Armor of the Polygamous King
The birth of the "Greenwich style"
We need to start with the fact that it was Henry VIII who transformed the English army from the traditional medieval army, which consisted of knightly cavalry and a certain number of infantrymen and archers, to the army “modern”, welded by discipline, unfamiliar to the feudal army, and gaining the upper hand thanks to its firearms arms and very long spears, which allowed its infantry to fight with the knightly cavalry on an equal footing. True, a new weapon in England has not yet been produced, but was brought from the mainland. However, the king retained the “good old English bow”, strongly encouraged shooting from it and did not allow his shooters to set targets closer than 220 yards (approx. 200 m).
The famous "horned helmet" of Henry VIII. Royal Arsenal. Leeds.
Heinrich himself could not be called an outstanding commander, even if he participated in two military campaigns outside the country. But when he was young, he fought in tournaments, loved to fight and shot from a bow, and when he got old, he became addicted to falconry. Twice, in 1524 and 1536, taking part in tournaments, he almost lost his life - so much tournament fun was dangerous even for kings.
Portrait of Henry VIII by Holbein.
But he was also clever, and he considered unacceptable the fact that Britain depended on the import of weapons and armor from the continent. To start his own production, he invited the masters from Italy to England, but for some reason this time the matter ended in failure. But the king was persistent and in 1515 he found master gunsmiths in Germany and in Flanders, who agreed to move to England and work with him in a specially opened workshop for them in Greenwich.
And so it happened that in England two schools were mixed at once: German-Flemish, but also Italian, and that was how the famous “Greenwich style” was born.
Of course, we must bear in mind that mainly the king tried for himself! Because cheap armor for his infantry he still preferred to order abroad and, in particular, in Italy, where at the end of 1512 he acquired 2000 sets of plate armor in Florence (at the price of 16 shillings for armor); a year later, he also bought 5000 of similar armor in Milan. Then, in 1539, the king also ordered 1200 sets of cheap armor in Colony, and also 2700 in Antwerp. Moreover, contemporaries noted that here Heinrich clearly decided to save money, since Antwerp was "famous for" the development of "low quality" armor, which were used only in infantry. But the king himself did not hurt himself! Only in the Royal Arsenal of the Tower of London are stored immediately four armor belonging to Henry VIII. The fifth armor is located in Windsor Castle, and two more, which, according to experts, also belong to Henry VIII, owns the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Silver and engraved armor of Henry VIII from the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Height 1850 mm. Weight 30.11 kg. It is believed that they were brought to England or the Flemish, or Milanese Filippo de Gramnis and Giovanni Angelo de Littis. The armor was previously gilded, but now it is completely covered with silver, and the engraving is done in silver.
The king was very fond of foot fights, so the first armor (around 1515) was made for him to participate in them. All the details of it are fitted one to another very carefully, so that the armor resembles not so much the armor as a true work of art. Their engraving adorns them, the plot of which was the marriage of Henry VIII to Ekaterina of Aragon held in 1509. On the cuirass in front was an image of St. George, and behind St. Barbara. Ornaments were climbing plants, among which were the Tudor roses, and also the grenades of Aragon. On the wings of the knee pads were depicted bundles of arrows - that is, the emblem of the father of Catherine, King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Sabbaton socks were decorated with symbolic images of the fortress of Castile and another emblem of the Tudor family - the lattice of the locking gates on the chains. Along the bottom of the “skirt” of the armor there was a fringe of interlaced initials “H” and “K” - that is, “Heinrich” and “Catherine”. The back of the grease carried the image of a female figure, which appeared from the calyx of a flower; the figure on the left had the inscription "GLVCK" on its collar. The armor emphasizes the high, even for our time, growth and the beautiful physical form of the young monarch.
In 1510, Mr. Henry VIII, Emperor Maximilian I, donated horse armor - as a memory of the war with the French, and here he shows particularly well how perfect such armor was at that time. It was made by the Flemish master Martin van Royan, and it consists of such details as the head, collar, breastplate, two flanchard side plates and a massive convex perpendicular. Engraving and chasing, as well as gilding were used to decorate the plates. Metal plates of the reins were engraved, and all the other large metal plates, front and rear bows of the saddle were decorated with convex images of pomegranate branches and fruits, and in addition also the branch crosses of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which Henry VIII became the owner of in 1505. the plate of this armor, however, and on it was made an engraved border, which depicted grenades. It is believed that this part belongs to another armor and was made by the Flemish master Paul van Vrelant. However, later these two masters turned up in Greenwich. So Heinrich, apparently, was picking up for himself people who are known to him for his work on the orders of Emperor Maximilian I.
Who knows, maybe in these silver-plated and engraved 1515 armor there are more Italian works than Flemish masters, but it may well be that their parts were made in Flanders, although it can be said almost certainly that they were trimmed directly in England where Henry VIII in 1515 already had his own armory.
In 1520, the king needed another armor for the pedestrian tournament, which was to take place in the Golden Brocade Field, which is famous for its luxury, and it was these armor that were so perfect that, having a weight of 42,68 kg, there was not a single piece body, not closed forged steel. But these armors were not finished, and they have come to this very day in such an incomplete form.
Knight's armor of Henry VIII 1520. Drawing by a modern artist.
Another armor of Henry VIII refers to the same year. It is called "steel skirt", and it is clear why - because this is its main element. It is also obvious that this armor was made in a big hurry, because of which some of its parts were borrowed from some other armor, and only some of them were made anew.
