIII" William Shakespeare
Stories about knightly armor and weapons. We continue our journey back in time, to the era of armored knights and ladies sweating under the weight of heavy dresses, corsets, and jewelry. And today we'll also be introduced to a pair of very interesting suits of armor, also belonging to a king, this time the King of England – Henry VIII. Born in the Middle Ages, in 1491, he ruled England during the modern era, from 1509 to 1547, that is, during the first half of the complex and controversial 16th century. And the first pieces in our gallery will be silver and engraved armor, made for Henry VIII sometime around 1515, and not somewhere "on the continent," but in Greenwich, England.
Helmet. Side view
The helmet of this armor had a low, keeled crest. At the back of the helmet, there's a hole for the foot of the missing rondel—a metal disc. Such "circles" on the back of the head were typical of armet helmets of the 15th and 16th centuries. What were they used for? This detail served several functions: the rondel disc covered the leather strap holding the chinrest, preventing it from being cut by a sword or other weapon, and it also enhanced the protection of the back of the head by creating another barrier to blows aimed at the helmet's vulnerable rear area. And the rondel's decorative function was also important: like other parts of the armor, it was decorated with engravings, notches, or gilding, further emphasizing the status of the owner of both the rondel and the helmet!
View of the helmet's visor and chinrest
The front of the helmet was covered by a reinforcing plate, with a viewing slit located between the lower edge of this plate and the upper edge of the visor. The latter was wedge-shaped and pierced with vertical and horizontal ventilation slits. The visor was attached to the hinges with concealed hinges with removable pins. The helmet was equipped with a reinforcing forehead guard, which accommodated the lower portion of the visor and was secured with a strap around the neck. Its shape allowed two lateral projections to overlap the visor on either side. The gorget—the neck plate—of this armor consisted of three plates, one on top of the other.
A pleated "skirt" and elbow pads with bracers. There are no gauntlets.
The breastplate and backplate of the cuirass were simple in design, the former with a small central ridge, while both pieces were edged at the neck and arms. Attached to the cuirass was a fashionable "skirt," imitating the folds of a wide civilian doublet, reaching to the knees. The "skirt" had a fluted surface, as this armor was not a combat suit, but a tournament suit, intended solely for use in combat on foot. However, since the king (though capable of fighting on foot) could not travel, the "skirt" had arched openings in the front and back, allowing the monarch to mount. These openings could be filled with metal plates (for combat) or fabric (now missing). They were intended to be secured with laces. The two halves of the "skirt," loosely fitting to the lower plates of the cuirass, were connected by hinges at the back and front, and secured with pins at the front.
The pauldrons are of different sizes: the left one is larger, with the upper part of its plate continuing as a vertical rib for neck protection. The main plate of the right pauldron also forms a neck guard, but lower down, the pauldron is shallower in front to provide support for a spear. It's worth noting that the breastplate is not designed to accommodate a spear hook, suggesting that this armor was originally equipped with an alternative breastplate and intended for mounted combat. But then a "skirt" was added, transforming it into armor for foot tournaments!
Left shoulder pad with vertical rib
The gaiters are made of a single plate with strong curves along the upper edge; the kneecaps are equipped with rectangular fan-shaped plates ("shells") with a central V-shaped groove; the greaves have slits at the back for attaching spurs. The toes of the sabatons are square, without outward flare.
Knee pads with the image on the plates of the "shells" of a bunch of Aragon arrows and the combined coat of arms of the Tudors and Catherine of Aragon - halves of a rose and a pomegranate flower
The surface of the armor is decorated with a continuous engraving depicting pomegranate fruits…
Interestingly, this armor is decorated with numerous engraved elements. There's virtually no metal free of engraved images. The breastplate depicts Saint George, and the back depicts Saint Barbara. The rest of the armor is decorated with a pattern of vines, from which grow Tudor roses and Granada pomegranates, and heraldic lilies on the cuirasses.
Each greave is adorned with a female demi-figurine emerging from a flower cup; the inscription "GLVCK" is engraved on the collar of the figure's shirt on the left greave. The upper plates of the greaves' "shells" depict a sheaf of arrows—the symbol of Ferdinand II of Aragon—while the lower plates feature the combined coat of arms of the Tudors and Catherine of Aragon, with a rose and pomegranate.
Engraved image of Saint George
On the toes of the sabatons there is a castle – the symbol of Castile and a Tudor fortress portcullis
The surface of all the armor was originally silver- and gilded, and the base of the engraving was hatched to preserve it; in several places, the silver remains. The edge of the "skirt" is decorated with gilded letters "G" and "K" - Henry and Catherine, meaning that Henry VIII was apparently supposed to wear this armor at his wedding to Catherine of Aragon! And here are the dimensions of this armor: cuirass height 356,0 mm, cuirass width 324,0 mm, helmet height 298,0 mm, helmet width 190,5 mm, helmet weight 3,215 kg. Total weight 30,113 kg.