It is distinguished by a very large bascinet, originally made in Milan (since it is stamped with the workshop of Missagli city), but with a modified visor on it. Bracers also took from the old armor, and they had the appearance of a series of narrow and thin plates that covered the elbow joints from the inside, but from the outside they were covered with larger plates.
Tournament armor "steel skirt."
Leggings had loops and special grooves for the spurs, required by the rider, but not at all required for the foot fighter. Only the shoulder pads of the plates that overlapped each other (which was the hallmark of gunsmiths from Greenwich) and the steel skirt (tonlet) were completely new. Engravings on them still retain traces of gilding. Figures of St. George, the Virgin Mary and the baby were used as ornaments for him, Tudor roses were on the edge, a sign of the Order of the Garter was engraved on the collar, and on the left hollow there was an engraved image of the Order of the Garter.
Badge of the Order of the Garter.
On the one hand, it turns out that the armor sharply specialized, on the other - their truly incredible cost, sometimes equal to the cost of a city (!) Of medium size, brought to life armored headsets, in which the armor could be “modernized” by adding different parts to it. And thus the same armor could be used both as tournament and combat at the same time.
The most famous of the headsets that have come down to our days is a kit made for Henry VIII by his masters at Greenwich in 1540. These are full armor for dzhostra, as indicated by the very massive left shoulder strap, which is one piece with the buff - that is, an additional armor plate , which was attached to the cuirass so that it covered the chin, neck and another part of the chest. If it was used in the foot tournament tournament, then elongated legguards could be fastened to these armors. Shoulders had a symmetrical shape, but the codpiece - a thing that the king really loved and appreciated, was all-metal. By combining parts of the armor it was possible to get several armor: tournament; the so-called “dart armor” or “three-quarters”, in which the legguards covered their legs only to the knees, and infantry's half-armor with mail sleeve sleeves, plate gloves, thighs, and again with an all-metal codpiece, but without a spear hook on his cuirass. The helmet had no visor. There were no plate shoes on him.
Knightly set of Henry VIII. Modern design.
Thus, with only one such set, Henry VIII, it turned out, had several armor at once. It is possible that such a decision was dictated by economic considerations, since the armor was very expensive. But it is possible that it was also a kind of “mind game”, and it was just prestigious to possess such armor. Indeed, in 1544, he needed two more armor already for the Boulogne campaign. The basis for their engraving served as sketches of the artist Hans Holbein. But why, then, did he not use his armored set?
A unique accessory plate, which the French King Francis I proposed to use in 1545, offered Henry VIII a unique feature of the 1520 armor. It became a feature of the Greenwich school, but was used only on these royal armor and nowhere else. This is a detail of three steel plates interconnected and overlapping one another. It was fastened in front on a quilted doublet with mail sleeves and with short mail tails with a codpiece. The chest cuirass in the center of the chest had a hole for a T-shaped pin that held the plate to the cuirass. Such a device helped to distribute the weight of the cuirass over the body, in addition, the multi-layered armor became just “absolutely perfect”.
Henry VIII 1545 Armor
As for the ceremonial armor, the master gunsmiths, trying to please their customers, did not pay attention to common sense at that time, which proves to us the famous “horned helmet” of Henry VIII, which the same Emperor Maximilian I gave him in 1514 g .
The armor of William Somerset, the Third Earl of Worcester, the chief investigator of Henry VIII. Weight xnumx kg In these armor, Count Worcester is depicted in two portraits, one of which was written no earlier than 53,12, when he was awarded the Order of the Garter, which is visible on it. Made in Greenwich under the direction of John Kelt. The kit includes parts for horse armor and a saddle with protective lining. Originally, the armor was purple with gilded scallops.
From the armor itself, only this helmet has been preserved. He has a reclining up visor, having the shape of a human face, glasses without glasses (and it is clear why, they are needed on armor ?!) and for some reason ... twisted mutton horns attached to it! He was made a master by Konrad Zoyzenhofer from Innsbruck in 1512, and no doubt he is an outstanding work of the armored art of the beginning of the sixteenth century. But only to fight in it was, most likely, quite uncomfortable.
Here he is - so famous "horned helmet"!
Did gunsmiths understand this? Could not understand! But, apparently, it was an original souvenir and no more, a purely “royal gift” for the king - the king, that's why they made him that way!
Well, the armor of this helmet was not found, and there is a suspicion that what was left of them was sold for scrap as early as 1649, during the Civil War in England. The helmet of this fate was avoided only because it was kept separate from them (they might have had other helmets). Already in the seventeenth century. This helmet was shown in the Tower as a detail of the "Will Somers" armor, which Henry VIII was a court jester. Who was actually its owner, for a long time was generally unknown.
Helmet-mask 1515. Colman Helschmidt. Weight 2146
True, recently, again, experts have had certain doubts about its authenticity. And the question is: were the ram's horns and glasses on it from the very beginning, or were they added to it later? And most importantly, why would it be such a bizarre subject as Maximilian I decided to donate to Henry VIII? Most likely, it will not be possible to answer these questions, but ... even if it is the only part of this armor, it is truly amazing and therefore ... especially beautiful! On the other hand, it is possible that such questions are inappropriate in general. Just the time between 1510 and 1540. It was at the peak of the popularity of so-called Maximilian armor, and many of them had armor helmets in the form of grotesque human faces. Hence the desire of master gunsmiths to please their crowned customer to the maximum and to do something completely original that has not yet been encountered, and it should be noted that in this they achieved their goal!
Fig. A. Shepsa
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