The saddle had a high front pommel, lined with steel, which was an impenetrable shield for... the royal... "between the legs"
Skirt decoration: gilded letters "H" and "K" - Henry and Catherine
A close-up of the monogram on the "skirt"
The second piece of armor in our gallery today is a 1540 suit of plate, made at Greenwich Armouries. This is a full-body suit, meaning it's both field and tournament armor. It could be transformed from one style to the other by adding a number of additional pieces—add one or two, and you've got a completely different suit. This solution allowed for considerable savings, as 16th-century armor was already extremely expensive.
Henry VIII's armour, 1540. Royal Armouries, Tower of London, London
At the back, this armor, as you can see, had an armored seat.
Helmet
An armé-style helmet with a low ridge. It features a centrally divided visor and another on each side. The lower portion is pierced with numerous small horizontal slits for ventilation. The chin guard features a spring-loaded latch to secure the visor closed and a second latch, now missing, to hold it up. The chin guard hinges open and is attached to the helmet with a spring-loaded latch.
The helmet was apparently originally made to be attached to the top plate of the gorget, but the hollow flange on the lower edge has been removed. The gorget itself has two movable plates on the neck and was intended to be worn over the cuirass; the main plates are shaped in relief, allowing them to overlap the curves of the upper edges of the chest and back plates.
Gorget. Front view
Gorget. Back view
Left shoulder pad
The chest plate, with a slightly prominent central ridge, has movable inserts; three pins or brackets are present for attaching the missing reinforcing chest plate, and in the center is a hole for a bolt, which, in addition to holding the reinforcing chest plate, also served to attach the inner abdominal plate. A similar hole is in the back plate for the back plate. The size of the back plate was increased by the addition of plates riveted on both sides. The breastplate and back plate are held together by hinges and shoulder straps of typical Greenwich design. The cuirass is hinged at the waist, and to this plate on the chest are attached a three-plate thigh guard and long six-plate thigh guards, all overlapping like tiles. A three-plate thigh plate (the fourth, upper plate is missing) is attached to the back plate with pins.
Because the king had grown considerably larger around the waist by this time, it was necessary to consider how to evenly distribute the weight of the new armor across his body. To this end, it included a curious detail: a breastplate, worn on the chest by straps that ran across the shoulders and around the waist. The plate had a screw on which the cuirass was attached, a special hole being provided for this purpose, after which a "nut with eyes" was screwed onto the screw. The plate, in turn, consisted of three plates, articulated, allowing the entire structure to fit snugly against the body.
This is how the chest plate of the armor was attached to the back and thigh plates.
Greaves
Fingerless gauntlets
Elbow pad
The pauldrons consist of five plates, with the right pauldron being reduced in front to facilitate holding a spear. The greaves are made of two pieces, joined by sliding rivets, allowing them to slide relative to each other. The Greenwich pauldrons consist of large plates that completely encircle the inner elbow. The gloves are mitten-style, with hinged cuffs. The kneecaps have large, fan-shaped "shells" shaped like a heart. The greaves end at the ankle and are edged to allow them to be worn over sabatons, which are now missing.
Knee pads with heart-shaped shells
The decoration consists of narrow, gilded bands with ornate floral designs on a plain background, framing all the plates, with the outer edges of the main plates folded inward. The overall height of the armor is 1875,0 mm, waist circumference 1292 mm, chest circumference 1380 mm. Total weight 35,33 kg.
Close-up of decorative strip
The date "1540" is engraved on the top plate of the front of the gorget, and a crowned "H" is depicted in the center of the band along the upper edge of the breastplate. The armour was brought from Greenwich to London in 1649. The mittens were transported from Windsor Castle in 1914.
Additional details transforming combat armor into tournament armor: a chest plate with an additional shield on the left side of the helmet ("grandguard"). This protected the left arm, chest, and part of the visor. The manifer—"iron hand"—was a reinforced plate gauntlet specifically for tournaments, and a pasguard, which connected to the gauntlet, reached the left elbow, and ended in a wide flare. The pasguard was secured to the elbow plate with a cotter pin and was also fastened to the granguard with a leather strap.
This armor was mentioned in an inventory compiled in 1547 after the death of Henry VIII as being in Greenwich. Historian C. Blair attributes its decoration to Giovanni de Maiano, a Florentine who worked in England at the court of Henry VIII. The depiction of tritons on the guard and breastplate appears in a sketch by Hans Holbein in the Museum of Fine Arts in Basel.
To be continued ...
Information